Results tagged ‘ Fly Out ’
The Phillies’ bats decide to come out and play as they knock out Greg Maddux and the Dodgers, 8-1.
The Phillies’ offense has finally done something that it hasn”t done in a long time: knock a starter out of a ball game that they’d turned into a laugher, as they defeated Greg Maddux for the third time this year, while defeating the Dodgers, 8-1. The Dodgers wuld score their only run of the game in the first inning as Andre Ethier would give the Dodgers a quick 1-0 lead with a solo home run, his sixteenth home run of the year. The Phillies would take the lead in the fourth, when, with a man on first and two outs, Ryan Howard would hit his thirty-fourth home run of the year, scoring Pat Burrell, who has gotten on base with a walk, to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. They would increase their lead in the fifth as Chris Coste would hit a RBI single, knocking in Greg Dobbs, who has earlier singled, went to second on Russell Martin’s throwing error on a pickoff attempt, and would go to third on Jayson Werth’s single, giving the Phillies a 3-1 lead. In the meantime, Kyle Kendrick would settle down against the Dodgers, after throwing up a large number of pitches in the first two innings, ending up giving up only three hits, two walks and a hit batter, before being lifted in the sixth with runners on first and second and two outs. Chad Durbin would then end the inning by getting Martin to fly out. The Phillies would then break the game wide open in their half of the sixth. Burrell would start the inning off with a single. One out later, he would go to second on Shane Victorino’s single. Dobbs would follow with the third single of the inning, loading up the bases. Normally, that would be it for the Phils, as the next batter or two would make outs, ending the inning with no runs scored. But not last night as Werth would hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Burrell, to make it 4-1 Phillies, leaving runners on the corners with two outs as Victorino would move up to third on the late throw home. Coste would then break the game wide open as he would hit a three-run shot off of Dodgers’ starter Greg Maddux, who has originally coasted along in the first three and two-thirds innings, his ninth home run of the year, scoring both Victorino and Dobbs, to give the Phillies a 7-1 lead. And that would be it for Maddux, as he would be taken out of the game by Joe Torre for Tanyon Sturtze, who would end the inning by getting a pop out. The Phils would then add one more run in the seventh as Chase Utley would hit his thirty-first home run of the year, a solo shot, to make it an 8-1 Phillies’ lead. That would be the ball game, as Durbin, Ryan Madson and Scott Eyre would together shut the Dodgers down for the last three innings, giving up only two hits (Durbin and Eyre one hit each.) between them.
Kyle Kendrick would get the win as he pitches five and two-thirds innings, giving up only an earned run on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. His record is now 11-7 with a 4.87 ERA. Chad Durbin would pitch one and a third innings of scoreless ball, giving up only one hit. Ryan Madson and Scott Eyre would each pitch a scoreless inning, giving up only one hit between them (Eyre). Greg Maddux would take the lost as he also pitched five and two-thirds innings, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits. His record is now 6-10, with three of those loses coming at the hand of the Phillies, with a 4.25 ERA. Tanyon Sturtze would pitch one third of an inning, getting out the only batter that he would face. Ramon Troncoso would pitch two innings, giving up an earned run on one hit, Chase Utley’s home run.
The Phillies’ bat would come out to play, busting loose on Greg Maddux, after spending the first three and two-thirds innings swinging at either the first or second pitch that he would throw at each batter. Except for the returning Pedro Feliz and Jimmy Rollins, each of the starters would collect at least one hit, with Greg Dobbs and Chris Coste leading the way with two hits each. The offense would get ten hits total, including three home runs, their first ten hit game since early in the month. Is the offense finally here? I’m going to wait before saying yes or no. Meanwhile, Kyle Kendrick, after throwing long pitch counts in the first two innings, would finally settle down to pitch five and two-thirds innings, giving up only three hits to the Dodgers, before being lifted in the sixth inning. The bullpen would then come in to shut the Dodgers down, giving up only two hits in the last three and a third innings. And, ironically, the person to thank for this isn’t Jamie Moyer, its the man that he defeated last night, Greg Maddux, who Moyer suggested that he talk to after his fiasco last Saturday night, which he did before last Sunday’s game. Hey, Maddux, if you did give the kid a lot of advice on how to pitch, thank you for doing so, even if it did come back to bite you. 
The Phillies (69-59) will continue their four games series with the Dodgers (65-63, 2nd National League West) this afternoon, in a game being televised on Fox Sports. The game will be played in Citizens Bank Park and will start at 3:55 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Cole Hamels (10-8, 3.22), who is coming off a brilliant win against the Padres on August 17, where he went eight innings, giving up only one earned run on seven hits, in the Phillies’ 8-3 win. He has already faced the Dodgers this year, on August 12, as he received a no-decision as he went seven innings, giving up only two earned runs on five hits, in the Phillies’ 4-3 lost. He will be trying for win number eleven, while hoping that the bats are indeed back and that the bullpen won’t blow the save this time. The Dodgers will counter with Clayton Kershaw (2-3, 3.59), who is coming off his second straight no-decision, this one against the Brewers, on August 17, as he went six innings, giving up just an earned run on eight hits, in the Dodgers’ 7-5 win. He faced the Phillies once already this season, getting a no-decision on August 12, as he went six innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits, in the Dodgers’ 4-3 win. He hopes to even his record while trying to put the Phillies’ bats back to sleep.
