Results tagged ‘ Charlie Manuel ’
Philadelphia Phillies – Awards: Manager of the Year Award.
With Manager of the Year, there are two different versions of the Award, one that is given by the newspaper size publication, The Sporting News, which has been awarding the prize since 1936 (to one manager in both leagues, before giving an award to a manager in each league, since 1986) and the award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America to a manager in each league since 1983. Phillie managers have won only three awards, two from the Sporting News and one from the BBWAA. They were won by two Phil managers.
The first Phillie manager to win a Manager of the Year Award was Danny Ozark, who won The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award in 1976, as he led the Phils to their first National League Eastern Division crown, and their first championship since the 1950 Whiz Kids, as the Phil won the NL East with a record of 101-61 (which is still a team record) with a .623 winning percentage. The second and, so far, only other Phil manager to win a Manager of the Year Award was Larry Bowa, who, in 2001, won both The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award and the BBWAA Manager of the Year Award, as he led the Phil to a second place finish in the NL East, the Phil’s best finish since they had finished in third place in 1999, with a record of 86-76, and a winning percentage of .531.
Phil managers have won one Manager of the Year in the 20th Century and two (both to Larry Bowa) in the 21st Century. Neither manager is in the Hall of Fame, either as a player or as a manager.
Who would be the next Phil manager to win either version of the award? I have no idea, although Charlie Manuel could win it this year, because of how the Phils won the Eastern Division pennant this past season.
The Phillies have just announced their 25-man roster for the NLDS…
The Phils have just announced their 25-man roster for the National League Divisional series. They plan to take 10 pitchers with them for the short five-game series and 15 position players. Among those who were left off of the roster were Danys Baez (big surprise after what happened on Sunday), David Herndon (was somewhat expected) and Kyle Kendrick (somewhat shocked, but I can live with it), while those who were placed on the roster includes Antonio Bastardo (expected, as they need a second left hander to help J.C. Romero, and he has been pitching very well lately), Dom Brown (I just hope they’ll use him) and Greg Dobbs (Oh, I know that there’s going to be a lot of Phils fans who will think that Uncle Chuck has lost his mind letting him anywhere near the roster.)
Starters: Infield: Ryan Howard (1st Base), Chase Utley (2nd Base), Jimmy Rollins (SS), Placido Polanco (3rd Base)
Outfield: Raul Ibanez (Left), Shane Victorino (Center), Jayson Werth (Right)
Catcher: Carlos Ruiz
Bench: Brian Schneider (C), Mike Sweeney (1st Base), Wilson Valdez (Inf), Greg Dobbs (Inf), Ben Francisco (OF), Ross Gload (Inf-OF), Dom Brown (OF)
Pitchers: Starters: Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton (will be coming out of the bullpen this series)
Relief Corps: Jose Contreras, Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero, Antonio Bastardo, Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge
Although not on the roster, Baez, Herndon and Kendrick will travel with the team, along with catcher Paul Hoover and pitcher Jamie Moyer, in case an injury happens to someone on the 25-man roster.
Countdown to the Playoffs, Game # 8: Two defensive mistakes by the Phils lead to the end of their winning streak, as they lose to the Mets, 5-2. The magic number is still at two.
Two defensive mistakes by the Phils in the seventh inning allowed the Mets to score five runs in that inning, as the Phils’ winning streak ends at eleven games, as they lose to the Mets, 5-2. The magic number stays at two as the Braves have earlier defeated the Nationals.
