PHILADELPHIA _ Aaron Altherr raised his right arm and pointed a finger to the sky. He had come through _ again _ against one of baseball's best pitchers. Altherr touched first base and watched his three-run land over the center field wall in a 5-3 win over Arizona. Altherr's resurgence continued.
The outfielder struggled through the first three weeks of the season. His batting average dipped below .100. His playing time was in question. Even he admitted to having doubts. Everything seemed to come together over the weekend.
He had three hits on Sunday. He drove in two runs Tuesday. His sixth-inning homer Wednesday off Zack Greinke makes him 6 for his last 14. Altherr, who flashed potential last season with a .856 OPS, suddenly looks like the hitter the Phillies expected him to be.
The Phillies have won five of their last six. A win on Thursday afternoon would give them their fourth series win in their last five tries. There was no knocking their win Wednesday as they toppled the team with baseball's best record and their No. 1 arm.
The Phillies needed a big hit Wednesday night. Jake Arrieta was dealing, but was troubled by poor defense. The right-hander gave up three runs, but just one was earned. The right-hander threw 107 pitches, the most this season by a Phillies pitcher, and struck out two with two walks and four hits. The Phillies made three errors behind Arrieta and two of them led to runs.
Arrieta was on the hook for the loss when Altherr came up with two on and one out. Altherr watched three pitches before he saw a pitch he liked. Greinke threw a slider and it broke over the plate. Altherr pounced, crushing it 421 feet into the shrubs beyond the center field-wall. Altherr delivered what the Phillies _ and Arrieta _ needed. Arrieta avoided earning his first Phillies lost. He returned the next inning and retired the three batters he faced before Luis Garcia and Hector Neris handled the rest to give Arrieta his third win.
Arrieta loaded the bases without an out in the fourth but escaped with just one run scored. Jarrod Dyson, a speedster, laid down a bunt with two outs. Arrieta charged picked up the ball and tossed it to catcher Andrew Knapp as he lunged forward. The front of Arrieta's jersey was covered in dirt, but it was worth it. A.J. Pollock was out at home.
Arrieta then forced Jeff Mathis to hit a grounder to third where Maikel Franco made a nice grab, stepped on third, and threw sharply to first to complete the double play. Arrieta got three outs that he desperately needed.
Carlos Santana drove in a run in the first on a ground out and doubled to start the inning that Altherr punctuated. The Phillies hope he, too, can snap a season-long slump. Odubel Herrera, who reached base for the 25th-straight game, added a run with a sacrifice fly in the third. That would be it until Altherr came to the plate in the sixth.
His three-run homer was reminiscent to the grand slam he hit last season off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. That homer also came from a slider. But that was Game No. 150 for the team that then held baseball's worst record. It was a nice September highlight, something to cling to during the winter. This felt different. Altherr's finger to the sky seemed to carry a bit more meaning for a team that is playing like it has a chance to compete.
