Results tagged ‘ Possible Injury ’

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.

Kyle Kendrick gets bombed as the Phillies are unable to come back from a 9-1 defecit as they lose to the Marlins, 10-8.

Kyle Kendrick is knocked out of the box in the second inning, after giving up seven runs, as the Phillies lose to the Marlins, 10-8. The Marlins would take the lead in the first as, with the bases loaded thanks to two singles (John Baker and Mike Jacobs) and a walk (Jorge Cantu) and with one man out, Dan Uggla would hit a two-run single, scoring Baker and Cantu, giving the Marlins a quick 2-0 lead, while sending Jacobs to third. Josh Willingham would follow with a sacrifice fly, scoring Jacobs, to make it 3-0 Marlins. The Phillies would get a run back in their half of the first as, with a runner on third and one out, Chase Utley would hit a soft grounder to the shortstop for the inning’s second out, 6-3, scoring Jayson Werth, who would get on base with a single, and then steal first second and then third, to cut the Marlins’ lead to 3-1. But the Marlins would go back to work on Phils’ starter Kyle Kendrick in the second, as, with a runner on second and one out, Hanley Ramirez would hit a RBI double, knocking in Marlins’ starter Chris Volstad, who has doubled earlier, to give the Marlins a 4-1 lead. Two batters later, after Baker walks, Cantu would hit a three-run home run, his twenty-fourth home run of the year, scoring Ramirez and Baker, giving the Marlins a 7-1 lead. That would be it for Kendrick as Charlie Manuel would take him out of the game for J.A. Happ, who would get out of the inning with no further damage. The Marlins would then add to their lead in the fourth as, with a runner on first and one out, Jacobs would hit a two-run home run, his thirty-second home run of the year, knocking in Cantu, who has earlier singled, to make it 9-1 Marlins. The Phillies would then start their comeback in their half of the fourth, as, after Volstad is taken out of the game, because of a ball hitting off his leg, and replaced with reliever Eulogio De La Cruz, with one man on base and no one out, Ryan Howard would hit a two-run home run, his forty-first home run of the year, scoring  Utley, who has earlier singled, to make it 9-3 Marlins. Two batters later, Shane Victorino would ground out, first to the pitcher, knocking in Pat Burrell, who has earlier tripled, to cut the Marlins’ lead down to 9-4. The Marlins would get a run back in the fifth as Cody Ross would hit a lead-off home run, his twenty-first home run of the year, to give the Marlins a 10-4 lead. The Phillies would then explode in the sixth. Howard would start the inning off with a double. Burrell would then follow with a walk, putting two men on base. Victorino would follow with a single, scoring Howard, making it a 10-5 Marlins’ lead, and sending Burrell over to third. De La Cruz is then taken out of the game and replaced with Doug Waechter. After Victorino steals second to put runners on second and third, Greg Dobbs would hit a two-run double, scoring both Burrell and Victorino, cutting the Marlins’ lead down to 10-7. Pinch hitter Matt Stairs would then follow with a RBI single, scoring Dobbs, making it 10-8 Marlins, with still no one out. After Chris Coste flies out for the inning’s first out, Jimmy Rollins would hit a single, sending Stairs to third, putting runners on the corners, with still one man out. Rollins would then steal second, to put both runners in scoring position. Werth would then fly out to right for the inning’s second out, which would unfortunatley not be deep enough to score Stairs from third. Waechter is then taken out and replaced by Andrew Miller, who would end the inning by getting Utley to pop up. The Phillies would mount one last threat in the eighth as they put runners on the corners with two singles (pinch hitter Pedro Feliz, later replaced by pinch runner So Taguchi, and Rollins) with two men out. But the threat would end as Werth lines out to right. The Phillies would then go down 1-2-3 in the ninth, as the Marlins would use two different pitchers in that inning to record the final three outs, with Matt Lindstrom recording his second save of the year.

