September 2010

The bats came out to play as the Phils pounded the Marlins, 10-6, to remain a half-game ahead of the Braves.

The Phils scored early and often as the bats produced ten runs behind Cole Hamels’ shut out pitching as the Phils defeated the Marlins, 10-6. Their lead in the East remains at half a game as the Braves avoided a sweep at the hands of the Pirates.

The Phils took the lead in the first as, with two men on, and with one man out, Ryan Howard hits a two-run single, knocking in Shane Victorino, who had earlier doubled, and then stole third as the lead man in a double steal, and Chase Utley, who had just walked, and stole second as the back end of the double steal, giving the Phils a 2-0 lead, before going on to second base on the late throw to the plate. The Phils made it a 3-0 lead in the second as, with the bases loaded, via a double by Raul Ibanez, a walk to Carlos Ruiz, and then a throwing error by Wes Helm as he tried to throw out Phils’ starter Cole Hamels on a sacrifice bunt attempt, as both Ibanez and Ruiz moved up a base, and with nobody out, Victorino hits into an RBI ground out, 5-3, scoring Ibanez, while both Ruiz and Hamels would move up a base. The Phils added to their lead in the third as, with two men on, and with two men out, Ruiz hits an RBI single, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who had earlier doubled, making it a 4-0 Phils’ lead, while sending Ibanez, who had just walked, up to second base. The Phils busted the game wide open in the fourth as, with two men on, and with one man out, Howard hits a three-run bomb to left, his twenty-eighth home run of the year, scoring Placido Polanco and Chase Utley, who had both singled, with Polanco stopping at second base on Utley’s single, giving the Phils a 7-0 lead. The Phils then made it 9-0 in the fifth as, with the bases once again loaded, via a single to Hamels, a double to Victorino, his second in the game, with Hamels stopping at third, and a walk to Polanco, and with nobody out, Utley hits a two-run single, scoring Hamels and Victorino, while sending Polanco up to second base. They added to their lead in the seventh as, with two men on, and with one man out, Howard hits an RBI single, for his sixth RBI of the game, knocking in Victorino, who had earlier singled, and then went to second when Utley was hit by the pitch, making it a 10-0 Phils’ lead, while sending Utley, who had just been hit by the pitch, to second base. Meanwhile, Cole Hamels had pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up only four hits and a walk to the fish, while striking out five. The Phils’ bullpen then came unglued in the eighth, as Nate Robertson took the mound in relief of Hamels. After striking out the lead-off batter, Mike Rivera, swinging, Robertson then gives up a single to Emilio Bonifacio, who then went to second on a Robertson wild pitch. Logan Morrison then followed with a walk, putting two men on base. The next batter, Gaby Sanchez, then puts the Marlins’ on the scoreboard as he hits a three-run home run, his seventeenth home run of the year, knocking in both Bonifacio and Morrison, making it a 10-3 Phils’ lead. Dan Uggla then walks. Mike Stanton then follows by striking out, swinging, for the inning’s second out. The next batter, Wes Helms, then gets on base with an infield single, as he beats Utley’s throw to first, while Uggla would move up to second base. The Marlins then cut down the Phils’ lead to 10-5 as Cameron Maybin hits a two-run double, scoring both Uggla and Helms, with Helms scoring as Paul Hoover is unable to hold onto Ibanez’s throw to the plate, for an error, as he allows Maybin to reach third on the throw. The Phils then made a pitching change, replacing Robertson with David Herndon, who is then greeted by pinch hitter Scott Cousins, who hits an RBI double, scoring Maybin, to make it a 10-6 Phils’ lead. Herndon then finally ended the inning by getting Rivera, who had started the inning as the Marlins had batted around, to ground out, 4-3. That would be the final score, as Ryan Madson would end the game by striking out Uggla, swinging.

Cole Hamels gets the win as he pitches seven scoreless innings, giving up just four hits and a walk, while striking out five. His record is now 10-10 with a reduced ERA of 3.06. Nate Robertson pitches two-thirds of an inning, as he gives up six runs on four hits and two walks, while he strikes out two. David Herndon pitches two thirds of an inning, giving up a hit and a walk. Ryan Madson also pitches two-thirds of an inning, getting out both men that he would face, one by strike out. Andrew Miller took the lost as he pitches four innings, giving up seven runs on eleven hits and three walks, while he strikes out five. His record is now 1-1 with a 6.16 ERA. Chris Leroux pitches an inning, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out a batter. Jose Ceda pitches an inning and a third, giving up a run on two hits. Jay Buente and Burke Badenhop combine for a scoreless one and two-thirds innings, giving up two hits (one hit each), while striking out four (two batters each).

The Phils pounded out eighteen hits in the game, with every regular getting at least one hit. Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard both lead the team with three hits each, with Victorino’s hits being two doubles and a single, as he knocked in a run, while Howard’s hits were two singles and a three-run bomb, knocking in six runs. Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins (before he was taken out of the game because of tightness in his right quad) and Raul Ibanez next follow with two hits each, with Utley’s hits being both singles, knocking in two runs, Rollins hits being a single and a double and Ibanez’s hits being also a single and a double. Placido Polanco, Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz, Cole Hamels, Wilson Valdez and Ross Gload had the other six Phils’ hits, with Polanco, Werth, Ruiz, Hamels and Valdez’s hits being singles, with Ruiz knocking in a run, and Gload’s hit being a double. In the game, the Phils had six extra-base hits (2B (5), HR (1)). The bats came out to pound the fish in support of Hamels, giving him plenty of runs support.

