Results tagged ‘ Blue Jays ’
The Phils have just announced that ex-Phil Mickey Morandini will manage their Class-A team.
Ex-Phil Morandini to manage Class A affiliate
By Todd Zolecki / MLB.com
Looks like the team has gotten their man again. Welcome back to the red pinstripes, Mick. Hope you’ll do well running the team in Williamsport.
PHILADELPHIA — Mickey Morandini is back with the Phillies.
He told The Northwest Indiana Times on Thursday he will be the Class A Williamsport manager next season. Morandini had talked during Spring Training in Clearwater, Fla., about coaching professionally in the near future.
Morandini — fans still can hear Harry Kalas drawing out the second baseman’s name during broadcasts — had been the baseball coach at Valparaiso High School in Indiana.
“I’m gonna miss it. I had fun. I really enjoyed working with the kids,” Morandini told the newspaper. “But this is an opportunity to do some good things at the professional level, and it’s something I couldn’t pass up. I’m excited about it. I know the owner and GM very well. It’s a great family-owned organization that’s always taken care of its past players. Its Minor League system is very well-run. I’m excited to be a part of it again.”
Morandini said the Phillies had contacted him about coaching every year since he retired from playing in 2000. “I love to manage,” Morandini said. “I love all the little things that go into teaching kids. Hopefully, I can work my way up through the system kind of like ‘Ryno’ [Ryne Sandberg] and get back to the big leagues some day.”
Morandini played 11 seasons in the big leagues, including nine seasons (1990-97 and 2000) with Philadelphia. He made the National League All-Star team in 1995, and hit .268 in his career with the Phillies, Cubs and Blue Jays.
H/T Phillies.com
Samuel? Check! Sandberg? Check! Morandini? Check! Three fan favorites back in the fold. Here’s to wishing them well in their new positions in the organization, and hoping that the Phils’ management (I’m looking at you, junior) will be doing something this late fall/winter that will help the main ball club.
Doc Halladay has won the 2010 NL Cy Young Award, receiving all 32 first place votes.
The BBWAA have just announced that Roy Halladay was voted the National League Cy Young Award, becoming the fifth pitcher to win the award as a pitcher in both league, as he had won the award in 2003 while pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays, joining Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens.
Roy received all 32 first-place votes for a total of 224 points, beating out Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals, who had received 28 second-place votes, for a total of 122 votes, and Ubaldo Jiminez, who ended third with 90 votes, including 4 second-place votes.
Roy won the votes by going 21-10 as he pitched in 33 games, all starts, as he finished first, second or third in several categories, including finishing first with the most wins in the NL (21), most complete games (9), shutouts (4) and innings pitched (250 2/3), while he finished second in strikeouts (219), behind Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, and third in ERA (2.44), behind Josh Johnson of the Florida Marlins and Wainwright. He also pitched the 20th perfect game in MLB History as he threw a no-no against the Marlins on May 29, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, as he pitched the Phils to a 1-0 win.
Halladay became the fourth Phil to win the award, following four-time winner Hall of Famer Steve Carlton (1972, 1977, 1980, 1982), John Denny (1983), and Steve Bedrosian (1987).
Congratulations, Doc. You deserve this win.
The Phils have hired Juan Samuel as their new third base coach. Huh?!?
Samuel joins Phillies as third-base coach
By Todd Zolecki / MLB.com
Wait, I thought that he was going for Davey Lopes’ job???
PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies announced on Thursday they have hired Juan Samuel to be their third-base coach and outfield instructor.
Sam Perlozzo, who served as the team’s third-base coach the previous two seasons, will move from third to first base and handle the club’s baserunning instruction. The Phillies hired Samuel because Davey Lopes, who handled the team’s outfield and baserunning duties as first-base coach the previous four seasons, left the organization following a stalemate during contract negotiations.
Samuel and Perlozzo join pitching coach Rich Dubee, hitting coach Greg Gross, bench coach Pete Mackanin and bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer on the 2011 coaching staff.