Kyle Kendrick would get the lost as he is knocked out of the ballgame early, as he goes only an inning and a third, giving up seven earned runs on six hits and two walks. His record is now 11-9 with a 5.44 ERA. J.A. Happ would go three and one third innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits, while striking out five, all three runs coming on two home runs. Clay Condrey would pitch one and a third innings of scoreless ball, giving up only one hit. Rudy Seanez would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits, while striking out two. Scott Eyre would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Ryan Madson would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on no hits, while striking out a batter. Brad Lidge would also pitch a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and strking out a batter. Chris Volstad would get a no-decision, as he is taken out of the game because of a ball hitting one of his legs, going three innings, giving up one earned run on two hits. Eulogio De La Cruz would pitch two innings plus three batters, as he gives up six earned runs on five hits and two walks, Doug Waechter would go two-thirds of an inning, giving up an earned run on three hits. Andrew Miller would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Kevin Gregg would get the win as he pitches a scoreless inning, giving up no hits. His record is now 7-8 with a 3.73 ERA. Joe Nelson would also pitch a scoreless inning, giving up two hits. Arthur Rhodes would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Matt Lindstrom would record his second save of the year as he goes a third of an inning, giving up no runs or hits.

Kyle Kendrick would get knocked around by the Marlins, not lasting two innings, thus showing that his stint in the bullpen last weekend didn’t seem to do anything for him. Because of the seven runs that he gave up, along with the three that J.A. Happ would give up later on a pair of home runs, the Phillies’ offense would be put in an early hole that they could not fully climb out of. I hate to say it, but Kendrick needs to be seated on the bench for a while, until he can find out what his problem is and correct it. If this means some time back in the minors at the start of ’09, then so be it, he just need to get back into attacking batters and not worry about what they are going to do with his pitches. He might also develop an out pitch while he’s at it.

The Phllies (79-66) are right now playing the final game of their three games series with the Marlins (73-72) at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies’ starter is Brett Myers (9-10, 4.19), who is coming off a recent win against the Mets on September 5, where he threw eight shut out innings, giving up only three hits, in the Phillies’ 3-0 win. Since coming back from the minors, Myers has posted a 6-1 record with two no-decisions, which the Phillies have split. He will be looking to even his record while keeping the Phillies paced with the Mets. The Marlins will send to the mound Ricky Nolasco (13-7, 3.56), who is coming off a no-decision against the Cardinals on September 5, as he would go seven innings, giving up only one earned run on six hits, in the Marlins’ 4-1 win. His previous start against the Phillies on July 18 was a lost, as he went seven innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits in the Marlins’ 4-2 lost. He will be trying to improve his record while trying to do better against the Phillies then he did in his previous start.

The Phillies now trail the Mets by two and a half games in the East as they face the Nationals later today. They lead the Marlins by six games going into this afternoon’s game. In the wild card chase, they are now three and a half games behind Milwaukee, as they have just defeated the Reds, while they are presently a half game ahead of the Cardinals who will play the Cubs tonight and a game ahead of the Astros who will play the Pirates tonight. The Phillies will need to win today to keep pace in both the division and the wild card.

Cole Hamels throws a seven innings plus five-hitter at the Nats as the Phillies defeated the Nationals, 4-0.

Cole Hamels threw seven and one third innings of shut out ball, as the Phillies rebound to defeat the Nationals, 4-0. After a scoreless first, and after the Phillies have gone 1-2-3 in the top of the second, the Natonals would threaten to take the lead in their half of the second. After Ronnie Belliard started the inning off with a single, Elijah Dukes would follow with a ground-rule double, sending Belliard to third, and putting runners on second and third with no one out. But the next batter would then lined out into a double play, 8 to 4, doubling up Dukes at second. Phillies’ starter Cole Hamels would then get Alberto Gonzalez to ground out, 4 to 3, to end the inning, with the score still nothing to nothing. The Phillies would then break the tied in the third inning as, with a runner on second and two outs, Jimmy Rollins would hit a RBI single, scoring Carlos Ruiz, who was safe at first on a force out and then have gone to second on Hamels’ sacrifice bunt, beating left fielder Willie Harris’ throw to the plate, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while Rollins would go on to second on the throw. Chase Utley would then follow with a RBI single, scoring Rollins, and giving the Phils a 2-0 lead. Jayson Werth would then follow with the third straight single of the inning, sending Utley to third. With the count 1-0 to Ryan Howard, Nationals’ starter John Lannard would throw to first, trying to pick off Werth. On the play, Utley broke for home. Nationals’ first baseman Belliard would then throw home, where the ball is caught by Jesus Flores. Flores is then bowl over by Utley, but held onto the ball as he tags Utley out for the third out of the inning. Flores would then lie on the ground for a while, as him appear to have gotten injured on the play, as his spiked right shoe would not let go of the ground during the collision at the plate. He would eventually be taken off the field in a cart. The Phillies would then add to their lead in the seventh, as the Nats replaced Lannard with Levale Speigner. Pedro Feliz would greet him with a single, followed by a single by Ruiz, which would place Feliz on second base, with no one out. Hamels would then move the runners as he grounded out, third to first, putting runners on second and third with one man out. Rollins would folow with a RBI single, scoring Feliz, making it 3-0 Phillies, and sending Ruiz to third. The Nats then replace Speigner with Mike Hinckley. Utley would greet him by hitting a grounder to second baseman Anderson Hernandez who would throw out Utley for out number two. Belliard would then throw to the Nats’ shortstop Gonzalez, trapping Rollins between first and second. Rollins would stay in the basepath long enough for Ruiz to score the Phils’ fourth run before he is finally tagged out by Hinckley for out number three. In the meantime, Hamels would keep the Nats’ under control, striking out six batters, before an one out single by Hernandez would lead to Hamels being replaced by J.C. Romero. Romero would then proceed to strike out Harris for the inning’s second out. Romero is then taken out and is replaced by Chad Durbin. He would end the inning by getting Ryan Zimmerman to hit into a force out for the inning’s final out. Brad Lidge would then come out to pitch the ninth. After giving up a lead off triple to Lastings Milledge, he would get the next three hitters out to end the game.