The Phillies are still two and a half games behind the Mets as they defeated the Astros last night. They are still three and a half games ahead of the Marlins as the fish beat the D-backs last night. The Phillies will be trying to stay even with the Mets, hoping to gain some ground this weekend before their visit during the week.
Jamie Moyer and the bullpen four hits the Padres as Pat Burrell hit a solo run that would give the Phillies a 1-0 win.
Jamie Moyer would pitch seven scoreless inning of three hit ball while the bullpen trio of Ryan Madson, J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge would give the Padres only one more hit, while Pat Burrell would hit a solo home run off of Padres’ starter Greg Maddux to give the Phillies a 1-0 victory. The game for the first six innings would be a pitchers’ duel between two veteran pitchers, Moyer and Maddux, two of the three veteran pitchers still left from the Draft Class of 1984. Maddux would get himself out of a two men on, one men out, Phils’ threat in the top of the second by getting Eric Bruntlett to pop out and Carlos Ruiz to fly out. Moyer would get himself out of a jam of his own in the Padres’ sixth, when, with runners on first and third, and two outs, he would get Kevin Kouzmanoff to ground out, first baseman to the pitcher, for the final out. Then in the seventh, Pat Burrell would knock in the game’s only run as he would hit his third career home run off of Maddux, his twenty-eighth home run of the year, to give the Philles a 1-0 lead. In the Padres’ seventh, after giving up a lead-off single to Andrian Gonzalez, Moyer would get Chase Headley to line out to third, Tadahito Iguchi to line out to right and Nick Hundley to pop out to third, to end the inning and his night on the mound. The Phillies would then threathen to add to their lead in both the eighth and ninth innings, but they would be turned away in both innings by the Padres’ bullpen. The Padres would, in the meantime, get a runner on base with two outs in their own half of the eighth, but J.C. Romero, pitching in relief of Ryan Madson, who, in turrn, has been pitching in relief of Moyer, would end the inning by getting Brian Giles to ground out to Ryan Howard, who would just beat Giles to the bag for the final out. Brad Lidge would then come in to pitch the ninth and would record a 1-2-3 inning, to end the ballgame with his twenty-ninth save of the year.
Jamie Moyer would get the victory as he would pitch seven strong innings of shut out ball, giving up only three hits and walking only two batters as he constantly got ahead of the hitters. His record is now 11-7 with a 3.76 ERA. 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, getting out the only man he would face. Brad Lidge would record his twenty-ninth save in twenty-nine attempts as he would pitch a 1-2-3 inning, strking out two. Greg Maddux would get the lost, as he also pitched seven innings, giving up an earned run, Pat Burrell’s solo home run, on five hits. His record is now 6-9 with a 3.99 ERA. Justin Hampson would face only one batter who would get on base on a throwing error. Mike Adams would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. Wilfredo Ledezma would pitch two thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits, while striking out two. Clay Hensley would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits as he struck out the side.
The Phillies’ offense, in spite of Pat Burrell’s home run, is still not scoring runs when they need to. If not for Jamie Moyer’s pitching and some spectacular plays that were made in the field by both Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, the Phillies would probably be trying to avoid six loses in a row instead of trying for a series win this upcoming Saturday night.
The Phillies (65-57) will continue their three games series with the Padres (47-75, 5th National League West) tonight. The game will be played at PETCO Park and will start at 10:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Pacific). The Phillies’ starter will be Kyle Kendrick (10-6, 4.74), who is coming off a recent disastrous start against the Dodgers on August 11, where he would only go three and a thirds innings, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits, in the Phillies’ 8-6 lost. He will be trying once again for his eleventh win, while hoping to both bounce back from his previous start and for the Phillies’ bat to wake up. The Padres’ starter, although announced, has not yet been listed, as the original starter, Chris Young, has just been placed on the disabled list by the Padres.
The Phillies are still trailing the Mets by a game, as they defeated the Pirates. They are ahead of the Marlins by two and a half games, as they’d lost to the Cubs. The Phillies will be trying to get a series win while still waiting for the offense to finally wake up.
Kendrick unable to escape the Dodgers’ offense as the Phillies lose the series opener, 8-6.