“I feel fortunate that we were able to add someone of Juan’s stature to our coaching staff,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said in a statement. ”He was a tremendous Major League player and a big part of Phillies history, and I’m looking forward to him passing on his knowledge of the game to our players. He’s a great addition to our organization.”
There were indications Samuel would return to Baltimore next season as its third-base coach, but the sides never finalized a deal, and the Phillies wooed him to Philadelphia.
Samuel, 49, was the Orioles’ third-base coach from 2007-10. He also served as interim manager this season after the Orioles dismissed Dave Trembley. Samuel also served as a first- and third-base coach with the Detroit Tigers (1999-2005).
Samuel, a three-time National League All-Star, played with the Phillies from 1983-89 and was inducted into the organization’s Wall of Fame in 2008. He hit .259 with 161 home runs, 703 RBIs and 396 stolen bases in 1,720 games for the Phillies, Mets, Dodgers, Royals, Reds, Tigers and Blue Jays.
He is the 34th man in franchise history to both play and coach for the Phillies.
H/T Phillies.com
Okay. Let me get this straight: Juan is joining the staff to replace Davey Lopes, but, he is going to be the team’s third-base, not first-base, coach, and will also work with the outfielders, while Sam Perlozzo will now become the team’s first-base coach and will be handling the baserunning duties?!? Anyone else besides me confused by this arrangement? Okay, guys, you better know what you’re doing since I think Juan should be the one handling the baserunning duties and vice versa. I’ll guess we’ll all see how it works out during the ’11 season.
With that said, welcome back, Juan.
The Phils gets off to a bad start as they lose a close one to the Pirates, 3-2.
The Phils starts off their four-games set with the Bucos on a bad note as they lose a close one to the Pirates, 3-2.
The Pirates took the lead in the second as, with two men on base, and with one man out, Bobby Crosby hits an RBI single, scoring Lastings Milledge, who had earlier singled, and then moved up to second on Ryan Doumit’s walk, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead, while sending Doumit, who had just walked, on to third. The Phils tied it up at one-all in the third as Wilson Valdez hits a lead-off home run, his fourth home run of the season. The Pirates regain the lead in their half of the third as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Pedro Alvarez hits an RBI double, scoring Jose Tabata, who had just walked, to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead. The Pirates then added to their lead in the fourth as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Tabata hits an RBI single, knocking in Andy LaRoche, who had earlier singled, and then went to second base on Daniel McCutchen’s sacrifice bunt, 2-4, making it a 4-1 Pirates’ lead. The Phils cut down the Pirates’ lead in the fifth as, with a runner on base, and with two men out, Shane Victorino, who had earlier singled and then stole second base, scores on a LaRoche’s throwing error of Greg Dobbs’ infield single, beating the throw to the plate, making it a 3-2 Pirates’ lead. But that would end up being the final score as the Phils would be unable to mound up any offense for the rest of the game, before Victorino ended it in the ninth as, with a man on third, Dane Sardinha, who had come into the game earlier to replace Brian Schneider, who was taken out after his thumb got hit by a foul tip, and in the inning had singled, moved up to second on Valdez’s sacrifice bunt, 1-4, then went to third on pinch hitter Ross Gload’s ground out, 4-3, and with two outs, he struck out looking for the final out.
Cole Hamels took the lost, being hurt early by walks, as he pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out eight. His record is now 6-7 with an ERA of 4.07. Jose Contreras pitches a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Daniel McCutchen gets the win as he pitches five and a third inning, giving up two runs, one of which was earned, on six hits, while he strikes out four. His record is now 1-3 with an 8.87 ERA. Javier Lopez receives his fourth hold as he pitches a third of an inning, getting out the only man he would face. D.J. Carrasco also picks up his fourth hold as he also pitches a third of an inning, getting out the only batter he would face. Evan Meek collects his fifth hold as he pitches two scoreless inning, as he gives up only one hit and one walk, while striking out a batter. Octavio Dotel gets his seventeenth save of the year as he pitches a scoreless inning, giving up a hit, while striking out a batter.