The Phils (81-60 1st) have the day off today, before they begin a three-game series with the Mets this weekend (69-71, 4th). The Phils will be hoping that they will be in New York with a full game lead in the East, as the Braves tonight start a four-games series with the Cardinals in Atlanta.

The Phils return to first place in the East after winning a wild battle with the pesky Marlins, 8-7.

The Phils regain first place in the NL East, as the Braves once again lose to the Pirates, as they will a wild game with the ever pesky Marlins, 8-7.

The Phils took the lead in the second as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Jimmy Rollins hits an RBI single, knocking in Ryan Howard, who had just doubled, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Marlins tied the game up at one-all in the third as, with runners on second and third, and with one man out, Dan Uggla hits an RBI ground out, 6-3, scoring Emilio Bonifacio, who had earlier singled, moved up to second on Joe Blanton’s fielding error of Ryan Howard throw of a Logan Morrison’s grounder, and went to third on Hanley Ramirez’s ground out, 4-3, while Morrison, who was safe at first on Blanton’s error, and went to second on Ramirez’s ground out, would move up to third. The Marlins then took the lead as Gaby Sanchez hits an RBI single, scoring Morrison, giving the Marlins a 2-1 lead. The Marlins increased their lead to 3-1 in the fourth as, with a runner on third, and with nobody out, Brad Davis hits an RBI ground out, 5-3, scoring Cameron Maybin, who had earlier tripled. The Phils cut the Marlins’ lead to 3-2 in their half of the fourth as, with one man out, Raul Ibanez hits a solo home run, his thirteenth home run of the season. The Phils would tie the game up at three-all in the fifth as Shane Victorino started off the inning with a lead-off home run, his seventeenth home run of the year. Two batters later, with two men out, Howard gave the Phils a 4-3 lead as he hits a solo home, his twenty-seventh home run of the season.  Two batters later, with a runner on second, and still with two men out, Ibanez hits an RBI single, knocking in Rollins, who had earlier singled, and then stole second base, making it a 5-3 Phils’ lead. In the seventh, the Marlins cut the Phils’ lead down to 5-4 as, with one man on, and with two men out, Morrison hits an RBI double, scoring Bonifacio, who had earlier walked, before going to third on the late throw to the plate. But Chad Durbin got the Phils out of more trouble, as he would got Ramirez to foul out to Howard for the inning’s second out, and after walking Uggla to put runners on the corners, gets Sanchez to end the inning by flying out to right. The Phils then added to their lead in their half of the seventh as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Rollins hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Placido Polanco, who had earlier singled, went to second on Davis’ passed ball, then went to third on Chase Utley’s ground out, 3-unassisted, making it a 6-4 Phils’ lead. One batter later, the Phils made it a 7-4 lead as Ibanez hits an RBI triple, scoring Howard, who had earlier been intentionally walked. The Marlins then came back again as the Phils’ bullpen had a meltdown in the eighth. Mike Stanton lead-off the inning by hitting a solo home run off of Jose Contreras, his eighteenth home run of the year, making it a 7-5 Phils’ lead. Three batters later, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Bonifacio hits a single to right, sending Davis, who had earlier doubled, towards home, before he was stopped by the Marlins’ third base coach. But then, Jayson Werth tried to throw Davis out at third, making a bad throw, thus allowing Davis to score after all, making it a 7-6 Phils’ lead on Werth’s throwing error, while allowing Bonifacio to move up to second base. Contreras is then replaced with J.C. Romero, who then commits a balk, allowing Bonifacio to go to third, before walking Morrison, putting runners on the corners, with still two men out. Ryan Madson is then brought in to replace Romero, and then threw a wild pitch, which allowed Bonifacio to score the tying run, tying the game up at seven-all, while allowing Morrison to reach second base. But Madson then ended the inning by striking out Ramirez. The Phils regained the lead in their half of the eighth as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Polanco hits an RBI single, scoring Victorino, who had earlier singled, and then stole second base, giving the Phils an 8-7 lead. That would be the final score as Madson pitched the ninth, ending the game by striking out pinch hitter Wes Helms swinging.

Joe Blanton receives a no-decision as he pitches six and a third innings, giving up four runs, only two of which were earned, on six hits and two walks, while he struck out five. Antonio Bastardo pitches to one batter, giving up a hit. Chad Durbin collects his thirteenth hold of the year as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, walking a batter. Jose Contreras also collects his thirteenth hold of the season, as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up three runs, two of which were earned, on three hits. J.C. Romero pitches to one batter, walking him, while also committing a balk. Ryan Madson committed his fifth blown save of the year, before winning the game, as he pitches an inning and a third, giving up a walk, while he strikes out three. His record is now 5-2 with an ERA of 2.74. Chris Volstad also receives a no-decision as he pitches five innings, giving up five runs on nine hits and a walk, while striking out four. Brian Sanches pitches a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Jorge Sosa pitches an inning, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk. Jose Veras took the lost as he pitches an inning, giving up a run on two hits. His record is now 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA.

The Phils had thirteen hits in the game, with Placido Polanco and Raul Ibanez both leading the team with three hits each, with Polanco’s hits being all singles, as he knock in a run, while Ibanez was a double short of hitting the cycle, as he had a single, a triple and a solo home run, knocking in three runs. Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins all follow with two hits each, with Victorino’s two hits being a single and a solo home run, knocking in a run, with Rollins’ two hits being singles, knocking in two runs, one by sac fly, and Howard’s two hits being a double and a home run, knocking in a run. Carlos Ruiz had the other Phil hit, a double. The offense opened up to help overcome some defensive boners and several less then stellar bullpen performances to regain first place from the Braves.

