PHILADELPHIA _ Gabe Kapler could see the sunny side of Gotham City. Take him to Alcatraz in the middle of the night and he somehow would find a ray of light. But not even the ever-optimistic Phillies manager could paint a rosy picture earlier this week after yet another punchless performance from his hitters.
"There's no disputing that our offense is not clicking," said Kapler, who saw no point in wasting anyone's time with talk of competitive at-bats or other moral victories. "It's very clear that we're not getting a lot of hits. It's very clear that we're not scoring a lot of runs."
It was a long time coming, then, for the Phillies to finally break out Thursday in a 9-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies. With assembly-line efficiency, they churned out hit after hit and scored six runs in the final two innings, knocking out starter German Marquez, tacking on runs against tough lefty Jake McGee and pounding reliever Brooks Pounders.
In so doing, the Phillies won their first series since May 21-23 against the Atlanta Braves, taking two of three games against the Rockies.
The Phillies scored more runs on Thursday than they had since May 9 against the San Francisco Giants. They collected more hits (13) than they had since April 7 against the Miami Marlins. It marked the first time the Phillies reached double digits in hits since May 29 in Los Angeles and only the second time since May 17 in St. Louis.
Rhys Hoskins led the way with three hits, including a first-inning home run that gave starter Vince Velasquez a lead. Nick Williams also homered, one of his two hits. Carlos Santana, backup catcher Andrew Knapp and slumping center fielder Odubel Herrera notched two hits apiece.
Velasquez didn't give up a hit until there were two outs in the seventh inning. On his 105th pitch, he finally allowed an RBI double to Trevor Story that cut the Phillies' lead to 3-1. Velasquez stood on the mound and spiked the ball as Kapler strided to the mound to replace him.
The stage was set for the Phillies bullpen to have to piece together the final seven outs while preserving a slim lead. But the offense gave everyone, especially Kapler, a chance to breathe easier.
Six of the first seven batters reached base in the bottom of the seventh inning, breaking open the game and giving the Phillies a long-overdue offensive outburst.