Kyle Kendrick’s Houdini act gets panned in L.A. as the Dodgers would score seven runs off of him before they are able to hold off a Phillies’ offensive revival as the Phillies drop the series’ opener, 8-6. The Dodgers would erupt for six runs in the third off of Kendrick, who was no longer in command of his pitches. After Dodgers’ starter Derek Lowe would lead off the inning with a ground out, short to first, Matt Kemp would get on base with an infield single that almost took out Jimmy Rollins. After Kemp steals second, Andre Ethier would get on base with a walk. Kendrick would then hit Jeff Kent, loading the bases for Manny Ramirez. Ramirez would hit a two-run double, scoring Kemp and Ethier, and putting Kent on third, giving the Dodgers a quick 2-0 lead. James Loney would then follow with a two-run single, scoring both Kent and Ramirez, making it 4-0 Dodgers, while Loney would go to second on the throw to the plate. Russell Martin would follow him with a single to right, but Jayson Werth would then proceed to cut down Loney at home, tagged out by Carlos Ruiz, as he successfully blocks the plate, for the inning’s second out. Casey Blake would then follow with a two-run home run, his fourteenth home run of the year, scoring Martin, increasing the Dodgers’ lead to 6-0. The inning would finally end with Angela Berroa flying out to center. The Phillies would make the score 6-1 in the fourth as Ryan Howard would hit a RBI ground out, scoring Shane Victorino, who has earlier singled, and got to third on Chase Utley’s double. The Dodgers would get the run back in their half of the fourth, making it 7-1, when, with two men on, and one out, Kent would hit a RBI single, scoring Kemp, who has earlier singled, ran to second base as Ethier was being walked for the second time by Kendrick, and then went to third on Ruiz’s needless throwing error to second. After Kendrick walks Ramirez, Charlie Manuel would replace him with Les Walrond, who would then Houdini his way out of the inning by striking out both Loney and Martin. The Phils would make it 7-2 in the sixth as Howard would hit his second RBI ground out, this time scoring Rollins, who has singled, moved to second on Victorino’s walk and went to third on Utley’s ground out, second to first. After Walrond Houdini’s his way out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the bottom of the six by striking out Blake and getting Berroa to hit into a force out, short to second, the Phillies would get closer in the top of the seventh. Pinch hitter Geoff Jenkins would hit a RBI single, scoring Werth, who has earlier doubled and stole third, to make it 7-3 Dodgers. Rollins would then follow with a RBI triple, on a ball that right fielder Ethier would somehow missed in the lights, scoring Jenkins, to make it a 7-4 Dodgers’ lead. The Dodgers would increase their lead to 8-4 in the eighth, as, with two men on, and no one out, Loney would hit a RBI double off of Rollins’ glove, scoring Pablo Ozuna, who has singled, and sending Ramirez to third. Then Clay Condrey would perform his own Houdini stunt after intentionally walking Martin. He would get Blake to hit the ball to Rollins, who would throw home for the force out, as Ruiz would tag the plate to force out Ramirez for the inning’s first out. Condrey would then get Berroa to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning with no further damage. The Phillies would then try to attempt a rally in the ninth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Utley would hit a two-runs single on a pop up that drops behind the shortstop Berroa, scoring Greg Dobbs, who has singled, and Ruiz, who has walked, and moving Victorino, who has also singled off of Berroa’s glove, to second, making it 8-6 Dodgers. But Howard would then end the game with a ground out, his fifth ground out of the game, second to first.
Kyle Kendrick would get the lost, as he did not have good command of his pitches in either the third or fourth innings, as he pitched three and a third innings, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits, three walks and a hit batman. His record is now 10-6 with a ERA of 4.74. Les Walrond would pitch two and two-thirds innings of relief, giving up no runs on two hits and three strike outs, as he pitched his way out of jams in both the fourth and sixth innings. Clay Condrey would pitch two innings, giving up an earned run on fifth hits. Derek Lowe would get the win as he pitches six and a third innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits. His record is now 9-10 with a 4.74 ERA. Chan Ho Park would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up an earned run on two hits. Joe Beimel would also pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Jonathan Broxton would get his sixth save of the year as he pitches an inning and a third, giving up two earned runs on three hits.
The Phillies’ offense, although rallying late in the game, would be the main contributor to Kyle Kendrick’s lost, as it would not give him any runs support early on, forcing him to try to be almost perfect in his approach, which he would proceed to lose in the third inning as the Dodgers would then proceed to hit his bad pitches, ending up with six runs in the third and a seventh run in the fourth before he would finally be mercifully taken out by Charlie Manuel. It would seems that the Phillies’ batter are starting to realize that they are not producing at the plate as they should be. But, instead of trying to relax and take the pressure off themselves, they are now trying to do too much and thereby pressing themselves to produce. Fellows, do yourselves a favor. Now that you know that things are not working out the way they should be, try to relax and not make things even worst by trying to force things to happen. The remedy that you guys need is already there, but you just won’t use it. Play some small ball for a while. Maybe just trying to make contact and moving runners along might help to get the pressure off of all of you for a while. At least I hope it will. It can’t make things any worst than it is now.