The Phils took the lead in the first as, with one man on, and with two men out, Ryan Howard hits a two-run home run, his thirty-first home run of the year, knocking in Chase Utley, who had earlier singled, giving the Phils a 2-0 lead. The game then became a pitchers’ duel between Phils’ starter Kyle Kendrick, who, in the first six innings, would give up only three hits, while striking out four, while the Mets’ starter Dillon Gee kept the Phils off-balanced for the next five innings, giving up only three more hits and two walks, while striking out five Phils. Kendrick’s good fortune would come to an end in the seventh. Carlos Beltran started the inning off with a single. The next batter, David Wright followed by hitting a grounder that went to the left of Kendrick. After getting the ball, Kendrick threw it to second to start a possible double play with Utley, but Wilson Valdez steps in front of Utley, and then touched second base, forcing out Beltran. But, because of his momentum, he is not able to throw to first, allowing Wright to reach first safely. Ike Davis then followed with a single, sending Wright up to second base. Angel Pagan then got on base on a fielding error by Howard as he allowed the ball to eat him up, before going into right field, loading the bases as Wright stops at third, and Davis stops at second. The next batter, Josh Thole, followed with an RBI single, knocking in Wright, cutting the Phils’ lead to 2-1, while moving up a base both Davis and Pagan, leaving the bases loaded. Charlie Manuel would then come out and take the ball from Kendrick, replacing him with Chad Durbin. Pinch hitter Lucas Duda welcomes Durbin with a bases clearing double, scoring Davis, Pagan and Thole, giving the Mets a 4-2 lead, with still only one man out. After Durbin strikes out Gee for the inning’s second out, Jose Reyes makes it a 5-2 Mets’ lead with an RBI double, knocking in Joaquin Arias, who was pinch running for Duda. That would be the final score as the Mets would shut down the Phils for the final three innings, with Hisanori Takahashi recording his eighth save of the season by getting Carlos Ruiz to fly out to center for the final out.
Kyle Kendrick took the lost as he pitches six and one-third innings, giving up four runs, three of which were earned, on six hits, while striking out four. His record is now 10-10 with a 4.76 ERA. Chad Davis collects his first blown save of the year as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up a run on two hits, while striking out two batters. J.C. Romero and David Herndon pitches two scoreless innings, giving up three hits (Romero (1), Herndon (2)) and a walk (Romero). Dillon Gee gets the win as he pitches seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out five. His record is now 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA. Elmer Dessens receives his ninth hold of the year as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, getting out both man that he would face. Pedro Feliciano records his twentieth hold of the year as he pitches a third of an inning, getting out the only man that he would face. Hisanori Takahashi records his eighth save of the year as he pitches a scoreless inning, giving up a walk, while striking out a batter.
The Phils had only five hits in the game, singles by Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Kyle Kendrick, a double by Wilson Valdez and a two-run home run by Ryan Howard, knocking in the Phils only runs. The Phils offense got shut down after scoring in the first innings.
The Phils (93-62, 1st) will conclude their regular season home schedule with a day game against the Mets (75-79, 4th), with the Phils presently trailing late in the game.
Post No. 800: Phils lose close one thanks in part to a bad call by the first base ump, as they drop one to the Astros, 3-2.
Thanks in part to a bad call by the first base umpire, the Phils drop a close one to the Astros as former Phil Brett Myers come back to stifle his ex-teammates, 3-2.
The Astros took the lead in the first as, with runners on the corners, and with nobody out, Hunter Pence hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Michael Bourn, who had earlier singled, stole second base and then moved up to third on Angel Sanchez’s single, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead, while sending Sanchez, who had just singled, on to second base. The Astros then tried to increase their lead as Sanchez tried to score on Carlos Lee’s double, but was instead gun down at home plate, 8-4-2, for the inning’s second out. The Phils tied it up at one-all in the third as Carlos Ruiz hits a lead-off home run, his sixth home run of the year. The Phils then took the lead later in the inning as, with two men on, and with one man out, Chase Utley hits an RBI single, knocking in Jimmy Rollins, who had earlier singled, before moving up to second on Lee’s fielding error, moved up to third on a fielder’s choice grounder hit by Shane Victorino, as Joe Blanton, who had earlier singled, and had gone to third on Rollins’ single, is thrown out at home, 3-2, giving the Phils’ a 2-1 lead, while Victorino, who was safe at first on the fielder’s choice, moved up to second base. The Phils tried to add to their lead in the sixth as, with a runner on second, Jayson Werth, via a double, and with two men out, after Raul Ibanez had just struck out, swinging, the Astros proceeded to intentionally walk Ruiz, to get to Wilson Valdez, but, after ball four is thrown, Astros catcher Humberto Quintero threw a strike to second base, picking off Werth, 2-6, who’s mind appeared to have been somewhere else, to end the inning. This base running blunder might have come back to haunt the Phils, as, in the eighth, with two men on, and with two men out, the Astros took the lead as Lee hits a two-run single, scoring pinch hitter Jason Michaels, who had earlier singled, had moved up to second on Bourn’s bunt single, and moved to third on Sanchez’s sacrifice bunt, 5-4, and Bourn, who had gotten on base with a bunt single, when he had in fact went out of the base line to avoid being tagged by Ryan Howard, but was called safe by the first base umpire, which lead to a long argument by Charlie Manuel before he was ejected from the game for arguing the call, and then went to second on Sanchez’s bunt, giving the Astros a 3-2 lead. That would end up being the final score as Brandon Lyon put down the Phils in the ninth for his seventh save of the season.
