Results tagged ‘ Angels ’

The Phillies will continue their trip to Washington, trying to win their second series in a row.

The Phillies (57-49) three games series with the last place Nationals (38-68) will continue tonight with a night game from Nationals Park. The game will began at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Jamie Moyer (9-6, 3.76), who is coming off a well pitched game that ended up as a no-decision against the Mets on July 24, as he pitched his ninth straight quality start, going seven inning, giving up only one earned run on two hits, in the Phillies’ 2-1 lost. He will be trying once again for his tenth win of the year while also going for his tenth straight quality start. Moyer has faced the Nationals already twice this year, with a 1-0 record, and a no-decision that the Phillies would win in extra-innings, as he pitch a combined total of nine and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs, three of which were earned, on sixteen hits. The Nationals will counter by sending to the mound Tim Redding (7-5, 3.98), who is coming off a lost against the Giants on July 24, where he went eight innings, giving up an earned run on seven hits, in the Nationals’ 1-0 lost. He has already faced the Phillies twice this year, with a 2-0 record, keeping the Phils scoreless in thirteen and a third innings on eight hits. He will be aiming for his third win against the Phillies this season, while trying to keep them scoreless.

The Phillies’ offense tonight will be trying to figure out how they can best defeat Tim Redding, who has so far this year have shut them out in over thirteen innings of work, especially after yesterday’s performance in which they did almost nothing against the rookie hurler, Collin Balester. The Phillies have better figure him out quickly, since it would appear that with the way the Nationals are playing right now, the veteran Jamie Moyer should have almost no problem dominating them tonight, unless he throws up a real harmful mistake or two. The offense, if it have a game plan to defeat Redding tonight, I would highly recommend that they follow it and try not to improvise. Otherwise, they are going to be in for a long and frustrating night tonight. After all, Redding is beatable, else he would not have had five loses this year. So, just figure out what Redding has done wrong in those five loses and use that knowledge against him. But remember, above all, one very important thing: He’s not Cy Young, he’s not Walter Johnson, he’s not Carl Hubbell, he’s not Dizzy Dean, he’s not Whitey Ford, he’s not Bob Gibson, he’s not Steve Carlton and he certainly is not Tom Glavine. Now get in there and beat the pants off of him.

The Phillies go into tonight’s game trailing the Mets by half a game and ahead of the Marlins by a game and a half, as the two teams prepare for the final game of their three games series in Miami. The fourth place Braves trail the Phillies by seven and a half games as they prepare to face St. Louis for the third game of their four games set. The Phillies will be hoping that the pesky fish will defeat the Mets tonight while they try to regain first place in the National League East, while at the same time hoping that the Braves, especially after their trade of Mark Teixeira to the Angels, will start fading from the pennant picture.

Edit: Looking at Beerleaguer.com, I’d just learned that against the Phillies, Tim Redding is 4-2 with a 2.34 ERA in eight career starts. Which shows that the Phillies has been able to beat him in the past. The offense will need to remember how they have done it in the past if they want to continue today and in the future.

The Phillies conclude Interleague Play as they conclude their first visit to Arlington, Texas.

The Phillies (43-38) finish their involvement in interleague play by playing the last two games of their first visit with the Rangers (41-40, 3rd American League West), both night games at Rangers Park in Arlington. The first game will start tonight at 8:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Central). The Phillies’ starter will be Cole Hamels (7-5, 3.27) who will be trying to end the Phillies’ present skid. He is coming off a hard lost to the Angels on June 22, where he pitched seven innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits in the Phillies’ 3-2 lost. He will once again be trying for his eighth win of the year while, as mentioned earlier, trying to end the Phillies’ present slide. His opponent will be ex-Phil Vicente Padilla (10-3, 3.74), who is coming off a win against the Nationals on June 22, where he went seven innings, giving up only two earned runs on five hits, in the Rangers’ 5-3 win. He has won his last three starts, going nineteen combined innings, giving up only eight earned runs on fourteen hits. He will be trying to make it four wins in a row, while hoping that the Phillies’ previous night’s scoring binge will not be the precursor of a resurgence of the Phillies’ offense.

The final game of the series will be played tomorrow night at 6:05 pm Eastern (5:05 pm Central). The Phillies will send to the mound the veteran Jamie Moyer (7-5, 4.09), who has lost his last start against the A’s on June 24, where he would pitch well until the seventh inning, thus going six and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits. He will be trying to break a personal two games losing streak and help see about getting the Phils back on the winning track. The Rangers will counter with Eric Hurley (0-1, 4.24), who is coming off a lost to the Astros on June 24, going six innings, giving up two earned runs on six hits, in the Rangers’ 4-3 lost. In three previous starts, he has taken a lost and two no-decisions. He will be trying for his first career victory, while hoping not to wake up the Phillies’ bat.