The Phils (80-60, 1st) will conclude their series with the Marlins (70-68, 3rd) with a night game tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Cole Hamels (9-10, 3.18), as he is coming off a win against the Brewers on September 3, as he went seven shut out innings, giving up three hits and three walks, while striking out seven, in the Phils’ 1-0 win. In his last three starts, his record is 2-0 with a no-decision, as he pitched twenty-two strong innings, giving up only two runs on twelve hits and four walks, while striking out twenty-one. He will be trying to even up his record, while hoping to increase the Phils’ lead in the NL East. The Marlins will counter with Andrew Miller (1-0, 3.60), who is coming off a win against the Braves on September 3, as he pitched five innings, giving up a run on seven hits and three walks, while striking out six, in the Marlins’ 6-1 win. In his last three mound appearances, he is 1-0, as he pitched ten innings, giving up six runs, five of which were earned, on thirteen hits and seven walks, while striking out eight. He will be trying to give the Marlins a chance for a series split. The Phils will be trying to end their latest successful home stand with a win, and staying in first place, before heading off to meet the Mets for three, while hoping that the Pirates can end up sweeping the Braves.

The Phils split a doubleheader with the Marlins, losing game one 7-1 before winning the night cap, 7-4, as they cut the Braves’ lead in the East to a half game.

The Phils split a doubleheader with the Marlins, losing the afternoon game, 7-1, before roaring back to win the second game, 7-4, as they cut the Braves’ lead in the NL East to a half game.

In the afternoon game, the Marlins took the lead in the first as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Dan Uggla hits an RBI single, knocking in Logan Morrison, who had earlier walked, and then went to second on Vance Worley’s wild pitch, giving the Marlins a 1-0 lead, while Uggla would reach third on Brian Schneider’s throwing error, when he tried to throw Uggla out at second when he tried to advance on Raul Ibanez’s throw to the plate. The Marlins made it a 2-0 lead in the second as Chad Tracy hits a lead-off home run, his first home run of the season. The Marlins would then break the game open in the eighth as, with one man on, and with two men out, Mike Stanton hits a two-run home run, his sixteenth home run of the year, knocking in Uggla, who had earlier doubled, making it a 4-0 lead. The Marlins would increase their lead in the ninth as, with the bases loaded, via a walk to Wes Helm, a single by Emilio Bonifacio, with Helm stopping at second base, and Hanley Ramirez being hit by the pitch, with both runners moving up a base, and with one man out, Uggla hits a two-run double, scoring both Helm and Bonifacio, giving the Marlins a 6-0 lead, while Ramirez would stop at third. Three batters later, after pinch hitter Cameron Maybin is hit by the pitch, and is then pinch run for by Scott Cousins, and now with two men out, Stanton hits an RBI infield single, scoring Ramirez, making it a 7-0 Marlins’ lead, while moving Uggla to third and Cousins to second. The Phils would finally get on the scoreboard in the ninth as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Jayson Werth hits an RBI single, scoring Ryan Howard, who had just doubled, making it 7-1 Marlins’ lead. That would be the final score, though, as Rollins grounds out to end the game, 1-3.

Vance Worley gets the lost as he pitches five innings, giving up two runs on six hits, a walk and a wild pitch, while striking out five. His record is now 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA. David Herndon and Antonio Bastardo pitches one and two-thirds innings of shut out ball, giving up two hits (Herndon) between them. Chad Durbin pitches an inning and a third, giving up two runs on two hits, while striking out three. Mike Zagurski pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up three runs on two hits, a walk and two hit batters, while striking out one. Nate Robertson pitches a third of an inning, giving up a hit. Adalberto Mendez gets the win as he pitches six innings, before leaving the game with an injury in the seventh, giving up just one hit and two walks, while striking out six. His record is now 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Will Ohman records his seventeenth hold of the year as he pitches a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Jose Veras also records a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two. Jose Ceda pitches to three batters, giving up a run on two hits and a walk. Clay Hensley pitches a 1-2-3 inning.

The Phils had only three hits in the game, a single by Brian Schneider, a double by Ryan Howard and an RBI single by Jayson Werth. The Phils’ bats were unable to do anything otherwise.

In the nightcap, the Marlins took a 1-0 lead in the second as, with two men out, Stanton hits a solo home run, his seventeenth home run of the year. The Phils’ offense then struck back in their half of the second as, with the bases loaded, via singles by Rollins and Ibanez and a walk by Dom Brown, moving both Rollins and Ibanez up a base, and with nobody out, the Phils would tie the score at one-all as Carlos Ruiz walk, forcing in Rollins, while moving Ibanez to third base and Brown to second. Two batters later, the Phils took a 2-1 lead as Shane Victorino hits an RBI single, knocking in Ibanez, before Brown, who was trying to score, is gunned down by Stanton, 9-2, for the inning’s second out, while Ruiz, who had reached second on Victorino’s hit, would go to third on the throw to the plate. After Victorino steals second base to put runners on second and third, and with two men out, Placido Polanco hits a ground-rule double, thanks to a fan touching the ball as it went towards the third base seats, scoring both Ruiz and Victorino, to give the Phils a 4-2 lead. The Phils then took a 5-1 lead as Chase Utley hits an RBI single, scoring Polanco, before moving up to second on the throw to the plate. The Marlins got two runs back in the third as, with a runner on base, and with two men out, Ramirez hits a two-run home run, his twenty-first home run of the year, knocking in Morrison, who had just walked, making it a 5-3 Phils’ lead. The Marlins then cut the lead to 5-4 in the fifth as, with two men out, Maybin hits a solo home run, his eighth home run of the year. The Phils would get the run back in their half of the fifth as, with a runner on third, and with nobody out, Utley hits an RBI single, scoring Polanco, who had earlier tripled, making it a 6-4 Phils’ lead. Three batters later, with two men on, and with one man out, Ibanez hits an RBI double, scoring Utley, who had moved up to second base on an Anibal Sanchez wild pitch, giving the Phils a 7-4 lead, while sending Howard, who had earlier walked, on to third base. That would be the final score as the Phils would keep the Marlins’ bats quiet for the final four innings, with Brad Lidge collecting his twenty-first save as he strikes out Cousins swinging for the final out.

