Results tagged ‘ National League East ’
Countdown to the Playoffs, 21 games to go: The Phils begin their next to last road trip with their last three-game visit to New York to meet the Mets.
With twenty-one games left in the season, and with a one game lead over the Braves in the East, and at the moment owning the best record in the National League. the Phils start their next to last road trip of the season with a three-game visit with the Mets at Citi Field, with the first game of the series starting tonight at 7:10 pm Eastern time. The Phils are at the moment 6-6 with the Mets in their eighteen game season series, but they have won four of their last six games against their Eastern Division rival.
In the series opener, the Phils (81-60, 1st) will send to the mound their ace and NL Cy Young Award candidate Roy Halladay (17-10, 2.36), who is coming off a win against the Brewers on September 5, as he pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out six, in the Phils’ 5-4 win. In his last three starts, his record is 1-2, as he has pitched twenty-one innings, giving up ten runs on twenty-three hits and three walks, while he has struck out sixteen. Against the Mets this year, his record is 3-0, as he has pitched twenty-four innings, including a complete game, giving up only five runs on sixteen hits and just two walks, while striking out twenty-three. He will be going for his fourth win against the Mets and his eighteen win overall, while hoping that the bats will continue to give him some runs support. The Mets (69-71, 4th) will counter with Jenrry Mejia (0-3, 3.86), who is coming off a lost against the Cubs on September 4, as he pitched just five innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out only two, in the Mets’ 5-3 lost. In his last three appearances on the mound, his record is 0-1, as he pitched six innings plus two batters, as he gave up five runs on eight hits and four walks, while striking out three. He will be trying to pitch a good game against Doc, while hoping that the Mets will finally be able to defeat him in 2010. The Phils will be trying to start off the road trip on a good note, while hoping to increase their lead over the Braves, as they continue their four-games series with the Cardinals.
The Phils crush the Pirates, 12-2, for their fourth straight win.
The Phils’ offense scored early and often, as they crushed their cross-state rival, the Pirates, 12-2, increasing their present winning streak to four game while increasing their lead in the NL East to five games over both the Nationals and the Marlins.
The Pirates took a quick 1-0 lead as their lead-off man, Delwyn Young, hit a lead-off home run, his first home run of the year, into the right field seats. The Phils would quickly tie the game up at one-all in their half of the first as Jimmy Rollins, who was returning from a calf injury, hits into an RBI ground out, 3-1, knocking in Shane Victorino, who had earlier singled, stole second base, and then moved up to third on a Placido Polanco ground out, 4-3. The Phils then proceeded to bust the game wide open in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded, via a single to a returning Carlos Ruiz, who was also returning from an injury, Victorino being hit by a pitch, sending Ruiz to second, and a Polanco single, moving both Ruiz and Victorino up a base, and with two men out, Ryan Howard hits a two-run single, knocking in both Ruiz and Victorino, giving the Phils a 3-1 lead, while sending Polanco up to second base. Jayson Werth then follows with a three-run bomb to right, his eighth home run of the season, scoring Polanco and Howard before him, making it a 6-1 Phils’ lead. The Pirates would make it 6-2 Phils in the fifth as, with a runner on third, and with one man out, Young hits into an RBI ground out, 4-2, knocking in Ronny Cedeno, who had earlier doubled, and had gone to third on a Akinori Iwamura ground out, 1-3. The Phils would get that run back in the bottom of the sixth as, with one man on, and with two men out, Raul Ibanez, who had earlier singled, and had gone to second on a soft grounder by Greg Dobbs, 5-3, scored on center fielder Andrew McCutchen’s fielding error of a Kyle Kendrick fly ball, giving the Phils a 7-2 lead. The Phils added to their lead in the seventh as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Werth hits a RBI double, just missing another home run, knocking in Rollins, who had earlier doubled, and had moved up to third on Howard’s single, making it 8-2 Phils, while sending Howard, who had just singled, on to third base. The Phils would then score their final runs in the eight as, with the bases loaded, via a single to Victorino, and then walks to both Polanco and Rollins, and with two men out, Howard hits a grand-slam home run to deep center field, his seventh home run of the season, scoring Victorino, Polanco and Rollins before him, giving the Phils a 12-2 lead. The Phils then gave the ball to Antonio Bastardo, who proceeded to pitch a 1-2-3 ninth, ending the game by getting Ryan Doumit to fly out to center for the final out.