Joe Blanton receives a no-decision as he pitches seven strong innings, giving up just one run on six hits, while striking out nine. Ryan Madson records his fourth blown save of the year before taking the lost as he pitches an inning, giving up two runs on three hits, while striking out a batter. His record is now 4-2 with a 3.58 ERA. Brad Lidge pitches a scoreless inning, giving up a hit, while he strikes out one. Brett Myers gets the win as he pitches seven inning, giving up two runs on nine hits and a walk, while striking out nine. His record is now 9-7 with a 3.08 ERA. Tim Byrdak collects his sixth hold of the year as he pitches a scoreless inning, giving up a hit. Brandon Lyon receives his seventh save of the year as he pitches a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.
The Phils had ten hits in the game, with Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth both leading the team with two hits each, with Rollins’ two hits being singles, while Werth’s hits were a single and a double. Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, Carlos Ruis, Wilson Valdez, Joe Blanton and pinch hitter Dom Brown had the other six Phils’ hits, all singles, except for Ruiz’s solo home run, with Utley knocking in the other Phil’s run. The offense did not get the much needed key hit last night.
The Phils (70-54, 2nd East) will continue their series with the Astros (55-69, 4th Central) with a night game tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Cole Hamels (7-10, 3.51), who is coming off a lost to the Giants on August 19, as he went only five innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out only five, in the Phils’ 5-2 lost. In his last three starts, his record is 0-3, as he pitched twenty innings, giving up seven runs on eighteen hits and three walks, while striking out twenty-four. He will be hoping that the bats will finally give him some runs so that he can finally end his win-less streak. The Astros will counter with Bud Norris (6-7, 5.23), who is coming off a win over the Mets on August 19, as he pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out four, in the Astros’ 3-2 win. In his last three starts, his record is 2-0 with a no-decision, as he pitched twenty and two-thirds innings, giving up eight runs on fourteen hits and five walks, while striking out twenty-one. He will be going for his third win in a row. The Phils’ offense will be out to score runs for Hamels tonight.
Memo to Joe: Phillies own Broxton!!! Phils come from behind to defeat the Dodgers, 10-9.
In a dramatic turn of events, the Phils come back to defeat the Dodgers by scoring eight runs in the last two innings, with the last four coming off of Jonathan Broxton in a wild ninth inning, winning the game with a Carlos Ruiz walk-off double, 10-9.
The Dodgers took the lead in the first as, with runners on the corners, and with two men out, Ronnie Belliard hits an RBI single, scoring Scott Podsednik, who had earlier singled, moved to second on Ryan Theriot’s ground out, 4-3, then went to third on Andre Ethier’s ground out, 4-3, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead, while sending James Loney, who had just walked, on to second base. Matt Kemp then gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead with an RBI single, knocking in Loney, while sending Belliard to second. James Carroll then made it a 3-0 Dodgers’ lead with an RBI single of his own, scoring Belliard, while sending Kemp to third, before moving up to second on the late throw to third. The Phils got a run back in the second as, with two men on, and with one man out, Joe Blanton hits an RBI ground out, 5-3, knocking in Carlos Ruiz, who had earlier singled, then went to third on Wilson Valdez’s double, making it a 3-1 Dodgers’ lead, while sending Valdez, who had just doubled, over to third base. The Phils then cut the Dodgers’ lead down to 3-2 in the fourth as, with a runner on second, and with one man out, Ruiz hit an RBI single, scoring Jayson Werth, who had earlier singled, and then stole second base. The Dodgers would get one of those runs back in the fifth as, with two men on, and with one man out, Belliard hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Theriot, who had earlier singled, and had gone on to third on Ethier’s single, making it a 4-2 Dodgers’ lead. The Dodgers then made it 6-2 in the seventh as, with one man on, and with one out, Kemp hits a two-run bomb, his nineteenth home run of the year, knocking in Loney, who had earlier singled. The Dodgers added to their lead in the eighth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Casey Blake hits an RBI single, scoring Podsendik, who was earlier safe at first on first baseman Mike Sweeney’s fielding error, then moved up to second on Ethier’s single, making it a 7-2 Dodgers’ lead, while sending Ethier, who had earlier singled, over to third base. Kemp then made it an 8-2 Dodgers’ lead with an RBI single, knocking in Ethier, while sending Blake up to second base. Carroll then gave the