Results tagged ‘ Emilio Bonifacio ’
Happ wins his seventh game as the Phils increased their lead over the Marlins to seven games as the Phils win a shut out, 5-0.
J.A. Happ once again pitch seven strong innings, as he and the bullpen shut down the fish once again as the Phils defeat the Marlins, 5-0. The win increase the Phils lead to seven games in the NL East, while they increase their winning streak to a season high eight games.
The game would start with a very wild first inning. Jimmy Rollins lead off the game with a triple. But, with Shane Victorino batting, and with the infield back, except at third base, Rollins made a mistake by running towards home on Victorino’s grounder, as the ball went to the Marlins’ third baseman Emilio Bonifacio, who then threw home, where Rollins is tagged out by the catcher for the first out of the inning, 5-2, while Victorino would be safe at first on the fielder’s choice. Victorino would then go to second on Braves’ starter Andrew Miller’s throwing error on a pick-off attempt. After Chase Utley flied out to center for the inning’s second out, first Raul Ibanez and then Jayson Werth walked, loading the bases, with two men out. But Pedro Feliz would end the inning by hitting into a force out, 6-5, rubbing out Werth at second base. The Marlins, after dodging the bullet, tried to take the lead in their half of the first. Bonifacio lead off the inning with a double. Jeremy Hermida was then hit by the pitch, putting two men on, with nobody out. Hanley Ramirez then flied out to center for the inning’s first out, as Bonifacio tagged up and moved to third base, putting runners on the corners. Jorge Cantu then flied out to short right field for the second out of the inning, with Bonifacio deciding not to test Werth’s arm. The next batter, Dan Uggla, then ended the inning by grounding out, 6-3, for the final out, leaving it a 0-0 game. The Phils then took the lead in the second, as, with the bases loaded via an infield single to Phils’ starter J.A. Happ, a single to Rollins and an infield single to Victorino, and two men out, Utley is hit by the pitch, forcing in Happ, and giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, as both Rollins and Victorino moved up a base. The next batter, Ibanez, followed with a two-run double, knocking in both Rollins and Victorino, making it a 3-0 Phils lead, while sending Utley to third. The Phils would increase their lead in the third as, with a runner on second, and two men out, Rollins hits an RBI double, knocking in Carlos Ruiz, who had earlier walked, and had moved up to second on Happ’s sacrifice bunt, making it a 4-0 Phillies’ lead. Happ would then keep the Marlins at bay, before running into trouble in the sixth, as the Marlins loaded up the bases on singles by Cantu and Uggla, and a fielding error by Feliz on a Cody Ross ground ball, with nobody out. But Happ soon got himself out of the inning. First, he got Phillies’ killer Ronny Paulino to pop out to shortstop, 6-unassisted, under the Infield Fly Rule for the first out of the inning. He then struck out Brett Carroll swinging for the second out, and then got pinch hitter Wes Helms to strike out looking to end the threat, keeping it a 4-0 Phils’ lead. The Phils would then add to their lead in the ninth as, with the bases loaded again, via an Utley single, a walk to Ibanez and a walk to Feliz, which would move pinch runner John Mayberry, Junior, up to second base, while Utley went to third, and two men out, Utley would score on a wild pitch that would hit Paulino’s shin guard and go up the third base line, making it a 5-0 Phils’ lead. That would be the final score as Scott Eyre and Brad Lidge would combine for a scoreless ninth inning.
J.A. Happ got the win as he pitched seven shut out innings, giving up five hits and a walk, while striking out four. His record is now 7-0 with an ERA of 2.68. Ryan Madson pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two hits, while striking out one. J.C. Romero pitched a third of an inning, collecting his sixth hold as he got out the only man he would face. Scott Eyre and Brad Lidge would combine for one scoreless inning, giving up only one hit (Eyre). Andrew Miller took the lost as he pitched just two and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks. His record is now 3-5 with a 4.81 ERA. Brian Sanches, Burke Badenhop, Luis Ayala and Renyel Pinto would combine for five and a third scoreless innings of relief, giving up only one hit (Sanches) and two walks (Badenhop, Pinto), while striking out seven (Sanches (3), Badenhop (3), Ayala (1)). Dan Meyer pitched a third of an inning, giving up a run on a hit and a walk. Brendan Donnelly pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two walks and a wild pitch.
The Phils had eight hits in the game, with Jimmy Rollins leading the way with three hits, a single, a double and a triple, just one hit shy of hitting the cycle, while knocking in a run as he raised his batting average up to .236. Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth and J.A. Happ had the other five hits, with Ibanez’s hit being a two-run double. Besides Ibanez’s two RBIs and Rollins’ one RBI, Utley knocked in the Phils’ other RBI. The offense seems to be doing everything right now, while starting pitching, outside of the team’s ace Cole Hamels, seems to be now throwing quality starts, thus giving the bullpen some much needed rest, as the trading deadline draws near.
The Phillies (51-38, 1st National League East) start a three-games home stand with the Cubs (47-43, 2nd National League Central). The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will begin tonight at 7:05 pm. The Phils’ starter will be Rodrigo Lopez (1-0, 3.18), who is coming off a no-decision against the Reds on July 8, as he left the game because of injuries, as he gave up two runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out four, in five innings of work, in the Phils’ 3-2 win. He will be going for his second win of the season since returning to the majors. The Cubbies will counter with Ted Lilly (9-6, 3.18), who is coming off a win against the Cardinals on July 11, when he went eight strong innings, giving up a run on four hits and a walk, while striking out four, in the Cubs’ 5-2 win. He will be trying for his tenth win of the season. The Phils will be trying to show that they can continue their present winning ways at home, while improving their record against Central Division teams.
Brad Lidge is able to stop a Marlins’ rally in the ninth, preserving the win for Joe Blanton, as the Phils defeat the fish, 5-3.
Joe Blanton pitched seven shut out innings, which was almost wasted in the ninth until Brad Lidge was able to come in and shut the door, redeeming himself for his two blown weekend saves as the Phils held on the defeat the pesky fish, 5-3.