Cole Hamels would get the win as he pitches seven and one third shut out innings, giving up only five hits and strking out six batters. His record is now 12-8 with a 3.01 ERA. J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin would each pitch a third of an inning, giving up no hits between them. Brad Lidge would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up a hit. John Lannan would take the lost as he pitches six innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits. His record is now 8-13 with a 3.88 ERA. Levale Speigner would pitch a third of an inning, giving up two earned runs on three hits. Mike Hinckley  would pitch one and two-thirds innings, giving up no runs on no hits. Garrett Mock would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits.

Although getting very few hits in the ballgame, the Phillies’ offense would get enough of them to knock in enough runs to win the game. With last night’s game, Hamels would reach two hundred innings’ pitched for the first time in his young career, with more to come before the season is over.  J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin, in the meantime, would come in to help get the Phils through the eighth inning after Hamels is unable to get the second out of the inning.

The Phillies (76-63) will end their three games series with the Nationals (53-86) with a night game. The game will be played at Nationals Park and wil start at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies will send to the mound Joe Blanton (6-12 (1-0), 4.69), who is coming off another no-decision, this time against the Cubs on August 29, going five and two-thirds innings, giving up only two earned runs on two hits, in the Phillies’ 3-2 lost. Blanton will be trying to get his second win as a Phil while trying to go deeper into the ballgame. The Nationals’ starter will be Odalis Perez (6-10, 4.14), who is coming off a win against the Braves on August 29, as he went six and a third innings, giving up only two earned runs on seven hits, in the Nationals’ 7-3 win. He will be trying to improve his record while also trying to win the seres for the Nats.

The Phillies remain two games behind the Mets as they once again defeated the Brewers, while they stay six games ahead of the now fading Marlins as they lost to the Braves. The Phillies will try to win the present series with the Nationals before heading to New York to face the Mets for the last time this season. 

The Phillies use the long ball to win their first series of the second half as they defeat the Braves, 12-10.

