Results tagged ‘ Charlie Manuel ’
After a wild eighth inning, the Phils hold on to defeat the Mets, 8-5.
After getting through a very wild eighth inning, the Phils hold on to leave New York with a series win, as they defeat the Mets, 8-5.
The Phils took the lead in the first as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, scoring Chase Utley, who had earlier walked, then stole second base, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Phils then took a 4-0 lead in the fifth as, with two men on, via singles by Kyle Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins, with Kendrick stopping at second base, and with one man out, Michael Martinez hits a three-run home run, his first home run of the season, and of his career, knocking in both Kendrick and Rollins. The Phils then added to their lead in the seventh as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Martinez hits a sacrifice fly, knocking in Brian Schneider, who had earlier singled, moved up to second base on Kendrick’s sacrifice bunt, 2-4, and then stopped at third on Rollins’ single, giving the Phils a 5-0 lead. The Mets finally got on the scoreboard in their half of the seventh as, with a runner on second, and with one man out, pinch hitter Scott Hairston hits an RBI single, knocking in Ronny Paulino, who had earlier doubled, making it a 5-1 Phils’ lead. The Phils then took advantage of a defensive mistake by the Mets in the top of the eighth as left fielder Jason Bay committed a fielding error on Howard’s fly ball as it hit his glove, allowing Howard to reach first base safely. After Raul Ibanez popped out to the first baseman in foul territory for the inning’s first out, Dom Brown walked, sending Howard to second base. Then, after John Mayberry, Jr., popped out to the first baseman in foul territory for the second out of the inning, Schneider walked, loading up the bases, moving up a base both Howard and Brown, with two men out, while bringing up to the plate pinch hitter Ross Gload. Gload proceeded to walk, forcing in Howard to make it a 6-1 Phils’ lead, while sending Brown on to third base and Schnieder up to second base, as the bases remained loaded. The next batter, Rollins, then hits a two-run single, scoring both Brown and Schneider, giving the Phils an 8-1 lead, while sending Gload all the way to third. Martinez then ended the inning by striking out, swinging. The Mets then started to make things close in their half of the eighth as Phils’ reliever Juan Perez would load up the bases by walking Willie Harris, Daniel Murphy and Bay, with nobody out. Charlie Manuel then came out, and replaced Perez with Ryan Madson. Madson then proceeded to get Lucas Duda to hit into a 4-6-3 doubleplay, wiping out Bay at second base, as Harris scored, making it an 8-2 Phils’ lead, while Murphy would reach third base. Paulino then followed with an RBI single, knocking in Murphy, making it an 8-3 Phils’ lead. After Madson hits Ruben Tejada with a pitch, sending Paulino up to second base, he reloaded the bases as he walked pinch hitter Nick Evans, moving up a base both Paulino and Tejada. The Mets then made it an 8-4 Phils’ lead as Angel Pagan hits an RBI single, scoring Paulino, while sending Tejada to third, and Evans to second, leaving the bases loaded. Manuel then came out, and called in Antonio Bastardo to attempt a four-out save. Bastardo finally ended the inning by striking out Justin Turner, swinging, as the Mets batted around in the inning. In the ninth, the Mets cut the Phils’ lead down to 8-5 as, with one man on, and with two men out, Luca hits an RBI triple, scoring Murphy, who had earlier doubled. But that would be the final score as Bastardo recorded his sixth save of the year by getting Paulino to ground out, 5-3, for the game’s final out.
Kyle Kendrick (5-4, 3.34), got the win as he pitched seven strong innings, pitching his way out of a couple of early jams, as he gave up just one run on six hits and three walks. Juan Perez pitched to three batters, giving up two runs, as he walked all three of the men that he would face. Ryan Madson pitched two-thirds of an inning, as he gives up a run on two hits, a walk and a hit batter. Antonio Bastardo collected his sixth save of the year as he went an inning and a third, giving up a run on two hits, while striking out a batter. Mike Pelfrey (5-9, 4.67) took the lost as he went five innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out two. D.J. Carrasco pitched an inning and a third, giving up a run on three hits. Tim Byrdak pitched two-thirds of an inning, getting out both men that he would face. Pedro Beato pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up three unearned runs, as he walked three batters. Ryota Igarashi pitched a third of an inning, giving up a hit, while he struck out one. Jason Isringhausen pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk, while striking out two.