The Phils had eight hits in the game, with Greg Dobbs leading the team with two hits, both singles. Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Wilson Valdez, Dane Sardinha and Cole Hamels had the other six Phils’ hits, with Victorino, Howard, Sardinha and Hamel’s hits being singles, Rollins’ hit being a double and Valdez’s hit being a solo home run, knocking in the Phils’ only RBI. An error allowed the other Phil run to score. The top part of the Phil’s batting order is once again being its own worst enemy, trying a bit too hard to make things happen, while major parts of the machine are still on the disabled list. Come on guys, just calm down, and try to relax. Else, you’re going to end up looking at the Washington Nationals’ rear end. That’s right, I went there!!!
The Phils (41-36, 3rd NL East) continue their four-game series with the Pirates (28-51, 6th NL Central) with a night game. The game will be played at PNC Park and will begin at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Jamie Moyer (9-6, 4.30), who is coming off a win against the Blue Jays on June 27, as he went seven innings, giving up just two runs on six hits, as he strikes out seven, in the Phils’ 11-2 rout. In his last three starts, he is 3-0, pitching twenty-three innings, giving up just five runs (all on home runs) and two walks, while striking out seventeen. He will go for both his fourth win in a row and his fourth straight quality start since getting shell at Boston for nine runs in one plus innings of work on June 11. Against the Pirates he is 2-1 with an ERA of 4.30. The Pirates will counter with Ross Ohlendorf (0-6, 4.90), who is coming off a no-decision against the A’s on June 27, as he went six innings, giving up two unearned runs on two hits and four walks, while striking out three, in the Pirates’ 3-2 lost. In his last three starts, he is 0-2 with a no-decision, as he pitched seventeen innings, giving up eleven runs, nine of which were earned, on sixteen hits and two walks, while striking out eight. He is 0-0 against the Phils with a 3.75 ERA. He will be looking for his first win of the season. The Phils’ offense will be trying to overcome the loss of both Chase Utley, who will be out for at least eight weeks, as he had his thumb operated on yesterday, and Placido Polanco, who may not be back until after the All-Star break, as they continue to play the lowly Pirates. Come on, guys, concentrate. This is no time for the June Swoon to became a July Funk.
The Phillies go to Pittsburgh to play four games with the worst team in the National League…the Pirates.
Tonight the Phils (41-35, 3rd NL East) will begin a four-game series with the worst team in the National League, the Pirates (27-51, 6th NL Central). Tonight’s game will be played at PNC Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils, who ended June with a 13-13 record, and are coming off a losing series with the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati (1-2), will be trying to feast on the Bucos’ pitching, in spite of having a few of their major players on the disabled list, especially Chase Utley, who will sometime today have his broken right thumb operated on, and will be out for the next four to six weeks, at least according to the rumor mill. (Whether he actually will have an operation we will all know by the end of the day). The Phils’ starter will be Cole Hamels (6-6, 4.08), who is coming off a lost against the Twins on June 26, where he went only four innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks, while striking out three, in the Phils’ 5-1 lost. All of the Blue Jays’ runs came off of three home runs, two two-run shots and a solo home run. In his last three starts, Hamels is 1-1 with a no-decision, having given up ten runs, nine of which were earned, on seventeen hits and seven walks, while striking out eighteen. Against the Pirates, Hamels is 1-0 with a 3.79 ERA. The Pirates, meanwhile, who had ended June with a record of six wins and twenty loses, and are coming off a winning series against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago (2-1), will be trying to see if they can win their second straight series. The Pirates will send to the mound Daniel McCutchen (0-3, 11.00), who is coming off a lost against the A’s on June 26, as he pitched six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks, while he struck out two, in the Pirates’ 5-0 lost. In his last three games, two starts and a relief appearance, his record is 0-2, as he has given up ten runs on sixteen hits and three walks, while striking out four. This will be the first time that he has faced the Phils, who have a tendency to not hit well against pitchers who they are seeing for the first time.