Kyle Kendrick gets the win as he pitches eight strong innings, giving up just two runs on five scattered hits and a walk, while he strikes out four. His record is now 2-1 with a reduced ERA of 5.24. Antonio Bastrado pitches a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out two. Charlie Morton took the lost as he lasts only four innings, giving up six runs on six hits and a hit batter, while he strikes out three. His record is now 1-7 with an ERA of 9.68. Jeff Karstens pitches two and a third innings, giving up two runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits, while he strikes out two. Jack Taschner pitches an inning and two-thirds, giving up four runs on four hits and two walks.
The Phils’ offense had thirteen hits in the game, with Ryan Howard leading the squad with three hits, two singles and a grand-slam home run, knocking in six runs, while scoring two, as he raised his average to .299. Shane Victorino, a returning Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth follow with two hits apiece, with both of Victorino’s hits being singles, as he scores three runs, Rollins’ hits being a single and a double, scoring two runs, while he knocks in one on a ground out, and Werth’s hits being a double and a three-run home run, knocking in four runs. Placido Polanco, Raul Ibanez, Greg Dobbs and a returning Carlos Ruiz had the other four Phils’ hits, all singles, while the other Phil run came in on a Pirates’ error.
The Phils (24-13, 1st East) will conclude their short two-game series with the Pirates (16-22, 4th Central) tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern, weather permitting. The Phils will send to the mound their ace Roy Halladay (6-1, 1.59), who is coming off a no-decision against the Rockies on May 12, where he went just six and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on ten hits and two walks, while striking out four, in the Phils’ 4-3 extra-innings lost. Doc will be trying to regain his form so that he can record his seventh win of the season. The Pirates will try to counter with Zach Duke (2-4, 5.56), who is coming off a lost against the Reds on May 12, as he went only five innings, giving up five runs on nine hits and a walk, while striking out only two, in the Pirates’ 5-0 lost. He will be trying to keep the Pirates in the game against the Phils’ explosive offense. The Phils will try to end the short two-game series with a two game sweep.
Roy Halladay throws a complete game shut out at the Mets as the Phils’ bat wake up to pound on their NL East rival, 10-0.
As the Phils’ bats pound out thirteen hits against Mets’ pitching, Roy Halladay pitches his third complete game start and his second shut out of the season as the Phils defeat the Mets, 10-0, putting them half a game behind the first place Mets as they head into the rubber match of the series.
The game started as a three and a half innings pitchers’ duel between Mets’ starter Mike Pelfrey, who gave up only one hit, a lead-off double to Shane Victorino in the first, while Phils’ starter Roy Halladay gave up three hits, getting out of jams in the second, third and fourth innings, leaving it a 0-0 ballgame. The Phils then took the lead in their half of the fourth as, with two men on, and with nobody out, Jayson Werth hits an RBI single on a pop up that Mets’ second baseman Alex Cora is unable to catch, scoring Chase Utley, who had earlier singled on a pop up that Mets’ shortstop Jose Reyes was unable to catch, and then moved up to second on Ryan Howard’s single, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while sending Howard, who had already singled, up to second base. Two batters later, with two men still on base, and with one man out, Juan Castro hit a two-run double, scoring both Howard and Werth, giving the Phils a 3-0 lead. After Castro is thrown out at home by Mets’ centerfielder Angel Pagan, 8-2, on a Carlos Ruiz’s single for the second out of the inning, and then a single by Halladay, which sent Ruiz up to second, the Phils made it 6-0 as Victorino hits a three-run home run, his fourth home run of the season. The Phils added to their lead in the fifth as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Raul Ibanez hits a two-run triple, knocking in Utley, who had earlier doubled, and went to third on Howard’s fly out, and Werth, who had earlier walked, giving the Phils an 8-0 lead. The Phils made it 9-0 in the seventh as, with a runner on second, and with one out, Werth hits an RBI single, scoring Utley, who had earlier doubled. Three batters later, with two men on base, and with two men out, Ruiz hits an RBI single, knocking in Werth, who was safe on a throwing error by Mets’ first baseman Ike Davis on an Ibanez’s grounder, making it 10-0 Phils, while sending Ibanez, who was safe on Davis’ error, on to third. That would be the final score as Halladay would pitch a 1-2-3 ninth to complete the shut out win.