The Phils had eleven hits in the ballgame, with Jimmy Rollins leading the team with three hits, all singles, knocking in two runs, as he raised his batting average to .271. Raul Ibanez (Singles), Brian Schneider (Singles) and Kyle Kendrick (Singles), all followed with two hits each. Michael Martinez (Home Run, 4 RBIs) and Ryan Howard (Single, RBI), had the other two Phils’ hits. Ross Gload had the other Phil RBI with a bases loaded walk.
The Phils (59-35, 1st East) will start a three-game series with the Cubs (38-58, 4th Central) with a game tonight. The game will be played at Wrigley Field and will start at 8:05 pm EST (7:05 pm CST). The Phils will send to the mound their ace Roy Halladay (11-3, 2.45), who is coming off a no-decision against the Braves on July 8, as he went seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits, while striking out seven, in the Phils’ 3-2 win. He will be going for win no. 12 on the season. The Cubs will counter with Rodrigo Lopez (1-2, 4.02), who is coming off a no-decision against the Pirates on July 8, as he pitched six innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk, while striking out three, in the Cubs’ 7-4 lost. He will be trying to beat his old team. The Phils will be trying to start off the series with another opening series victory.
An explosive eighth inning gives the Phils a come from behind win as they defeat the Cards, 10-2.
The Phils explode for nine runs in the eighth inning as the Cards’ bullpen implode as they come from behind to defeat the Redbirds, 10-2.
The game started as a pitchers’ duel between Cardinals’ starter Kyle McClellan, who pitched five innings keeping the Phils off-balanced, as he gave up two singles and three walks, while striking out two, and Roy Halladay, who for four innings kept the Cards off the scoreboard as he gave up a hit and two walks, while striking out four. The Cards took the lead in the fifth as, with the bases loaded, via singles to Yadier Molina, Daniel Descalsco, with Molina stopping at second base, and Skip Schumaker, with the runners stopping at third and second base, and with one man out, Ryan Theriot hits into an RBI force out, 5-4, forcing out Schumaker at second base, as Molina scored, as Placido Polanco was slow getting the ball out of his glove, giving the Cards a 1-0 lead, while Descalsco would move up to second base, as Theriot would beat the throw to first. The Phils would tie the game up at one-all in the seventh as, with two men on, and with two men out, pinch hitter Ross Gload hits an RBI single, knocking in Raul Ibanez, who had earlier walked, then went to second base on Carlos Ruiz’s single, crossing the plate before Ruiz, who had earlier singled, was tagged out between second and third by third baseman Descalsco, who had just cut off Matt Holliday’s throw to the plate, for the inning’s final out. The Cards retook the lead in their half of the seventh as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Schumaker hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Descalsco, who had earlier walked, then went to third on pinch hitter Mark Hamilton’s single. The Phils would then break the game open in the eighth, helped by the implosion of the Cards’ bullpen. After Jimmy Rollins started the inning off by lining out to left, Shane Victorino got on base with a single to right. Chase Utley followed by taking a walk, moving Victorino up to second base. Cardinals’ manager Tony LaRussa then came to the mound and relieved Trever Miller with Jason Motte to face Ryan Howard. On an 0-1 pitch, Motte hit Howard, loading up the bases as both runners moved up a base. Then with Polanco batting, Motte hit him on a 3-2 count, forcing in Victorino, tying the score up at two-all, while moving up both Utley and Howard, as the bases remained loaded. After Wilson Valdez comes in to pinch run for Polanco, as he is taken out of the ballgame to see if he was okay, as the ball had hit him on his left elbow, LaRussa replaces Motte with Brian Tallet, who proceeded to strikeout Ibanez swinging for the inning’s second out, leaving the bases loaded. The next batter was to be Dom Brown, but Phils’ manager Charlie Manuel sent out pinch hitter Ben Francisco to face Tallet. Francisco then gave the Phils a 3-2 lead with an RBI single, knocking in Utley, while moving up both Howard and Valdez, leaving the bases still loaded. LaRussa then replaced Tallet with Miguel Batista, who proceeded to walk Ruiz on five pitches, forcing in Howard as the Phils took a 4-2 lead, while both Valdez and Francisco moved up a base, the bases remaining loaded. Michael Martinez is then sent up to pinch hit for Michael Stutes, and proceeded to take a walk, forcing in a run, as Valdez scores, giving the Phils a 5-2 lead, while sending Francisco up to third base, and Ruiz over to second, as the Phils batted around. Rollins, batting for the second time in the inning, followed with a two-run single, scoring both Francisco and Ruiz, giving the Phils a 7-2 lead, while sending Martinez to second base. LaRussa then replaced Bastista with Maikal Cieto, hoping to final end this disastrous inning for the Redbirds. Cieto proceed to walk Victorino, the eleventh batter of the inning, reloading the bases as both Martinez and Rollins moved up a base. Utley, the twelfth Phils to bat in the inning, followed with a two-run single, knocking in both Matinez and Rollins, making it a 9-2 Phils’ lead, while sending Victorino to second base. Howard, the inning’s thirteenth batter, then made it a 10-2 Phils’ lead with an RBI single, knocking in Victorino, while sending Utley on to third. Cieto then finally ended the inning by getting Valdez, who was batting for the first time in the game, to fly out to right. That would end up being the final score as Antonio Bastardo and David Herndon threw a pair of scoreless innings against the Cards.