The Phils took the lead in the first, as, with the bases loaded, via Jimmy Rollins reaching first on a Hanley Ramirez’s throwing error, a double by Shane Victorino, sending Rollins over to third base, and a walk to Chase Utley, and nobody out, Ryan Howard received an RBI walk, forcing in Rollins, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead, while moving both Victorino and Utley up a base. One batter later, Raul Ibanez would make it 2-0 Phils as he hits a sacrifice fly, for the inning’s first out, scoring Victorino from third, while sending Utley on to third. After a wild pitch sends Howard to second, and Jayson Werth strikes out for the inning’s second out, Pedro Feliz hits a two outs RBI single, scoring Utley, giving the Phils a 3-0 lead, while sending Howard over to third base. The Phils would add to their lead in the sixth as, with a runner on first, and two men out, Victorino hits an RBI double, scoring Rollins, who had been safe at first on a force out, 5-4, as Phils’ starter Joe Blanton, who had reached base earlier on a walk, was out at second, but not before disrupting Marlins’ second baseman Dan Uggla’s throw to first base with a take-out slide, making it 4-0 Phils. In the seventh, after Joe Blanton had finished his strong effort by striking out his eleventh Marlin batter, the Phils added an insurance run, as with one man on and two men out, Feliz hits an RBI double, scoring Werth, who had earlier doubled. That would turn out to be important in the top of the ninth. With one man out, Chad Durbin walks Uggla, putting a man on first. Cody Ross follows with a single, putting runners on first and second, as Uggla moved up a base. Chris Coghlan then walks, loading the bases. Charlie Manuel then took out Durbin and brought in Scott Eyre to face pinch hitter Ross Gload. Gload hits a grounder to first, that was scooped up by Howard. The play should’ve ended the ballgame with a double play, 3-6-3, but instead, Howard threw the ball pass Rollins, thus allowing both Uggla and Ross to score, cutting the Phils’ lead down to 5-2, while sending Coghlan all the way to third, and Gload to second, with still one man out. Manuel then came back out and called for Brad Lidge. He then walks Emilio Bonifacio, reloading the bases. Lidge then got Jeremy Hermida to ground out, 3-1, for the inning’s second out, while Coghlan scored, making it a 5-3 Phils’ lead, while sending Gload to third and Bonifacio to second. Lidge then ended the game by striking out Wes Helms, recording his ninth save of the year.
Joe Blanton got the win as he pitched seven shut out innings, giving up only five hits and two walks, while striking out eleven batters. His record is now 3-3 with a 6.14 ERA. Ryan Madson pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out one. Chad Durbin pitched a third of an inning, giving up three runs, only one of which was earned, on one hit and two walks. Scott Eyre pitched to one batter, who got on base on an error. Brad Lidge picked up the save, his ninth of the season, as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up just a walk, while striking out one. Andrew Miller took the lost, pitching six innings, giving up four runs, only two of which were earned, on seven hits and four walks, while he struck out four. His record is now 1-2 with an ERA of 4.55. Christopher Leroux pitched two innings in relief, giving up a run on three hits.
The Phillies collected ten hits in the game. Shane Victorino got the most hits as he went four for five, including two doubles, as he knocked in a run, while also scoring one, raising his season average to .284. Pedro Feliz was next with two hits, while Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz had the other four hits. Ryan Howard and Ibanez both knocked in a run, while Feliz would knock in two, to go along with Victorino’s RBI.
The Phillies (25-19, 1st) will tonight conclude their three-games series with the Marlins (21-26, 4th). The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park, and will start at 7:05 pm. The Phillies’ starter will be Brett Myers (4-2, 4.34), who is coming off his best start of the season as he tamed the Yankees on May 22, pitching eight innings, giving up just three runs on eight hits, while striking out five, in the Phillies’ 7-3 win. He will be going for his fourth straight victory. The Marlins will counter with Burke Badenhop (2-2, 5.75), who is coming off a no-decision against the Rays on May 23, where he pitched an inning and a third in relief, giving up a run on three hits and a walk, in the Marlins’ 10-3 lost. He will be out there trying to tame the Phils’ bats. The Phils will be trying to win their fourth straight series, while preparing to meet the lowly Nationals on Friday. They still lead the Mets by half a game.
Final Countdown to the Playoffs: Game 1: Sweeping the Nationals and ending the regular season on a high note.
The Phillies, behind a bunch of rookies and bench players, defeated the Nationals, 8-3, ending the 2008 regular season on a high note. They will now be facing the Brewers in the National League Divisional Series starting this coming Wednesday afternoon.
The Phillies took a quick 1-0 lead in the first as, with two men on base and one out, Eric Bruntlett, who has earlier singled and then moved to third on Tadahito Iguchi’s double, would cross the plate on Nationals’ starter Odalis Perez’s wild pitch, while Iguchi would move up to third. The Nationals would tie the game in the third, as the Phillies’ surprise starter Kyle Kendrick would give up a lead-off home run to Luke Montz, his first career home run. The Nationals would then take the lead in the fourth as, with a runner on second and no one out, Kory Casto would hit a RBI double, scoring Anderson Hernandez, who has earlier doubled, to make it 2-1 Nationals. Two batters later, with Casto now on third, after moving up on Ryan Langerhans’ ground out, 4-3, he would score on Alberto Gonzalez’s RBI single, making it 3-1 Nationals. The Phillies would strike back in their half of the fourth, as, with runners on second and third and two outs, So Taguchi would hit a two-run single, scoring Lou Marson, who has earlier singled, his first hit in the majors, and would move up to third on pinch hitter Jayson Werth’s single, who would later steal second, tying the game up at three all. Eric Bruntlett would then follow with a RBI double, knocking in Taguchi and giving the Phillies a 4-3 lead. The Phillies would add to their lead in the sixth, when, with a runner on first and two outs, Taguchi would hit a RBI triple, knocking in pinch hitter Ryan Howard, who has earlier singled to the left of the shift that most major league teams would put up against him, making it 5-3 Phillies. Then in the eighth, the Phillies would put the game away, when, with a runner on first and two outs, Marson would hit a monster two-run home run to left, his first career home run, scoring Greg Golson, who was earlier safe at first on a force play, which has wiped out Mike Cervenak, who has earlier reached base on a fielding error by Nationals’ shortstop Hernandez, giving the Phillies a 7-3 lead. Pinch hitter Matt Stairs would then follow with a solo home run to right, his thirteen home run of the year, to give the Phillies an 8-3 lead. That would be the ballgame as Clay Condrey would come in to pitch a scoreless ninth, although he would give up a walk and then a single before recording the final out of the Phillies’ 2008 regular season by getting Emilio Bonifacio to ground out, 3-1.
Kyle Kendrick, the surprise starter, would get a no-decision as he pitches four innings, giving up three earned runs on four hits. Kendrick, who is not on the Phils’ post-season roster, will now be sent down to the Florida Instructional League to rebuild his confidence in his pitches as well as being taught two more pitches to help compliment his slider, before he comes back to join the team for spring training 2009. Les Walrond would get the win as he pitches two scoreless innings, giving up two hits as he struck out four. His record is now 1-1 with a 6.10 ERA. J.A. Happ would pitch one and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief, giving up two hits as he struck out three. Rudy Seanez would pitch a third of an inning, getting out the only batter he would face. Clay Condrey would pitch a scoreless ninth, giving up a hit and a walk. Odalis Perez would get the lost, as he is only able to pitch three and two-thirds inning, leaving the game early because of a possible injury and with the Nats not taking any chances with his career, giving up four runs, only three of which were earned, on eight hits while striking out five. His record is now 7-12 with an ERA of 4.34. Shairon Martis would pitch two innings and a third, giving up an earned run on two hits while striking out three. Marco Estrada would pitch two innings, giving up three runs, only two of which were earned, on three hits.
