It’s possible that the Phillies’ offense was bound to get hot at some point, and it is merely coincidental that it happened as soon as former hitting coach John Mallee was fired. But where’s the fun in saying that? It’s much more exciting to credit the resurgence to the switch from Mallee to Charlie Manuel. Either way, the Phillies continued to hit well, and topped the Padres by a score of 8-4 on Friday night.
Bryce Harper has hogged the headlines recently (that’s what tends to happen when you hit a majestic game-winning grand slam), and sure enough, he had another big blast on Friday.