The Phillies (64-54) will continue their four games visit with their old rivals the Dodgers (59-59, 2nd National League West) with another night game at Dodgers Stadium. The game will start at 10:10 pm Eastern (7:10 pm Pacific). The Phillies will send to the mound their ace Cole Hamels (9-8, 3.35), who is still looking for his tenth win. He is coming off a lost to the Marlins on August 7, where he went six and a third innings, giving up three runs, only two of which were earned, on seven hits, in the Phillies’ 3-0 lost. This will be his first start against the Dodgers. He will be hoping that the Phillies will finally give him some runs support, something they have not been doing for him lately. The Dodgers will counter with Clayton Kershaw (2-3, 3.71), who is coming off a win against the Cardinals on August 7, where he pitched seven innings, giving up only an earned run on three hits, in the Dodgers’ 4-1 win. He has never faced the Phillies. He will be trying to even his record while hoping that the Phillies’ offense isn’t preparing for a big outburst.
The Phillies are still leading the Mets by two games as they’d lost a make-up game to the Pirates, and two and a half games over the Marlins as the fish lost to the Cardinals, as the Phils failed to take advantage of both teams’ loses. They now lead the Braves by nine games as the Braves had yesterday off. As the Phils continue their series with the Dodgers, the Mets will start a three games series with the Nationals in Washington, while the Cardinals will continue their three games series with the Redbirds in Miami and the Braves will start a three games series with the Cubs in Atlanta. The Phillies will be trying to regroup and try to win the series while once again hoping to either gain or hold their ground against their nearest opponents in the Eastern Division.
Kyle Kendrick gets his ninth win of the year as the Phillies complete their sweep of the Nationals.
The Phillies have completed their sweep of the last place Nationals as Kyle Kendrick goes six and two-thirds innings to record his ninth win of the year as the Phillies defeated the Nats, 8-4. The Phillies would take the lead in the second inning as Jayson Werth hits a solo home run, his fifteenth home run of the year, to give the Phillies a quick 1-0 lead. Four batters later, with runners on second and third, and one out, Jimmy Rollins would hit a RBI ground ball, third to first, scoring Eric Bruntlett, who has gotten on base earlier with a single, making it 2-0 Phillies. The next batter, Shane Victorino, would also hit a ground ball to the third baseman, but Ryan Zimmerman would this time throw the ball away trying to get the out at first, allowing Carlos Ruiz, who has earlier singled, to score on the throwing error, giving the Phillies a 3-0 lead, and allowing Victorino to reach second base. In the bottom of the second, Kory Casto would score the Nationals’ first run on a Kyle Kendrick wild pitch, after getting on base with a double, and going to third on a ground out, short to first, to make it a 3-1 Phillies’ lead. The Nationals would make it a 3-2 Phils’ lead as Jesus Flores would hit a RBI single, knocking in Zimmerman, who has reached base earlier after being hit by a pitched ball. The Phillies would increase their lead in the fourth to 5-2 as Rollins would hit a two-run home run, his ninth home run of the year, scoring Kendrick, who has earlier reached first base on catcher Jesus Flores’ throwing error to first after Kendrick has struck out on a pitch that Flores has to block in the dirt. Then in the sixth, with a runner on second, and two outs, Victorino would get a single on a hard grounder to the third baseman, reaching first safely on Ronnie Belliard’s throwing error, while Rollins, who has doubled earlier, would score on the error, to make it 6-2 Phillies. Ryan Howard would two batters later get a RBI single, scoring Victorino, giving the Phillies a 7-2 lead. Pat Burrell would follow with a RBI single, scoring Chase Utley, who has earlier singled, to give the Phillies an 8-2 lead. In the ninth, with Rudy Seanez on the mound, the Nationals tried to create a very late rally. Pete Orr would start the inning off with a single. Pinch hitter Felipe Lopez would follow with a double, putting Orr on third. Willie Harris would then hit a RBI ground ball to first base for the inning’s first out, scoring Orr, while moving Lopez to third, making it an 8-3 Phillies’ lead. Lasting Milledge would then hit a slow ball towards first, that Seanez would grab before he tags out Milledge for the second out of the inning, while Lopez scores, giving the Phillies an 8-4 lead. After a walk to Ryan Langerhans, Charlie Manuel would come out and replace Seanez with Chad Durbin. Durbin would then end the game by getting Austin Kearns to fly out to left.
Kyle Kendrick would get the win, as he pitches six and two-thirds innings of strong ball, giving up only two earned runs on seven hits. His record is now 9-5 with a 4.59 ERA. Clay Condrey would pitch an inning and a third of shut out ball, giving up no hits. Rudy Seanez would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up two earned runs on two hits. Chad Durbin would pitch to only one batter, getting him to fly out. John Lannan would get the lost, lasting five and two-thirds innings, giving up eight runs, six of which were earned, on nine hits. His record would fall to 6-11 with a ERA of 3.61. Chris Manning would pitch to one batter, giving up a hit. Garrett Mock would pitch an inning and a third, giving up a hit and no runs. Jesus Colome would go two innings, giving up no runs on no hits.
