PHILADELPHIA --
It was the first time the Phillies hit three homers in the first inning since July 6, 2009, when Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs and Chase Utley each homered against the Reds.\n\n“That first inning was pretty impressive, how hard we were hitting balls,” Kapler said. “Rhys and I were joking before the game, I said, 'Look, I know it is very difficult when you are hitting balls on a line and they are not finding grass or not finding the seats. It can be really frustrating.' And then when he hit that ball, I said I would have been frustrated had that ball been caught. Because that was as hard hit a ball to center field that you will see on a line. Absolutely smoked. I was really happy for him to have that.”\n\nDickerson’s second homer of the night, a solo shot into the second deck in right field in the sixth, extended the Phillies’ lead to 6-4. That ball was clocked at 108.3 mph, the Phillies’ hardest-hit ball of the night.
Dickerson will be a free agent after this season. He is making a case for the Phillies to keep him.\n\n“I’ve loved it here,” Dickerson said. “That’s out of my control, especially watching the free agent market lately. It’s pretty crazy. I just hope, ‘Don’t get a Minor League deal.’ No, it’s great. I’ve enjoyed my time here and I’m going to do my best to finish strong with these guys and compete and have fun and be a good teammate and all that stuff will work out.”\n\nThe Phillies must continue to hit if they expect to catch the Cubs, which showed when left-hander