The typical items in the Phillies clubhouse were joined Sunday morning by suitcases and duffel bags, the signs of a roster ready to disperse for four days to forget what were a tedious first 87 games of baseball. They will be represented at Miami's All-Star festivities by one player, their 36-year-old, seventh-inning reliever, Pat Neshek. The setbacks outweighed progress in the season's first half, but there are 75 more games to play.
So the Phillies unleashed some anger in Sunday's 7-1 win over San Diego. They broke a five-game losing streak with a six-homer barrage. If the next four days are a chance to cleanse, then Sunday was a time to air grievances.
The six homers generated seven runs. Diminutive shortstop Freddy Galvis hit two _ one into the upper deck and another that smashed the small scoreboard that adorns the second-deck facade in right field. Nick Williams smacked his first career homer. Aaron Altherr, Odubel Herrera, and Cameron Rupp added solo shots.
The Phillies had mustered six homers in their first eight games this month.
It had been 13 years since the Phillies smashed six homers in a game. They were hit by Jim Thome (two), Randy Wolf (two) Jimmy Rollins, and Chase Utley.
These Phillies have lower aspirations, achieving relevancy for one. Some in the clubhouse, like Altherr and Aaron Nola and Tommy Joseph and Pat Neshek, could feel good about their first-half contributions. Jerad Eickhoff, who won his first start since Sept. 21, 2016, was not one of them. He missed three starts because of a back injury. When healthy, he pitched to inconsistent results.
But he tossed five scoreless innings against the free-swinging Padres, with eight strikeouts and just one walk. The performance lowered his ERA to 4.63 in 81 2/3 innings. It will boost his confidence for the second half, which will offer a test to see what kind of pitcher Eickhoff is.
The Phillies enter the break with a better feeling about their rotation. The starters posted a 3.84 ERA over the last 36 games (since June 1). Nola, along with rookie Nick Pivetta, have flashed the makings of rotation cogs.
Major League Baseball is on pace to shatter the previous home-run record set in 2000. But that power surge has not yet reached Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies entered Sunday with 83 homers, and only San Francisco had clubbed fewer (73). The team's .389 slugging percentage ranked 26th in baseball before Sunday's assault.
A mere nine innings against Padres pitching raised that figure to .395.
The Phillies had not enjoyed a three-homer game since June 5. That was the last time Herrera homered before his sixth-inning drive to right field. Herrera, in fact, had gone 51 plate appearances without an extra-base hit.
Altherr, arguably the team's best hitter this season, had not homered since June 27. But his .530 slugging percentage still ranks in the top 25 National League hitters.
That is a bright spot among the darkness.