The Phils will be trying to continue their recent offense revival against the Pirates, hoping to win at least three of the four games, while hoping that the recent loses of such high-caliber starters as Chase Utley and Placido Polanco will not be detrimental to the ball club, as they try to stay close to both the Braves and the Mets before the former come to Philadelphia for three games, starting on the fifth.
The Phils are presently three and a half games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves, who are off today, before they start a three-game weekend series with the fourth place Florida Marlins in Atlanta. There are two games back of the second-place New York Mets, who will be starting a four-game series of their own with the last-place Washington Nationals in the Nation’s Capitol. They are presently five games ahead of the Marlins, who are off today before the face they Braves for three-games in Atlanta. They are eight and a half games ahead of the Nationals, who will start a four-game set against the Mets tonight in Washington, D.C. They hope to win tonight to gain half of game against both the Braves, and the Mets, and adding a half game against the Marlins, while hoping that the Nats will be able to handle the Mets tonight.
The Phils end Interleague Play on a high note as the Blue Jays have a defensive melt down as the Phils win in a rout, 11-2.
Behind the stellar pitching of Jamie Moyer, and a defensive meltdown by the Blue Jays, the Phils end Interleague Play with a winning record, as they defeat the Blue Jays, 11-2.
The Phils took the lead in the second as, with two men on, and with nobody out, Ben Francisco hits an RBI single, scoring Ryan Howard, who had earlier walked, and had moved up to second on Shane Victorino’s single, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while sending Victorino, who had just singled, on to second base. Three batters later, now with runners on the corners, thanks to Wilson Valdez’s force out, 5-4, wiping out Francisco at second, while sending Victorino to third base, while Valdez was safe at first, and with two men out, Dane Sardinha hits a two-run double, scoring both Victorino and Valdez, giving the Phils a 3-0 lead. The Phils then made it 4-0 as Jimmy Rollins hits an RBI single, knocking in Sardinha. The Blue Jays cut the Phils’ lead in half in the third as, with a runner on base, and with two men out, Vernon Wells hits a two-run home run, his nineteenth home run of the season, and the 506th given up by Jamie Moyer, establishing a new major league record for the most home runs allowed by a pitcher, knocking in Alex Gonzalez, who had earlier doubled, making it a 4-2 Phils’ lead. The Phils would get the runs back in the fourth as, with two men on, and with two outs, Rollins hits an RBI single, scoring Ibanez, who had earlier singled and was safe at second on second baseman’s Aaron Hill throwing error on a force attempt on Valdez’s grounder, making it a 5-2 Phils’ lead, while Valdez, who had reached first on Hill’s error, moved up to third. The Phils then made it 6-2 as Chase Utley hits an RBI single, knocking in Valdez, while Rollins would stop at second base. The Phils then added to their lead in the fifth as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Victorino hits an RBI double, scoring Howard, who had just doubled, making it a 7-2 Phils’ lead. The Phils then busted the game wide open in the seventh as the Blue Jays’ defense had a melt down. The innings starts as, with one man out, Howard reaches base on shortstop Gonzalez’s throwing error as his throw took too long to reach first base, thus allowing Howard to reach base safely. After a single by Victorino, moving Howard to second base, Francisco hits an RBI double, scoring Howard, making it an 8-2 Phils’ lead, while sending Victorino up to third. After Ibanez is wallked to load the bases, Valdez hits a grounder to Hill, who then committed his second error of the game as he threw the ball wide of Gonzalez when he tried to force Francisco out at second, thus allowing both Victorino and Francisco to score, making it a 10-2 Phils’ lead, while allowing Ibanez to reach third and Valdez to reach second. Sardinha then follows by hitting a grounder back to relief pitcher Jason Frasor, who then tried to force Ibanez back towards third, but instead threw the ball past third baseman Jarrett Hoffpaquir for a throwing error, the third Blue Jays error of the inning and their fourth in the game, allowing Ibanez to score, to make it an 11-2 Phils’ lead, while sending Valdez to third and Sardinha to reach first safely on the fielder’s choice grounder. That would end up being the final score as David Herndon and Danys Baez would combine for two scoreless innings.