The Phillies are leading the Marlins by a full game as they start their game tonight with the Diamondbacks. The Mets are presently still three games behind the Phillies as they trail the Yankees in their game at Shea Stadium. The Braves are now trailing the Phillies by three and a half game as they have just lost their game with the Blue Jays. The Phillies will be trying to end their most recent slid and hopefully start a winning streak behind the pitching of both Hamels and Moyer.

The Phillies fall to the Rangers, 8-7, as Myers self-destruct after being given a four run lead.

The Phillies have now lost two games in a row as Brett Myers pitches himself out of the starting rotation after being unable to get anyone out in the bottom of the third inning as the Phillies lose to the lowly Rangers, 8-7. The Rangers would take the lead in the first as Ian Kinsler hits a solo home run off of Myers’ second pitch, his thirteenth home run of the season, to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Myers would seem to have settle down after that, while the Phillies were able to score some runs off of Rangers’ starter, Kason Gabber, in the top of the third. The inning would begin with Gabber being unable to find the strike zone, as he walks Eric Bruntlett. Jayson Werth would then get on base via a fielding error by Gabber, which would send Bruntlett to second base. Chase Utley would then get the second walk of the inning, loading the bases. Jimmy Rollins then follows with a ground out, shortstop to first, which would score Bruntlett, tying the ballgame at one apiece, while moving both Werth and Utley up a base. Pat Burrell is then intentionally walked by Gabber to reload the bases for him to face Ryan Howard. Howard would go down swinging for out number two. Pedro Feliz would then pick him out by hitting a grand slammer off of Gabber, his ninth home run of the year, scoring Werth, Utley and Burrell, while giving the Phillies what should have been a lights out 5-1 lead. The Phillies’ inning would then end with Shane Victorino grounding out. After being given such a big lead, most pitchers would then buckle down and go after the hitters. But that did not happen with Brett “I don’t like leads” Myers, as he would proceed to have a melt down on the mound in the bottom half of the third. Kinsler would greet him with a double, soon to be followed by an infield single for Michael Young. Josh Hamilton would then get an infield single off of Myers’ glove, loading the bases, with nobody out. Myers would then proceed to walk Milton Bradley, scoring Kinsler, and cutting the Phils’ lead down to 5-2. A second straight walk to David Murphy, which would score Hamilton with the Rangers’ third run of the night, would be enough for Charlie Manuel to watch as he comes out to replace a struggling Myers with Clay Condrey, and leave the bases loaded, as the Phillies now lead 5-3. Condrey would get Marlon Byrd to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to get two quick outs, while Hamilton scores on the play, to cut the lead down to 5-4 Phillies, with a runner on third, giving the Phils a chance to get out of the inning with the lead. But it was not to be, as Condrey would give up a two-run home run to rookie Chris Davis, the first home run of his career, to give the lead back to the Rangers, 6-5. The inning would finally end with Jarrod Saltalamacchia lining out to left. In the fourth, the Phillies would tie the game, as Chris Coste hits a lead off home run, his seventh of the year. The Rangers would retake the lead in the fifth, when, with one out, Bradley would hit a home run off of the foul pole for his sixteenth home run of the year. At this point, both teams’ bullpens would keep the game close until the bottom of the eighth, when, with Rudy Seanez pitching in relief of J.C. Romero, he would give up a RBI sacrifice fly to Hamilton, scoring Kinsler, who has earlier walked, and has moved to third on Young’s double, giving the Rangers an 8-6 lead. That would be the different, as, with the Rangers’ closer C.J. Wilson pitching in the ninth, he would give up a solo home run to Werth, leading off the inning, to make it an 8-7 Rangers’ lead. After getting the next two Phils’ batters out, Wilson would give up a double to Burrell and then a single to Howard, which moved pinch runner Geoff Jenkins to third, who was held there by the third base coach, instead of taking a chance of sending him home, since the ball has rolled off of shortstop Young’s glove, to tie the game. Instead, Wilson would finally end the game by getting Greg Dobbs to ground out, recording his seventeenth save of the year.

Brett Myers gets a no-decision as he self-destructs on the mound after pitching only two innings plus five batters, giving up five earned runs on five hits and walking two batters, which would end up being costly. This performance would appear to have finally taken Myers out of the starting rotation as Manuel has finally lost his patience with him. The questions now are, what are the Phillies going to do with Myers and how will this affect both the rotation and the bullpen? Clay Condrey would take the lost as he pitches two and two-thirds innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits. His record is now 1-1 with a ERA of 4.36. Ryan Madson would go an inning and a third, giving up only one hit. J.C. Romero woud follow him with a scoreless, hitting inning. Rudy Seanez would pitch an inning, giving up an earned run on one hit. Kason Gabbard would also pitch a no-decision, as he pitches only three and a third inning, giving up six runs, only one of which would be earned, on only four hits. Josh Rupe would get the win as he goes two and a third innings, giving up no runs on no hits. His record is now 3-1 with a 3.43 ERA. Frank Francisco would pitch a scoreless, hitless inning and a third. Eddie Guardado would pitch a hittless, scoreless inning as well. C.J. Wilson would pitch the ninth, giving up a run on three hits, recording his seventeenth save of the year.