Roy Halladay threw a complete game shut out, giving up only three hits and a walk, while striking out six. His record is now 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA. Mike Pelfrey took the lost as he goes only four innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and a walk, as he strikes out only two. His record is now 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA. Raul Valdes pitches three innings, giving up four runs, only three of which were earned, on five hits and a walk, as he strikes out six batters. Manny Acosta pitches a 1-2-3 inning.
The Phils’ bats break out for thirteen hits, with Chase Utley leading the way with three hits, for two doubles and a single, as he scores three runs. Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz follows with two hits each. Victorino hits were a double and a three-run home run, knocking in three RBIs. Werth had two singles, knocking in two runs, while scroing three. Ruiz also had two singles, knocking in a run, while scoring a run. Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Juan Castro and Roy Halladay each recorded a hit, with Howard and Halladay’s hits being singles, with both man scoring a run, Ibanez’s hit being a triple, knocking in two runs, while Castro’s hit was a double, also knocking in two runs.
The Phils (13-10, 2nd?) will conclude their series with the Mets (14-10, 1st) tomorrow night. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 8:05 pm Eastern. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN. The Phils will send to the mound the ageless Jamie Moyer (2-2, 5.25), who is coming off a lost against the Giants on April 27, as he pitched six innings, giving up four runs on ten hits and a walk, while he struck out two, in the Phils’ 6-2 lost. Moyer will be going for his third victory of the season, while trying to help the Phils regain first place. The Mets will counter by sending to the mound the Phils’ nemesis Johan Santana (3-1, 2.08), who is coming off a win against the Dodgers on April 27, as he pitched six innings, giving up no runs on four hits and three walks, which striking out six, in the Mets’ 4-0 win. He will be trying to continue his dominance of the Phils while trying to keep the Mets in first place. The Phils will be trying for both a series win and regaining first place in the NL East.
Roy Halladay pitches his 50th career complete game as he wins his 150th victory as the Phils sweep the Astros, 2-1.
Roy Halladay, as he pitches his 50th complete game, wins his 150th career game as he outduels the Astros’ Ray Oswalt, as the Phils defeat the Astros’ 2-1. The Phils, now 5-1, are off to their best start since 1993, when they started that pennant season with an 8-1 start.
The Phils took a quick 1-0 lead in the first as, on the second pitch of the game, Jimmy Rollins hits a solo home run, his first home run of the season. The Phils would make it 2-0 in the second as, with runners on the corners, and with nobody out, Carlos Ruiz hits an RBI ground out, 6-3, knocking in Raul Ibanez, who had earlier doubled and had gone to third on Shane Victorino’s single, while Victorino, who had earlier singled, moved up to second base. The game then became a pitchers’ duel between the Phils’ Roy Halladay and the Astros’ Roy Oswalt, with Oswalt giving up no more runs before leaving the game in the sixth, having given up two runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out eight Phils, while Halladay, through five, gave up only three hits while striking out five Astros. The Astros then threathen in the sixth as they loaded up the bases on singles to pinch hitter Chris Johnson and Michael Bourn, with Johnson moving up to second base, and an error to third base by Halladay on a bunt attempt by Jeff Keppinger, allowing Johnson to reach third, while Bourn moved up to second on the throw to third, with nobody out. But the next batter, Cory Sullivan then hits into a 6-3 double play, forcing out Keppinger at second base, while Johnson scored, making it a 2-1 Phils’ lead, while Bourn moved up to third, where he would stay as the next batter, Carlos Lee, pops up to Rollins for the final out of the inning. The Astros then threathen again in the seventh, as they put runners on second and third, with one man out, via singles to Geoff Blum and Pedro Feliz, with Blum moving up to second base on Feliz’s hit, and then with both man moving up a base on Kazuo Matsui’s sacrifice bunt, 2-4, for the inning’s first out. But Halladay then turned the Astros back by getting J.R. Towles to bounce back to the pitcher, 1-3, for the inning’s second out, and then striking out pinch hitter Jason Michaels, swinging. That would be the last threat as Halladay gets Feliz to end the game in the bottom of the ninth with a pop up to Chase Utley for the final out.