Jamie Moyer gets the win as he pitches seven strong innings, giving up only two runs on six hits, while striking out seven. His record is now 9-6 with a 4.30 ERA. He is now the 40th pitcher in Major League History to pitch over 4000 innings, while he is now number 36th on the all-time wins list with 267 wins, passing Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey. David Herndon and Danys Baez combine for two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit (Herndon) and walking two (one each) between them. Brett Cecil took the lost as he pitches only four and two-thirds innings, giving up seven runs, five of which were earned, on ten hits and one walk, while striking out five. His record is now 7-5 with a 4.39 ERA. Casey Janssen pitches a scoreless inning and a third, striking out a batter. Jason Frasor pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs, all unearned, on two hits and a walk. Brian Tallet pitches a third of an inning, giving up no runs on one hit and a hit batter, while striking out two. David Purcey pitches a 1-2-3 inning.
The Phils had thirteen hits in the game, with Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Ben Francisco leading the way with three hits each. Rollins had three singles, knocking in two runs, while Victorino’s three hits were two singles and a double, knocking in a run, and Francisco’s hits were a single and two doubles, knocking in two runs. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Dane Sardinha had the other four Phils’ hits, with Utley and Ibanez’s hits being singles, with Ultey knocking in a run, and Howard and Sardinha’s hits being doubles, with Sardinha knocking in two runs. Wilson Valdez had the other Phil RBI on a fielder’s choice error, while the other two runs came in on Blue Jays’ errors. At the moment, it would seems that the offense is back, although all of the components are still not there, with Carlos Ruiz on the disabled list and Placido Polanco’s elbow hurting him again.
The Phils (40-33, 3rd NL East) will now start a three-game series with the Reds (42-34, 1st NL Central) with a nightgame. The game will be played at Great American Ball Park and will begin at 7:10 pm Eastern. Kyle Kendrick (4-2, 4.71) will get the start as he is coming off a bad start against the Indians on June 23, as he lasted only four innings, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out one, in the Phils’ dramatic walk-off 7-6 win. He will be trying to pitch a good start. The Reds will counter with Johnny Cueto (7-2, 3.97) who is coming off a win against the A’s on June 23, as he went seven strong innings, giving up just seven scattered hits and two walks, while striking out four in the Reds’ 3-0 win. He will be trying the mastered the resurgent Phils’ offense. The Phils will try to build on their winning home stand while on the road against two Central division clubs.
Cole Hamels gets smoked by his old enemy, the long ball, as the Phils lose to the Blue Jays, 5-1.
Cole Hamels gets touched for three home runs, his main enemy, as the Blue Jays defeat the Phils, 5-1.
The Blue Jays took the lead in the second as, with one man on, and with one man out, John Buck hits a two-run home run, knocking in Lyle Overbay, who had earlier singled, giving the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead. The Blue Jays made it 3-0 in the third as, with two men out, Aaron Hill hits a solo home run, his eleventh home run of the season. In the the fourth, the Blue Jays increased their lead as, with one man on, and with one out, Alex Gonzalez hits a two-run home run, his fourteenth home run of the year, knocking in Fred Lewis, who had earlier hit an infield single and had gone to second on Chase Utley’s throwing error, giving the Blue Jays a 5-0 lead. The Phils got a run back in the sixth as, with one man out, Ryan Howard hits a solo home run, his fifteenth home run of the year, making it a 5-1 Blue Jays’ lead. That would be the final score as the Blue Jays’ starter, Shaun Marcum, and their relief pitchers, Scott Downs and Shawn Camp, kept the Phils’ off-balance all day, allowing only five hits and a walk between them.