Roy Oswalt gets the win as he pitches seven innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out seven. His record is now 11-13 (5-1) with a 3.09 (2.30) ERA. J.C. Romero pitches to one batter, walking him. Ryan Madson collects his eleventh hold of the year as he pitches a scoreless inning, striking out a batter. Brad Lidge collects his twenty-first save of the season as he pitches a scoreless inning, giving up a hit, while striking out two. Anibal Sanchez took the lost as he pitches only four innings plus three batters, giving up seven runs on seven hits and three walks, while he strikes out two. His record is now 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA. Jorge Sosa and Jay Buente combine for four scoreless innings, giving up three hits (Sosa (2), Buente (1)) and walking two (one each), while striking out three (Sosa (2), Buente (1)) between them.

The Phils had ten hits in the game, with Shane Victorino leading the team with three hits, all singles, as he knocks in a run. He is followed by Placido Polanco, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez who all had two hits each, with Polanco’s hits being a double and a triple, knocking in two runs, Utley’s hits being two singles, knocking in two runs and Ibanez’s hits being a single and a double, knocking in a run. Jimmy Rollins had the other Phil hit, a single. Carlos Ruiz had the other Phil RBI, on a bases loaded walk. The Phils’ offense came out to score some runs for Oswalt.

The Phils (79-60, 2nd) will continue their four-game series with the Marlins (70-67, 3rd) with a night game tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and it will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Joe Blanton (6-6, 5.25), who is coming off a no-decision against the Rockies on September 1, as he pitched just four and a third innings, giving up six runs, four of which were earned, on ten hits and two walks, while striking out three, in the Phils’ 12-11 win. In his last three starts, his record is 1-0 with two no-decisions, as he pitched seventeen and a third innings, giving up eight runs, six of which were earned, on twenty-two hits and three walks, while striking out fifteen. He will be trying to get his seventh win of the year, while also putting his win-loss record on the positive side for the first time this season. The Marlins will counter with Chris Volstad (9-9, 4.82), who is coming off a win against the Nationals on September 1, as he pitched five innings, giving up six runs on nine hits and a walk, while striking out four, in the Marlins’ 16-10 win. In his last three starts, his record is 3-0, as he pitched nineteen innings, giving up nine runs on twenty hits and four walks, while striking out thirteen. He will be trying for his fourth straight win. The Phils will be out to take the lead from the Braves, if they lose again to the Pirates.

Sunday: Kyle Kendrick has had his latest bad start as the Phils lose to the Brewers, 6-2.

Thanks to the latest bad start by Kyle Kendrick, the Phils lost a chance to sweep the Brewers, as they lose to the Brew Crew, 6-2.

The Brewers took the lead in the first as, with two men on, and with one man out, Prince Fielder hits a three-run bomb to right, his thirtieth home run of the year, knocking in Corey Hart, who had earlier singled, and then went to third on Ryan Braun’s double, and Braun, who had just doubled, to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead. The Phils got back into the game in the second as, with two men on, and with one man out, Carlos Ruiz hits a two-run double, scoring Jayson Werth, who had earlier doubled, then went to third on Ben Francisco’s single, and Francisco, who had earlier singled, making it a 3-2 Brewers’ lead. The Brewers added to their lead in the third as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Hart hits an RBI double, knocking in Rickie Weeks, who had earlier singled, making it a 4-2 Brewers’ lead. The Brew Crew then made it 5-2 in the fourth as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Weeks hits an RBI single, scoring George Kottaras, who had earlier doubled. The Brewers would add an insurance run in the ninth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Lorenzo Cain hits an infield single and a catch error by Ryan Howard when he was unable to hold on to Chase Utley’s throw, allowing Braun, who had earlier singled, and then moved up to second on Casey McGehee’s single, to score, giving the Brewers a 6-2 lead. That would end up being the final score as John Axford would pitch a 1-2-3 ninth, getting Jimmy Rollins to end the game with a ground out, 4-3.

Kyle Kendrick took the lost as he pitches only four innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk, while he would strike out two. His record is now 9-8 with a 4.89 ERA. David Herndon, Antonio Bastardo and Chad Durbin would combine for three scoreless innings, giving up two hits (Herndon (1), Bastardo (1)) and two walks (Herndon (1), Durbin (1)), while striking out four (Herndon (1), Bastardo (2), Durbin (1)), between them. Scott Mathieson pitches an inning, plus two batters, giving up an unearned run on two hits and two walks, while striking out a batter. Jose Contreras pitches an inning, giving up two hits. Randy Wolf gets the win as he pitches six and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks, while he strikes out five. His record is now 11-10 with a 4.68 ERA. Zach Braddock records his eleventh hold of the year as he pitches a third of an inning, getting out the only man that he would face. John Axford records his twentieth save of the year as he pitches two innings, walking two batters, while striking out one.