Roy Halladay picks up the win as he pitches a complete game, giving up an unearned run on seven hits, as he strikes out eight. His record is now 2-0 with a reduced ERA of 0.56. Roy Oswalt took the lost as he pitches six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks, while he strikes out eight. His record is now 0-2 with an ERA of 3.75. Jeff Fulchino, Tim Byrdak and Brandon Lyon combine for three shut out innings, giving up only one hit (Fulchino), while striking out two Phils (Fulchino and Byrdak, one each).
The Phils’ offense had only six hits in the game, with Jimmy Rollins leading the team with two hits, a solo home run and a single, knocking in a run. Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino and Roy Halladay had the other foru Phils’ hits, with Utley and Ibanez’s hits being doubles. Carlos Ruiz knocked in the other Phils’ run with an RBI ground out.
The Phils (5-1, 1st East) start a six games home stand with a three games series against the Nationals (3-3, 4th East). The first game of the three-games set, being played at Citizens Bank Park, is already in progress. The Phils send to the mound Cole Hamels (1-0, 3.60), who is coming off a win against these same Nats on April 7, as he pitched five innings, giving up three runs, only two of which were earned, on five hits and two walks, while striking out five, in the Phils’ 8-4 win. He hopes to improve on that outing, giving the Phils a chance to win their home opener. He will be opposed by Jason Marquis (0-1, 13.50), who is coming off a lost to the Phils, also on April 7, as he lasted only four innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and three walks, while striking out only two, in the Nats’ 8-4 lost. He hopes to do better against this same Phils squad. The Phils plan to win their home opener, and to increase their winning streak to four games.
Happ’s pitching and the Phils’ offense defeat the hapless Astros as the Phils win, 8-0.
Behind the pitching of J.A. Happ and the bullpen, and the relentless bats of the Phils’ offense, the Phils defeat the presently winless Astros, 8-0. The Phils, with their victory, and with losses by both the Braves and the Marlins, took sole possession of 1st place in the NL East.
The Phils took a quick 1-0 lead in the first as, with runners on first and second, and with one man out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI double, knocking in Jimmy Rollins, who has earlier walked, moves up to second on Placido Polanco’s single, and then went to third on a Chase Utley fly out, while sending Polanco, who had earlier singled, over to third base. Two batters later, with runners still on second and third, and now with two outs, Raul Ibanez joins the Phils’ hitting parade with a two-run double, scoring both Polanco and Howard, giving the Phils a 3-0 lead. After being kept from scoring on bases loaded opportunties in both the second and the third innings, the Phils added to their lead in the fourth when, with one man out, Utley hits a solo home run, his first home run of the season, to make it a 4-0 Phils’ lead. Three batters later, with a runner on second, and now with two men outs, Ibanez hits an RBI double, knocking in Howard, who has earlier doubled, making it 5-0 Phils. The Phils continued their scoring in the fifth as, with a runner on second, and once again with two men out, Polanco hits an RBI double, scoring Rollins, who has just doubled, giving the Phils a 6-0 lead. One batter later, the Phils increased their lead to 7-0 as Utley hits an RBI single, knocking in Polanco. As the Phils were scoring, their starter, J.A. Happ, continues where he left off from his rookie season, as he blanks the Astros in six innings, pitching out of trouble, as he gives up only six hits and two walks, while striking out five Astros, followed by the bullpen which pitches four shut out innings, while striking out five more Astros. The Phils add their last run in the seventh as, with runners on first and second, and with one man out, Polanco hits an RBI single, knocking in Carlos Ruiz, who has earlier singled, and has gone to second on a walk to Rollins, while sending Rollins to third, while he would move up to second on the throw, giving the Phils an 8-0 lead. That would be the final score as Jose Contreras pitches a 1-2-3 ninth.