The Phillies (92-70) would end the year with a sweep of the Nationals, winning the third game of the series with rookies and bench players, although two of the regulars, Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard would both come up to bat as pinch hitters, both getting singles and both scoring. Among the bench players, So Taguchi would lead the way by going 3 for 5, getting a triple, knocking in three runs while scoring one. Eric Bruntlett and Tadahito Iguchi would be next as they each went two for five, with Bruntlett knocking in a run and scoring one. Geoff Jenkins would be the other bench player who would get a hit. The only one among the rookies with a good day would be Lou Marson, who would go 2 for 4, getting his first major league career hit, a single, score his first run, knock in his first RBI and hit his first home run of his career, all in the same game. He also threw out his first base stealer of his career, as he caught the Nationals’ Emilio Bonifacio when he overslid second base on a steal attempt, tagged out by Iguchi when he tried to put his foot back on the bag. Also, all three pinch hitters that the Phillies would send up to the plate would hit safely as Matt Stairs would add a solo home run to Werth and Ryan’s singles. The victory gives the Phillies the second best record in the National League, beind the Central Division Champions Chicago Cubs, and the fifth in the majors, behind the American League Western Division Chmpions Los Angeles Angles, the American League Eastern Division Champions Tampa Bay Rays and the American League Wild Card Winner and Current World Champions Boston Red Sox.
The Phillies ended the season in first place in the National League Eastern Division, with a record of 92-70 for a winning percentage of .568, ending twelve wins over .500. They ended up being three games ahead of the Mets, who ended up with a record of 89-73 .559, seven and a half games ahead of the Marlins, who ended up with a record of 84-77 .522, twenty games ahead of the Braves, who ended up with a record of 72-90 .444 and thirty-two and a half games ahead of the Nationals, who ended up with a record of 59-102 .366.
The Phillies will now have today and tomorrow to rest up before they get ready to face the Wild Card Winner Milwaukee Brewers for a five games National League Divisional Series, which will start in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Final Countdown to the Playoffs: Game 2: Repeat! Repeat! The Phillies defeat the Nationals, 4-3, winning their second straight divisional title.
The Phillies held on to defeat the Nationals, 4-3, to win their second straight Eastern Division Championship. The Phillies would take the lead in the fourth, as, with runners on the corners and no one out, Pat Burrell would hit a foul ball sacrifice fly, scoring Chase Utley, who has earlier singled and would go to third on Ryan Howard’s single, giving the Phillies a quick 1-0 lead. Three batters later, with the bases loaded and still one out, Carlos Ruiz would hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Howard, who would go to second on Shane Victorino’s single, and would then move up to third on Pedro Feliz’s walk, while Victorino would move up to second on the walk, giving the Phillies a 2-0 lead. The Nationals would cut the Phillies’ lead down to 2-1 in the fifth, as, with a runner on second and two outs, Anderson Hernandez would hit a RBI double, scoring Roger Bernadina, who has earlier singled and would move on to second on Nationals’ starter John Lannan’s sacrifice bunt, 1-4. The Phillies would get that run back in their half of the fifth as Jayson Werth would hit a lead-off solo home run, his twenty-fourth home run of the year, giving the Phillies a 3-1 lead. In the sixth, the Nats would threaten to score as they would get their first two hitters, Ryan Zimmerman and Lastings Milledge, on base with singles, with Milledge’s being a bunt single that succeeded because Moyer has broken originally towards third base at the end of his delivery, before he was unable to grab the ball, putting Nats runners on first and second. But Moyer would then get out of the inning by getting first Elijah Dukes and then Aaron Boone to fly out to center and then getting Wil Nieves to strike out swinging. In the eighth inning, the Nats would make it close as, with runners on second and third, and no one out, Milledge would hit a sacrifice fly on a great play made by Jimmy Rollins for the inning’s first out, as Cristian Guzman, who has earlier singled and would go to third on Zimmerman’s double, would score during the collision between Rollins and a sliding Victorino, in which they would hit their right shins together, making it 3-2 Phils. As Rollins walk back to his position, walking it off, Victorino would lie on his back for a while, before he finally got back up and then walked it off as well, before the game resumed. Ryan Madson, who was pitching in relief of Chad Durbin, who, in turn, had pitched the seventh in relief of Phillies’ starter Jamie Moyer, would end the inning by first getting Dukes to ground out, 6-4, and then getting Boone to strike out swinging. The Phillies would get that run back as, with a runner on first and two outs, Feliz would hit a RBI double, scoring Victorino, who has earlier singled and would run all the way home, making it 4-2 Phillies. The ball is then given to Brad Lidge to close it out. After striking out Emilio Bonifacio, he would give up a single to Bernadina. Pinch hitter Ryan Langerhans would than get on base with a walk, moving Bernadina up to second. Hernandez would follow with a RBI single, scoring Bernadina and sending Langerhans to second, making it 4-3 Phillies. Guzman would then single, moving Langerhans and Hernandez both up a base, as the bases are now loaded. The next batter, Zimmerman, would then hit a ground ball that tried to go into right center field for a hit. Rollins would stop the ball, and then threw it perfectly to Utley for the inning’s second out, wiping out Hernandez. Utley then threw a high throw that was brought down by Howard, beating out a slow running Zimmerman for the game’s final out on a double play and would lead to the start of the Phillies’ celebration of their second straight National League Eastern Division Championship, won at home for only the second time in the Phillies’ history.
Jamie Moyer would get the win, in the process tying Nolan Ryan’s record for the most games won by a 45 years old pitcher, as he went six innings, giving up only one earned run on six hits. His record is now 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA. Chad Durbin would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits. Ryan Madson would pitch an inning, giving up one earned run on two hits. Brad Lidge would pitch an inning, as he gave up an earned run on three hits as he recorded his forty-first save in forty-one attempts. John Lannan would get the lost, as he pitched five innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits. His record is now 9-15 with a 3.91 ERA. Steven Shell would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Mike Hinckley would pitch an inning and a third, giving up no runs on no hits. Garrett Mock would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up an earned run on two hits.
With the victory, the Phillies have captured their seventh National League Eastern Division pennant in the team’s 126 years history, and their first two consecutive divisional crowns since they have won three Eastern Division pennants back in 1976-1978. This is the first time that they have entered the postseason for two straight seasons since the 1980-1981 seasons. Jamie Moyer, for the second straight season, has pitched the Phillies into the playoffs with his strong six innings outing. Every regular, except for Carlos Ruiz, would get at least one hit, while Shane Victorino would go 3 for 4, all singles, and scoring what would turn out to be the game winning run.