Dodgers a 9-2 lead with an RBI single of his own, scoring Blake, while sending Kemp over to third, before moving up to second on the throw. The Phils, after falling behind by seven runs, then started to chip away at the Dodgers’ lead. In their half of the eighth, Placido Polanco started the inning off with a single. Sweeney followed him with a single of his own, sending Polanco to second base. With Werth batting, Ronald Bellsario threw a wild pitch, sending Polanco to third base, and Sweeney up to second base. Werth then hits a two-run single, scoring both Polanco and Sweeney, cutting the Dodgers’ lead down to 9-4. With Ben Francisco batting, Bellsario committed a balk, sending Werth up to second base, although it took the home plate umpire a long time before finally saying that Bellsario’s fake to third and then to first move was a balk, since there was no body on third at the time, as he needed to be prompted first by Phils’ manager, Charlies Manuel, and then by the rest of the umpiring crew. Francisco then hits an RBI double, bringing in Werth, cutting the Dodgers lead down even further to 9-5. After Ruiz hits a bullet to third, that was grabbed by third baseman Blake, for a 5-3 ground out, the inning’s first out, Valdez hits an RBI single, knocking in Francisco, making it a 9-6 Dodgers’ lead. The Dodgers would then get out of the inning as pinch hitter Ben Francisco flies out to left, and then, after Jimmy Rollins walks, Raul Ibanez ended the inning by hitting into a force out, 4-6, wiping out Rollins at second base. After Danys Baez shut down the Dodgers in the top of the ninth, the Dodgers brought in Jonathan Broxton to nail down the game for them. He did not do so. After falling behind Polanco 2-0, he hit him with his third pitch, as Polanco turned his body so that the ball would not hit his right elbow, sending Polanco to first. The next two batters, Sweeney and Werth, then walked, loading up the bases, with nobody out. Ben Francisco then followed by hitting what should have been a doubleplay grounder to third, but was misplayed by Blake who pulled up his glove too soon, becoming a fielding error, allowing both Polanco and Sweeney to score, cutting the Dodgers lead down to 9-7, while sending Werth up to second base. Now, with two men on, and with still nobody out, Ruiz hits a 1-1 slider towards left center field, where it would hit against the wall and bounce in for a double, knocking in first Werth, and then Francisco, who was on Werth’s heels, with the winning run, as the Phils had a 10-9 walk-off win.
Joe Blanton gets a no-decision as he pitches five and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and four walks, while striking out three. Chad Durbin pitches an innings and a third, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk, while striking out one. J.C. Romero pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up two unearned run on a hit, while striking out a batter. Jose Contreras pitches a third of an inning, giving up a run on three hits, while striking out a batter. Danys Baez gets the win as he pitches a scoreless inning, giving up a hit. His record is now 3-3 with a 5.40 ERA. Clayton Kershaw also receives a no-decision, as he pitches six and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out four. Hong-Chih Kuo records his seventeenth hold of the year as he pitches a third of an inning, getting out the only man that he would face. Ronald Belisaro pitches to four batters, giving up four runs on four hits, a wild pitch and a balk. Kenley Jansen pitches a third of an inning, giving up a hit. George Sherrill records his third hold of the year as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up a walk. Jonathan Broxton blew his fifth save of the season, before taking the lost, as he faces five batters, giving up four runs on just one hit, two walks and a hit batter. His record is now 4-4 with a 3.50 ERA.
The Phils had twelve hits in the game, with Carlos Ruiz leading the team with three hits, two singles and a double, knocking in three runs, including the game winner, as he raised his batting average to .294. He was followed by Placido Polanco, Mike Sweeney, Jayson Werth and Wilson Valdez, who all had two hits apiece, with Polanco, Sweeney and Werth’s hits all being singles, with Werth knocking in two runs, while Valdez’s hits were a single and a double, as he knocks in a run. Ben Francisco had the other Phil hit, a double, as he knocks in two runs. Joe Blanton knocks in the other Phil RBI with a ground out, while the other run came in on an error. The offense this time was able to come back, in spite of the bullpen, although helped by a Broxton melt down in the ninth. Seriously, either the Phils are deep in his head (Thank you Matt Stairs), or the Phils got some supernatural assistant from a young male fan in the ninth. Either way, I think Joe Torre might think twice and maybe a third time before using him with such a small lead in the ninth against the Phils. Not so good things seems to happen to him. 