The Phillies’ offense, inspite of actually scoring some runs, is still mired in its collective slump, as almost all of their runs would come in via the long ball, as the batters are still swinging at the pitcher’s junk, thus getting themselves out. To this problem is now added the confusion that will be caused by Myers’ final meltdown on the mound in the third inning after being given a four run lead thanks to Feliz’s earlier grand slam. No one at this point knows what is going on inside Myers’ head, as Manuel will now have to decide who to use in place of Myers for his upcoming start against the Braves in Atlanta next week, as well as for him to determine what to do now with both the rotation and the bullpen in general since it is obvious that unless the Phillies can bring up someone from within their farm system, the replacement starter will have to come from the bullpen (probably Chad Durbin), and no one knows if Myers will be working from within the bullpen, and how that will affect the rest of the National League leading bullpen. Thank you Brett Myers for creating this situation. I hope that you are proud of yourself.

The final interleague series between the Phillies (43-38) and the Rangers (41-40, 3rd American League West) will continue in Arlington, at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The game will begin at 8:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Central). The Phillies will be sending to the mound their ace Cole Hamels (7-5, 3.27) to end their present slide. He is coming off a recent lost against the Angels on June 22, as he would pitch seven innings, giving up only three earned runs on six hits, in the Phillies’  3-2 lost. He will be trying once again for his eighth victory while trying to avoid getting hit in this hitters’ friendly park. He will be counter by former-Phil Vicente Padilla (10-3, 3.74), who is coming off a win against the Nationals on June 22, as he pitched seven innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits, in the Rangers’ 5-3 win. This will be his first start against his former team. He will be trying to defeat his former ballclub, while hoping that last night’s game was not a possible precurser to a Phillies’ batting resurgence.

With the lost, the Phillies’ lead drop to a game over the Marlins as the fish defeated the Diamondbacks. The Braves are now trailing the Phillies by three game, back in a tie for third place, as they defeated the Blue Jays. The Mets are also three games behind the Phillies, as they spilt their doubleheader with the Yankees, dropping the night cap at Shea Stadium. The Phillies will once again try to break out of their collective team hitting slump and try to put some distance between them and the rest of the East before their day off on Monday.

The Phils go to Arlington, Texas to meet the Rangers, hoping to finally end their batting woes.

The Phillies (43-37) continue their nine games, three cities, road trip, with a weekend interleague play series against the Texas Rangers (40-40, 3rd American League West) in Arlington, Texas. The first game of the series will be played at Rangers Park in Arlington, and will begin at 8:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Central). The Phillies’ starter for tonight’s game will be Brett Myers (3-9, 5.51), who has just come off a lost against the Angels on June 21, where he would pitch six innings, giving up four earned on six hits, in the Phillies’ 6-2 lost. Myers has, along with several bad starts, been hurt mainly by the long balls this year, of which he has so far given up twenty-three. He has lost three of his last four starts, while the fourth one was also lost by the Phillies, in which he has been tagged for eight four-baggers in the last three. If he is going to win another game, he is going to have to not just throw more non-fastballs, he’ll need to stop throwing pitches into the opposing batters’ hit zone to avoid giving up any more gopher balls. He will be trying to get his fourth win of the year, while hoping that it won’t end up being another fiasco. The Rangers will oppose him with Kason Gabbard (2-3, 4.96), who is coming off a win against the Nationals on June 21, where he would pitch five and a third innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits, in the Rangers’ 13-3 rout. He will be trying to even his record as he face the Phillies for the first time in his career.

The Phillies’ offense, which has now lost five straight series will now be facing an American League team that can not be considered an elite ball club. The players should thus take this opportunity to try and be more patient at the plate, while staying aggressive on the base paths once they get on, to help shake things up. The players need to stop being a ballclub that’ll swing at anything that is thrown at them, as well as stop swinging at the first balls that are thrown at them during their individual at bats (That especially means you, Jimmy.). And they’ll need to be especially patient when they have men in scoring position. It would help the club if they can get up to batter’s box with a runner on either second or third and not end up either popping up or striking out. They’d been doing too much of that lately, and quite frankly, it needs to stop before it can get any worst. They should thanks their lucky stars that the rest of the division is at the moment playing just as lousy as they are, but they will need to get their present problems sorted out before they begin their three games series in Atlanta next Tuesday, as I am sure that the Braves will be wanting to get even with the Phils for that earlier sweep at their home ball park.

Speaking of the National League East, the Phillies presently have a two games lead over the Marlins, who will be facing the Diamondbacks for a three games set in Miami. The Mets trail them by three and a half games, as they take the subway for a four games series with the Yankees, including a day/night doubleheader today that will be played at both stadiums, the first of which has the Mets trailing the Bronx Bombers. The Braves trail the Phillies by four games, as they go to Toronto, Canada, to start a three games series with the Blue Jays. The Phillies hope that they can put some distance between themselves and the rest of the East before they once again play against fellow National League teams.