J.A. Happ gets the win as he pitches six strong shut out innings, plus two batters, giving up just six hits and two walks, while he strikes out five. His record is now 1-0 with an 0.00 ERA. David Herndon, Danys Baez and Jose Contreras combine for four shut out innings, giving up just two hits (Herndon), while striking out five (Herndon (2), Baez (1), Contreras (2)). Bud Norris took the lost as he lasts only two and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs on six hits and four walks, while striking out three. His record is now 0-1 with a 10.13 ERA. Wilton Lopez pitches an inning and a third, giving up two runs on three hits, while striking out one. Brian Moehler pitches three innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out one. Chris Sampson pitches a scoreless inning, giving up just a hit. Jeff Fulchino also pitches a scoreless inning, striking out a batter.
The Phils’ offense had sixteen hits in the game, with Polanco leading the attack with four hits, including a double, while knocking in two runs, as he increased his batting average to .579. Raul Ibanez followed with three hits, including two doubles, knocking in three runs, as he raised his average to .267. Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth all followed with two hits each, with Rollins’ hits being a single and a double, scoring two runs; Utley’s hits being a solo home run and a single, knocking in two runs while scoring one; Howard’s hits being two doubles, knocking in a run, while scoring two; and Werth’s hits both being singles. Carlos Ruiz had one hit, a single, scoring a run. The Phils’ offense had seven extra-base hits (2B (6), HR (1)) in the ballgame. The Phils’ offense had ten hits or more in their first four games, doing so for the first time since 1926.
The Phillies (3-1, 1st NL East), will continue their road trip to Houston with a night game against the Astros (0-4, 6th NL Central). The game will be played at Minute Maid Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern (6:05 pm Central). The ageless wonder Jamie Moyer (0-0, -.–) will start the game for the Phils, hoping to continue from spring training. Felipe Paulino (0-0, -.–) will start for the Astros, trying to put a stop to the Astros four game slide. The Phils will try to win their second straight series of the season with a win tonight.
The Phils starts off the 2010 regular season with an 11-1 laughter against the Nats in D.C.
The Phils start off the 2010 season in spectacular fashion, as they do something they have not done for some time, win on opening day. Behind the one run, six hits, nine strikeouts pitching performance of their new ace Roy Halladay and powered by an offense that scored eleven runs on thirteen hits, including two home runs, with one of them being a grand-slam home run by a returning Placido Polanco, the 2009 National League Champions crushed the Nationals 11-1.
