| Andrew Perna. 13th August, 2011 - 11:01 pm
 The Phillies gave up quite a package to acquire All-Star outfielder Hunter Pence from the Astros last month, but their calculated gamble has paid off thus far.
Since he landed with Philadelphia on July 30, Pence is hitting .327/.362/.558 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 13 games. Those numbers are better than what he posted in Houston over 100 games; he hit .308/.356/.471 with 11 homers and 62 RBI.
The addition of Pence and his bat has helped the Phillies win 11 of their last 13 games, but another reason for their recent surge is what his presence in the lineup has done for his new teammates.
Philadelphia averaged 4.2 runs before the All-Star break, but has scored 4.9 runs per game in the second half of the season.
Since acquiring Pence, specifically, the Phillies are scoring 4.8 runs per game.
Ryan Howard has benefited the most from the presence of Pence.
The slugging first baseman is hitting .320 with five home runs and 13 RBI since July 30, the first day Pence was in the lineup with Philadelphia. Prior to that, Howard was hitting just .246. Howard has raised his season average by nine points in roughly two weeks.
His numbers have increased despite an eye-popping 18 strikeouts and just five walks in 13 games.
As dangerous as Howard is, opposing pitchers cannot afford to pitch around him with Pence looming. In the four occasions in which Howard has been walked with Pence hitting behind him, the outfielder has singled, flied out, popped out and homered for three RBI.
Shane Victorino is not hitting in front of or behind Pence, but he has excelled directly because of the newcomer. He is now firmly entrenched as the No. 2 hitter again and has hit .360 with the new wrinkle in the lineup. The Flying Hawaiian was hitting .304 prior to the trade with the Astros.
While it is true that the sample size is small, the improvement has been vast for both Howard and Victorino. In the same breath, however, the remainder of the lineup has not experienced much of a boost.
Jimmy Rollins has seen his production remain steady, but Chase Utley is hitting close to 50 points lower since Pence arrived and his on-base percentage has dipped a bit as well. Raul Ibanez, who has been a disappointment this season, is hovering around the Mendoza Line since July 30, even though he is hitting behind Pence, who may not draw a ton of walks but has been on base often in Philadelphia.
No matter what the individual numbers look like, the Phillies are a better offensive team with Pence. The 63 runs they have scored in his 13 games are extraordinary when you consider that they tallied just 62 runs over a 22-game stretch that began on May 1.
This is all well and good as the Phillies cruise to the best record in baseball, but their success in October will be the ultimate indicator of the impact Pence has had.
The Giants have not been better with their deadline-addition, Carlos Beltran, who may be headed to the disabled list, but we all know one swing of the bat in the playoffs would erase any doubt surrounding his acquisition.
The opposite could be said for Pence should he not deliver in big situations two months from now. |
