Results tagged ‘ Carlos Gonzalez ’

Roy Halladay is handed his first no-decision of the season before the Phils lose in the tenth as they fall to the Rockies, 4-3.

Roy Halladay is handed his first no-decision of the season as he gives up two runs in the bottom of the seventh, tying the game up at three-all, before he is taken out of the game, ending his streak of ten straight games of pitching at least seven innings. The Rockies then win the game in the tenth inning on a lead-off walk-off home run, giving the Rockies a 4-3 win over the Phils.

The Rockies took the lead in the first as, with runners on second and third, and with one man out, Brad Hawpe hits a sacrifice fly, knocking in Carlos Gonzalez, who had earlier singled, moved up to second on a Seth Smith single, and moved up to third on a sacrifice bunt by Melvin Mora, giving the Rockies a 1-0 lead. The Phils tied the game up at one-all in the fourth as, with a runner on first, and with no outs, Jayson Werth hits an RBI double, knocking in Ryan Howard, who had earlier singled. The Phils then took the lead in the fifth as, with one man on, and with one man out, Chase Utley hits an RBI single, scoring Placido Polanco, who had earlier doubled, giving the Phils a 2-1 lead. Three batters later, the Phils added to their lead as, with the bases now loaded via a single to Howard, sending Utley up to second, and Werth being hit by a pitch, moving up a base both Utley and Howard, and with one man out, Raul Ibanez hits a sac fly, knocking in Utley, giving the Phils a 3-1 lead. The Rockies would then tie the game up at three-all in the seventh as, with two men on, and with one man out, Hawpe hits an RBI triple, knocking in Gonzalez, who had earlier singled, was safe at second on Howard’s throwing error on a force out attempt on a Eric Young, Jr., grounder, and Young, Jr., who was safe on a force out attempt at second base. The Rockies then won the game in the bottom of the tenth as Miguel Olivo hits a lead-off solo home run, his sixth home run of the year, to give the Rockies a walk-off 4-3 win.

Roy Halladay receives a no-decision as he goes six and one-third innings, giving up three runs, only two of which were earned, on ten hits and two walks, while striking out four. J.C. Romero pitches two-third of an inning, getting out both men that he would face. Danys Baez pitches an inning, giving up a hit and a walk. Chad Durbin took the lost, as he pitches an inning plus one batter, giving up a run on one hit and a walk, while striking out one. His record is now 0-1 with a 2.16 ERA. Aaron Cook also pitches a no-decision, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out three. Randy Flores pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up a hit. Matt Belisle pitches an inning and a third, giving up a hit, while striking out three. Manuel Corpas pitches two-third of an inning, giving up no runs. Joe Beimel got the win as he pitches an inning and a third, giving up a hit. His record is now 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA.

The Phils had eleven hits in the game, with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard both leading the team with three hits each, all singles, with Utley knocking in a run. Placido Polanco and Wilson Valdez then followed with two hits apiece, with the two both getting a single and a double. Jayson Werth had the other Phil hit, a double, knocking in a run. Raul Ibanez knocks in the other Phil run with a sac fly.

The Phils (20-13, 1st East) have an off day tomorrow as the second game of the day/night doubleheader was rained out. The Phils’ next game will be against the Brewers on Friday night.

The Phils come from behind in the ninth to clinch the divisional series, beating the Rockies, 5-4.

The Phils, with two outs in the top of the ninth, scored three runs to come from behind to defeat the Rockies, 5-4. They win the NL Divisional Series, 3 games to 1, and now go on to Los Angeles for a rematch with the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series.

