Jeff Francoeur’s pinch-hit double with two outs in the seventh inning was the big blow as the Phillies salvaged one from the San Francisco Giants, 6-4, Sunday afternoon.
Francoeur came into the game to bat for lefty Odubel Herrera when Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy brought in lefty reliever Javier Lopez to face the heart of the Phillies’ order. But Ryne Sandberg’s countermove was the right call as the veteran Francoeur continued to drive in runs in the series.
Starting pitching
Sean O’Sullivan danced in and out of trouble to give the Phillies six innings. The righty allowed three runs on seven hits and a pair of walks with zero strikeouts.
Former Phillies’ farmhand Ryan Vogelsong pitched 6 2/3 innings, exiting with two on that came around to score on Francoeur’s pinch double. Vogelsong was charged for five runs on seven hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts.
Bullpen report
Lefty Elvis Araujo started the seventh but was pulled for Ken Giles — on Ken Giles T-Shirt Day — after allowing two of the three batters he faced to reach base.
Giles faced six batters in 1 2/3 scoreless innings, recording three strikeouts.
MLB
Jonathan Papelbon came on to pitch the ninth to notch his 12th save in 12 tries this season.
At the plate
With two more RBIs, Francoeur has six in the last two games and seven in the last four games. His grand slam Saturday gave the Phillies a puncher’s chance against Madison Bumgarner. Meanwhile, Francoeur is 8 for 22 (.364) with three extra-base hits and seven RBIs.
The Phillies also got long homers from Herrera in the third (his second) and Maikel Franco in the eighth (his sixth). Franco also doubled to set the table for Cody Asche’s two-run single in the second inning.
Additionally, Ryan Howard had a pair of hits, including a double off the wall in the third.
Freddy Galvis went 1 for 4. His single in the seventh started the game-winning rally and snapped an epic 0-for-31 streak.
Joe Panik had three hits with a double for the Giants, as they went 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 men on base.
Up next
After the game the Phillies head to Cincinnati where they will open a three-game series against the Reds on Monday night. The pitching probable for the series are:
Monday — Cole Hamels (5-4, 2.88) vs. Mike Leake (2-4, 4.40)
Tuesday — Aaron Harang (4-6, 2.45) vs. Anthony DeSclafani (4-4, 3.60)
Wednesday — Jerome Williams (3-5, 5.68) vs. Jon Moscot (0-1, 7.20)
Following the three games in Cincy, the Phillies move on to Pittsburgh for a weekend series and then Baltimore for two-game set.