The Phillies have completed their first sweep of the second half, while winning their fifth straight game. This is the fourth game during their winning streak that the Phillies’ offense have knocked in eight runs or more, while getting three extra-bases hits (1 (2B), 2 (HR)). This is also the first time in a while that the Phillies have been ten games over .500 since Interleague play. The Phillies would end July with a 15-10 record. The Phillies hope that their rejuvenated offense will continue in St. Louis, the city where their dangerous offense would begin to disappear back in mid-June.
The Phillies (59-49) will now go on to St. Louis to play the Cardinals (61-50, 2nd-T National League Central) in a three games weekend series. The first game of the series will be played in the new Busch Stadium and will start at 8:15 pm Eastern (7:15 pm Central). The Phillies’ starter will be their ace Cole Hamels (9-6, 3.27), who is coming off a bad outing against the Braves on July 26, where he would get a no-decision as he would only last three and two-thirds innings, giving up nine runs, only four of which would be earned, in the Phillies’ 10-9 win. He has already faced the Cardinals once before this year on July 8, losing that game as he went seven innings, giving up just two earned runs on three hits, in the Phillies’ 2-0 lost. He will for his fifth straight start try for his tenth win of the year, while trying to increase the Phillies’ present winning streak to six games. The Cardinals will counter with Kyle Lohse (12-3, 3.68), who is coming off a lost against the Mets on July 27, pitching five innings as he gave up seven earned runs on eleven hits, in the Cardinals’ 9-1 lost. He has already faced the Phils once before back on June 14, winning the game as he goes eight innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits, in the Cardinals’ 3-2 win. He will be trying to improve his record while trying to silence the Phillies’ bats.
With the win, the Phillies’ lead over the Mets is now a game, as the Mets gets ready to play the Astros for a three games series in Houston. The Phillies’ lead over the Marlins is now at one and a half games, as they continue their four games series with the Rockies. Their lead over the Braves stay at nine games, as they start a three games series with the Brew Crew. The Phillies will be trying to increase their lead in the East while increasing their winning streak to six wins in a row.
Phillies fall into second place as the offense goes puff, losing to the Mets, 3-1.
The Phillies lose another series to the Mets and in the process drop out of first place as its offense seem to have vanished into thin air as it waste a very good effort by starter Jamie Moyer. Moyer, who two hit the Mets, would give up only one run, a RBI single by David Wright in the third, scoring Jose Reyes, who has earlier walked and then stole second. The Phillies would then tie it in the seventh on a solo home run by Jayson Werth, his thirteenth home run of the year. The Phillies would threathen to take the lead in the top of the eighth, when, with one out, Eric Bruntlett would hit a deep fly ball to left field that would just miss going out of the park, instead ending up on second with a double. After Mets’ starter Oliver Perez strikes out Chase Utley for the second out of the inning, he would put Pat Burrell on first with an intentional walk. Ryan Howard is then hit by the pitch, loading the bases. Perez is then taken out of the game, replaced by Aaron Heilman. Heilmann would proceed to get Werth to end the inning by flying out. In the bottom of the eight, the Mets would regain the lead as, with two men on, and two outs, Carlos Delgado would hit a two-run double, scoring Robinson Cancel, who has gotten on base earlier with a pinch hit single, and Wright, who has just been intentionally walked. But Delgado would be thrown out trying to go to third base, Burrell to Bruntlett to Chris Coste to Pedro Feliz, to finally end the inning, but after the damage has already been done. Billy Wagner would then come in the ninth to record his twenty-sixth save of the year, as the offense goes down without a fight.
Jamie Moyer would pitch seven strong innings, keeping the Mets under control as he gives up only one earned run on two hits while striking out six, as he receives a no-decision. J.C. Romero is tagged with the lost, as he pitches an inning, giving up two earned runs on two hits. Oliver Perez would also get a no-decision as he pitches seven and two-thirds innings, giving up only an earned run on six hits while striking out twelve. Aaron Heilman will get the win, pitching just a third of an inning, getting out the only man that he would face. His record is now 1-2 with a ERA of 4.75. Billy Wagner will record his twenty-six save of the season, giving up only a hit.
The Phillies have now dropped into second place as the offense has allowed another great performance by Jamie Moyer to go down the tube because of their lousy performances at the plate. To say that at this moment the batters might as well just phone in their at bats is an understatement. This is just not acceptable. Where in the world has happen to the passion, the desire, the drive to want to win the Eastern Division for the second straight year, among the players, that they had around this same time last year? I mean, its looking more and more like these guys should be getting ready to join the federal witness protection program so that they can escape the wrath of the angry mob of Phillies fans who are soon going to be booing their sorry ***** out of Citizens Bank Park if they continue with this lackluster playing, instead of being the team that is suppose to be the run producing nightmare of starters for other major league teams. This is just pathetic, just dreadfully pathetic!!! It is especially pathetic with the way that the batters seems to be making even the worst pitcher look like he’s the second coming of Cy Young as he pitched against them. Hitting season? I’m beginning to wonder if Charlie Manuel was speaking a bit too soon when he made that comment back in May. To quote the old professor, Casey Stengel, “Can’t anybody out there play this game?” AAGGGGRRRHHHHH. Will some one please pass me the Alka Seltzer?