The Nationals would start the scoring off in the bottom of the first, as, with a man on second, via a lead-off single to Nyjer Morgan, who later stole second, Ryan Zimmerman would hit an RBI double to center, scoring Morgan, giving the Nationals a 1-0 lead. The Phils would come back in the fourth, as they took a 2-1 lead on a two-run home run by Ryan Howard, his first home run of the season, knocking in Chase Utley, who has gotten on base earlier with a lead-off walk. Three batters later, Shane Victorino would make it a 3-1 Phils’ lead as he hit an RBI single, scoring Jayson Werth, who earlier got on base with a single, and then went to third on Raul Ibanez’s single, putting runners on the corners, while sending Ibanez, who has just singled, to second base. One out later, after a fly out to right field by Carlos Ruiz has moved Ibanez up to third and sent Victorino over to second, Phils’ starter, Halladay, helped his own cause by hitting an RBI single off of Nats’ starter, John Lannan, scoring Ibanez from third, while sending Victorino to third, once again putting runners on the corners, with the score now 4-1 Phils. After a walk to Jimmy Rollins loaded up the bases, sending Halladay up to second base, Polanco made it 5-1 Phils by hitting a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Victorino. The Phils would increase their lead in the sixth as, with a runner on first, and with one out, Rollins would hit an RBI triple, scoring Ruiz from first, who had earlier walked, giving the Phils a 6-1 lead. Polanco would make it a 7-1 Phils’ lead with an RBI single, knocking in Rollins. One inning later, in the seventh, the Phils would bust the game wide open as, with the bases loaded, via a walk to Ibanez, a one-out single to Ruiz, which moved Ibanez up to second base, a ground out, 2-3, by Halladay, which would move Ibanez up to third and send Ruiz over to second base, and an intentional walk to Rollins, Polanco would empty the bases with a grand-slam home run, his first home run of the year, making it an 11-1 Phillies’ lead. That would be the final score as Hallady, after keeping the Nationals off of the scoreboard from innings 2-7, hands the ball over to the bullpen, who handled the Nats easily for the final two innings, preserving the win.
Roy Halladay gets the win, as he pitches seven very strong innings, giving up only one earned run on six hits and two walks while striking out nine. His record is now 1-0 with an ERA of 1.29. Antonio Bastardo, Danys Baez and David Herndon combined for two shutout innings, giving up three hits (Bastardo (1), Herndon (2)) and one walk (Bastardo), while striking out two (Bastardo (1), Herndon (1)). John Lannan got the lost for the Nationals, as he went only three and two-third innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks. His record is now 0-1 with a 12.27 ERA. Jesse English pitched one and one-third scoreless innings, giving up no hits. Miguel Batista followed, pitching an inning and two-thirds, getting smoked for five runs on three hits and four walks, while striking out one. Jason Bergmann pitched a third of an inning, giving up a run on one hit, the Polanco’s grand-slam. Sean Burnett and Brian Bruney followed with two scorless innings, giving up two hits (one hit apiece) and two walks (both Bruney), while striking out three Phils (Burnett (1), Bruney (2)).
The Phils’ bats went a combine thirteen for thirty-nine today, scoring eleven runs, as well as taking nine bases on balls, with one of them being intentional, and only striking out four times. Placido Planco led the team with three hits, as he knocked in six runs, via a sacrifice fly, a single and a grand-slam home run, starting the season with a .600 batting average. Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard followed with two hits each, with Rollins hits being a lead-off single in the first, and a RBI triple, while scoring two of the Phils’ runs. He also received two walks, while stealing a base in the first inning. Howard, meanwhile, had a single and a two-run home run, knocking in two runs, while scoring one. Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz and starter Roy Halladay had the other six Phils’ hits, all singles. Victorino and Halladay would knock in the other two Phils’ RBI. The Phils had a total of twenty-one total bases and three extra-base hits, a triple and two home runs, including a grand-slam. Not bad for a first game. I just hope there’s some left in the tank for Wednesday.
The Phils (1-0) have the day off tomorrow. Their next game will be Wednesday night against the Nationals (0-1) at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. for a 7:05 pm start. The Phils’ starter will be Cole Hamels (0-0, -.–). He will be trying to show that what happened to him in ’09 is now in the past. He will be opposed by Jason Marquis (0-0, -.–), who the Nationals have picked up from the Rockies, who plans on trying to keep the Nats from being an early tennant of the National League Eastern Division cellar. The Phils are off to a good start. The question now is, can they build on it.
Almost back into the playoffs!!!
The Phils’ magic number is now down to one as their offense wakes up long enough to defeat the Astros, 7-4, while the Marlins hold on to defeat the Braves. The Phils will be looking to clinch their third straight NL Eastern Division title tonight behind veteran pitcher Pedro Martinez.