The 2008 Eastern Divisional Champion Phillies (91-70) will be playing their last regular season game tomorrow afternon, Fan Appreciation Day, against the Nationals (59-101). The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will begin at 1:35 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter, thank to the clinching, will be J.A. Happ (1-0, 3.90), who is coming off a no-decision against the Braves on September 21, as he went six and two-thirds innings, giving up only two earned runs on five hits, in the Phillies’ 6-2 win, instead of their ace Cole Hamels, who will now be given the day off. He has faced the Nationals once before, pitching an inning in relief against them on September 1, as he gave up no runs on one hit, in the Phillies’ 7-4 lost. In four starts, he is 1-0 with three no-decisions, all of which would be won by the Phillies, with an ERA of 2.28. He will be trying for his second major league win tomorrow afternoon. His opponent will be Odalis Perez (7-11, 4.27), who is coming off a lost to the Padres on September 21, as he went six innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits, in the Nationals’ 6-2 lost. In his last appearance against the Phillies on September 3, he pitched a no-decision, going five innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits, in the Nationals’ 9-7 win. He will be trying to improve his record and end the Nationals’ season on a high note.
The Phillies are still ahead of the Mets by two games, as they defeated the Marlins. In the Wild Card race, the Mets and the Brewers are once again tied for the wild card lead as the Brewers lost to the Cubs. The Wild Card race will now go down to the wire between the Mets and the Brewers with the magic number for both being at 2. The Phillies will more than likely be resting most of their regulars tomorrow, while waiting to see who their opponent will be in the National League Divisional Series.
Final Countdown to the Playoffs: Game 3: The Phillies’ bat and Blanton’s pitching would help the Phillies defeat the Nats, 8-4. The Marlins’ defeat of the Mets would help shrink the Phils’ magic number down to 1.
The Phillies’ offense early innings offensive, and Blanton’s excellent pitching, would lead the Phillies to easily defeat the Nationals, 8-4. A Mets’ lost to the Marlins would help drop the Phillies’ magic number to win the Eastern Division down to one. The Phillies would take a quick lead in the first, as, with runners on the corners and one man out, Ryan Howard would hit a three-run home run, his forty-eighth home run of the year, scoring Jayson Werth, who has earlier singled and has moved to third on Chase Utley’s single, and Utley, who has singled earlier, to give the Phillies a quick 3-0 lead. The Nationals would get a run back in the second, as, with a runner on third and two outs, Luke Montz would hit a RBI single, knocking in Elijah Dukes who has earlier walked, went to second on a pass ball, moved to third on Kory Casto’s ground out, 4-3, to make it a 3-1 Phillies’ lead. The Phillies would blow the game wide open in their half of the second, as, with the bases loaded via a double (Greg Dobbs), a walk (Jimmy Rollins) and an infield single (Werth) and two outs, Utley would clear the bases by hitting a three-run RBI double, scoring Dobbs, Rollins and Werth, giving the Phillies a 6-1 lead. Howard would then follow with a RBI double, knocking in Utley, making it 7-1 Phils. The Nationals would cut the Phillies’ lead down in the fifth, as, with two men on and one out, Emilio Bonifacio would hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Pete Orr, who would reach first on Howard’s fielding error and would move to third on Roger Bernadina’s double, to make it a 7-2 Phillies’ lead. One batter later, Bernadina would score on a Cristian Guzman’s single, cutting the Phillies’ lead down to 7-3. In the sixth, the Nationals would cut the lead down further to 7-4 Phillies as, with two outs, Casto would hit a solo home run, his second home run of the year, after the umpires have reviewed the play and dismissed Charlie Manuel’s argument that a fan has pulled the ball into the right field stands. The Phillies would get that run back in the seventh as, with runners on second and third and two men outs, Utley, who has earlier singled, stole second and would reached third on Shane Victorino’s force out, which would wipe out Pat Burrell, who has earlier walked, would crossed the plate on a pass ball, while Victorino, who has earlier stole second, would move on to third, making it 8-4 Phillies. Brad Lidge would then be given the ball in the ninth and would pitch a 1-2-3 inning.
Joe Blanton would get the win as he pitches six very strong innings, giving up four runs, only one of which was earned, on five hits. His record is now 9-12, 4-0 as a Phil, with an ERA of 4.69. Scott Eyre would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits while striking out two. Ryan Madson would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. J.C. Romero would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs or hits. Brad Lidge would pitch a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out two. Collin Balester would take the lost, as he only went an inning and a third, giving up seven earned runs on seven hits. Jason Bergmann would pitch two and one third innings, giving up no runs on one hit. Charlie Manning would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits. Garret Mock would also pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits. Mike Hinckley would pitch two thirds of an inning, giving up an unearned run on one hit. Jesus Colome would pitch an inning and a third, giving up no runs on no hits.
The Phillies’ offense would bust the game open early in the first two innings, via a three-run home run by Ryan Howard and a three-run double by Chase Utley. With this big runs support, Joe Blanton would be able to mow down the Nationals, getting most of them out via a large number of ground ball outs. The score is closer than it actually should have been, as one National run would come in thanks in part to a Carlos Ruiz pass ball on a Blanton pitch, and their second and third runs would cross the plate because of Ryan Howard’s fielding error on a ball that was hit straight to him. Whatever Charlie Manuel has told his men during their afternoon meeting must’ve worked as they would score several very early runs.
The Phillies (90-70) will continue their final three games home stand of the regular season with the Nationals (59-100) with a game this afternoon, which will be nationally televised by Fox Sports. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 3:55 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be the 45 years old veteran Jamie Moyer (15-7, 3.78), who is coming off a win against the Marlins on September 21, where he went six innings, giving up only one earned run on six scattered hits, in the Phillies’ 5-2 win. In his last start against the Nats on August 21, he would receive a no-decision as he went six and one third innings, giving up just an earned run on five hits, in the Phillies’ 4-3 lost. He will be trying for both his team leading sixteenth victory and to clinch the Phillies into the playoffs, if the Marlins don’t defeat the Mets earlier in the day. The Nationals will send to the mound John Lannan (9-14, 3.86), who is coming off a lost to the Padres on September 20, when he went seven innings, giving up four runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits, in the Nationals’ 6-1 lost. In his last two starts against the Phillies, his record is 0-2, where he pitched a combined total of eleven and two-thirds innings, giving up eight earned runs on fourteen hits. He will be trying to get his tenth victory while trying to see if he can stop the Phillies’ clinching celebration for one more day.