The Phils took a quick 1-0 lead in the first as, with one out, Shane Victorino hits a solo home run, his first home run of the series. The Phils would make it 2-0 in the sixth as, once again with one man out, Jayson Werth hits a solo home run of his own, his second home run of the post-season. The Rockies would get a run back in their half of the sixth as, with one man on, and with one man out, Troy Tulowitzki hits an RBI double, knocking in Todd Helton, who had earlier reached base on a walk, making it a 2-1 Phils lead. The game would, in the meantime, become a pitchers’ duel between Phils’ starter Cliff Lee and Rockies’ starter Ubaldo Jimenez for seven innings. Lee would pitch almost flawlessly, giving up just a run on five hits and two walks, while he struck out five. Jimenez, in the meantime, in spite of a high pitch count, would only give up two runs, both on home runs, on six hits and two walks, as he struck out seven batters, with two of them coming in the third as he got out of a bases loaded jam, via singles to Victorino and Chase Utley, which would send Victorino to third, with Utley going to second on the throw to third and an intentional walk to Ryan Howard, with one man out, as he struck out both Werth and Raul Ibanez swinging. In the eighth, the Phils threaten to add to their lead as they once again loaded the bases via a walk to Utley, an intentional walk to Werth, after Utley had stolen second base, and a walk to Ibanez, with one man out, but they would be turned back as Pedro Feliz popped up the first pitch to the shortstop, 6-unassisted, for the second out, and then Carlos Ruiz grounded out, 6-3, to end the inning, leaving it a 2-1 Phils’ lead. The Rockies would tie the game up at two-all in their half of the eighth as, with two men on, and with two men out, pinch hitter Jason Giambi hits an RBI single, scoring Dexter Fowler, who had earlier walked, and was safe on second on a missed catch error by Jimmy Rollins on a ground ball hit by Helton, after Fowler had leaped around Utley without touching him when he went to field the grounder, while Helton would move up to second. The Rockies then took the lead as, with two men on, and still two men out, Yorvit Torrealba hits a two-run double, knocking in both Helton and Giambi, making it 4-2 Rockies. The Phils then struck back in the ninth as, with two men on base, and with two men out, Ryan Howard hits a two-run double, scoring Victorino, who was earlier safe on a force out, 4-6, wiping out Rollins, who had earlier singled, at second base, and then went to second base on defensive indifference, and Utley, who had just walked, tying the game up at four-all. Werth then followed with an RBI single, scoring Howard and giving the Phils a 5-4 lead. The Rockies would make one last attempt in their half of the ninth, as they got two men on base, via singles to Carlos Gonzalez and Helton, with two men out, before it was stopped by closer Brad Lidge as he collected his second save of the series by striking out Tulowitzki swinging, as he could not hold up his swing, for the final out.

Cliff Lee got the no-decision as he pitched seven and one-third innings, giving up three runs, only one of which were earned, on five hits and three walks, while he struck out five. Ryan Madson blew his second save of the post-season, before picking up the win, as he went two-thirds of an inning, giving up a run on two hits and a walk. His record in the series is now 2-0 with an ERA of 3.38. Scott Eyre picked up his second hold of the series, as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two hits. Brad Lidge picked up his second save of the series as he struck out the only batter he would face. Ubaldo Jimenez also received a no-decision as he pitched seven innings, giving up just two runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out seven. Franklin Morales pitched a third of an inning, giving up three walks, as he struck out one. Rafael Betancourt pitched two-thirds of an inning, getting out both men that he would face. Huston Street blew his second save of the series, as he also received his second lost in the series, as he gave up three runs on three hits and a walk, in two-thirds of an inning, while he struck out one. His series record is now 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA. Joe Beimel pitched a third of an inning, getting out the only man he would face.

The Phillies collected nine hits in the game, with Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth leading the team with two hits apiece, with one of Victorino’s hits being a solo home run, and one of Werth’s hits being a solo home, his second of the series, as he knocked in two runs in the game. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz had the other three Phils hits, with Howard’s hit being a two-run double, which helped fueled the Phils’ comeback in the ninth. Phils’ batters 2-6 went a combine twenty-seven for seventy-four in the series, collecting a combine total of seventeen singles, five doubles (Victorino (1), Howard (3), Ibanez (1)), a triple (Werth), and four home runs (Victorino (1), Utley (1), Werth (2)), along with fourteen walks, as they knocked in a total of seventeen runs (Victorino (1), Utley (1), Howard (6), Werth (4), Ibanez (5)), while scoring nineteen of the Phils’ twenty runs. Carlos Ruiz also did well in the series, as he went four for thirteen with two walks, knocking in the other three Phils’ runs.