The Phils had seven hits in the game, with Chase Utley leading the team with two hits, both singles, Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Jayson Werth, Ben Francisco and Carlos Ruiz had the other five Phils’ hits, with Rollins, Polanco and Francisco’s hits being singles, while Werth and Ruiz’s hits were doubles, with Ruiz knocking in the Phils’ two RBIs. The Phils’ offense still need to find some way to get itself started.

The Phils take advantage of a Brewers mistake as they come from behind to win, 5-4.

The Phils come from behind to defeat the Brew Crew as they take advantage of a Brewers mistake, giving Roy Halladay his seventeenth win, as they defeat the Brewers, 5-4.

The Brewers took the lead in the second as Prince Fielder lead off the inning with a lead-off home run, his twenty-ninth home run of the year, giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead. Three batters later, with two men out, Alcides Escobar gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead with a solo home run of his own, his fourth home run of the year. The Phils came back in their half of the second as Ryan Howard hits a lead-off home run of his own, his twenty-sixth home run of the year, cutting the Brewers’ lead to 2-1. The next batter, Jayson Werth, followed with a solo home run of his own, his twentieth home run of the year, tying the game up at two-all. The Brewers retook the lead in the third as Corey Hart hits a lead-off home run, his twenty-fourth home run of the season, giving the Brewers a 3-2 lead. The Phils retied the lead at three-all in their half of the third as, with a runner on second, and with one man out, Chase Utley hits an RBI single, knocking in Jimmy Rollins, who had earlier walked, then moved up to second on Placido Polanco’s ground out, 5-3. The Brewers took the lead again in the seventh as, with two men out, Corey Hart hits a solo home run, his second home run of the night, and his twenty-fifth home run of the year, giving the Brewers a 4-3 lead. The Phils then came back in their half of the seventh as they loaded up the bases with singles by Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz, and then a walk to pinch hitter Wilson Valdez, who was up to bunt, but did not move the bat, and with nobody out, Rollins hits into a force out, 5-2, wiping out Victorino at home, for the inning’s first out, while moving both Ruiz and Valdez up a base. Polanco followed by hitting a fly ball to left, for the inning’s second out, in which Ruiz ran home and beat the throw from Ryan Braun, scoring on the sacrifice fly, making it a four-all tie, while the ball went past the catcher Jonathan Lucroy, which then allowed Valdez, who had moved up to third on the play, to head for home on Braun’s error, beating Lucroy’s tag, giving the Phils a 5-4 lead. That would be it as the Phils’ bullpen put down the last six Brewers, with Brad Lidge collecting his twentieth save as he got pinch hitter George Kottaras to fly out to center for the final out.

Roy Halladay gets the win as he pitches seven innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out six. His record is now 17-10 with a 2.36 ERA. J.C. Romero gets his ninth hold of the season as he pitches a third of an inning, getting out the one man that he would face. Ryan Madson gets his tenth hold of the year as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, striking out a batter. Brad Lidge collects his twentieth save of the season as he pitches a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Dave Bush receives a no-decision as he went six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out five. Kameron Loe took the lost as he pitches to two batters, giving up two runs, one of which was earned, on two hits. His record is now 3-4 with a 2.87 ERA. Zach Braddock blew his second save of the season as he pitches an inning, walking a batter. Carlos Villanueva pitches a scoreless inning, giving up a hit, while striking out a batter.

The Phils collected nine hits in the game, with Carlos Ruiz leading the team with three hits, all singles. He was followed by Ryan Howard who had two hits, a single and a solo home run, knocking in a run. Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino had the other four Phils’ hits, with Utley, Ibanez and Victorino’s hits being singles, with Utley knocking in a run, while Werth’s hit was a solo home run. Polanco had the other Phil RBI with a sac fly, while the final run came in on Braun’s throwing error.

The Phils (78-58, 2nd East) will conclude their series with the Brewers (62-73, 4th Central) with an afternoon game, already in progress.

Cole Hamels pitches another gem as the Phils defeat the Brewers, 1-0, while cutting the Braves’ lead in the East to a game.

The Phils win Cole Hamels’ latest pitching gem. 1-0, as they cut the Braves’ lead in the NL East to a single game.

The Phils took the lead in the second as, with a man on third, and with one man out, Carlos Ruiz hits an RBI ground out, 6-3, scoring Shane Victorino, who had earlier doubled, and then went to third on Raul Ibanez’s ground out, 4-3, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Phils tried to increase their lead in the fourth as they loaded up the bases via singles by Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth and a walk to Victorino, and with nobody out. But Brewers starter Chris Capuano got out of the inning by first striking out Ibanez swinging for the inning’s first out, then getting out Ruiz on a lined out-doubleplay to second baseman Rickie Weeks, 4-unassisted, as he stepped on second base, beating Werth back to the bag to end the inning. Meantime, Cole Hamels, in spite of giving up two walks, had a no-hitter going into the fifth, before he gave up a single to Casey McGehee with one man out, before he is wiped out at second on a 5-4-3 doubleplay ball hit by Lorenzo Cain, before he ran into real trouble in the seventh. The Brewers started off the inning with a walk to Ryan Braun and then a single to Prince Fielder, with Braun stopping at second base, with nobody out. But Hamels then got down to business and got out of the inning by first getting McGehee to fly out to left for out number one, then he got Cain to pop out to foul territory to Howard for the second out on the infield fly rule, before finally ending the threat by getting Alcides Escobar to strike out, swinging. The bullpen then took over, getting out all six batters that they would face, with Ryan Madson nailing down his fifth save of the year by getting Fielder to fly out to left center field for the game’s final out.