Edit: The Mets are now trailing the Phillies by three games as they defeat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium for the first half of a double header.

Kendrick throws eight shut out innings as the Phils finally end long losing streak.

Behind the four hit, shut out pitching of Kyle Kendrick, the Phillies are able to finally end their longest losing streak of the season at six games as they defeat the A’s, 4-0. The Phillies would score their first run in the top of first, when, with two men on base, and one out, Pat Burrell would hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Jayson Werth, who first got on base with a walk, moved to second on Chase Utley’s bloop single and then was part of a double steal which got him to third, to give the Phillies a quick 1-0 lead. The Phillies would increase their lead in the fourth when Pedro Feliz would hit a RBI triple off of both the left field wall and the back of A’s left fielder Jack Cust, which would score Burrell, who has earlier singled, giving the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Feliz would then score on a sacrifice fly by Chris Coste, making it 3-0 Phillies. The Phillies would score their final run in the sixth, when with two outs and a runner on first, Coste would hit a RBI single on a ball that was misplayed by A’s center fielder Carlos Gonzalez, allowing Shane Victorino, who has gotten on base earlier with a single, to score, giving the Phillies a 4-0 lead. That would turn out to be more than enough runs for Kyle Kendrick to work with, as he would go eight innings, giving up only four scattered hits to the A’s, and only getting into trouble in the eighth inning, after the Phillies have earlier blown a bases loaded, no body out, situation that could’ve blown the game wide open, in their half of the inning. After giving up a single to Kurt Suzuki and then getting Gonzalez to fly out to center, Kendrick would give up a single to Daric Barton, putting runners on first and second with one out. After a conference with Charlie Manuel, Kendrick would stay in the game, and unlike Moyer on Tuesday night, Kendrick would get out of the jam by striking out Mark Ellis on a called third strike and then getting Ryan Sweeney to ground out pitcher to first. J.C. Romero would then come in the ninth to redeem himself as he would quickly dispose of the A’s to end the ballgame.

Kyle Kendrick would get the win, as he pitches a brilliant game, going eight innings for the first time in his career, giving up no runs on four hits, striking out four and walking only one A. His record is now 7-3 with a 4.59 ERA. J.C. Romero would pitch a scoreless ninth, giving up no hits. Greg Smith would get the lost as he is only able to go five and two-thirds innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits. His record is now 4-6 with an ERA of 3.69. Chad Gaudin would go one and a third shut out innings, giving up two hits. Santiago Casilla would go an inning, giving up no runs on two hits. Andrew Brown would pitch a scoreless ninth, giving up no hits.

Speaking of Kendrick’s performance, Phillies Phollowers has noted in her post yesterday that Kyle Kendrick has been seen working on his pitches with the 45-years old veteran Jamie Moyer, who yesterday had the A’s stymied for most of the game until he finally ran out of gas in the seventh. Could it be possible that the old vet has given Kendrick some pitching tips and that Kendrick actually listened to him? If that does turn out to be the case, maybe Kendrick should start listening to him more. Heck, maybe Moyer should start talking to Myers? It certainly couldn’t hurt at this point.

The Phils’ offense was finally able to score more than two runs in a game for the first time since June 18. But they still blew several scoring opportunities when they could have scored even more runs, the biggest one coming in the eighth inning. With Casilla pitching in relief, Feliz would greet him with a single, his second hit of the night. Victorino would then get on base via a fielding error by shortstop Bobby Crosby, who threw away the ball as he attempted to force out Feliz, who would end up on third, giving the Phillies runners on the corners with nobody out. Victornio, with Coste batting, would then steal second, his nineteenth of the season, to give the Phillies two runners in scoring position. Coste then hits a grounder to the pitcher Casilla. After looking over to third and seeing that Feliz wasn’t going anywhere, Casilla would turn around to get ready to throw to first, only to see that Coste was already there, loading the bases. But, the Phillies would soon run themselves out of a possible big inning, as Eric Bruntlett would hit a grounder to the shortstop Crosby. This time, Crosby would be able to throw Feliz out at home, with Suzuki touching home plate, as Feliz did not immediately move towards home upon contact, while the others would move up a base, leaving the bases still loaded. The next batter, Werth, would then strike out swinging. Utley would then step up to the plate, the bases still loaded and two outs, already having a four hits night, breaking out of his personal slump with two singles, a double and a triple. But, he is still in a slump with runners in scoring position, as, on a 2-1 count, he lines out to Crosby, leaving the bases loaded. The Phillies’ offense still seem to have a problem bringing in men in scoring position, although some aggressive base running in the first would get their first run home as Werth would score on Burrell’s short sac fly, as his running for home would force center fielder Gonzalez to make an offline throw to home plate, thus allowing Werth to score. In the third, with two outs and with Utley on second via a double, his second hit of the night, Utley would be sent home on Jimmy Rollins’ single to right. A strike to home plate by Sweeney would keep Utley from scoring what would have been the Phillies’ second run as he is tagged out by Suzuki. The Phillies are being a bit more aggressive in the field, but the batters still need to discipline themselves if they are either going to get runners home with less than two outs, or with two men out, if they are going to stay in front in the East.

