Brandon Phillips hopes to continue success against former Red Harang
Aaron Harang put together a string of quality performances few expected from the 14-year veteran, but he finally stumbled his last time out against the Cincinnati Reds.
Whether Harang's poor outing was simply a bump in the road or something more alarming for the Philadelphia Phillies should become clear Tuesday night when he rematches with Cincinnati.
Harang (4-6, 2.45 ERA) enjoyed six consecutive quality starts in May and posted a 1.62 ERA in that span, while his 2.02 ERA entering June ranked eighth-best in the league.
That run came to an end Thursday with a 6-4 loss to Cincinnati (25-31) in which the right-hander allowed six runs, six hits and five walks over 5 2-3 innings with only one strikeout. He had gone at least six innings in 15 straight outings.
"I didn't feel as sharp," Harang, who pitched for the Reds from 2003-10, told MLB's official website. "I felt like I was leaving the ball up in the zone. My control wasn't as pinpoint as it had been. ... It's just one of those things you've got to rub it off and look forward to my next start against them."
Brandon Phillips had three hits off Harang in that contest and is batting .412 during an eight-game hitting streak.
Todd Frazier continued his hot stretch with three hits in the Reds' 6-4 win over the Phillies (22-37) on Monday. He's 7 for 13 with three doubles, four RBIs and three runs in the last three games.
Ivan De Jesus Jr. hit his first career home run and Zack Cozart also homered in the Reds' sixth win in seven home games against Philadelphia.
"It's not about my home run," De Jesus said. "The big thing is we won today. We're going to try to continue the same thing. We got a win today and we got a win yesterday. Tomorrow's a new day. We've got keep with the same energy and keep winning."
The Phillies have been unable to slow Billy Hamilton in four meetings this season. The center fielder stole his 25th base Monday, and although he is just 3 for 14 against Philadelphia, he has four steals, two runs and three RBIs in those contests.
Anthony DeSclafani (4-4, 3.60) bested Harang in last week's meeting and will try to win three consecutive starts for the first time. The right-hander had no strikeouts in that start for the first time in his career, but earned the win after allowing four runs in seven innings.
He owns a 2.77 ERA on the road compared with 4.85 at home, though he did beat Washington with six strong innings at Great American Ballpark on May 29.
DeSclafani has a 6.57 ERA in two starts against the Phillies.
Maikel Franco, who went 1 for 3 against DeSclafani last week, is 13 for 29 with four homers and eight RBIs during a seven-game hitting streak, which is one shy of the club high for this season.