Cole Hamel took the lost as he pitches only four innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks, while striking out only three. His record is now 6-6 with an ERA of 4.08. Nelson Figueroa, Danys Baez and Mike Zagurski combine for four shut out innings, giving up just one hit (Baez) and two walks (Figueroa (1), Zagurski (1)), while striking out four (Figueroa (3), Baez (1)). Shaum Marcum got the win as he pitches six strong innings, giving up just one run on five hits and a walk. His record is now 7-3 with a 3.14 ERA. Scott Downs and Shawn Camp combine for three scorless innings, striking out one between them (Downs).
The Phils had only five hits, with Chase Utley leading the team with two hits, both singles. Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Ross Gload had the other three Phils’ hits, with Rollins’ hits being a single, Gload’s hit being a double, and Howard hit’s being a solo home run, knocking in the Phils’ only run. Marcum just had the Phils off-balanced all afternoon fooling them with his off-speed stuff.
The Phils (39-33, 3rd NL East) will conclude their weekend series and interleague play with the Blue Jays (40-35, 4th AL East) with an afternoon game, already in progress. The Phils have just taken a 4-0 lead in the game, as they hope to end interleague play with a 10-8 record, instead of being even at 9-9.
The Phils’ offense finally gives some run support to its ace as it crush the Blue Jays on the road…at home, 9-0.
The Phils’ offense crush the Blue Jays, as they finally score some runs for their ace, Roy Halladay, as they defeat the Blue Jays on the road…at home, 9-0.
The Phils took the lead in the second as, with runners on the corners, and with two men out, Ross Gload hits an RBI single, scoring Jayson Werth, who had earlier tripled, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while sending Shane Victorino, who had earlier walked, up to second base. The Phils added to their lead in the fourth as, with runners on first and third, and with one man out, Victorino hits into an RBI ground out, 4-3, scoring Werth, who had earlier singled and had gone to third on Raul Ibanez’s single, making it 2-0 Phils, while sending Ibanez, who had just singled, up to second base. The Phils then broke the game wide open in the fifth. With the bases loaded via a Brian Schneider single, a walk to Jimmy Rollins, moving Schneider up to second and a Placido Polanco infield single, moving both Schneider and Rollins up a base, and with noone out, Utley hits a two-run single, knocking in both Schneider and Rollins, giving the Phils’ a 4-0 lead, while moving Polanco up to second. One batter later, with two men on and with still nobody out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, scoring Polanco, giving the Phils a 5-0 lead, while sending Utley to third. Four batters later, with the bases once again loaded, as Werth was walked, moving Howard up to second, and now with two men out, Gload hits a three-run double off of the heel of the Vernon Wells’ glove, knocking in Utley, Howard and Werth, making it an 8-0 lead. The Phils made it 9-0 in the eighth as Victorino hits a lead-off home run, his twelfth home run of the year. That would be the final score as Jose Contreras and David Herndon together pitched two scoreless innings.
Roy Halladay got the win as he pitched seven strong innings, giving up just six hits and a walk, while striking out four. His record is now 9-6 with an ERA of 2.29. Jose Contreras and David Herndon combine for two scoreless innings, giving up just a hit (Contreras) between them. Jesse Litsch took the lost as he pitches only four innings, plus four batters, giving up six runs on seven hits and four walks. His record is now 0-2 with a 8.78 ERA. David Purcey pitches an inning, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk. Casey Janssen pitches two scoreless inning, giving up on no hits, while striking out a batter. Brian Tallet pitches two innings, giving up a run on two hits and two walks, while striking out two.