The Phils (64-50, 2nd) will now go to New York for a three-game set with the Mets (57-57, 4th). The game will be played at Citi Field and will start at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Cole Hamels (7-8, 3.45), who is coming off a lost against the Mets on August 7, where he pitched seven strong innings, giving up only one run on six hits, while he struck out eleven, in the Phils’ 1-0 lost. In his last three starts, his record is 0-1 with two no-decisions, as he pitched nineteen innings, giving up eight runs on eighteen hits and four waks, while striking out twenty-nine. He will be trying to get even with the Mets for his last lost. The Mets will counter with R.A. Dickey (7-5, 2.65), who is coming off a lost against the Phils on August 8, as he went only three innings, giving up four runs, on eight hits and a walk, in the Phils’ 6-5 win. In his last three starts, his record is 1-1 with a no-decision, as he pitched seventeen and a third innings, giving up six runs on nineteen hits and seven walks, while striking out four. He hopes that the Phils won’t be able to handle him again. The Phils will be trying to take the momentum from their ninth-inning win last night into New York City for the weekend.
Jamie Moyer gains career victory no. 266 as the Phils defeat the Indians, 2-1.
Jamie Moyer pitches eight strong innings as he collects career victory no. 266, tying him for 36th place on the all-time wins list with former Indian Hall of Famer Bob Feller and one time Phil Hall of Famer Eppa Rixey, as he leads the Phils to a 2 to 1 win over the Indians.
The Phils took the lead in the first as, with two men on, and with one man out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, knocking in Placido Polanco, who had earlier singled, and then moved up to second base on a Chase Utley walk, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while sending Utley, who had earlier walked, over to third base. The Phils then made it 2-0 as, with runners now on the corners, and with still only one man out, Jayson Werth hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Utley. The Indians would cut the Phils’ lead in the second as, with two men out, Russell Branyan hits a solo home run, his tenth home run of the season, and the 505th home run given up by Phils’ starter Jamie Moyer in his 24-years career, tying him with the late Hall of Famer Robin Roberts for this dubious distinction, making it a 2-1 Phils’ lead. The game then became a pitchers’ duel between Moyer and Indians’ starter Mitch Talbot. Talbot would give up only two more hits and two more walks to the Phils after the first inning, escaping a jam in the fourth as Shane Victorino hits into a 4-6-3 double play with runners on first and third, and with one man out, as Raul Ibanez, who had just singled, is called out at second for runner’s interference on the play, thus preventing a run from scoring. This call would lead to Charlie Manual being ejected from the game for arguing over the call. Moyer, meantime, would only give up one more hit and one walk after the Branyan home run, as he escapes a two on and two out jam of his own in the sixth by getting Carlos Santana to fly out to left. The Indians then tried to put together a rally in the ninth as they were able to get two men on, Shin-Soo Choo with a single and Santana with a walk, after J.C. Romero had started the inning off by getting out the lead-off man. Brad Lidge is then brought in, and proceeds to record his fifth save of the season in six attempts by first striking out Austin Kearns swinging and then striking out Jhonny Peralta, also swinging, to end the ball game.
Jamie Moyer gets the win as he pitches eight strong innings, giving up only one run on two hits and a walk, while striking out five. His record is now 8-6 with an ERA of 4.43. J.C. Romero records his second hold of the season, as he gives up just one hit and a walk. Brad Lidge picks up his fifth save of the season as he strikes out both men that he would face. Mitch Talbot took the lost as he pitches seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks, while he strikes out three. His record is now 7-6 with 4.08 ERA. Kerry Wood pitches a 1-2-3 inning.
The Phils had only four hits in the game, with Ryan Howard having two of the four hits, both singles, as he knocks in a run, raising his average to .294. Placido Polanco and Raul Ibanez had the other two Phils’ hits, both singles, while Jayson Werth knocks in the other Phil’s run with a sac fly. The Phils’ offense, once again, went cold, but thanks to Moyer’s strong outing, it was enough to win the game, but it shows that the team is once again not playing the way that everyone expects them to play.
