Coach John Mallee, shortens Crawford’s swing

Coach John Mallee, shortens Crawford’s swing

By Matt Breen The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News (TNS)
Apr 14, 2018 Updated 11 hrs ago

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Phillies gave J.P. Crawford a day off last week, telling the struggling shortstop to “work on some things.” Crawford had one hit in his first seven games and looked lost at the plate. Take some time, the Phillies said.

It is too early to say for sure, but that one day may have been enough to right Crawford’s season. He homered and doubled on Saturday in a 9-4 win over the Rays to continue a strong response to his slow start. Crawford has five hits in 13 at-bats since he spent his off day with hitting coach John Mallee, who put the shortstop through a drill to shorten his swing and keep his hands close to his body. Crawford has not looked back.

Crawford doubled in a run in the second as the Phillies scored six times in the inning to give Jake Arrieta an early lead. The right-hander allowed two earned runs in 62/3 innings. He recorded just one strikeout and walked two. Absence of strikeouts, Arrieta controlled the Rays with groundouts as he recorded 14 outs on the ground. He pounded them with his sinker and induced weak contact.

It was enough to give the Phillies their fifth win in a row and their seventh win in eight games. They have won three straight series and are three games above .500 for the first time since May 2016. The Phils can complete their second consecutive sweep on Sunday when the Rays try to piece together nine innings with their bullpen. The Phillies, like Crawford, have found their footing after starting the season with a challenging first week.

Crawford batted .043 (1-for-23) through his first seven games with a .127 OPS. It was not the way he intended to start his first full season in the majors. His homer Saturday was his second in three games. He has a 1.467 OPS over the last four games. He no longer looks lost.

His double in the second scored Scott Kingery, who had doubled in Nick Williams. Kingery doubled in another run in the fifth and already has six doubles. The Phillies are 5-0 when Kingery drives in a run. Cesar Hernandez, Carlos Santana, and Odubel Herrera added RBI singles in the third.

Rhys Hoskins drove in the sixth run of the inning on a fielder’s choice. He beat out a double play at first and collided with pitcher Chris Archer, who was covering first. Santana dashed for home and beat the throw, which sailed to the backstop. Hoskins was awarded two bases and the rally was extended. Archer, Tampa Bay’s top pitcher, needed 34 pitches to get through the inning as he faced 10 batters. A Phillies win felt secure by the time Williams ended the inning with a groundout.

 Two innings later, Crawford started the fourth with a leadoff homer against Archer. He crushed it 383 feet to right field, using that smooth, compact swing that he refined on his day off. The first week of the season made it easy to forget the potential Crawford has. He circled the bases and danced in the dugout with Jorge Alfaro as they mimicked each other’s moves in a rehearsed celebration. This was Crawford’s moment to savor. He had a day off to prepare for it.