The final game of this three games interleague play series will be an afternoon game at McAfee Coliseum. The game will start at 3:35 pm Eastern (12:35 pm Pacific). The Phillies (45-36) will send to the mound Adam Eaton (2-5, 4.94), who is coming off an awful start against the Angels on June 20, where he would only go five innings, getting roughed up for six runs on twelve hits in the Phillies’ 7-1 lost. Before that, he have had five straight quality starts, although going 2-2 with a no-decision, which was won by the Phillies, during that stretch. Lifetime against the A’s he is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA. He will be trying to get his third victory while trying to continue the recent strings of good starts by the Phillies’ starters. The Athletics (42-35, 2nd American League West) will counter with Rich Harden (4-0, 2.44), who is coming off a no-decision against Florida on June 20, where he would go five and two-thirds innings, giving up an earned run on five hits, in the A’s 7-6 win. He has won his previous start against the Giants on June 14, going six scoreless innings, while giving up only one hit, in the A’s 4-0 win. He will be trying to get his fifth win, while hoping that he can keep the Phillies from regaining their potentcy.

The win puts the Phillies’ lead back to two games as the Marlins had earlier been crushed by the Rays, and keep their leads over the Mets and the Braves at four and four and half games respectively, as both teams have won their games. The Phillies will be trying to make it two wins in a row, as the offense tries to see if they can finally start driving in men in scoring position, before they head on to Texas to meet the Rangers for a weekend series.

The Phillies are three hit by A’s pitching as they lose, 5-0.

Just hours after shutting down the A’s, the Phillies’ offense is in turn shut down by the combine pitching of A’s starter Rich Harden and reliever Alan Embree, who together would give up only three hits and a walk, while striking out eleven, as they are shut out, 5-0. The A’s would take the lead in the first inning as Adam Eaton would give up a RBI double to Ryan Sweeney, scoring Mark Ellis, who has earlier walked, making it 1-0 A’s. A batter later, Sweeney would score on a RBI single to Jack Cust, just beating Carlos Ruiz’s tag, after having slid past home plate, giving the A’s a 2-0 lead. Sweeney would be taken out of the game because of a possible injury caused by the slide. The game would then becomes a pitchers’ duel between Eaton and Harden for the next six innings, as Eaton would give up only one more run, on Carlos Gonzalez’s second home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth, which would make it 3-0 A’s, while Harden would flirt with a no-hitter until the fifth, when Shane Victorino would get a two-out single and would later get a second single off of Harden in the eighth, but the Phils would otherwise be unable to get anything started against him. The A’s would then put it away in the eighth as they score two runs off of Phils’ reliever Tom Gordon. The first run would come in on a RBI double by Jack Hannahan, knocking in Eric Chavez, who has earlier walked, to make it 4-0 A’s. The final run would come in on a RBI single by Gonzalez, who would score Hannahan, as Victornio would commit a fielding error as he tries to bare hand the ball so that he could make a throw to the plate to try and nail Hannahan. But Victorino would then redeem himself as he throws out Gonzalez as he tries to move up to second on the error, tagged out by Chase Utley. The Phillies would attempt to score in the ninth, as, with two outs, Pat Burrell would get to third base with a triple. But it would be all for naught as Ryan Howard would then ground out to first for the game’s final out.

Adam Eaton took the lost in spite of performing a quality start, going seven innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits. His record is now 2-6 with a 4.86 ERA. Tom Gordon would pitch an inning of relief, giving up two runs on two hits. Rich Harden would get the win as he shut down the Phillies for eight innings, giving up only two hits while striking out eleven. His record is now 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA. Alan Embree would pitch a scoreless ninth, giving up just one hit.

The Phillies’ offense went right back to where they’d left off on Tuesday night, not doing anything right, only this time being worst as they didn’t really give themselves any time to wear down the A’s starter, as they constantly went after either his first, second or third offering. This seriously has got to stop, because it’s making the batters look stupid and it is allowing the opposing team’s pitchers to throw them whatever junk they want to, just as long at they know that the Phillies’ batters will swing at it. Come on guys, start practicing patience while standing inside the batter’s box again. SERIOUSLY!!!!

