PHILADELPHIA � Two months ago, the Phillies were in Minnesota and Cesar Hernandez was banished to the bench.
Manager Pete Mackanin summoned his henchman. Larry Bowa, the 70-year-old bench coach, accompanied Hernandez to a batting cage. Get on top of the ball, Bowa told him. Hit it on the ground. Keep it out of the air.
Hernandez, as Mackanin remembered it, smiled at Bowa. The second baseman thought the fiery baseball lifer was kidding. Bowa made his point a little clearer in uncertain terms.
"It was," Mackanin said, "a little tough love Larry gave him."
In a 4-2 win Saturday over St. Louis at Citizens Bank Park, Hernandez yet again paced the offense. He started the game with a solo homer to right. He singled in the second and then doubled in the fifth, which led to the eventual winning run.
There were plenty of heroes in a crisp win: Jeremy Hellickson became the first Phillies starter in 22 games to throw seven innings. Maikel Franco scored a run and drove in another. Aaron Altherr clubbed his fourth homer. Jeanmar Gomez atoned for Friday with his 33rd save.
But Hernandez impressed most. The 26-year-old Venezuelan qualifies as the most maddening player on an incomplete roster. Scouts have long admired his sweet, switch-hitting swing. But he often lacks basic baseball instincts, especially while on the bases. Now a veteran of 345 major-league games, he has never been a consistent player.
For the last two months, he has forced the Phillies to rethink what they know about him. Hernandez is hitting .359 with a .433 on-base percentage and .478 slugging percentage in 208 plate appearances since June 23. He did not play June 21 or 22, while Mackanin publicly threatened to reduce his playing time and Bowa tormented him in the cage.
All he has done is safely reach base in each of his last 24 starts. With a relaxed approach _ and a focus of hitting the ball on the ground _ Hernandez has enjoyed an uptick in power.
When he tried to hit the ball in the air, he made weak contact that resulted in lazy flies. A ground ball approach has translated to better contact and more comfort. He is hitting line drives. And, in the span of four days, he has doubled his season homer total (from two to four). He leads the majors with nine triples.
But the larger sample invokes frustration. If Hernandez is to be an everyday player in 2017, he must limit his mistakes. The mental ones are glaring. His .758 OPS this season, while a huge improvement from previous seasons and a slow first two months of 2016, is still below the .768 clip for a league-average second baseman.
The pitching made Hernandez's hits matter. Hellickson, who went nine days between starts because of back stiffness, was the first Phillies starter to last seven innings since July 26, when Jerad Eickhoff did it. The stretch of 21 games without a seven-inning outing is believed to be the longest in franchise history.
The veteran Hellickson pitched one of his better games in a season full of them. He struck out eight Cardinals and walked just one. The only runs he allowed were on an opposite-field homer to left by Jeremy Hazelbaker, a ball aided by the summer air and friendly Citizens Bank Park dimensions.
Hellickson's ERA is 3.60, the lowest it has been since April 14.
After Bowa drilled Hernandez in June, Mackanin remembered how during a subsequent practice session the second baseman chopped every ball right into the ground.
"Like, _ you, Larry," Mackanin said. "One of those deals." But then Hernandez legged out some infield hits. His confidence in the strategy rose.
"Hopefully, we'll see him continue that throughout the rest of the season," Mackanin said. "And if he does, he's really made a great adjustment."