Cole Hamels gets the win as he pitches seven scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and three walks, while striking out seven. His record is now 9-10 with a 3.18 ERA. Jose Contreras collects his twelfth hold of the season as he pitches a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two. Ryan Madson receives his fifth save of the year as he also pitches a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Chris Capuano picks up the lost as he pitches five innings, giving up a run on four hits and two walks, while striking out four. His record is now 2-3 with a 4.62 ERA. Kameron Loe and John Axford combine for three 1-2-3 innings, as they strike out two (one batter each) between them.

The Phils had a total of four hits in the game, singles by Placido Polanco, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth and a double by Shane Victorino, who would score the game’s only run, on an RBI ground out by Carlos Ruiz. The offense blew a chance to give Hamels a comfortable lead, but Hamels was able to buckle down and keep the Brewers off-balance.

The Phils (77-58, 2nd East) will continue their series with the Brewers (62-72, T-3 Central) with a night game tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils will send out their ace Roy Halladay (16-10, 2.27), who is coming off a lost against the Dodgers on August 30, as he went seven innings, giving up three runs on ten hits and a walk, while striking out four, in the Phils’ 3-0 lost. In his last three starts, his record is 1-2, as he had pitched twenty-one innings, giving up six runs on twety-four hits and four walks, while striking out fifteen. He will be trying to win his seventeenth start of the season, while hoping that the bats will once again give him some runs support. The Brewers will counter with Dave Bush (7-11, 4.71) who is coming off a win against the Pirates on August 29, as he pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out four, in the Brewers’ 8-4 win. In his last three starts, his record is 2-1, as he had pitched nineteen innings, giving up ten runs, nine of which were earned, on twenty-one hits and four walks, while striking out ten. He will be trying to out-pitch the Doc. The Phils will be trying to win the series while hoping to keep the pressure on the Braves in the East.

Phils hold on to win a wild shoot out in Denver, as they defeat the Rockies, 12-11.

The Phils, after trailing early, takes the lead after a nine run outburst in the seventh, before hanging on to win a wild on in Denver, as they defeat the Rockies, 12-11.

The Rockies took the lead in the second as, with two men on base, and with nobody out, Chris Iannetta hits a three-run home run, his eighth home run of the season, scoring Melvin Mora, who had earlier singled, and had moved up to second on Chase Utley’s fielding error of Seth Smith’s grounder, and Smith, who was safe on Utley’s error, giving the Rockies a 3-0 lead. Two batters later, with two men out, Dexter Fowler made it a 4-0 Rockies’ lead with a solo home run, his fourth home run of the season. The Phils cut the Rockies’ lead to 4-1 in the fourth as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Raul Ibanez hits an RBI single, scoring Jayson Werth, who had earlier singled, and then moved up to second on Ianetta’s passed ball. The Phils then made it a 4-2 Rockies’ lead in the fifth as, with the bases loaded, via Joe Blanton being hit by the pitch, then moving up to second as Eric Young, Jr. threw the ball away as he tried to forced him out at second on a Jimmy Rollins grounder, and then a single by Placido Polanco, moving both men up a base, and with one man out, Utley hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Blanton. The Rockies got both runs back in their half of the fifth as Carlos Gonzalez started the inning off with a lead-off home run, his thirty-first home run of the year, giving the Rockies a 5-2 lead. Four batters later, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Smith hits an RBI single, scoring Troy Tulowitzki, who had earlier walked, and then went to third on Mora’s single, making it a 6-2 Rockies’ lead, while sending Mora, who had just singled, up to second base. The Phils cut the Rockies’ lead back down to 6-3 as, with the bases once again loaded, via single by Werth and Ibanez, a 4-6 force out on a Shane Victorino grounder, wiping out Ibanez at second, a stolen base by Victorino and a walk by Brian Schneider, and with one man out, Werth scored as pinch hitter Mike Sweeney is hit by a pitch, while both Victorino and Scheneider moved up a base. The Rockies got the run back in their half of the sixth as, with the bases loaded, via a single by Chris Nelson, a bunt single by Young, Jr., moving Nelson to second base, and then a bunt single by Fowler, moving up a base both Nelson and Young, Jr, and with one man out, Tulowitzki hits an RBI infield single off of Antonio Bastardo’s glove, scoring Nelson, making it a 7-3 Rockies lead, while moving Young, Jr. to third and sending Fowler to second. Then in the seventh the Phils’ offense exploded for nine runs, taking the lead. The Phils made it a 7-4 Rockies’ lead as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Utley hits an RBI single, scoring Polanco, who had earlier doubled. After Utley moved up to second on a Joe Beimel wild pitch, Ryan Howard hits a two-run home run, his twenty-fifth home run of the year, making it a 7-6 Rockies’ lead.  One batter later, Werth tied the score at seven-all as he hits a solo home run, his nineteenth home run of the year. Three batters later, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, pinch hitter Ben Francisco hits an RBI single, knocking in Victorino, who had earlier singled, then went to third on Schneider’s single, giving the Phils an 8-7 lead, while sending Schneider, who had just singled, up to second base. Three batters later, after the Phils had loaded up the bases again, as Rollins hits a single, moving both Schneider and Francisco up a base, and now with two men out, Utley hits a grand-slam home run, his twelfth home run of the year, scoring Schneider, Francisco and Rollins, giving the Phils a 12-7 lead. The Rockies came back in their half of the seventh as, with one man on, and with one man out, Jonathan Herrera hits an RBI single, scoring Smith, who had earlier doubled, making it a 12-8 Phils’ lead. Two batters later, with runners on second and third, and with still one man out, Fowler hits an RBI single, knocking in Herrera, who had stopped at third on Young, Jr.’s double, and Young, Jr., who had just doubled, making it a 12-10 Phils’ lead. The Rockies made it a 12-11 Phils’ lead in the ninth as, with runners on the corners and with nobody out, Tulowitzki hits into a force out, 4-6, knocking in Fowler, who was earlier safe at first on Howard’s fielding error, then went to third on Gonzalez’s single, while Gonzalez, who had just singled, was wiped out at second. After Todd Helton is walked, moving Tulowitzki up to second base, Brad Lidge finally recorded his nineteenth save of the season by striking out Clint Barmes, swinging, before getting Ryan Spilborghs to hit into a force out, 5-unassisted, as he beat Tulowitzki to the third base bag.