The Phillies would use a combination of the long ball and situational hitting to come from behind again to defeat the Braves as they win their first series of the second half, 12-10. It didn’t look that way at the start as the Braves would score two runs in the top of the first off of Phillies’ starter Joe Blanton. With two men on and one out, Brian McCann would hit a RBI single, scoring Yunel Escobar, who has earlier singled, making it 1-0 Braves. Mark Kotsay would follow with a RBI double, scoring Mark Teixeira, who has earlier walked, to give the Braves a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the second, with Eric Bruntlett batting, the rain would come down, delaying the game for over two hours. The long rain delay would force the removal of both teams’ starters, Blanton and Jorge Campillo. The Braves would increase their lead in the top of the fourth off of Adam Eaton. With a runner on second and one out, Eaton would give up a two-run home run to Kelly Johnson, his ninth home run of the year, scoring Kotsay, who has earlier singled, to make it 4-0 Braves. Omar Infante would follow with a solo shot, his second home run of the year, to give the Braves a 5-0 lead. The Phillies would then come back in their half of the fourth. With two men out, and a runner on first, Chris Coste would hit a two-run home run, his eighth home run of the year, scoring Jayson Werth, who has earlier walked, cutting the Braves’ lead to 5-2. The next batter, pinch hitter So Taguchi would then get on base with a pinch single. Jimmy Rollins would follow by working a walk. Shane Victorino would then hit a three-run home run, his eighth home run of the year, scoring Taguchi and Rollins, tying the game at five all. In the fifth, the Phillies will take the lead as Pat Burrell would hit a solo home run, his twenty-sixth home run of the year, making it 6-5 Phillies. The Phils would then break the game wide open in the sixth. With Royce Ring now on the mound, he would be greeted by pinch hitter Carlos Ruiz with a pinch double. Ruiz would then go to third on a single by Rollins. Victorino would follow with a RBI single, scoring Ruiz, and sending Rollins to second to make the score 7-5 Phillies. Chase Utley would then strike out, making the first out of the inning. With Ryan Howard at the plate, Rollins and Victorino would perform a double steal, with Victorino just beating McCann’s throw from behind home plate. Howard would then hit a RBI single with the infield pulled in, scoring Rollins easily, and then scoring Victorino, as he knocks over McCann, as McCann tries to catch left fielder Jeff Francoeur’s throw from left on one hop, and then tries to turn around quickly to tag out Victorino, making it 9-5 Phillies. McCann would then lay on the ground for the next several minutes, with Victorino and Rollins, among others, looking to see if he was alright, before he is finally taken out of the game, and replaced by Corky Miller. Meanwhile, Royce is replaced on the mound by Blaine Boyer. Burrell would then fly out for the second out of the inning. Werth would then follow with a two-run home run, his fourteenth home run, to give the Phillies an 11-5 lead. Bruntlett would then end the inning by flying out. In the seventh, Rollins would increase the Phillies’ lead by hitting a solo home run, his seventh home run of the year, to give the Phils a 12-5 lead. The Braves would then make it close in the eighth. With Rudy Seanez on the mound, Kotsay would start the inning off with a single. After Francoeur pops up for the first out of the inning, Johnson would get on base with a walk, sending Kotsay to second. Infante would follow with a RBI double, scoring Kotsay and sending Johnson to third, cutting the Phillies’ lead to 12-6. Greg Norton would then load the bases as Seanez commits an error on his ground ball. Ryan Madson is then brought in to relieve Seanez. Gregor Blanco would then walk, scoring Johnson, while leaving the bases loaded as the Phillies now lead 12-7. Escobar would then pop out to Bruntlett in foul territory for the second out of the inning. Pinch hitter Martin Prado would then hit a double that a diving Werth would be unable to catch, scoring Infante, Norton and Blanco after it gets past Werth, making it a 12-10 Phillies’ lead. Madson would finally end the inning by getting Miller to ground out, third to first. In the ninth, Brad Lidge would proceed to nail down his twenty-fourth save of the year to finally end the ballgame.

Joe Blanton would get a no-decision thanks to the rain delay, as he pitches two innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits. Adam Eaton would also pitch two innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits. Clay Condrey would get the win as he pitches two innings, giving up no runs on one hit. His record is now 3-2 with a 3.72 ERA. J.C. Romero would go an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Rudy Seanez would go one-third of an inning, giving up four earned runs on two hits. Ryan Madson would go two-thirds of an inning, giving up an earned run on one hit. Brad Lidge would pitch an inning, as he records his twenty-fourth save of the year, giving up no runs on no hits. Jorge Campillo would also pitch a no-decision because of the rain delay, going one and two-thirds innings, giving up no runs on two hits. Jo-Jo Reyes would go two and two-thirds innings, giving up five earned runs on four hits. Julian Tavarez would take the lost as he goes two-thirds of an inning, giving up an earned run on one hit. His record is now 0-3 with a 6.48 ERA.Royce Ring would pitch a third of an inning, giving up four earned runs on four hits. Blaine Boyer would pitch two-thirds of an innings, giving up a run on one hit. Buddy Carlyle would pitch an inning, giving up one run on one hit. Will Ohman would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits.

The Phillies (56-49) have finally won their first series of the second half as well as the short home stand, while also starting a two game winning streak. For the second straight game the Phillies’ offense would score ten or more runs, this time with them doing it with a combination of the long ball and situational hitting. Does this mean that the offense is back? I’m going to wait until after the next several series before saying yes or no. The next Phillies’ game will be played on Tuesday as they meet the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.