The Phils will not play again until Thursday when they will start the NL Championship Series against the Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium. Game time and starters have yet to be announced.

The Phils are unable to come back from an early hole as they lose to the Rockies, 5-4. The divisional series is now tied at one game apiece.

The Phils are unable to pull off a come from behind win after being put behind early as they lose to the Rockies, 5-4. The series now go to Colorado with the series tied at one to one.

The Rockies took a 1-0 lead in the first as, with a runner on third, and with one man out, Todd Helton scored Carlos Gonzalez. who had earlier singled, stole second base after being picked off by Phils’ starter Cole Hamels, as Ryan Howard’s throw to second wasn’t in time, and then moved to third on Dexter Fowler’s sacrifice bunt, 1-4, on a fielder’s choice grounder to Hamels, as Gonzalez beat Carlos Ruiz’s tag, while Helton was safe at first. The Rockies then increased their lead in the fourth as, with a man on, and with two men out, Yorvit Torrealba hits a two-run home run, his first home run of the post-season, knocking in Hilton, who had earlier singled, making it 3-0 Rockies. The Rockies then made it 4-0 in the fifth as, with two men on, and with one out, Fowler hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Rockies’ starter Aaron Cook, who had earlier singled, and then went to third on Gonzalez’s double, while Gonzalez, who had earlier doubled, would move up to third. The Phils then started to come back in the sixth as, with runners on the corners, and with nobody out, Howard hits an RBI double, knocking in Shane Victorino, who had earlier hit an infield single and had moved up to second on second baseman’s Clint Barmes’ throwing error, and then went to third on Chase Utley’s single, making it a 4-1 Rockies’ lead, while sending Utley, who had earlier singled, up to third base. Two batters later, with runners still on second and third, and now with one man out, Raul Ibanez hits a two-run single, knocking in both Utley and Howard, making it a 4-3 Rockies’ lead. The Rockies then added a run in the seventh as, with the bases loaded, via a Ryan Spilborghs double, Barmes hitting a sacrifice bunt, in which Joe Blanton, who was pitching in relief of Hamels, tried to throw Spilborghs out at third, but was unsuccessful, while Barmes would be safe at first, and an infield single for pinch hitter Seth Smith, off of J.A. Happ’s knee, after he was brought in in relief of Blanton, and with one man out, Fowler hits his second sac fly of the game, scoring Spilborghs, giving the Rockies a 5-3 lead, while sending Barmes over to third. The Phils would get the run back in the eighth as, with two men out, Jayson Werth hits a solo home run, his first home run of the post-season, making it a 5-4 Rockies’ lead. The Phils made a last threat to tie the game in the ninth, with two men on base, with Cliff Lee on second, pinch running for Matt Stairs, who had earlier gotten on base with a pinch hit walk, and Jimmy Rollins on first with a single, moving Lee up to second, with two men out. But Victorino would end the game by lining out to Barmes for the final out.

Cole Hamels took the lost, as he pitched five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, while he struck out five. His divisional series record is now 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA. Joe Blanton pitched an inning plus two batters, giving up a run on one hit, as he struck out one. J.A. Happ pitched to one batter, giving up a hit before taken out for an injury. Scott Eyre pitched an inning, striking out a batter. Brett Myers pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two walks and hitting a batter. Antonio Bastardo pitched a third of an inning, striking out the only man he would face. Ryan Madson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. Aaron Cook got the win, as he went five innings plus three batters, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out four. His record in the divisional series is now 1-0 with a  5.40 ERA. Jose Contreras converted his first hold as he pitched an inning, giving up two hits, while striking out a batter. Matt Belisle received a hold as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Rafael Betancourt received a hold as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a run on one hit. Franklin Morales recieved a hold as he pitched a third of an inning, getting out the one man he would face. Huston Street recorded his first save of the post-season as he gave up only a hit and a walk.