The Phillies (43-37) will now go to Arlington Texas, for a three games weekend series with the Texas Rangers (40-39, 3rd American League West). The first game of the three games set will be played in Rangers Park in Arlington, with a start time of 8:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Central). The Phillies’ starter will be Brett Myers (3-9, 5.51), who is coming off a recent lost to the Angels on June 21, as he is once again hurt by the long ball as he would go seven and two-thirds innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits, in the Phillies’ 6-2 lost. Myers will be trying to see if he can pitch another good game while not giving up any more gopher balls, while hoping that the offense’s bats will finaly wake up in the Texas heat. His opponent will be Kason Gabbard (2-3, 4.96), who is coming off his second win of the year against the Nationals on Jnne 21, as he goes five and one third innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits, in the Rangers’ 13-3 win. He will be trying to even his record, while hoping that the Phillies’ bats will continue to stay cold.

The first place Phillies are still leading the East by two games, as the Marlins were swept by the Rays, losing 6-1. Their leads over the Mets and the Braves are now three and a half and four games respectively thanks to their lost to the A’s. As they go to Texas to face the Rangers, the Marlins will begin a three games series with the Diamondbacks in Miami, while the Mets will face the New York Yankees, at Yankee Stadium for one game and Shea Stadium for three, for a four games series, including a day/night doubleheader at both stadiums tomorrow night, and the Braves will be meeting the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, Canada for a three games series. The Phillies will be hoping that they can bounce back and take out their present frustrations on the Rangers, before they take the day off on Monday, and then start a three games set with the Braves in Hot-lanta.

The Phillies lose their fifth game in a row as even their ace can not end their present slide.

The Phillies lose their fifth game in a row in spite of a good start by Cole Hamels as the Phillies’ bats are unable to get just one clutch hit as they fall again to the Angels, 3-2. Hamels would give up all of the Angels’ runs in the top of the second inning as he first gives up a RBI single to Gary Matthews Jr., scoring Vladimir Guerrero, who has earlier singled, and then moved to second on Torii Hunter’s ground out to first, giving the Angels a 1-0 lead. Hamels would then give up a two-run home run to Casey Kotchman, his eighth home run of the year, off of the Bud Light sign in right field, to make it 3-0 Angels. That would be all of the runs that the Angels would need, as Jered Weaver pitched well enough to keep himself out of any major trouble, although giving up a RBI single to Ryan Howard in the third, knocking in Chase Utley, who has earlier doubled, as he breaks an 0-24 slump, to make it a 3-1 Angels’ lead. The Phils would later cut the Angels’ lead down to 3-2 in the seventh, when with Carlos Ruiz on second, after getting on base with a walk and then moving to second on Pedro Feliz’s ground out, Jimmy Rollins would knock him in with a RBI double. But that would be it, as first Scot Shields and then Francisco Rodriguez would keep the Phils scoreless from that point, although the Phils would threaten to tie the score in the ninth, as Rodriguez records his thirtieth save of the year.

Cole Hamels takes the hard lost as he has a quality start, going seven innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits. His record is now 7-5 with a 3.27 ERA. Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge would each pitch an inning, giving up no runs apiece on three hits. Jered Weaver would get the victory, evening his record as he goes five and one third innings, giving up an earned run on four hits. His record is now 7-7 with a 4.56 ERA. Darren Oliver would pitch an inning, giving up an earned run on one hit. Scot Shields would pitch one and two-thirds innings, giving up no runs on no hits. Francisco Rodriguez would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on one hit as he records his thirtieth save of the season.

The Phillies’ offense would waste another good performance by one of their starters as they would get only six hits off of Angels’ pitching, as they are once again unable to get a clutch hit, inspite of Charlie Manuel actually shaking up the lineup to try and get something going. The Phillies were 1-5 on the home stand, battling from behind in all three of their games with the Angels. They will have the day off tomorrow as they get ready to head for the west coast to play the Athletics in Oakland for three games. The Phillies will be trying to figure out what they are doing wrong right now before they get ready to meet another good American League team on Tuesday.

With the lost, the Phillies (42-35) still have a full game lead over the Marlins, as they have just lost to the A’s in Oakland. Their lead over the Mets is presently three and a half games, as they have just defeated the Rockies in Denver. The Braves are now trailing them by four games as they’d defeated the Mariners at home. The Phillies will be heading to Oakland and try to figure out what they will now have to do to once again increase their lead in the National League East.

The Phils have lost four in a row as Myers’ nemesis sinks him again.