Joe Blanton receives a no-decision as he pitches four and a third innings, giving up six runs, four of which were earned, on ten hits and two walks, while he struck out three. David Herndon pitches two-thirds of an inning, getting out both man that he would face. Antonio Bastardo gets the win as he pitches an inning, giving up a run on four hits, while striking out one. His record is now 1-0 with a 5.79 ERA. Chad Durbin pitches an inning, giving up three runs on four hits, striking out a batter. J.C. Romero records his eighth hold of the season as he pitches a third of an inning, walking a batter, Jose Contreras receives his eleventh hold of the year, as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up a hit and a walk. Brad Lidge records his nineteenth save of the season as he gives up an unearned run on a hit and a walk, while striking out a batter. Jhoulys Chacin also receives a no-decision as he pitches five and a third innings, giving up three runs, only one of which were earned, on five hits, two walks and two hit batters, while striking out three. Matt Belisle records his seventeenth hold as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, walking a batter and hitter a batter. Joe Beimel pitches to three batters, giving up three runs on three hits and a wild pitch. Manny Delcarmen blew his third save attempt of the season before taking the lost as he pitches a third of an inning, giving up four runs on four hits. His record is now 3-3 with a 5.48 ERA. Matt Reynolds pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on two hits. Rafael Betancourt and Huston Street pitches two scoreless innings, giving up a hit (Betancourt), while striking out two (one each).

The Phils had fifteen hits in the game, with Jayson Werth leading the team with three hits, two singles and a solo home run, knocking in a run. Placido Polanco, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino each followed with two hits apiece, with Polanco’s hits being a single and a double, Utley’s hits being a single and a grand-slam home run, knocking in six runs, one by a sac fly, while Ibanez and Victorino’s hits were all singles, as Ibanez knocks in a run. Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Brian Schneider and pinch hitter Ben Francisco had the other four Phils’ hit, with Rollins, Schneider and Francisco’s hits being singles, with Francisco knocking in a run, while Howard’s hits was a two-run home run. Mike Sweeney had the other Phil RBI, as it came in as he was hit by the pitch with the bases loaded. The Phils’ offense had a one-inning scoring outburst, after scoring one run for three straight innings to close the gap.

The Phils (76-58, 2d East) begin a three-game series with the Brewers (62-71, T-3rd Central), starting with a night game tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Cole Hamels (8-10, 3.31), who is coming off a win against the Padres on August 29, as he pitched eight shut out innings, giving up just four hits, while striking out six, in the Phils’ 5-0 win. In his last three starts, his record is 1-1 with a no-decision, as he pitched twenty innings, giving up seven runs on sixteen hits and two walks, while striking out thirteen. Hamels will be trying for his second straight win, while hoping that the offense will continue to score runs for him. The Brewers will counter with Chris Capuano (2-2, 5.06), who is coming off a no-decision against the Pirates on August 28, as he went three innings, giving up six runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out five, in the Brewers’ 8-7 win. In his last three appearances, his record is 1-0 with a no-decison, as he pitched seven and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out nine. He will be trying to recover from his outing against the Pirates. The Phils will be out to win their last series against a non-Eastern Division rival.

The Phils leave L.A. after two straight drubbings of the Dodgers, winning by scores of 8-4 and 5-1.

The Phils leave L.A. with the bats seeming to be back, as they pound the Dodgers by the scores of 8-4 and 5-1.

On Tuesday, the Dodgers took the lead in the first as, with the bases loaded, via a double to Scott Podsednik, Jamey Carroll being hit by the pitch, and a single by Matt Kemp, moving both Podsednik and Carroll up a base, and with one man out, James Loney had an RBI walk, scoring Podsednik, while moving both Carroll and Kemp up a base. The Phils took the lead in the second as, with two men on base, and with one man out, Brian Schneider hits a three-run home run, his fourth home run of the season, knocking in Jayson Werth, who had earlier doubled, and Shane Victorino, who has just walked, giving the Phils a 3-1 lead. The Phils added to their lead in the third as, with runners on the corners, and with nobody out, Ryan Howard hits a three-run home run of his own, his twenty-fourth home run of the year, knocking in Placido Polanco, who had earlier singled, and then went to third on Chase Utley’s single, and Utley, who had just singled, making it a 6-1 Phils’ lead. The Dodgers cut the Phils’ lead to 6-2 in the fifth as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Carroll hits an RBI ground out, 6-3, scoring Rod Barajas, who had earlier singled, went to second on Kenley Jansen’s single, and then went to third on Podsednik’s force out, 4-6, wiping out Jansen’s at second base for the inning’s first out, to make it a 6-2 Phils’ lead, while sending Podsednik, who was safe at first on the force out, up to second base. The Dodgers then cut the Phils’ lead down to 6-4 in the sixth as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Loney hits a two-run home run, his ninth home run of the season, knocking in Kemp, who had earlier singled. The Phils regain the two runs in the seventh as, with the bases loaded, via walks to Howard and Werth, the two moving up to third and second respectively on Raul Ibanez’s ground out, 4-3, and a intentional walk to Victorino, and with two men out, pinch hitter Carlos Ruiz hits a two-run single, scoring both Howard and Werth, making it an 8-4 Phils’ lead, while sending Victorino up to second base. That would be the final score as Brad Lidge pitches a 1-2-3 ninth, getting pinch hitter Jay Gibbons to end the game by grounding out, 4-3. 