The Phillies got eleven hits in the game, with Shane Victorino leading the team with three hits, all singles. Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez both followed with two hits apiece, with one of Howard’s hits being a double, as between them they knocked in three of the Phils’ runs (Howard (1), Ibanez (2)). Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz had the other four Phils’ hits, with Werth’s hit being a solo home run. Between them, so far, Howard, Werth and Ibanez has been the Phils’ offense, with a combined record of eleven for twenty-three, with six singles, three doubles, a triple and a home run, with eight RBIs (Howard (2), Werth (2) Ibanez (4)) and six runs scored. The only other Phil hitting, at the moment, is Victorino, who is hitting four for nine, with three singles and a double, but with only one run scored. If Rollins and Utley can get their bats to wake up, especially Rollins, if he would become a bit more selective in his pitch count, the Phils might still have a chance to win the series, if they can get men on base for the presently hot middle part of their line-up.

The Phils (1-1) will now journey to Denver to play games three and four of the divisional series with the Rockies (1-1). The third game is to be played on Saturday, weather permitting, at Coors Field, and is suppose to start at 9:37 pm Eastern (7:37 pm Mountain). The Phils still have yet to announce their starter for game three, although it will most likely be Pedro Martinez. The Rockies’ starter will be Jason Hammel (10-8, 4.33), who is coming off a no-decision against the Dodgers on October 4, as he pitched two innings in relief, giving up just two hits, while striking out two, in the Rockies’ 5-3 lost. He will be trying to give the Rockies the lead in the series. The Phillies will be trying to come back from the lost, while coming out smoking at the start of game three.

Phils starts off the playoffs with a masterpiece by Cliff Lee as the Phils defeat the Rockies, 5-1, taking a 1-0 lead in the NLDS.

Behind the strong pitching of Cliff Lee, the Phils begin the defense of their 2008 World Series Championship by defeating the Rockies in game one of the National League Divisional Series, 5-1.

For the first four and and half innings, the game was a pitchers’ duel between Phils’ starter Cliff Lee and Rockies’ starter Ubaldo Jimenez. For the first five innings, Lee game up only three hits, while striking out three, as he survives a two on, two men out threat in the first, and then got out of a runner on second, with only one out, situation in the second as Clint Barmes hits into a fly out-doubleplay, 9-5, as Jayson Werth’s throw from right beats Yorvit Torrealba, who had earlier doubled, to the third base bag. Meanwhile, Jimenez was handling the Phils in the first four innings, as he struck out four batters, although also giving up three hits. But, things would change in the Phils’ half of the fifth. With a runner on first, and with nobody out, Raul Ibanez hits an RBI double, knocking in Jayson Werth, who had earlier walked, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, with a runner on third, and with one man out, Carlos Ruiz hits an RBI single, scoring Ibanez, who had moved up to third on Pedro Feliz’s ground out, 4-3, making it a 2-0 Phils’ lead, while Ruiz would end up on second as right fielder Brad Hawpe misplayed the ball for a fielding error. The Phils would add to their lead in the sixth. With a runner on second and with two men out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI double, knocking in Chase Utley, who had earlier singled, and then stole second, giving the Phils a 3-0 lead. The next batter, Werth, then followed with an RBI triple, scoring Howard, making it a 4-0 Phils’ lead. That would be it for Jimenez, as Rockies’ manager Jim Tracy took him out of the game, and replaced him with Joe Beimel. Ibanez would greet Beimel with an RBI single, knocking in Werth, giving the Phils a 5-0 lead. Lee would take it from there, shutting the Rockies down until the ninth. In the ninth, the Rockies would finally get on the scoreboard as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Troy Tulowitzki hits an RBI single, knocking in Carlos Gonzalez, who had earlier singled, and then moved up to second on a wild pitch. But that would be the final score as Lee would strike out Garrett Atkins swinging for the final out.

Cliff Lee pitched a complete game, giving up a run on six hits and a wild pitch, as he struck out five. His divisional series record is now 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA. Ubaldo Jimenez took the lost as he pitched five innings plus three batters, giving up five runs on nine hits and a walk, as he struck out four. His series record is now 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA. Joe Beimel pitched to only one batter, giving up a hit. Matt Daley pitched an inning plus one batter, giving up just a hit and a walk, while striking out a batter. Franklin Morales pitched a scoreless inning, as he got out both man that he would face. Jason Marquis also pitched a scoreless innings, as he gave up a hit.