The Phillies (36-32, 3rd NL East) will continue their three-game series with the Indians (26-43, 5th AL Central) with another night game. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern.The Phils’ starter will be Kyle Kendrick (4-2 4.48), who is coming off a win against the Yankees on June 17, when he pitched seven strong innings, giving up a run on four hits and two walks, in the Phils’ 7-1 win. He will be trying to pitched his second straight good outing while trying to capture his fifth win. The Indians will send to the mound Jake Westbrook (4-4, 4.76), who is coming off a lost against the Mets, also on June 17, as he pitched seven innings, getting tagged for five runs on eleven hits and two walks, while striking out five, in the Indians’ 6-4 lost. He will be trying to keep from being smoked for the second straight start. The Phils will be trying for their second series win in three tries, while hoping that they can actually smoked the Indians, while also hoping that Jimmy Rollins will regain his batting stroke tonight.
The Phils end the 2009 regular season on a high note as they defeat the Marlins in 10-innings, 7-6.
The Phils constantly came from behind before finally defeating the Marlins in extra-innings, 7-6, thus ending the 2008 regular season on a high note. They will now face the Rockies in the best of five Divisional Series starting on Wednesday.
The Marlins jumped to a quick 1-0 lead, as, with two men on, and with nobody out, Nick Johnson hits a sacrifice fly, knocking in Chris Coghlan, who had earlier singled, and then reached third on Cameron Maybin’s double. Three batters later, with two men once again on, as Dan Uggla walked, and now with two men out, Ronny Paulino hits an RBI double, scoring Maybin, giving the fish a 2-0 lead, and sending Uggla to third. The Phils would get a run back in the fourth as Miguel Cairo hits a lead-off home run, his first home run of the season, making it a 2-1 Marlins’ lead. The Phils would then tied the game at two-all later in the inning as, with a runner on third, and with two men out, Ben Francisco hits an RBI single, knocking in Jayson Werth, who had earlier singled, and then proceeded to steal first second, and then third base. The Marlins would retake the lead in the fifth as, with the bases loaded, via a walk to Marlins’ starter Josh Johnson, a single to Coghlan, sending J. Johnson up to second base, a ground out by Maybin, 5-3, which would move J. Johnson up to third and send Coghlan up to second, and a walk to N. Johnson, with two men out, Wes Helms hits an RBI single, scoring both J. Johnson and Coghlan, making it a 4-2 Marlins’ lead, and sending N. Johnson over to third. The next batter, Uggla, then followed with an RBI single, knocking in N. Johnson, making it 5-2 Marlins and sending Helms to third. The Phils would strike back in their half of the fifth as, with a runner on third, and with nobody out, Eric Bruntlett hits an RBI single, knocking in Andy Tracy, who had just tripled, making it a 5-3 Marlins’ lead. Two batters later, pinch hitter Shane Victorino hits an RBI single, knocking in Bruntlett, who had earlier stolen second base, to make it a 5-4 Marlin’s lead. Two batters later, with a runner on second, and now with two men out, Greg Dobbs hits an RBI single, scoring Victorino, who had just gone to second on a Cairo ground out, 3-unassisted, tying the game up at five-all. The Marlins regained the lead in the sixth as, with runners on the corners, and with one out, Coghlin hits into an RBI force out, knocking in Emilio Bonifacio, who had earlier walked, and had gone to third on pinch hitter Gaby Sanchez’s single, while Sanchez, who had just singled, was wiped out at second, 4-6. The Phils would tie it up again at six-all in the eighth as Cairo hits a lead-off triple, then went home when Marlins’ second baseman Uggla threw the ball into the dugout for a throwing error. The Phils would win the ballgame in the tenth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Paul Hoover hits an RBI infield single off of Helm’s glove, scoring John Mayberry, who had singled, then moved to second on Cairo’s sacrifce bunt, 2-3, giving the Phils a 7-6 walk-off win.