The Phils had eleven hits in the game, with Ross Gload leading the way as he had three hits, two singles and a double, as he knocks in four runs. He was followed by Jayson Werth, who had two hits, a single and a triple. Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino and Brian Schneider had the other six Phil’s hits, with Polanco, Utley, Howard, Ibanez and Schneider’s hits being singles, with Utley knocking in two runs, and Howard one run, while Victorino’s hit was a solo home run, as he knocked in two runs. It would appear that the bats are alive again. Hopefully they’ll stay alive up to the All-Star break.
The Phils (39-32, 3rd NL East) continue their last interleague series with an afternoon game against the Blue Jays (39-35, 4th AL East). The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 4:05 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound their no. 2 starter Cole Hamels (6-5, 3.75) who is coming off a no-decision against the Twins on June 20, as he pitched seven strong innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out seven, in the Phils’ 13-10 lost. Hamels hopes to get his seventh win of the year, while hoping that he can lead the club into a winning year in interleague play. The Blue Jays will counter with Shaun Marcus (6-3, 3.24), who is coming off a no-decision against the Giants as he pitches five innings, giving up a two runs, one of which was earned, on five hits and five walks, as he strikes out eight in the Blue Jays’ 9-6 lost. He will be trying to avoid becoming the latest victim to the Phils once again potent offense. The Phils will be trying to increase their present winning streak to five games, while making up ground on either the Mets or the Braves or both.
The Phils ends their series with the Indians with a rout as they sweep the Indians, 12-3.
The Phils’ offense, helped by some sloppy play by the Indians’ defense, routed the last place Indians, as they sweep the interleague series between the two teams, 12-3.
The Phils took the lead in the second as, with the bases loaded, via singles by Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez and Wilson Valdez, and with nobody out, catcher Carlos Santana committed a missed catch error of third baseman Andy Marte’s force attempt throw on a Dane Sardinha ground ball, as it tipped off of Santana’s glove as he tried to get out of the way, allowing Werth and Ibanez to score, giving the Phils a 2-0 lead, while sending Valdez up to third, as Sardinha stopped at second on the error. Two batters later, with the bases once again loaded as Joe Blanton is hit by the pitch, and still with nobody out, Victorino hit into an RBI ground out, 1-3, for the first out of the inning, scoring Valdez, making it a 3-0 Phils’ lead, while moving Sardinha up to third and Blanton to second base. The Phils then made it 4-0 as, with two men on base, and with one man out, Placido Polanco hits an RBI single, scoring Sardinha, while sending Blanton on to third. The Phils then made it 5-0 as, once again with two men and with still one man out, Chase Utley hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Blanton. The Indians cut the Phils’ lead down to 5-2 in the fifth as, with one man on and with one man out, Jason Donald hits a two-run home run, his second home run of the year, knocking in Luis Valbuena, who was earlier safe on a force out, 4-6, as Shelley Ducan, who had earlier singled, was forced out at second. The Phils would get the runs back in their half of the fifth as, with runners on the corners, and with nobody out, Ryan Howard reaches first on a fielder’s choice grounder to first baseman Russell Branyan, allowing Polanco, who had earlier singled, and then went to third on Utley’s single, to score, giving the Phils a 6-2 lead, while Utley, who had earlier singled, would be safe at second base. One batter later, with two men on base, and with still two men out, Werth hits an RBI single, knocking in Utley, making it 7-2 Phils, while Howard would stop at second. The Phils then broke the game wide open in the sixth as Sardinha started the inning off with a lead-off home run, his first of his major league career and the season, making it an 8-2 Phils’ lead. Three batters later, with one man on and with one out, Polanco would hit an RBI double, knocking in Victorino, who had earlier singled, making it a 9-2 Phils’ lead. Three batters later, with the bases loaded, via an infield single to Utley, sending Polanco to third, and a walk to Howard, sending Utley to third, and with still one man out, Werth hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Polanco, making it 10-2 Phils, while sending Utley to third. Two batters later, with the bases loaded again as Ibanez walks, moving Howard up to second, and now with two men out, Valdez hits a two-run single, knocking in both Utley and Howard, giving the Phils a 12-2 lead, while Ibanez stops at third. The Indians then added a run in the eighth as, with one man on and with one man out, Trevor Crowe hits an RBI double, knocking in Donald, who had earlier doubled, making it a 12-3 Phils’ lead. After Blanton got Anderson Hernandez to strikeout swinging, the rains came down in a deluge. The rains would last for over an hour before play resume, with Nelson Figueroa, who has been called up from Lehigh Valley just hours earlier, took the mound in relief of Blanton. Figueroa would proceed to get out the four men whom he would face, leaving the game as a 12-3 Phils’ win.