The Phillies are now ahead of the Mets in the East by two games after their lost to the Marlins, leaving the Phillies’ magic number to win the division at one. In the Wild Card race, the Brewers are now leading the Mets by one game as they defeated the Cubs, with their magic number to clinch the Wild Card now at two. The Phillies could clnch the East Saturday afternoon, with the clinching party being seen on national television, if the Mets haven’t already lost to the Marlins by then. Whatever happens, the Phillies need to take care of their own buisness and defeat the Nationals. GO PHILLIES!!!!
The Phillies are once again done in in the eighth inning as the Phils lose to the Nats, 9-7.
The Phillies’ bullpen would give up four runs in the bottom of the eighth which would help to do the Phillies in, 9-7, as the team now fall three games behind the first place Mets before their important weekend series with them. The Phillies would take the lead in the first, as, with a man on and two outs, Ryan Howard would hit a two-run home run, his thirty-eighth home run of the year, scoring Chase Utley, who has earlier been hit by the pitch, to give the Phils a quick 2-0 lead. The Nats would come back in their half of the first, as, with a man on and one man out, Ryan Zimmerman would hit a RBI double, knocking in Cristian Guzman, who has singled earlier, to cut the Phillies lead to 2-1. The Nats would then tie the score at two all, as, with two men on and two out, Kory Castro would hit a RBI single, scoring Zimmerman and sending Elijah Dukes, who has earlier walked, to third. Phillies’ starter Joe Blanton would finally end the inning by getting Wil Nieves to ground out, second to first. The Phillies would retake the lead in the third, as Utley would hit a RBI triple, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who has earlier singled, to give the Phils a 3-2 lead. The Nationals would then tie the score in the fifth, as, with the bases loaded via a walk (Emilio Bonifacio), a single (Guzman) and a second walk (Zimmerman), and with Ryan Madson now on the mound in place of Blanton, the next batter, Lastings Milledge, would hit a ground ball to Howard. Instead of going home to force out Bonifacio, Howard would instead throw to second, which would force out Zimmerman for the inning’s first out, as Bonifacio would score the tying run, while Guzman would move over to thiird as Bonifacio would be safe at first, leaving runners on the corners for the Nationals. Dukes would then come up and hit a grounder to third baseman Pedro Feliz. Instead of throwing home to cut down Zimmerman, Feliz would instead throw over to second to try and start a double play. Instead, Feliz would only force out Bonifacio for the inning’s second out as Bonifacio would take out Utley with a good slide, allowing Zimmerman to score, giving the Nats a 4-3 lead, while Dukes would be safe at first. Madson would finally end the inning by striking out Castro. The Phillies would retake the lead in the sixth as Howard would hit his second two-run home run of the night, his thirty-ninth home run of the year, knocking in Jayson Werth, who has earlier singled, to make it 5-4 Phillies. The Nationals would then tie it five all in the seventh, as, with two outs, Zimmerman would hit a solo home run, his eleventh home run of the year. Then would come the nightmarish eighth inning. With Chad Durbin still pitching for the Phils, Castro would start off the inning with a single. After Castro is replaced by pinch runner Pete Orr, Nieves would mess up a sacrifice bunt attempt by poping up to Howard for the inning’s first out. Then everything would unravel for the Phils. Durbin would unfurl a wild pitch that would send Orr over to second base. Roger Bernadina would then get a single, sending Orr to third, putting runners on the corners. Ronnie Beliard would follow with a RBI single, knocking in Orr, to give the Nationals a 6-5 lead, while sending Bernadina to second. Durbin would then be replaced by J.C. Romero. Bernadina would proceed to steal third before Romero would walk Bonifacio to load the bases. Guzman would then hit a three-run double, scoring Bernadina, Beliard and Bonifacio, to give the Nationals a 9-5 lead. Clay Condrey would then come in to replace Romero, soon ending the inning without any more damage. The Phillies would then strike back in the ninth, as with one man on and no one out, Matt Stairs would hit a RBI double to score Shane Victorino, who has only earlier singled, to make it 9-6 Nationals. Rollins would then move Stairs over to third as he grounds out, second to first, for the inning’s first out. Utley would then hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Stairs, to make it 9-7 Nats. And that would be the final score as Werth would end the game by striking out swinging.
Joe Blanton would receive a no-decision as he pitches only four innings plus three batters, giving up four earned runs on six hits. Ryan Madson would pitch two scoreless innings, giving up no hits. Scott Eyre would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs and no hits. Chad Durbin would receive his sixth blown save of the year, as well as the lost as he goes two-thirds of an inning, giving up four earned runs on five hits. His record is now 5-4 with a 2.69 ERA. J.C. Romero would face only two batters, getting out neither of them as he gives up a hit and walks one. Clay Condrey would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. Odalis Perez would also get a no-decision as he pitches five innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits. Marco Estrada would have his first blown save of the year as he faces three batters, giving up two earned runs on three hits. Jesus Colome would pitch a scoreless, hitless inning. Mike Hinckley would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up one hit. Steven Shell would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no hits or runs. Saul Rivera would get the win as he pitch a scoreless inning, giving up jut one hit. His record is now 5-5 with a 3.52 ERA. Joel Hanrahan would pitch an inning, giving up two runs on two hits.
The lost put the Phillies in a bind as they now head to New York, needing to either sweep or win the series if they don’t want to fall any further behind the Mets. It would seems that Charlie Manuel’s strategic thinking in this game would backfire on him in the seventh as he would take out Scott Eyre, after he has gotten out the two batters that he would face, to have Chad Durbin handle the right handers in the Nationals’ line-up. The move would blow up in his face instead as Durbin would give up a solo home run to Ryan Zimmerman to tie the score The less said about the eighth inning nightmare that he started the better, as the Phillies would lose another recent game in that inning. Something needs to be done about this, and quickly, before that inning becomes a real major problem for the Phillies’ bullpen’s egos during the last twenty-two games of the season.
The lost puts the Phillies’ three games behind the Mets as the Mets would sweep the Brew Crew in Milwaukee, while they are now five games ahead of the now fading Marlins as they lost to the Braves. The Phillies, who have tomorrow off, now heads into New York with a series that will either see them get closer to the Mets or see them fall further behind them.
Ugh, Kyle Kendrick is once again unable to get through the fourth inning as the Phillies lose to the presently hot Nats, 7-4. Will someone PLEASE past me the TUMS?