J.A. Happ received a no-decision as he pitched only two innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk, while striking out one. Kyle Kendrick then followed for two and two-thirds inning, giving up three runs on three hits and three walks, as he struck out three. Clay Condrey pitched a third of an inning, getting out the only man he would face. Brett Myers pitched a third of an inning, giving up a run on just a walk, as he struck out a batter. Sergio Escalona pitched one and two-thirds innings, giving up a hit and a walk, while striking out one. Jack Taschner pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits, as he struck out one. Scott Eyre pitched an inning, giving up only a walk, while striking out a batter. Chad Durbin got the win as he pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit. His record is now 2-2 with an ERA of 4.39. Josh Johnson also recorded a no-decision as he went four and two-thirds innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out five. Tim Wood pitched a third of an inning, striking out the only man he would face. Burke Badenhop recorded his second hold as he pitched two 1-2-3 innings, striking out three. Kiko Calero blew his fifth save, as he went an inning, giving up a run on a hit, while striking out a batter. Renyel Pinto pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits, as he struck out two. Dan Meyer took the lost as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a run on two hits and a walk, while striking out one. His record is now 3-2 with a 3.09 ERA.
The Phils collected twelve hits in the game, with Miguel Cairo, Ben Francisco and Eric Bruntlett leading the team with two hits each, with Cairo’s hits being a home run and a triple, knocking in a run while scoring two. Greg Dobbs, Jayson Werth, Paul Hoover, Andy Tracy, Shane Victorino and John Mayberry Jr. collected the other six Phils’ hits, with Tracy’s hit being a triple. Besides Cairo’s home run, Dobbs, Francisco, Bruntlett, pinch hitter Victorino and Hoover each knocked in a run, with Hoover’s being the game winner. The non-regulars and the September call-ups help lead the Phils to their final win of the regular season.
The Phils finished the regular season with a 93-69 record, with one win more than they won in 2008, being their best record under Charlie Manuel’s leadership. The Phils will be off until Wednesday when they will play the first game of the NL Divisional Series against the Colorado Rockies, the wild card winner. The Phils will be trying to get even with the Rockies for 2007 when they got swept in three games.
An Unassisted Triple Play ends a crazy game as the Phils hang on to defeat the Mets, 9-7.
A crazy game ended in dramatic fashion as Jeff Francoeur hits into an unassisted triple play, the first time it have ever happened in a National League ballgame and for the second time in Major League history, as the Phils hung on to defeat the Mets, 9-7. The Phils’ lead in the NL East still remains at six-and-a-half games going into this afternoon’s game, as the Braves defeated the Marlins.
The Phils took an early lead in the first as, with two men on, and with nobody out, Jayson Werth hits a three-run bomb into left field, his twenty-ninth home run of the season, knocking in Jimmy Rollins, who had earlier doubled, and Shane Victorino, who had just walked, to give the Phils a 3-0 lead. The Phils then increased their lead to 6-0 as, with two men on, and now with two men out, Carlos Ruiz hits a three-run bomb of his own, also into left field, his eighth home run of the year, knocking in Pedro Feliz, who had earlier walked, and had gone to second base on Eric Bruntlett’s single, and Bruntlett, who was playing second base as Chase Utley was given the day off, who had earlier singled. Then, after Mets’ starter Oliver Perez had thrown three straight balls to Phils’ starter Pedro Martinez, Mets’ manager Jerry Manuel had seen enough of ‘Bad’ Perez, and replaced him with Nelson Figueroa, who then struck out Martinez on three pitches to end the inning. The Mets then came back as their lead-off man, Angel Pagan hits an inside-the-park home run, his fourth home run of the year, on a ball that got stuck under the rail in left-center field, which the umpires did not call a ground-rule double because of the stadium’s rule on those kinds of hit balls, cutting the Phils’ lead down to 6-1. Three batters later, the Mets made it 6-2 Phils as, with a man on base, and with one out, Jeff Francoeur hits an RBI triple, knocking in Daniel Murphy, who was earlier safe on a force out, 6-4. The Phils then increased their lead in the third as, with the bases loaded, via a walk to Raul Ibanez, a single to Feliz, sending Ibanez up to second base, and a single to Bruntlett, sending Ibanez over to third, and Feliz to second, with only one man out, as Martinez hits an RBI single, knocking in Ibanez, and making it a 7-2 Phils’ lead, while sending Feliz on to third, and Bruntlett over to second. Rollins would then make it 8-2 Phils as he hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Feliz from third. The Mets got a run back in