The Astros took an early 1-0 lead in the third as, with two men out, Lance Berkman hits a solo home run, his twenty-fifth home run of the season. The Phils would tie the game up at one-all in their half of the third as, with one man on, and with one man out, Jimmy Rollins hits an RBI double, knocking in Paul Bako, who had earlier walked, and had moved up to second on Phils’ starter J.A. Happ’s sacrifice bunt. The Phils then took the lead in the fourth as, with the bases loaded, via singles by Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez, and a walk to Jayson Werth, which sent Howard to third and Ibanez to second, with nobody out, Pedro Feliz hits a grand slam home run, his twelfth home run of the season, his seventh career grand slam, and the eleventh grand slam hit by the Phils this season, making it a 5-1 Phils’ lead. The Astros would get a run back in the fifth as, with two men on, and with one man out, Carlos Lee hits an RBI single, knocking in Miguel Tejada, who had earlier singled, and had moved up to second when Berkman reached base on catcher’s interference, cutting the Phils’ lead to 5-2, while sending Berkman, who had went to first on catcher’s interference, moved up to second. The Phils increased their lead in their half of the fifth as, with one man on, and with two men out, Werth hits a two-run home run, his thirty-fifth home run of the year, scoring Ibanez, who had earlier walked, giving the Phils a 7-2 lead. In the sixth, the Astros would get those two runs back as, with a man on, and with two outs, Kazuo Matsui hits a two-run home run, his ninth home run of the season, scoring J.R. Towles, who had earlier doubled, making it a 7-4 Phils’ lead. But that would be the final score, as Jamie Moyer would come in to hold down the fort for an inning and a third, and then Ryan Madson would come in to pitch for two innings, recording his tenth save of the season, as he struck out Hunter Pence to end the game.
J.A. Happ got the win as he pitched five and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs, only three of which were earned, on nine hits and a walk, while striking out six. His record is now 12-4 with a 2.85 ERA. Jamie Moyer recorded his first hold as he pitched an inning and a third of scoreless relief, giving up only a walk, while he struck out one. Ryan Madson collected his tenth save of the year as he pitched two innings of shut out ball, giving up just two hits, as he struck out two. Wilton Lopez took the lost as he pitched three and two-thirds innings, giving up five runs on six hits and two walks, as he struck out two. His record is now 0-1 with a 9.42 ERA. Wesley Wright pitched one and a third innings, giving up two runs on a hit and a walk, while he struck out two. Chad Paronto, Jeff Fulchino and Samuel Gervacio combined to keep the Phils off the board for three innings, giving up only one hit (Paronto), while striking out two batters (Fulchino (1), Gervacio (1)).
The Phils had eight hits in the game, with both Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth leading the way with two hits each, with one of Rollins’ hits being an RBI double, while one of Werth’s hits was a two-run home run. Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz and Paul Bako had the other four Phils’ hits, with Feliz’s hit being a grand slam home run, which put the Phils ahead for good. The Phils’ offense will be trying to break the game open early tonight to finally end the pennant race.
The Phils (91-66, 1st East) continue their four-game set with the Astros (73-84, 5th Central) with a night game. The game will start at 7:05 pm Eastern and will be played at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils will send to the mound Pedro Martinez (5-1, 3.32), who is coming off a neck injury. His last start was a lost against the Braves on September 19, when he went only three innings because of tightness in his neck, as he gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out one, in the Phils’ 6-4 lost. Martinez will be trying to pitch the Phils into the playoffs tonight. The Astros will counter with Brian Moehler (8-11, 5.21), who is coming off a lost against the Reds on September 25, as he pitched two and a third innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits and a walk, while striking out only two, in the Astros’ 10-4 lost. He will try to hold off the clinching party for at least one more night. The Phils will be trying to clinch their third straight NL Eastern Division crown tonight, so that they can use the final four games to set things up for the Divisional Series.
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