Kyle Kendrick once again can not get past the fourth inning as he would give up four runs in that inning to a presently red-hot Nationals squad as the Phillies lose once more to Tim Redding, 7-4. The Phillies’ batters, who acted a bit more patiently at the plate than they normally would with Redding, would start the game off by putting two men on base (Jimmy Rollins (Walk) and Chase Utley (Hit by the Pitch)) with one man out in the first inning, before the pair would both move up a base on a Redding’s throwing error, as he tried to pick off Rollins at second. Sadly, that would be as far as they would get as Redding would get out of the inning by striking out Ryan Howard and then getting Jayson Werth to fly out. The same can not be said of Kyle Kendrick, as, with runners on second and third and one out, he would give up a two-run single to Lastings Milledge, scoring Cristian Guzman, who was safe at first on a force out, and Ryan Zimmerman, who has walked, and have both moved up a base on a Kendrick’s wild pitch, to make it 2-0 Nationals. As the Phillies’ batters continue to be patient, thus raising Redding’s pitch count, but be unable to get a hit off of him, Kendrick would continue to have control problems, until finally, in the bottom of the third, he would throw two piches to the inside of Zimmerman, the first Nats’ batter of the inning, which would both almost hit him, especially with the second one, as it would almost hit him in the head. This would cause the home plate umpire to give him a warning that the next man he would throw out would lead to an ejection. That would later hurt Kendrick as he would now no longer throw to the inside of right handed batters. Kendrick would then get hurt in the fourth. He would start the inning off by giving up singles to both Jesus Flores and Emilio Bonifacio, giving the Nationals runners on first and second. Redding would then attempt to bunt the pair over, but Kendrick would throw out Flores at third for the inning’s first out, as Greg Dobbs would beat him to the bag, while Bonifacio would be safe at second as Redding would be safe at first on the force out. Kendrick would then pick off Bonifacio, throwing to third base where he is tagged out by Dobbs for the second out of the inning. Now seeing a chance to get out of the inning, Kendrick would instead get bombed by the next three batters. First, Willie Harris would hit a long, high, fly ball to right that new Phil Matt Stairs would lose sight of for a while so that when the ball finally hit off of the wall, it would bounce over his head, allowing Harris to reach third with a triple as Redding scored to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead. Guzman would then follow with a double, knocking in Harris, to make it 4-0 Nats. Zimmerman would come up next and hit a two-run home run, his tenth home run of the year, scoring Guzman, to make it 6-0 Nationals. The Phillies would finally get to Redding in the sixth, as, with a runner on third and two outs, Howard would hit a RBI double, scoring Shane Victorino, who has hit an infield single, the Phillies’ first hit of the game, would steal second and then go to third on Nationals’ catcher’s Flores’ throwing error, to make it 6-1 Nationals. After walking Werth to put two men on base, Redding would be taken out of the game and replaced by Charlie Manning. Manning would proceed to walk pinch hitter Pedro Feliz to load the bases. Manning is then taken out of the game and is replaced by Marco Estrada. Estrada would then walk pinch hitter Pat Burrell, scoring Howard, to make the score 6-2 Nats. Chris Coste would then get hit by the pitch, forcing in Feliz, to make it 6-3 Nats. Estrada would finally get out of the inning as pinch hitter Carlos Ruiz would ground out, third to first. The Nats would get one of the runs back in the seventh, as, with a runner on second and two men outs, Flores would hit a RBI double, scoring Elijah Dukes, would has earlier reached base with an infield single and would go to second on Rollins’ throwing error, to make it 7-3 Nationals. Then in the ninth, with two men out, Rollins would hit a solo home run, his tenth home run of the year, to make it 7-4 Nats. But, that would be it as Victorino would follow with a grounder to the first baseman for the game’s final out.
Kyle Kendrick would take the lost as he would once more be unable to pitch past the fourth inning, as he goes four innings, giving up six earned runs on eight hits and three walks. His record is now 11-8 with a 5.06 ERA. J.A. Happ would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up only one hit while striking out two. Clay Condrey would pitch an inning, giving up an unearned run on two hits, while also striking out two. Rudy Seanez would also pitch an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. Tim Redding would get the win, as he would go five and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on two hits. His record is now 10-8 with an ERA of 4.55. Charlie Manning would face only one batter, walking him. Marco Estrada would pitch a third of an inning, walking a batter. Saul Rivera would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up a hit. Steven Shell would also pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits. Jesus Colome would pitch an inning, giving up an earned run on one hit while striking out two hitters.
And once again, Kyle Kendrick’s recent fears of getting hit by the opposing batters has done him in, as he once again doesn’t challenge the hitters. It would appear that whatever advice that he has gotten from Greg Maddux several days back has been quickly forgotten. Maybe having Kendrick miss a start and having Rich Dubee and Jamie Moyer both talk to him in the meantime might be in order if he is going to help the team recapture the pennant. Otherwise, the Phillies are in trouble.
The Phillies (75-63) will continue their three games series with the Nationals (53-85) tomorrow night. The game will be played at Nationals Park and will begin at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies will send to the mound their ace Cole Hamels (11-8, 3.13), who is coming off a no-decision against the Cubs on August 28 as he would pitch seven innings, giving up only one earned run on five hits while striking out six, in the Phillies’ 6-4 lost. Lifetime against the Nats, he is 4-3 with a 2.25 ERA in eleven starts. He will be trying for his third straight win and his fourth straight quality start while trying to stop the Nats’ present winning streak at seven. The Nationals’ starter will be John Lannan (8-12, 3.92), who is coming off a win against the Dodgers on August 28, where he went six innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits, in the Nationals’ 11-2 win. He will be trying to improve his record while continuing the Nationals’ winning streak.
With the lost, the Phillies now trail the Mets by two games as they came from behind to defeat the Brewers. The Phllies are ahead of the Marlins by five games as they defeated the Braves. The Phillies will be trying to recover from this afternoon’s lost and try to stop the Nationals’ attempt to be a spolier.
Brett Myers pitches his first complete game shut out since 2004 as he nine hit the Nats, 4-0.
Brett Myers gives up nine hits and no runs to the Nationals as he pitches his first complete game shut out since May 20, 2004, as the Phils defeat the Nationals, 4-0. Myers got saved in the first inning, when, with two men on and two outs, Ryan Zimmerman, who has reached base on a Greg Dobbs’ throwing error and have gone to second on a walk to Lastings Milledge, would try to score on a Ronnie Belliard single to left. He would be cut down at the plate by a good throw by Pat Burrell, as Chris Coste supplies the tag, which would end the inning. The Phillies would take a 1-0 lead in the third, when, with two men on and one out, Coste, who has been hit by the pitch, and would reach second on a fielder’s choice ground out on a failed sacrifice bunt attempt by Myers, would score on a throwing error by rookie shortstop Anderson Hernandez, when he tried to double up Jimmy Rollins, and instead threw the ball past the glove of first baseman Belliard. The Nationals would threaten to tie the score in the fifth as they get Emilio Bonifacio to third on an infield single, a stolen base and a ground out, second to first. Myers would end the threat by striking out Zimmerman, one of nine strike out victims. The Phillies would then increase their lead in the bottom half of the inning, as Dobbs would hit a two-run home run, his sixth home run of the year, scoring Shane Victorino, who has gotten on base earlier with a single, to make it a 3-0 Phillies’ lead. Later in the inning, with a runner on third, and two outs, Jayson Werth would hit a RBI double, scoring Coste, who has earlier singled, to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead. That would be the final score as Myers would dominate the Nats for the final four innings, giving up four singles, one in each of the last four innings, but refusing to give in as only one runner would even reach second base.