their half of the third as Pagan hits a lead-off home run, his fifth home run of the season, as he cut the Phils’ lead down to 8-3. Three batters later, with runners on second and third, and with one man out, Cory Sullivan hits an RBI ground out, 6-3, scoring Luis Castillo, who had earlier singled, and then went to third on Murphy’s double, making it 8-4 Phils. That would remain the score until the seventh, as Martinez finally settled down in the middle innings. In the seventh, the Mets made it 8-5 as, with a runner on base, and with two men out, Murphy hits an RBI single, knocking in Castillo, who had earlier walked, and then stole second. In the eighth, the Phils got that run back as, with a runner on third, and with two men out, Matt Stairs, who had earlier reached base on a pinch walk, move up to second on a wild pitch, and then went to third on Rollins’ ground out, 3-unassisted, scored on a second wild pitch, making it 9-5 Phils. The Mets would get that run back in their half of the eighth as, with a runner on base, and with two men out, Anderson Hernandez hits an RBI double, knocking in Sullivan, who had earlier singled, and then stole second, making it a 9-6 Phils’ lead. Then, in the ninth, things got even wierder. In the top of the inning, with two men out, Bruntlett hits a fly ball to center field, that Francouer caught as he dived for it, possibly hurting his hand as he did so, but was originally declared a trapped ball, with Bruntlett ending up on third with a triple. But, after Francoeur informed the umpires that he had in fact caught the ball, which would later be backed up by instant replay of the catch, the umpires, after a conference, would reversed the call as the third base umpire, Tim Timmons, had a better view of the play. But, when one of the umpires went to explain their ruling to Phils’ manager Charlie Manuel, it would lead to Charlie being ejected for disputing the call. Then in the bottom of the ninth, with a runner on third, and with nobody out, Castillo reached base on a Bruntlett fielding error, which allowed Pagan, who had reached base earlier on a three-base error by Ryan Howard on a ball that Howard never touched, cutting the Phils’ lead down to 9-7. The next batter, Murphy, then reached base on an infield single, on a ball that Bruntlett was only able to stop behind second base, allowing Castillo to reach second. Then with Francouer batting, and with the count 2-2, J. Manuel sent both Castillo and Murphy running on the pitch. Francouer then hit a line drive up the middle, pass Phils’ closer Brad Lidge. Bruntlett, who had gone over to second to cover the bag on the back end of the double steal attempt, caught Francouer’s line drive for the first out of the inning, before his momentum caused him to tag second base, doubling up Castillo. Then he went after Murphy, soon tagging him for the third and final out, preserving the Phils’ win, and becoming the first National Leaguer to perform an unassisted triple play which ended a ballgame, and becoming the second major leaguer to do so since Johnny Nuen of the Tigers did it back on May 21, 1927 against the Indians.
Pedro Martinez won the game, going six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk, while he struck out five. His record is now 2-0 with an ERA of 5.14. Chad Durbin pitched an inning, giving up a run on one hit and a walk. Ryan Madson also gave up a run, on two hits. Brad Lidge recorded his twenty-fifth save of the season, as he gave up an unearned run on a hit. Oliver Perez took the lost, as he lasted only two-thirds of an inning, giving up six runs on four hits and two walks. His record is now 3-4 with a 6.82 ERA. Nelson Figuera pitched two and a third innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out a batter. Pat Misch pitched four scoreless innings, giving up just a hit, as he struck out four. Sean Green pitched an inning, giving up a run on one hit, two walks and two wild pitches, while he struck out one. Elmer Dessens pitched a 1-2-3 inning.
The Phils had ten hits in the game, with, of all people, Eric Bruntlett, leading the way with thre hits, raising his low average to .154. Next was Jayson Werth with two hits, with one of them being a three-run home run, raising his average to .271. Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Pedro Feliz, Carlos Ruiz and Pedro Martinez had the other five Phils’ hits, with Rollins’ hit being a double and Ruiz’s hit being a three-run home run. Besides the two three-run homers by Werth and Ruiz, Martinez knocked in a run, and Rollins plated a run with a sac fly. The offense took an early lead with a couple of three-run bombs, and then scored enough runs to hang on before Bruntlett’s unassisted triple play finally ended the game.
The Phils (71-50 1st) have just finished their four-games series with the Mets (57-68), with a 6-2 victory behind Cliff Lee, who is now 5-0 since coming from the American League. The Phils’ lead in the National League East is now at seven games as they head to Pittsburgh for a three-games series with the Pirates.
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