Phils starters are hurt by the long ball, as the team loses a pair to the Marlins, losing by the scores of 5-4 and 5-1.

On Saturday, the Phils took the lead in the first as, with runners on second and third, and with one man out, Carlos Ruiz hits into an RBI ground out, three-unassisted, knocking in Juan Pierre, who had earlier singled, moved up to second base on Hunter Pence’s walk, then stole third as the front part of a double steal, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while moving Pence, who had earlier walked, then stole second base as part of a double steal, up to third base. The Phils then made it a 2-0 lead in the second as, with runners on second and third, and with two men out, Jimmy Rollins hits an RBI infield single, beating third baseman Hanley Ramirez’s throw to first, knocking in Placido Polanco, who had earlier singled, then stopped at third base on Freddy Galvis’ double, while sending Galvis, who had earlier doubled, up to third base. The Phils then added to their lead in the third as Pence hits a lead-off home run, his thirteenth home run of the season, giving the Phils a 3-0 lead. The Marlins would get on the scoreboard in the fourth as Ramirez hits a lead-off home run, his ninth home run of the year, cutting the Phils’ lead down to 3-1. The Marlins would make it a 3-2 Phils’ lead three batters later as, with one man on, and with one man out, Justin Ruggiano hits an RBI double, knocking in Logan Morrison, who had earlier singled. The Marlins took the lead in the sixth as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Ramirez hits a two-run home run, his tenth home run of the season, and his second of the ballgame, knocking in Omar Infante, who had started the inning off with a single, giving the Marlins a 4-3 lead. The Marlins added to their lead in the seventh as, with a man on second, and with two men out, Jose Reyes hits an RBI double, scoring Chris Coghlan, who had started the inning off with a walk, then moved up to second base on Ricky Nolasco’s sacrifice bunt, 3-4, giving the Marlins a 5-3 lead. The Phils would get a run back in the eighth as, with runners on second and third, and with one man out, Pence hits a sacrifice fly, knocking in Rollins, who had started the inning off with a triple, making it a 5-4 Marlins’ lead, while sending Pierre, who had earlier walked, then stole second base, his second steal of the ballgame, over to third base. That would end up being the final score as Heath Bell recorded his eleventh save of the season by throwing a scoreless ninth, as he got Rollins to pop out to the shortstop for the game’s final out.

Cole Hamels (8-2, 2.81) took the lost as he pitched six and two-thirds innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and two walks, while he struck out eight. Chad Qualls pitched a third of an inning, getting out the only man that he would face. Michael Schwimer and Raul Valdes combined for two scoreless innings, giving up a walk (Schwimer) between them. Ricky Nolasco (6-3, 4.35) got the win as he went seven innings, plus two batters, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out five. Steve Cishek received his sixth hold of the year as he pitched an inning, giving up a walk, while striking out two. Heath Bell received his eleventh save of the year as he pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up a hit.

The Phils had nine hits in the ballgame, with Jimmy Rollins (Single, Triple, RBI), Juan Pierre (2 Singles) and Placido Polanco (Singles) each leading the team with two hits apiece. Hunter Pence (Home Run, 2 RBIs), Shane Victorino (Single) and Freddy Galvis (Double) had the other three Phils’ hits. Carlos Ruiz knocked in the other Phil run with a ground out. The Phils also had three walks and three stolen bases (Pierre (7 & 8) and Pence (4)) in the ballgame.

On Sunday, the Marlins took the lead in the third as, with one man out, Carlos Zambrano helped his own cause by hitting a solo home run, his first home run of the season, giving the Marlins a quick 1-0 lead. The Marlins made it a 2-0 lead in the fourth as Hanley Ramirez hits a solo home run, his eleventh home run of the year, and his third home run in two days. The Marlins increased their lead in the seventh as, with the bases loaded, via a walk to John Buck, a single by Chris Coghlan, sending Buck up to second base, and a bunt single by Zambrano, moving both runners up a base, and with no one out, Jose Reyes hits a two-run double, knocking in both Buck and Coghlan, giving the Marlins a 4-0 lead, while sending Zambrano over to third base. Two batters later, with runners still on second and third, and now with one man out, Zambranon scores on Chad Qualls’ wild pitch, making it a 5-0 Marlins’ lead, while Reyes would move up to third base. It would then stay a 5-0 Marlins’ lead as Ramirez hits a grounder to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who threw out Reyes at the plate on a fielder’s choice force out, as Brian Schneider apply the tag, as Ramirez is safe at first on the play. The Phils would finally score in the eighth as, with a man on second, and with two men out, Pierre hits an RBI single, knocking in Scheider, who had earlier reached base on an infield single, then moved up to second base on Zambrano’s wild pitch, making it a 5-1 Marlins’ lead. That would end up being the final score as Heath Bell recorded his twelfth save of the year by getting Schenider to ground out, 3-unassisted, for the game’s final out.

Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.27) took the lost as he went six innings, plus four batters, giving up five runs on nine hits and a walk, while striking out six. Chad Qualls pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a hit. Jake Diekman and Michael Schwimer combined for one and one-third scoreless innings, giving up two hits (Diekman) between them. Carlos Zambrano (4-3, 2.81) got the win as he went seven and two-thirds innings, giving up a run on four hits and two walks, while striking out seven. Steve Cishek pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two hits, while striking out a batter. Heath Bell recorded his twelfth save of the season as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, getting out both men whom he would face.

The Phils had six hits in the game, with Juan Pierre leading the team with three hits, two singles and a double, knocking in the Phils’ lone run. Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco and Brian Schneider had the other three Phils’ hits, all singles. The Phils also had two walks in the ballgame.

The Phils (28-27, 5th East) with begin a four-game series with the Dodgers (33-21, 1st West) with a game tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park, and is to start at 7:05 pm EDT. The Phils will be sending to the mound Vance Worley (3-2, 3.07), who is coming off an injury. His last start was a win against the Padres on May 11, where he pitched six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out nine, in the Phils’ 7-3 win. He will be trying to keep the Phils in the game, while being kept on a pitch count. The Dodgers will counter with Clayton Kershaw (4-3, 2.42), who is coming off a lost against the Brewers on May 30, as he went for five and two-thirds innings, giving up five run on eight hits and four walks, while striking out seven, in the Dodgers’ 6-3 lost. He will be trying to improve his record. The Phils will be trying to get at least split the series with the Dodgers.