Brett Myers would get the win as he pitched nine innings of shut out ball, giving up nine scattered hits and striking out nine and walking only one batter. His record is now 6-10 with a 4.71 ERA. Since his return from the minors, in six starts, Myers has given up three earned runs or less in all six starts, while pitching six innings or more in all but one of his starts. His record since his return is 3-1, with two no-decisions, in which the Phillies are 1-1, with an ERA of 1.94. He has gone a total of forty-one and two-thirds innings, giving up only ten runs, nine of which were earned, on thirty hits. Myers is back and it is about time in my opinion. Collin Balester would get the lost as he goes six innings, giving up four runs, only three of which were earned, on seven hits. His record is now 2-6 with a 4.99 ERA. The rookie Marco Estrada would pitch two scoreless innings in relief, giving up only two hits.
The Phillies’ offense did better last night, as they got nine hits, although they wouldn’t get their first hit until the fourth inning on a single by Chase Utley. The hits would be spread more evenly between the top and bottom of the order, with Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell being the only starters without a hit. Is the offense getting ready to bust out? You guess is as good as mines, but I’m praying that it finally is getting ready to burst open, and I hate to be the first ballclub that they’ll take out their frustrations on.
The Phillies (68-58) will conclude their three games home stand with the luckless Nationals (44-83) as they look to sweep the Nats. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. Their starter will be 45 years old veteran Jamie Moyer (11-7, 3.64), who is coming off a gem of a start against the Padres on August 15 as he outduel fellow 1984 Draftie Greg Maddux, as he pitched seven shut out innings, giving up only three hits, in the Phillies’ 1-0 win. In his last start against the Nationals on July 30, he would get the win as he pitched six innings, giving up only three earned runs on six hits, in the Phillies’ 8-5 win. He will be going for his twelfth win, while also going for his fourteenth straight start where he has given up three runs or less. The Nationals will counter with Tim Redding (8-8, 4.66), who is coming off a lost to the Rockies on August 15, where he went six innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits, in the Nats’ 4-3 lost. In his last start against the Phillies on July 30, the Phillies would finally get to him, as they knocked in seven earned runs on ten hits as he would only be able to go four innings plus five batters. He will be trying to stop a personal two games losing streak while trying to stop the Nationals’ team losing streak at twelve games.
The Phillies still trail the Mets by one and a half games as they defeated the fastly fading Braves. The Phillies are now ahead of the equally fading Marlins by three and a half games as they lost a squeaker to the Giants. The Phillies will be looking for a sweep of the Nationals so that they can stay close to the Mets, before preparing for a four games weekend series with the Dodgers, and a bit of revenge for their previous week fiasco in LA.
Pat Burrell’s three-run shot in the eight help keep the Phillies in first place as they defeat the D-backs, 6-3.
Pat Burrell’s three-run home run will help keep the Phillies in first place in the East before the All-Star break as the Phillies defeat the Diamondbacks, 6-3. The D-backs would score the game’s first run in the top of the second as Cole Hamels would throw a fastball on a 1-2 pitch that Chad Tracy would hit out of the park for a solo home run, his fifth home run of the season, to give the D-backs a 1-0 lead. The D-backs would increase their lead in the fourth as Hamels would give up a two out RBI single to Robby Hammock, scoring Chris Young, who has gotten on base earlier with a bunt single, and has gone to second on a Chris Burke infield single, to give the D-backs a 2-0 lead. Normally, that would be the ballgame, as the D-backs’ starter, Brendon Webb was getting the Phillies’ batters out with a nasty changeup, which he was throwing in conjunction with his curveball. But, it wouldn’t be so today, as the Phillies would refuse to go down easily. In the fifth, the Phillies would cut the D-backs lead to 2-1, as with one out, Hamels would hit a RBI double, which would score Pedro Feliz, who has earlier singled, all the way from first base as the ball went into the gap in left center field. Hamels would then keep the score at 2-1 as he stopped two attempts by the D-backs to break the game open. In the sixth, after Mark Reynolds would get on base with the only walk that Hamels would give up and then goes to second on Tracy’s single, Hamels would end the threat by first striking out Young and Burke, and then getting Hammock to fly out to right. Then in the seventh, Webb would lead off the inning with a single, and then move to second on Stephen Drew’s single. But, the Phillies would get the first out as Conor Jackson pushes a hard bunt down the third base line that would be picked up by Feliz, who would then touch third base, getting Webb out, but is unable to double up Jackson, while Drew goes to second on the play. The next batter, Orlando Hudson, would then get a single deep to right, which would hit the wall in front of Geoff Jenkins. This would turn out to be good luck for the Phillies, as the D-backs’ third base coach, unable to tell whether Jenkins has caught the ball or not, would stop Drew at third base, which in turn would force Jackson to stop at second, as Chase Utley would relay Jenkins’ throw to catcher Chris Coste. As soon as he has caught it, Coste would see Hudson, who has thought that he was going to get a double on his hit, trapped near second base, since Johnson was still standing on the bag. After looking over at Drew, he threw the ball to Ryan Howard. Howard, while also keeping an eye on Drew, to make sure thst he wouldn’t score during the rundown, forced Hudson back towards second. When Hudson tried to run out of the basepath to keep from being tagged by Howard, he was automatically called out by the umpire, for the second out of the inning, with men on second and third. Hamels would then end the threat by striking out Reynolds for his eighth strike out of the game. In the Phillies’ half of the seventh, with two outs and a man on second, Jimmy Rollins would get a RBI double off of Webb, scoring Carlos Ruiz, who was pinch running for Coste, who has earlier singled, that would tie the game at two all. After Ryan Madson would put down the D-backs in the top of the eighth, the Phillies went to work on the D-backs’ reliever Chad Qualls. Utley would start the inning off with a single to center, then would go to second on Howard’s single to left. With two men on, Qualls would throw a 2-2 slider to Pat Burrell which Burrell would hit to left, into the flower garden, for a three-run homer, for his twenty-third home run of the season, to give the Phillies a 5-2 lead. Two batters later, with one out, Feliz would hit a solo home run, his twelfth home run of the year, to give the Phillies a 6-2 lead. In the ninth inning, with Brad Lidge pitching, Hudson would hit a RBI single, scoring Emilio Bonifacio, who has earlier singled, to make it 6-3 Phillies. But that would be it as Lidge would end the game by striking out Reynolda.