Kyle Kendrick gets the win as he pitches five innings plus two batters, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk. His record is now 9-7 with a 4.72 ERA. Chad Durbin records his twelfth hold of the year as he pitches an inning, giving up a hit. J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge combine for three 1-2-3 innings, striking out a batter (Madson) between them. Carlos Monasterios took the lost as he pitches two innings plus two batters, giving up five runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out a batter. His record is now 3-5 with a 4.02 ERA. Ramon Troncoso pitches three innings, giving up a run on two hits and a walk, while striking out a batter. Jeff Weaver pitches a scoreless inning, walking a batter. George Sherrill pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on three walks. Jonathan Broxton pitches an inning and a third, giving up two hits, while striking out three. Octavio Dotel pitches a scoreless inning, walking two batters.

The Phils had nine hits in the game, with Placido Polanco and Chase Utley both leading the team with two hits each, all singles, with both man scoring a run. Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, Brian Schneider and pitch hitter Carlos Ruiz had the other seven Phils’ hits, with Howard and Schneider’s hits being three-run home runs, Werth and Ibanez’s hits being doubles, and Ruiz’s hit being a pinch hit two-run single.

On Wednesday, the Phils a quick 1-0 lead as, on a 1-0 fastball, Jimmy Rollins hits a lead-off home run, his seventh home run of the season. The Phils then made it 2-0 in the second as Victorino hits a lead-off home run of his own, his sixteenth home run of the year. That would be more than enough for Phils’ starter Roy Oswalt to work with, as he would have a no-hitter going for five and two-third innings, until it was broken up in the sixth by Casey Blake with a single, who moved to second Loney, who had earlier walked. Oswalt would end the threat by getting Ronnie Belliard to pop out to the second baseman. The Phils then added to their lead in the seventh as, with one man on, and with two men out, Utley hits an RBI double, scoring Rollins, who had earlier walked, and then stole second base, giving the Phils a 3-0 lead. The Dodgers got a run back in the eighth as, with two men on, and with one man out, Loney hits an RBI single, scoring Carroll, who had earlier singled, then moved to second on Rollins’ fielding error of Kemp’s grounder, making it a 3-1 Phils’ lead, while sending Kemp, who was safe at first on Rollins’ error, to second base. The Phils got the runs back in the ninth as, with a runner on second, and with one man out, Rollins hits an RBI single, scoring pinch hitter Dom Brown, who had earlier hit a ground-rule double, giving the Phils a 4-1 lead, before he went to second base on the late throw to home plate. One batter later, the Phils took a 5-1 lead as UItley hit a ground-rule double, scoring Rollins. That would be the final score as Brad Lidge pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out Podsednik swinging to end the game.

Roy Oswalt gets the win as he pitches six and one-third scoreless innings, giving up a hit and six walks, while striking out six. His record is now 10-13 (4-1) with a 3.01 (1.89) ERA. J.C. Romero records his seventh hold of the year as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, getting out the two men that he would face. Ryan Madson gets his ninth hold of the season as he pitches an inning, giving up an unearned run on two hits. Brad Lidge pitches an inning, giving up a walk, while striking out two. Clayton Kershaw gets the lost as he pitches six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out eleven. His record is now 11-9 with a 3.01 ERA. Kenley Jansen pitches an inning, giving up a run on a hit and two walks, while striking out two. Ronald Belisario pitches an inning and a third, giving up a run on two hits, striking out a batter. Hong-Chih Huo pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up a run on two hits.

The Phils had ten hits in the game, with Chase Utley leading the team with three hits, all doubles, knocking in two runs. He was followed by Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, who both had two hits, both having a single and a solo home run, with Rollins knocking in two runs and Victorino one. Placido Polanco, Ryan Howard and pinch hitter Dom Brown had the other three Phils’ hits, with Polanco’s hit being a single and Howard and Brown’s hits being doubles. The offense appears to be coming alive.

The Phils (75-58, 4th East) with conclude their road trip with a one game stop in Denver against the Rockies (69-63, 3rd West) to play a make up game for an earlier rain out. The game will be played at Coors Field and will begin at 7:10 pm Eastern (5:10 pm Mountain). The Phils will send to the mound Joe Blanton (6-6, 5.15), who is coming off a win against the Padres on August 28, as he pitched six innings, giving up a run on six hits and a walk, while striking out three, in the Phils’ 3-1 win. In his last three stars, he is 2-0 with a no-decision, as he pitched nineteen and a third innings, giving up four runs on twenty hits and a walk, while striking out nineteen. He will be shooting for his seventh win of the season, while trying to keep the Rockies under control. The Rockies will counter with Jhoulys Chacin (7-9, 3.79), who is coming off a win against the Dodgers on August 28, as he pitched seven innings, giving up a run on four hits and four walks, while striking out seven. In his last three starts, his record is 2-1, as he pitched nineteen and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs on twelve hits and ten walks, while striking out twenty. He will be trying to end the Phils’ trip on a low note. The Phils plan to end the road trip on a high note, with the bats finally coming out to play.

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