The now second place Phillies (54-48) will come home for a three games series with the Braves (48-53). The first game will be played tomorrow night at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. Kyle Kendrick (8-4, 4.87) will get the start, coming off of an awful performance against the Marlins on July 19, where he would only last four and one-third innings, giving up seven earned runs on ten hits, in the Phillies’ 9-5 lost. He will be facing the Braves for the third time this year, with a 2-0 record plus a no-decision, which the Phillies also won, as he would pitch a combined total of seventeen and one-third innings, giving up only eight earned runs on seventeen hits. Lifetime against the Braves, he is 3-0 with a 4.13 ERA in five starts. He will be trying to record his ninth win, while trying to get the Phils back on track. The Braves’ starter will be Jair Jurrjens (9-5, 3.22), who is coming off a lost against the Nationals on July 19, where he would pitch six and a third inning, giving up five earned runs on eight hits, in the Braves’ 8-2 lost. He has already pitched a game against the Phillies so far this year, losing to them on July 3, as he pitched seven innings, giving up four earned runs on eight hits. He will be trying for his tenth win of the season while seeing if he has better luck this time against the Phillies’ batters.
The Phillies now trail the first place Mets by a game. They are presently a half-game ahead of the Marlins, who are getting ready to play the Cubs later today. The Braves trails the Phillies by five and a half games, as they have the day off today, before coming into Philly for a three games weekend series. The Phillies will be trying to regroup this weekend, trying to prove that they are indeed a second half team, although their first two series of the second half would seem to say otherwise.
Phillies rally to score six runs in the ninth off of a Wagner-less Mets’ bullpen to beat the Mets, 8-6.
The Phillies rally to score six runs in the top of the ninth inning off of a Billy Wagner-less Mets’ bullpen while new Phil Joe Blanton is unable to contain the Mets in his first start as a Phil as the Phillies defeat the Mets, 8-6. The Phillies would take a quick lead in the first as Jayson Werth would hit a two out RBI single off of Mets’ starter Johan Santana, scoring Pat Burrell, who has earlier singled, to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. That would remain the score until the bottom of the third when Phillies’ starter Blanton would give up a RBI double to David Wright, knocking in Jose Reyes, who has earlier walked, to tie the game at one all. But Endy Chavez, who has singled earlier, would try to score on the play, but is instead thrown out at home plate, Burrell to Jimmy Rollins to Carlos Ruiz, who would put the tag on Chavez for the first out of the inning. Two batters later, with Wright still on second base, and with two outs, Carlos Delgado would hit his nineteenth home run of the year, a two-run shot that would give the Mets a 3-1 lead. In between the third and fourth innings, Charlie Manuel would be ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes with the third base umpire as the Phillies believed that Delgado had struck out on an 0-2 pitch while the umpire claimed that he had checked his swing. The Mets would increase their lead in the sixth, when, with a runner on first, Marlon Anderson, via a walk, and with two outs, Ramon Castro would hit his fifth home run of the year, giving the Mets a 5-1 lead. In the meantime, Santana would keep the Phillies off the scoreboard, until the seventh, when Shane Victorino would hit his sixth home run of the year, a solo shot, that would cut the Mets’ lead to 5-2. The Mets would try to break the game wide open in their half of the seventh as Rudy Seanez replaces Blanton on the mound. Seanez would give up a lead-off double to Chavez. Chavez would then attempt to score on a single to right by Wright. But, for the second time in the game, he would be thrown out at the plate, this time from Werth to Coste, who tagged him out for the first out of the inning. On the throw home, Wright would move to second. Seanez would then intentionally walk Carlos Beltran, putting runners on first and second. The Phillies would then replace Seanez with J.C. Romero. Romero would get Delgado to fly out to center for the second out. But he would then hit Damion Easley to load the bases. Romero would then get out of the inning as he would get pinch hitter Fernando Tatis to line out to Chase Utley. In the ninth inning, the Mets would replace Santana with Duaner Sanchez, thinking that the game was over. The Phillies would soon make them think otherwise. Werth would greet Sanchez with a single. Pinch hitter Greg Dobbs would follow with a single, sending Werth to second. Victorino would follow with a single, loading the bases. The Mets would then replace Sanchez with Joe Smith, as they hope that Ruiz would hit into a rally-killing double play. Ruiz would hit a ground ball to shortstop Reyes, but Reyes would somehow miss the second base bag as a hostling Victornio would reach second on the fielder’s choice ground ball. The bases thus remain loaded as Werth scores to make it a 5-3 game. The Phils would then send out Geoff Jenkins as a pinch hitter, but he would never reach the plate as the Mets would replace Smith with Pedro Feliciano, while the Phillies would counter with So Taguchi, who was so far 0-for-16 as a pinch hitter. Taguchi would this time connect as he would hit a two-run double, scoring both Dobbs and Victorino and sending Ruiz to third, as the game was now tied at five all. Rollins would then follow with a two-run double of his own, scoring both Ruiz and Taguchi, to give the Phillies a 7-5 Phillies. Utley would then ground out to first for the first out of the inning, moving Rollins over to third. Burrell is then intentionally walked, putting runners on the corners, and setting up the double play. Ryan Howard would hit a ground ball straight to Feliciano, who would then drop the ball, before picking it up and throwing out Howard, as Rollins scores to make it 8-5 Phillies, while Burrell would go to second. Aaron Heilman is then sent into the game to replace Feliciano. Heilman would walk Werth, the man who has started the inning off, putting runners on first and second, with two outs. Heliman would then get Dobbs to pop up to Reyes to end the inning. In the bottom of the ninth, the Phillies would send out their closer Brad Lidge to end the game. He starts the inning off by walking Chavez. Chavez would then go to second on defensive indifference. Lidge would then strike out Wright for the inning’s first out. Chavez would then go to third on a Lidge’s wild pitch before finally scoring on a ground out to first by Beltran, for the second out, making the score 8-6 Phillies. That would be the final score as Lidge would get Delgado to ground out, third to first for the final out, as he records his twenty-second straight save, tying the team’s record for most consecutive saves in a row set a few years earlier by Billy Wagner.