The Phillies’ offense had twelve hits in the game, with all of the starters, including Cliff Lee, getting at least one hit. The middle part of the Phils’  lineup, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez, led the attack with two hits each, as they went a combined six for eleven with a walk, collecting three singles, two walks and a triple (Werth), as they knocked in four of the Phils’ run (Howard (1), Werth (1), Ibanez (2)) and scored four runs. Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Pedro Feliz, Carlos Ruiz and Cliff Lee had the other six Phils’ hits, with Victorino’s hit being a double, while Ruiz knocked in the other Phil run. The Phils also had three stolen bases, with, surprise, Lee having one of them, as the Phils went about making an early statement.

The Phils (1-0) will continue the divisional series against the Rockies (0-1), this afternoon. The game is to be played at Citizens Bank Park and is to start at 2:37 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Cole Hamels (10-11, 4.32), who is coming off a lost against the Marlins on October 3, as he pitched only three innings, after the Phils had clinched home field advantage for the divisional series as the Cardinals lost, as he went only three innings, giving up three runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out two, in the Phils’ 4-3 lost. He will be trying to regain his 2008 post-season form, and put the Rockies in a 2-0 hole. The Rcokies will counter with Aaron Cook (11-6, 4.16), who is coming off a win against the Brewers on October 1, as he pitched eight innings, giving up just a run on four hits and a walk, while striking out two, in the Rockies’ 9-2 win. He will be trying to even up the series before it moves on to Denver for the weekend. The Phils will be trying to take a commanding 2-0 lead before the series moves to Colorado.

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 offense is still sluggish as the Phillies have now lost six in a row.

The Phillies wasted a good effort by Jamie Moyer as the offense once again let the team down as they lost their sixth straight game. For the first six innings of the game, Moyer and A’s starter Joe Blanton would be involved in a pitchers’ duel, with Moyer only giving up one hit during that time, a lead-off single in the first inning to Kurt Suzuki, who would later by wiped out in a 3-6-3 double play by Ryan Sweeney, and striking out nine A’s, striking out the side twice, while Blanton would give up only two hits, one of which was Pat Burrell’s nineteenth home run of the year, a solo shot in the fourth inning, which gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Things would change in the seventh when the Phillies would get their first two men on base, Burrell via a walk and Jayson Werth via a single. But, things would then go flat as Geoff Jenkins would fly out to left, swinging on the first pitch, for the first out of the inning. Pedro Feliz would then single to right, but the third base coach, not taking a chance on getting Burrell thrown out at the plate, holds him up at third base to load the bases. This move would soon come back to haunt the Phillies as Carlos Ruiz, with a 2-1 count, would hit into a twin killing, third to first, with the third baseman touching third base first before throwing to first. The Phillies being unable to capitalize in their half of the inning would turn out to be a momentum changer, as, with Moyer still pitching, Sweeney would start off the A’s half of the seventh with a single. One out later, Bobby Crosby would get a pop single, on a ball that was misplayed by Shane Victorino and would drop in front of him, moving Sweeney to second. After Charlie Manuel decides to leave Moyer in the game, despite the fact that Chad Durbin was ready to go, Moyer would give up a three-run home run to Emil Brown, his sixth home run of the year, scoring both Sweeney and Crosby, and giving the A’s the lead, 3-1. After getting the second out and then giving up a ground rule double, which might have ended up being worst if it has not bounced into the stands, to Carlos Gonzalez, Manuel would come out and finally replace an out of gas Moyer with Durbin, who would then strike out Donnie Murphy to end the inning. In the eighth, the Phils would come back to cut the lead to 3-2, as, with Victorino on second, after getting on base with a single and then stealing second, he would score on a RBI single by Ryan Howard. Although Howard would later get to second base on a pass ball charged to Suzuki, Burrell would leave him there as he strikes out. The A’s would then deliver the coup de grace in the bottom of the inning, as with two out, J.C. Romero would walk Sweeney and then give up a two-run home run to Jack Cust, Cust’s twelfth home run of the year, to make it 5-2 A’s. That would be it as Huston Street would come in to pitch a 1-2-3 ninth to record his fourteenth save of the year.