Cole Hamels would get a no-decision, pitching seven innings, as he gives up only two earned runs on eleven scattered hits, while striking out eight D-backs. Ryan Madson would get the win, as he pitched a shut out inning while giving up one hit. His record is now 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA. Brad Lidge would pitch the ninth, giving up an earned run on two hits. Brandon Webb would also get a no-decision as he goes seven innings, giving up two earned runs on seven hits while he struck out six. Chad Qualls would take the lost as he goes only a third of an inning, giving up four earned runs on four hits. His record is now 2-7 with a ERA of 3.89. Connor Robertson would go two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits.
With the win, the Phillies will stay in first place in the National League East, no matter what either the Marlins or the Mets will do tonight. The Phillies’ players will now spend the next four days, except for Chase Utley and Brad Lidge who will both be in Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night for the All-Star Game, trying to relax and get refresh, before they play their first series of the second half against the Marlins in Miami on July 18.
The Phillies (52-44), with the win, remain in first place as the 30 major league teams head into the All-Star break. They presently lead the Mets by a game as the Mets prepare to play the Rockies later tonight. The Phillies now lead the Marlins by a game and a half as they lost to the Dodgers. The Braves remain six and a half games behind the Phillies after their win against the Padres today.
Edit: The Phils’ lead over the Mets stay at half as the Mets’ defeated the Rockies with ease. (I need to start drinking more caffeine if I want to avoid making such factual errors late at night.)
Phillies win the game in the twelfth inning on Jason Werth’s walk-off single.
Thanks to a Jayson Werth single in the bottom of the twelfth, the Phillies have now won their third straight game as they defeat the D-backs in extra-innings, 6-5.
The Phillies would take a quick 1-0 lead in the second inning as Ryan Howard would hit his twenty-eighth home run of the year, a solo shot off of the D-backs’ starter, Doug Davis. The score would remain 1-0 for the next several innings, as Davis, and Phillies’ starter, Kyle Kendrick, would be involved in a pitchers’ duel until the top of the sixth, when, with two outs and a runner on third, Chad Tracy would hit a RBI single, scoring Orlando Hudson, who has earlier singled, stole second and has went to third on a ground out, tying the score at one all. The Phillies would retake the lead in the bottom of the sixth, when, with two men out, Pedro Feliz, who has earlier reached base with a walk, and has gone to third on Shane Victorino’s double, would score on a wild pitch by Davis, making it 2-1 Phillies, while Victornio would go to third. After Carlos Ruiz is intentionally walked, he would attempt to steal second with Kendrick batting. While Ruiz is caught off second, Victornio would break for home, and would score during the rundown, to make it 3-1 Phillies, before Ruiz is finally tagged out, Miguel Montero (catcher) to Stephen Drew (shortstop) to Tracy (first baseman), for the final out of the inning. In the seventh, Kendrick would get knocked out of the box as he is unable to keep the Diamondbacks from scoring, as the first three men that he would face in the inning would get on base: Montero would start the inning off with a single, then go to third on a Alex Romero double, putting runners on second and third. Pinch hitter Emilio Bonifacio would then double, scoring both Montero and Romero, making it three all. Augie Ojeda would then move Bonifacio over to third with a sacrifice bunt, for the first out. Charlie Manuel would then take out Kendrick, replacing him with R.J. Swindle. Drew would greet Swindle with a RBI single, scoring Bonifacio, making it 4-3 D-backs. Swindle is then replaced by Chad Durbin, who would get out the two men that he would face via a swinging strike out (Hudson) and a pop out to the catcher (Conor Jackson). The D-backs would make it 5-3 in the eighth, when Romero would hit a RBI double, while being robbed of a possible home run by an almost great catch by Victorino, which would score Montero, but Romero would be thrown out at third base when he tried to turn it into a triple, Victorino to Jimmy Rollins to Feliz. In the Phillies’ half of the eighth, Howard would start the inning off with a walk. He would then move to second on a single by Pat Burrell. After Eric Bruntlett comes in to pinch run for Burrell, Feliz would then bunt both him and Howard over a base. Victornio would then follow with a two-run triple, scoring both Howard and Bruntlett, tying the score at five all. The Phillies would then threaten to score the winning run from the ninth inning on, but would be unable to score until the twelfth, while the bullpen would shut down the Diamondbacks. So Taguchi would start the inning off with a single. He would be moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt by Chris Coste, for the first out. Rollins would then be intentionally walk. Jayson Werth would then follow with a single, that would score Taguchi, giving the Phillies the win.
Kyle Kendrick would receive a no-decision, pitching six and a third innings before finally being knocked out of the box by the D-backs, giving up four earned runs on nine hits. R.J. Swindle would face only one batter, giving up one hit. Chad Durbin would pitch one and two-thirds innings, giving up an earned run on two hits. Brad Lidge, Clay Condrey and J.C. Romero would combine to pitch three scoreless innings, giving up only one hit between them. Rudy Seanez would get the victory as he pitches an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. His record is now 4-3 with a 2.63 ERA. Doug Davis would also get a no-decision as he would go six innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits. Chad Qualls would go an inning, giving up no runs on two hits. Doug Slaten would face just one batter, giving up an earned run on no hits. Tony Pena would get a blown save, his third of the year, as he would pitch an inning, giving up an earned run on two hits. Leo Rosales would pitch two scoreless innings, giving up only two hits. Connor Robertson would take the lost, going one and a third inning, giving up one earned runs on four hits. His record is now 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA.
The Phillies (51-43) will continue their three games series with the Diamondbacks (46-47, 1st Natiomal League West) tomorrow afternoon with the second of their three games from Citizens Bank Park. The game would start at 3:55 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Adam Eaton (3-7, 5.20), who is coming off an awful start against the Mets on July 7, where he would only go two and two-thirds innings, giving up six earned runs on ten hits, in the Phillies’ 10-9 lost. Lifetime against the D-backs he is 3-5 in 14 startes with a 4.23 ERA. He will be trying to improve his record while trying to keep the Phillies ahead of the other teams in the East. The D-backs will counter with Randy Johnson, (5-7, 5.18), who is coming off a win against the Padres on July 6, as he would go six and one third innings, giving up only one run on three hits, in the Diamondbacks’ 3-2 win. Johnson will be trying for his second straight victory while hoping to be able to dominate the Phillies as he has done in the past.
The Phillies’ lead over both the Marlins and the Mets is still a game and a half as they have both won their games while their lead over the Braves have increased to seven and a half games with their lost to the Padres. The Phillies will try to continue their present winning streak while hoping to put some distance between themselves and their nearest rivals.
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