Roy Halladay received a no-decision as he pitched six innings, giving up a run on four hits and two walks, while striking out five. Michael Stutes (2-0, 2.38) got the win as he pitched an inning, giving up a run on a hit and a walk, while striking out one. Antonio Bastardo and David Herndon combined for two scoreless innings, giving up a walk (Bastardo), while striking out three (Bastardo (1), Herndon (2)) between them. Kyle McClellan also received a no-decision as he went seven innings, giving up a run on five hits and four walks, while he struck out two. Trever Miller (0-1, 3.86) took the lost, after receiving his four hold of the season, as he pitched a third of an inning, giving up two runs on a hit and a walk. Jason Motte blew his second save of the year as he pitched to two batters, hitting both of them. Brian Tallet pitched a third of an inning, giving up a run on a hit, as he struck out one. Miguel Batista pitched to three batters, as he gave up three runs on a hit and two walks, getting none of the three batters he faced out. Maikal Cieto pitched an inning and a third, giving up a run on three hits and two walks, while striking out one. The Cardinals’ bullpen blew up in the eighth inning, allowing fourteen men to come to the plate, giving up nine runs on six hits, three walks, and two hit batters.
The Phils had eleven hits in the game, with Carlos Ruiz leading the team with four hits, all singles, knocking in a run, as he lifted his average to .256. Chase Utley followed with two hits, bith singles, as he knocked in two runs, Jimmy Rollins (Single, 2 RBIs), Shane Victorino (Single), Ryan Howard (Single, RBI), pinch hitter Ross Gload (Single, RBI) and pinch hitter Ben Francisco (Single, RBI), had the other five Phils’ hits. Placido Polanco (Hit by the Pitch) and Michael Martinez (Walk), had the other two Phils’ RBI, as the offense took advantage of the Cards’ bullpen’s meltdown in the eighth.
The Phils (46-28, 1st East) continue their series with the Cards (40-34, 2nd Central) with a night game tonight at Busch Stadium (III). The game will start at 8:15 pm EDT (7:15 pm CDT). The Phils will send to the mound Cliff Lee (7-5, 3.12), who is coming off a complete game win against the Marlins on June 16, as he gave up just two hits and two walks, while striking out four, in the Phils’ 3-0 win. He will be going for his fourth straight win, while trying to give the Phils their first series win in their last four tries on the road. The Cards will counter with Kyle Lohse (7-3, 2.88), who is coming off a no-decision against the Nationals on June 16, as he pitched six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk, as he struck out three, in the Cards’ 7-4 lost. He will be trying to even up the series for the Redbirds. The Phils will be trying to give Lee some runs support to give him his eighth win of the season.
Phils have released Luis Castillo, have decided to keep rule fiver Martin Martinez.
The Phils have recently announced that they have just released Luis Castillo, deciding not to keep the former Met. The Phils obviously did not see enough from Castillo to keep him as their regular second baseman while Chase Utley continue to recover from his injury. Which means that Wilson Valdez will be, for the time being, the Phils’ regular second baseman.
The Phils manager, Charlie Manuel, has also announced that he plan to keep Michael Martinez, whom the Phils have gotten from the Washington Nationals via last year’s Rule 5 draft. The rookie infielder will be with the team for the upcoming season.
Martinez’s staying was no surprised, since he did rather well during spring training. As for Castillo, the Phils obviously did not see anything from him to pick up his contract.
Looks like the roster for 2011 is almost fixed.
The Phils have extended Ruben Amaro, Jr.’s Contract.