Jamie Moyer would take the lost, although pitching a very good game until the disasterous seventh. He would go six and two-thirds inning, giving up only three runs on five hits, while striking out nine A’s. His record is now 7-5 with a 4.09 ERA. Chad Durbin would pitch a third of an inning in relief, striking out the only man he would face. J.C. Romero would pitch two-thirds of an innings, giving up two earned runs on only one hit, while walking one and striking out one. Ryan Madson would go a third of an inning, striking out the only A that he would face. Joe Blanton would get the win, as he pitches seven innings, giving up only one earned run on four hits. His record is now 4-10 with an ERA of 4.58. Alan Embree would pitch an inning, giving up one earned run on two hits. Huston Street would pitch a 1-2-3 ninth as he get his fourteenth save of the season.

It is now official, the offense presently stinks, and even they are starting to realize it, as they would acknowledge in an article posted on Phillies.com about the game. Even the manager seems to be noticing that the guys are right now doing everything wrong at the plate, and those things includes, “…guys not hitting, swinging bad, swinging at balls in the dirt, chasing balls over their heads, it looks like they’ve never seen a baseball….” and those things are going to keep hurting this team until the batters finally get it into their thick skulls that they should be trying to meet the ball, and not trying to hit home runs everytime they get up to the plate, with the situations that occurred in the first and seventh innings being perfect examples of what is presently wrong with this team. Especially the seventh, when Jenkins, who should have been up there trying to move the runners over into scoring position, which might have required him taking a pitch or two until he saw something which he was sure he could hit towards the right side of the infield and get Burrell and Werth over to third and second, instead swings at the first pitch and flies out, moving no one. This would come back to hurt the Phils, as I am sure that Feliz’s single would’ve scored both Burrell and Werth from second and third, and would instead load the bases, as the Phils’ third base coach refuses to send Burrell home, afraid that he might have been cut down at home by a throw from Sweeney. Me, I’d made the attempt. Why? To shake things up a bit. There’s a difference between being aggressive and being passive. Stopping Burrell at third was being passive, and is part of the reason that the Phils are mired in their present slide. If the third base coach had been aggressive, it would have taken a real good throw to home to get Burrell thrown out. Sure, Burrell isn’t as fast as Jimmy Rollins or Shane Victorino, his running towards home would’ve still forced Sweeney to have to throw an almost perfect strike to get him out at home, and who know what would’ve happened if the throw was anything but a perfect strike. But, since he didn’t send Burrell home, it’s all a very moot point. Hopefully, the players’ own realization that they are stinking up the place might just get them to do something to reverse it before the situation can get any worst.

The series between the Phillies (42-36) and the Athletics (42-34, 2nd American League West) continues with a night game at McAfee Coliseum. The game will start at 10:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Pacific). The Phillies will send up Kyle Kendrick (6-3, 5.06) to see if he can stop their slide before it can get any worst. He is coming off an awful start against the BoSox on June 18, where he would only pitch three innings, as he gave up six earned runs on six hits, in the Phils’ 7-4 lost. He will be trying to return to his winning ways, while, as mentioned earlier, trying to put a stop to the Phils’ swoon. The A’s will counter with Greg Smith (4-5, 3.51), who is coming off a no-decision against the Diamondbacks on June 19, where he would only go five innings, giving up an earned run on three hits, in the A’s 2-1 lost. He will be trying to improve his record, while at the same time seeing if he can adds to the Phillies’ present offensive woes.

The Phillies are still leading by one, four and four and a half games over the Marlins, Mets and Braves respectively, as all three teams lost their games while the Phils were unable to take advantage of it. The Phillies will be trying to end their present slump, which is a team effort, and stop wasting some good efforts that they have recently been getting from their starters.

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