Joe Blanton would get a no-decision, as he pitches six innings in his first start as a Phil, giving up five earned runs on eight hits. Rudy Seanez would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on two hits. J.C. Romero would pitch two thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Chad Durbin would get the victory as he goes an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. His record is now 3-2 with an ERA of 1.78. Brad Lidge would record his twenty-second save, as he goes an inning, giving up an earned run on no hits. Johan Santana would also get a no-decision, going eight innings, giving up only two runs on eight scattered hits. The Mets bullpen would then take over and implode as the team’s closer, Billy Wagner, would be unavailable to pitch. Duaner Sanchez would face three batters, giving up three earned runs on three hits. Joe Smith would take the loss as he face only one batter, giving up an earned run on no hits. His record is now 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA. Pedro Feliciano would get his second blown save, as he goes two-thirds of an inning, giving up two earned runs on two hits. Aaron Heilman would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits.
The Phillies have won the game by doing something that they haven’t been able to do too much of since May, come back from behind in the ninth inning to win a game while trailing by several runs. Of course, they did it after the Mets have taken out their starter, Johan Santana, who for the third time this season has pitched a quality start against the Phillies. The Phillies would be able to produce a rally in the ninth inning, because of the use of small ball, hustling on the part of Shane Victorino on Carlos Ruiz’s ground ball, luck (Jose Reyes missing second base on Ruiz’s grounder, and Pedro Feliciano’s bobbling of Howard’s ground ball to him with the chance for an inning ending double play), some situational hitting by Chase Utley to move Jimmy Rollins over to third, and, lastly, So Taguchi finally getting a pinch hit when the Phillies needed it the most. Whether this will be the turning point of the season, or just a temporary blip on the radar screen will be found out during the next two games of the series.
The Phillies (54-46) will continue their three games series with the Mets (53-47) tomorrow night at Shea Stadium. The game will begin at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies starter will be Brett Myers (3-9, 5.84), who is coming back from a minor league stint to recover both his fast ball and his confidence. His last start was back on June 27 in a no-decision against the Rangers, where he would only pitch two innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits, in the Phillies’ 8-7 lost. The Phillies will be hoping that his stint in the minor league has actually brought back both his fast ball and his confidence. The Mets will send to the mound John Maine (8-7, 4.22), who is coming off a lost to the Reds on July 18, as he goes four and two-thirds innings, giving up five earned runs on five hits, in the Mets’ 5-2 lost. He will be going for his ninth win of the year while trying to help the Mets get over their previous night’s lost.
The Phillies, with their win, have regain sole control of first place, while they now lead both the Mets and the Marlins by one game and the Braves by seven, thanks to the Braves’ lost to the fish last night. The Phillies will now try to build momentum from their come from behind win as they attempt for either a series sweep or a series win before heading back home to meet the Braves at Citizens Bank Park for a three games weekend series.
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 their fourth game in a row as Shane Victorino knocks in the winning run in the ninth, defeating the Mets, 3-2.