The Phillies have now lost their fourth game in a row, as well as their fourth straight series, as Brett Myers loses once again as he gives up three more home runs for his league leading twenty-first through -third home run as the Phils’ lose, 6-2. Two of the home runs that were given up by Myers went to Phillies’ killer Vladimir Guerrero. The first one was hit in the fourth inning, for his twelfth home run of the year to give the Angels a quick 1-0 lead. The second one would be hit in the seventh, for his thirteenth home run of the year, to make it 2-0 Angels. In between, Myers and Angels’ starter Joe Saunders would be involved in a pitchers’ duel, with Myers keeping the Angels’ bats off-balance with his curveball and change up, while Saunders would keep the Phils’ off the basepath. The Phillies would then tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, when, with two outs, Jayson Werth would hit his tenth home run of the season to make the score 2-1 Angels. After Chris Coste gets on base with a walk, Pedro Feliz would hit a RBI double, scoring Coste, tying the game at two all. Eric Bruntlett would follow with a single to center, but Feliz is held up at third by the third base coach, not realizing that Gary Matthews Jr. would bobble the ball in center field, nor that his throw towards home would be offline and then be cut off by the first baseman. Casey Kotchman would then throw the ball to second to cut down Bruntlett, who has been running towards second, believing that the ball has gone to home plate, who would then be tagged out by shortstop Erick Aybar. But, Myers would be unable to keep it tied in the eighth, as, with two men out, and a runner on first, would give up his third home run of the night, a two-run shot to Aybar, his second home run of the year, scoring Chone Figgins, who has earlier got on base with a single, making it 4-2 Angels. The Angels would then add a couple of insurance runs in the ninth, as with one out, Matthews Jr., who has reached base after being hit by the pitch, would score on a Juan Rivera fielder’s choice ground out, giving the Angels a 5-2 lead. Figgins would then hit a RBI single, scoring Jeff Mathis, making it 6-2 Angels. The Phillies would then attempt a comback in their half of the ninth as their first two men would get on base via walks. But the Angels would then send in Francisco Rodriquez, who would get the final three outs via a double play ground ball and a pop out, to record his twenty-ninth save of the season.

Brett Myers would take the lost as he goes seven and two-thirds innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits while striking out seven, as he pitches a good game until he ran into trouble in the eighth. His record is now 3-9 with a ERA of 5.51. J.C. Romero would pitch a third of an inning in relief, giving up no runs on no hits. Chad Durbin would pitch an inning, giving up two earned runs on one hit. Joe Saunders would get the victory as he pitches seven innings, giving up only two earned runs on five hits. Scot Shields would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Jose Arredondo would only face two batters, walking both. Francisco Rodriguez would go an inning, giving up no runs on no hits, as he records his twenty-ninth save of the season

The Phillies have now lost their fourth straight game and their fourth straight series as their lead in the National League shrinks down to one game. The offense seems to have been put on hold while Myers is still giving up gopher balls in the games that he starts which is killing him, despite him pitching a whole lot better than he has in his last few games. It seems to me that Charlie Manuel needs to call a team meeting and read these guys the riot act, just do something to get the bat smoking once again, else they are soon going to be seeing the young Marlins running in front of them and not following them in their rear view mirror.

The Phillies’ (42-34) weekend series with the Angels (45-30, 1st American League West) will end tomorrow afternoon. The game will start at 1:35 pm at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils will be sending to the mound their ace Cole Hamels (7-4, 3.23), who is coming off of his excellent outing against the BoSox on June 16, where he would pitch seven innings, giving up only two runs on seven hits in the Phillies’ 8-2 victory. He will be trying to end the Phils’ present four game losing streak as he goes for a team leading eighth victory of the year. The Angels will send to the mound Jered Weaver (6-7, 4.73), who is coming off a lost to the Mets on June 16, as he would pitch six and one-third innings, giving up six earned runs on eight hits, in the Angels’ 9-6 lost. He will be trying to even his record while hoping to keep the anxious Phillies’ bats quiet.

The Phillies’ lead over the Marlins is now down to one game as they won their game with the Athletics. The Phillies are still leading the Mets by four and a half games, as they lost to the Rockies. Their lead over the Braves is now down to five games, thanks to the Braves’ victory over the Mariners. The Phillies will be trying to regain their winning way while trying to leave for Oakland on a positive note.

Continuing series with the Angels.

The Phillies (42-33) will continue their weekend series of interleague play against the Angels (44-30, 1st American League West) with two more games at Citizens Bank Park, with one to be played tonight and the other to be played tomorrow afternoon. Tonight game’s will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Brett Myers (3-8, 5.58), who is coming off a no-decision which was a very bad start against the Cardinals on June 15, where he would only go six innings, giving up six earned runs on eight hits, in the Phillies’ 7-6 lost. Career wise, he has meet the Angels only once before, being 0-1. He will be trying to win his fourth start, while his fellow Phils hope that he will be able to regain his old pitching form. The Angels will oppose him with Joe Saunders (10-3, 3.06), who is coming off of a win against the Braves on June 15, where he would pitch seven and a third innings, giving up no runs on five scattered hits and striking out five, in the Angels’ 2-0 win. He will be trying to become an eleven game winner while attempting to keep the Phillies’ bat quiet.

The final game of the three games set will be played tomorrow afternoon, starting at 1:35 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ will send to the mound their ace, Cole Hamels (7-4, 3.23), who is coming off an excellent start against the BoSox on June 16, winning the only game in that series, as he went seven innings, giving up only two earned runs on seven hits, in the Phillies’ 8-2 win. That was his third straight quality start, while the Phillies are playing 10-5 baseball with him on the mound. He will be facing his second straight American League team that he has never faced before. He will be trying for his eighth victory of the season while trying to help his team leave Citizens Bank Park on a high note before their trip to Oakland to meet the Athletics. The Angels will counter with Jered Weaver (6-7, 4.73), who is coming off a lost to the Mets on June 16, where he would go only six and a third innings, giving up six earned runs on eight hits, in the Angels’ 9-6 lost. This will be his first start against the Phils. He hopes to even his record while trying to keep from being hammered for the second straight time by a National League team.