Earlier today, the Phils have announced that they have extended General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr.’s contract. Amaro has signed a four-year extension with the Phils a day after the team had signed manager Charlie Manuel to a two-year extension of his contract. This means that Amaro will be the Phils’ General Manager through 2015, helping to keep things stable at the top for the next few years.
Here’s to hoping that he’ll be making some more deals that’ll help the team during that time. Time to really start earning, Ruben.
Charlie Manuel contract extended for two more years.
The Phils have extended Charlie Manuel’s contract with the Phils for two more seasons as the Phils manager, for $7.5 million dollars, so he’ll still be the Phils’ manager until the end of 2013.
Congrats on the new contract, Charlie. Hopefully it’ll lead to a few more playoff appearances.
Seems injuries have decided to make things interesting…
This past Saturday, during the Phils’ 4-3 lost to the Pirates, Dom Brown, during an at-bat against pitcher Paul Maholm, fractured the hook of the hamate bone on his right hand as he fouled off a pitch, before getting his only hit of spring training, a single. Brown has returned to Philadelphia to visit hand specialist Randall Culp, to see how bad it is, although the Phils expect that Brown will need surgery on his right hand, and will therefore be out for four to six weeks. This will mean that Dom Brown will more than likely start the year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, before being called back to the main club, while Ben Francisco, who has been hitting the cover off of the ball so far this spring (before going 0 for 3 in today’s game with the Yankees), will be the one who will be the starter in right field, although no one have yet to say that he is.
This could end up being a blessing in disguise, as it should allow Brown to get away from all of the hype around him as he is considered the team’s number one prospect, as well as being the number one candidate for the job in right field, although he have not had a good spring as he had gone 0 for 15 before getting the single.
Meanwhile, in spite of taking a week off to allow his right knee to heal after it was announced that he was suffering from patellar tendenitis, Chase Utley was given a cortisone shot to help it heal. This is not good news, as the leg was expected to heal on its own, after being given some rest, although Utley have taken batting practice as he waited for his knee to get better. Hopefully his knee will be okay by the time that the team head north near the end of the month and it will make Utley sit out a few games during the regular season when told to by Charlie Manuel.
Ahh, finally…
…the day has arrived when pitchers and catchers are suppose to arrive. And for the Phils, it means that one of the best starting rotations in the major leagues will have arrived in Clearwater, along with what should be one of the most rested bullpens during the regular season because their first four starters (Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hamels) should, on most days, be able to reach at least the seventh inning before Uncle Charlie would need to call on the relief corps. Of course, that will depend on the Phil’s offense, since several players (Utley, Rollins, Howard, etc.) are expected to have comeback years after the down year that the team’s offense had last season, while the Phils will be trying to break in rookie Dom Brown, as they plan to use him in a platoon situation with Ben Francisco in right field.
A lot of my fellow Phillies fans are already predicting the Phils to have a large number of wins this season because of our Fantastic Foursome on the mound. Me, I’ll be happy if they break the team’s record of 101 wins, while spanking the Giants during the two times that the two clubs will meet this year.
Recent News…
Since the last time I’d written something here, the Phils have come to terms with both Ben Francisco (January 15) for one year for $1.175 million dollars with performance bonuses and with Kyle Kendrick (January 18) for $2.45 million, also for one year, to avoid arbitration with both players, thus having all of their players signed up for at least one season. Last season, 2010, in 88 games (28 of which were starts), Francisco batted .268 (48 for 179), as he hit thirteen doubles and six home runs and knocked in 28 RBIs. He also went .282 pinch hitting (11-39), hitting three doubles and knocking in 7 RBIs. This season, Francisco will be used in a platoon with Dom Brown in right field to replace Jayson Werth, who had during the off-season signed a long term contract with the Washington Nationals. Meanwhile, Kendrick last season pitched in 33 games (a career-high), 31 of which were starts, as he went 11-10 with an ERA of 4.73, as he pitched in 180.2 innings and struck out 84 batters (both career highs) while walking 49, who, depending on what the team might do, will either be their long man coming out of the bullpen, or fighting for the fifth starter spot with Vance Worley.