Joe Blaton gets the win as he pitches seven and two-thirds strong innings, before being taken out because of the deluge, giving up three runs on six hits, while he strikes out eight. His record is now 3-5 with an ERA of 6.53. Nelson Figueroa pitches a scoreless inning and one-third, striking out a batter. Fausto Carmona took the lost as he went only four innings, plus four batters, giving up seven runs, five of which were earned, on nine hits. His record is now 6-6 with 3.64 ERA. Hector Ambriz pitches an inning and two-thirds, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks. Jensen Lewis and Joe Smith combine for two and one-thirds scoreless innings, giving up two hits (Lewis), while striking out two (one each).
The Phils burst out with fifteen hits, with Placido Polanco leading the team with four hits, as he had three singles and a double, knocking in two runs. Chase Utley and Jayson Werth follows with three hits apiece, all singles, as Utley knocked in a run, while Werth scored two runs. Wilson Valdez is next with two hits, both singles, as he knocks in two runs. Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez and Dane Sardinha had the other three Phils’ hits, with Victorino and Ibanez’s hits being singles, with Victorino knocking in a run, while Sardinha’s hit was his first career home run, a solo shot. Ryan Howard also knocked in a run on a fielder’s choice ground ball, while the other two runs came in on an error.
The Phillies (38-32, 3rd NL East) will finish Interleague Play with a three-game series against the Blue Jays (39-34, 4th AL East) with the Phils as the away team, although playing the series in Philadelphia, thanks to the security worries of the G20 Summit that is being held this weekend in Toronto, Canada. The Phils presently have an 8-0 lead after five innings.
The Phils have even their Grapefruit League season as they defeat the Blue Jays in their A-game, 4-2.
The Phils have now won two games in a row in Grapefruit League play, evening their record at 3-3, as they defeat the Blue Jay, 4-2. Phils starter, Cole Hamels, had an up and down start. He started out with three scoreless innings, before giving up a lead-off home run at the start of the fourth inning, before being lifted after pitching three and two-thirds innings, giving up only one hit and two walks, while striking out three. He was followed by eventual winner Ryan Vogelsong, who pitched two and a third innings, giving up a run on three hits and two walks, while striking out a batter. Prospect J.C. Ramirez, part of the Cliff Lee trade with Seattle, then came in to pitch the final three innings, recording the save, his first in Spring Training, as he gave up just two hits, while striking out three.
The Phils scored a run in the fourth, taking a short lead, before taking the lead for good in the sixth, as they scored twice in that inning. They then scored an insurance run in the ninth. The Phils’ bats collected ten hits, with Wilson Valdez leading the team with three hits, followed by Placido Polanco, Greg Dobbs and John Mayberry Jr. with each recording two hits, while Cody Ransom had one. The Phils had three extra-base hits, two doubles, one by Dobbs, and the other by Mayberry, and a home run, a solo shot in the ninth by Ransom. Besides Ransom, Mayberry, Valdez and Carlos Ruiz each knocked in a run, with Ruiz’s rbi being on a sacrifice fly.
The next Phillies game will be tomorrow afternoon at Bright House Field in Clearwater against the Detroit Tigers, with game time at 1:05 pm.
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