The Phillies’ inconsistent offense will be trying to get back to it winning form before the recent series with the Marlins’ as it tried to avoid losing its fourth straight series, while the Phillies hope that their starters will improve themselves by the All-Star Game in the middle of July.

The Phillies’ lead over the rest of the National League East is still two games after the Marlins’ lost last night to the Athletics. Their lead over the Mets is now four and a half games thanks to the Mets’ victory over the Rockies. Their lead over the Braves is still six games thanks to the Braves losing to the Mariners. The Phillies will be once again trying to increase their lead over the rest of the National League East, while they try to avoid having heir first four games losing streak, as well as avoid losing their fourth straight series.

The Phillies lose third game in a row for the second time this season as the Angels beat up on Eaton, 7-1.

For the second time this season the Phillies have lost their third game in a row as they are beaten up by the Angels, 7-1. The Angels would take a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Adam Eaton, after getting two quick outs, would give up a two-run home run to Vladimir Guerrero, his eleventh home run of the season, knocking in Garret Anderson, who has earlier doubled. The Angels would increase their lead to 3-0 in the second when Anderson hit a RBI single, scoring Chone Figgins, who has singled earlier. The game would then settle down until the top of the sixth, when the Angels would finally knock out Eaton. After giving up singles to both Maicer Izturis and Anderson, Guerrero would hit a RBI single, scoring Izturis, to make it 4-0 Angels. Eaton was then be taken out for Ryan Madson. After getting one out, Madson would give up a RBI single to Casy Kotchman, scoring Anderson and sending Guerrero to third, as the Angels now leads it 5-0. Madson then gives up a RBI ground rule double to Howie Kendrick, as the ball gets stuck beneath the fence in center field, allowing only Guerrero to score, as Kotchman is sent back to third, to make the score 6-0 Angels. All three runs would be charged to Eaton. The Phillies would finally score in the bottom of the sixth when Jimmy Rollins, who got on first on a fielding error by first baseman Kotchman, and then stole second and went to third on catcher’s Jeff Mathis’ throwing error, would score on Chase Utley’s sacrifice fly, making it 6-1 Angels. The Angels would add their final run in the eighth, when Mathis would hit a RBI double, scoring Kotchman, who has earlier doubled. That would be it as the Phillies’ offense was for the most part handcuffed tonight by Angels’ starter Erwin Santana and relievers Jose Arredondo and Justin Speier, getting only two hits the whole night.

Adam Eaton took the lost as he would only pitch five innings plus three batters, giving up six earned runs on twelve hits. His record is now 2-5 with a 4.94 ERA. Ryan Madson would pitch two innings, giving up no runs, although all three runners that he would inherit would score, on two hits. Clay Condrey would pitch an inning, giving up an earned run on three hits. J.C. Romero would pitch a scoreless, hitless inning. Ervin Santana would get the win, pitching seven innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and nine strikeouts. His record is now 9-3 with a 3.17 ERA. Jose Arredondo and Justin Speier would both pitch a scoreless, hitless inning in relief.

Adam Eaton’s string of quality starts ends at five while the Phillies’ batters were only able to get two hits, both off of Angels’ starter Ervin Santana. Chase Utley is now 0-23, although he would knock in the Phils only run with a sacrifice fly. The Phillies have now lost three games in a row, doing so for only the second time this season. Hopefully the offense will solve their present problems during tomorrow night’s game.

The weekend series between the Phillies (42-33) and the Angels (44-30, 1st American League West) will continue tomorrow night at Citizens Bank Park. The game will begin at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Brett Myers (3-8, 5.58), who is coming off a no-decision against the Cardinals on June 15, where he would only go six innings, while giving up six earned runs on eight hits, in the Phils’ 7-6 lost. Myers has been mostly ineffective this year, being unable to keep the Phils in games that he would start. The Phillies are hoping that he can solve whatever problems he is having so that they can have a chance to avoid losing their fourth game in a row. The Angels will counter with Joe Saunders (10-3, 3.06), who is coming off a victory against the Braves on June 15, where he would go seven and one third scoreless innings, giving up only six hits in the Angels’ 2-0 win. He will be looking to keep the normally explosive Phillies’ bats quiet for another game.

The lost would keep the Phillies two games ahead of the Marlins, who have just lost their game with the Athletics in extra-innings. The Mets are presently trailing the Phillies by four and a half games as they have defeated the Rockies. The Braves are still trailing by six games as they have lost their game with the Mariners. The Phillies will be trying to win their weekend series while hoping to increase their lead over the rest of the division.

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