As the Phils prepare for the start of spring training next month in Clearwater, Florida, they are looking at their options, thanks to their present embarrassment of riches with their starting pitching staff, which at the moment consists of Roy Halladay (Ace), Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt (who at the moment are being nicknamed either the Four Aces, R2C2 or the Fantastic Four by the fans) and Joe Blanton, as they decide whether they really need to trade Kentucky Joe to another team that needs a good starter to help give them some salary flexibility, or to just keep Joe, and use him as their fifth starter, knowing that he so far have had a good track record pitching for the Phils during the two plus seasons since they’d gotten him from the Oakland A’s to help them down the stretch towards their 2008 World Series Championship. My opinion is that they should hang onto Blanton, unless he brings in a good righthanded bat that’ll help the team in the line-up. Either way, he would be helping the team, especially as the fifth starter, since he is presently seen as a good third or fourth starter on most teams.
Lastly, Charlie Manuel’s contract is coming up this season. Although it is more than likely that the Phils will give him an extension, Charlie had announced on WIP radio yesterday, when asked about it, that he would like a three year contract, and prefer that he signed the contract extension as soon as possible so that it won’t become a distraction for the ballclub during the season, although he does see himself as signing a contract at some point this season. Me, sign him up as soon as possible Ruben. Uncle Chuck seems to know what he’s doing with the players, and we all know that they like playing for him.
While I was taking a short break…
It seems that several things had occurred as far as the Phils are concerned.
First, on December 2, the Phils tendered contracts to outfielder Ben Francisco and pitcher Kyle Kendrick to keep them from becoming free agents. Kyle Kendrick will likely be fighting with Vance Worley for the fifth starter’s spot during spring training, while Francisco will be involved in a platoon situation with Dom Brown, as…
on the following Sunday, December 5, it was announced that Jayson Werth had signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Washington Nationals. Although he was expected to leave, Jayson’s signing with another team within the NL East came as a complete surprise to everyone, including Phils manager Charlie Manuel, as everyone had expected him to sign with an AL team, like the Red Sox or the Tigers. Well, Jayson, congrats on the money, but be prepared for a lot of boos, after being given some respectful cheers the first time you come to town in a Nat uniform. (The Nats? I hope you know what you’re doing Jayson.) As for the Phils’ compensation in draft picks, they will get a player in the draft between the first and second rounds, and then a player from the second round, as the Nats’ first round pick did not fall among the first 15 players of the draft.
The next day, December 6, the Hall of Fame Expansion Era Committee announced that it had elected ex-Phil General Manager Pat Gillick (2005-2008) to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gillick, who was also the GM for the Blue Jays, who won World Series Championships in 1992-1993, to go along with the Phils’ 2008 World Series Championship, as well as being the GM for both the Baltimore Orioles and the Seattle Mariners, in 27 years as a GM, had 11 teams enter the post-season.
The next day, December 7, it was announced that journalist Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News (also formerly on the Philadelphia Bulletin) will receive the J.G. Taylor Spink Award from the BBWAA, for 50 years of meritorious contributions to baseball writing. He will be given the award during the induction ceremonies at Cooperstown, NY, on July 25, 2011.
Then, on December 8, the Phils announced that they had signed former Cardinal relief pitcher Dennys Reyes to a one year deal for $1.1 million, with a $1.35 million option for 2012. Reyes, who has pitched in the major leagues for fourteen seasons out of the bullpen, will be joining his eleventh team when he joins the Phils, as he finished 2010 with a 3-1 record with an ERA of 3.55, as he pitched in 59 games, with a save, as he struck out 25 batters, while walking 21. The Phils will likely be using him as their left handed specialist out of the bullpen, to compliment Antonio Bastardo.
On the 9th, the Phils took three players in the Rule 5 Draft, with the first one, Michael Martinez, an infielder, coming from the Nats organization, via their Syracuse Triple-A affiliate. Phils’ GM Ruben Amaro Jr. jokingly commented that picking him up was the Phils way of getting back at the Nats for taking Jayson. (I just hope the last laugh ain’t on the Phils with this one.) The Phils would also pick up Chris Frey from the Rockies organization and Justin Friend from the A’s in the minor league part of the Rule 5 Draft. I guess it’ll be a while before we see if any of these guys pan out with the Phils.
Also during the week, the Phils brought Dom Brown back from the Dominican League, as they did not think that he was getting the seasoning that they thought he would need to be ready for spring training. Instead, they plan to do it during spring training itself, to get him ready for the regular season.
Lastly, the Phils had announced on Saturday that shortstop Jimmy Rollins had on Thursday undergone minor surgery on his left wrist. They also announced that he should be able to participate in spring training next year.
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