The Phillies defeated the Mets in the ninth on a Shane Victorino’s single, with two men outs and a runner on second, winning the ballgame, 3-2. The first four innings of the ballgame would involve a pitchers’ duel between Phils’ starter J.A. Happ and Mets’ starter Johan Santana, as both would refuse to allow any of the other team’s batters to get on base. This would change in the top of the fifth. Damion Easley would begin the inning with a single to left. Ramon Castro would then follow with a ground rule double, putting runners on second and third. Chris Aguila would then load the bases with a walk, after Happ had gotten ahead of him, 0-2. Santana would then strike out for the inning’s first out. Jose Reyes would then come up and hit a ground ball to the second baseman Chase Utley, beating the throw to first from the shortstop Jimmy Rollins, as Aguila is thrown out at second, allowing Easley to score and Castro to go to third, and giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. The next batter, Endy Chavez, then walks, reloading the bases as Reyes goes to second. David Wright then gets the walk, after Happ has just missed getting a called third strike, forcing in Castro, and giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. Charlie Manuel would then take out Happ, and replace him with Chad Durbin. Durbin would then end the inning as he strikes out Carlos Beltran. Durbin would stay in the game, and would proceed to strike out five of the six Mets’ batters whom he would face in the next two innings, for a total of six strike outs. Meanwhile, the Phillies would finally score against Santana in the bottom of the sixth. After Chad Durbin starts the inning off by striking out, Jayson Werth would get on base with a single. Utley would follow with a single, sending Werth to second. Rollins would then fly out for the second out. Ryan Howard would then follow with a RBI single to left, scoring Werth and sending Utley to second, as the Phillies cut the Mets’ lead to 2-1. Pat Burrell would then hit a RBI single, also to left, scoring Utley and sending Howard to second, as the Phillies would tie the game at two all. Santana would finally get out of the inning by getting Pedro Feliz to ground out, second to first. The game would stay tied until the bottom of the ninth. After Brad Lidge would get an easy 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth, Mets’ reliever, Duaner Sanchez, would strike out the first two men that he would face, Howard and Burrell, both of them swinging. He would then give up a double to Feliz. After getting ahead of the count on Victorino, 1-2, Sanchez would throw a fastball, which Victorino would line to right field for a single, scoring Feliz with the winning run, as the Phillies would win the first game of the four games series, 3-2.
J.A. Happ would get a no-decision as he pitches four and two-thirds innings, pitching well until the fifth inning, giving up only two earned runs on just three hits, striking out three and walking four. Chad Durbin would pitch two and a third innings, giving up no runs on no hits, and striking out six of the seven Mets whom he would face. Ryan Madson would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. Brad Lidge would get the win as he pitches a 1-2-3 inning. He is now 2-0 with a ERA of 0.77. Johan Santana would also get a no-decision as he pitches eight strong innings, giving up only two earned runs on six hits, while striking out six. Duaner Sanchez would get the lost as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up an earned run on two hits.
The Phillies’ offense stay in against Santana, although at time swinging at his pitches, until they were finally able to get to him in the sixth to tie the game. They were able to get only eight hits tonight, all but one of them being singles (1 (2B)), but the Phillies’ pitchers would only allow four hits to Mets’ batters. J.A. Happ would pitch a good game until the fifth, going after the hitters, and getting a large number of pop and fly outs. In the fifth, he probably got a bit high on the excitement when he got into trouble for the first time in the fifth inning, which might explain two of his walks, first to Aguila and then to Chavez, but with Wright, a pitch that should have been called a strike was instead called a ball. One of the Phillies’ broadcasters, commenting on it, believed that he didn’t get the call because he’s a rookie. If that’s the case, it’s a real shame, since it would’ve ended the inning, and with the Mets only scoring one run in the inning. Anyway, during the next two inning, Happ would be seen talking with the veteran Jamie Moyer. Oh oh, looks like someone else is trying to learn at the feet of the veteran. I think the rest of the league might be in trouble if the young bloods continue to listen to the vet.
The four games series with the Mets will continue tomorrow night at Citizens Bank Park. The game will begin at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies (48-39) will send to the mound Jamie Moyer (7-6, 4.13), who is coming off a lost against the Rangers on June 29, where he went five and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits, while striking out six, in the Phillies’ 5-1 lost. He has lost his last three starts, although pitching well in each game. He will once again be trying for his eighth victory, while seeing if he can increase the present Phillies’ winning streak to five games. The Mets (42-44) will counter with John Maine (8-6, 3.86), who is coming off a lost to the Cardinals on June 30, as he was only able to go four innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits, in the Mets’ 7-1 lost. He will be trying for his ninth win of the year, while trying to stop the Phillies’ offense.
The Phillies’ victory now put them three games ahead of the Marlins, although the fish are presently leading their game with the Rockies, which is turning into a shootout in Denver. The Mets’ lost put them five and a half games behind the Phillies. The Braves are still trailing the Phillies by seven games as they have won their game with the Astros. The Phillies hope to continue playing good baseball while trying to put some distance between them and the rest of the National League East before the All-Star break.
Edit: The Marlins now trail the Phillies by three and a half games, as they have just lost a shoot out with the Rockies in the bottom of the ninth, as the Rockies have scored two runs to win the game, 18-17. I’m surprised that the Rockies were able to come back after trailing at one point 13-4. I wonder if the Marlins’ players are in shock right now, wondering what have just happened, cause I know that at least one Marlins’ fan is going to be real ticked off the moment he finds out about this.
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