With the win, the Phillies continue to trail the Mets by a game, as they won their game against the Cardinals. The Marlins would drop to third place, a game behind the Phillies, as they lost to the Cubs. The Braves now trail the Phillies by six and a half games. As the Phillies take the day off before starting their series with the Nationals in D.C., the Mets go to Miami to start a three games series with the Marlins, while the Braves prepare for a four games series with the Cardinals.

Bullpen is unable to save the game as the Phillies fall to the Mets, 9-4.

For the first time in a long while, the Phillies’ bullpen have collectively let a ballgame get away as J.C. Romero and Tom Gordon would combine to blow a save as the Phillies lose to the Mets, 9-4. The Mets would score first in the first inning, as Jose Reyes, who has earlier singled, and then reached third on Ryan Church’s single, would score on a David Wright double play ball, 6-4-3, wiping out Church at second, to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. The Met would then increase their lead in the fourth, when, with runners on first and third, and one out, Jamie Moyer would pick off first base Carlos Beltran, who has just walked. But a Ryan Howard’s throwing error towards second would allow Wright, who has earlier doubled, and has reached third on a stolen base, to score, giving the Mets a 2-0 lead, while Beltran would be safe at second. Beltran would then score on a RBI single by Damion Easley, giving the Mets a 3-0 lead. The Phillies would come back in their half of the fourth, as Howard would hit a three-run home run, his twenty-third home run of the year, scoring Shane Victornio, who has earlier been hit by the pitch, and Chase Utley, who has just walked, to even the score at three. It would remain tied until the bottom of the seventh, when pinch hitter Jayson Werth would hit a RBI single to score Eric Bruntlett, who was pinch running for Pat Burrell. who has earlier singled, to give the Phillies the lead at 4-3. But, Werth would then be thrown out at second, catcher Ramon Castro to second baseman Easley, when he tried to move up to second on the throw to home, ending the inning. The Phillies then gave it to the bullpen to try and close the door. Unfortunately, the bullpen would be unable to do so. With one out, J.C. Romero would give up singles to Easley and Carlos Delgado, which would put runners on the corners. Charlie Manuel would then quickly replace Romero with Tom Gordon. While pitching to Marlon Anderson, Gordon would uncork a wild pitch, which would score Easley, tying the game at four all, and send Delgado to second. After Anderson walks, Endy Chavez would ground out to Howard, moving the runners to second and third base with two outs. Pinch hitter Brian Schneider would then hit a pinch hit double, scoring both Delgado and Anderson, and giving the Mets a 6-4 lead. Then in the ninth, with Rudy Seanez on the mound, pinch hitter Fernando Tatis would start the inning off with a pinch hit double. After moving up to third on a Wright ground out to third, he would score on a ball hit back to Seanez, which he would be unable to field for an error, allowing Beltran to reach first safely, and giving the Mets a 7-4 lead. Easley would then follow with a single, moving Beltran to second. Delgado would then follow with a single, loading the bases. Anderson would then hit a ground ball to second, that would lead to Delgado being thrown out at second for the second out of the inning, as Beltran scores, and Easley moves up to third on the fielder’s choice, making it 8-4 Mets. Easley would then score the Mets’ final run on a RBI single by Chavez. That would be it, as Tony Armas would come in to pitch a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Jamie Moyer would get a no-decision, as he pitches a quality start, going six and two-thirds innings, giving up only three earned runs on seven hits. Ryan Madson would pitch a third of an inning, getting out the only batter that he would face. J.C. Romero, would take the lost, going one-third of an inning, giving up two earned runs on two hits. He record is now 4-2 with an ERA of 2.43. Tom Gordon will receive a blown save, his first of the year, as he goes two-thirds of an inning, giving up an earned run on one hit. Rudy Seanez would go two-thirds of an inning, giving up three earned runs on four hits. Clay Condrey would pitch a third of an inning, retiring the only man that he would face. John Maine would also get a no-decision, as he leaves the game after having pitched five and two-thirds inning, and with the count 2-2 on Ryan Howard, because of an injury to his non-pitching elbow. He has given up three earned runs on just one hit, Howard’s home run, when he was replaced by Aaron Heilman, who would then strike out Howard on one pitch, who would turn out to be the only man that he would face. Joe Smith would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up an earned run on one hit. Pedro Feliciano would get the win, as he would pitch only a third of an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. His record is now 1-2 with an ERA of 2.91. Duaner Sanchez would pitch an inning of scoreless ball, giving up just one hit. Tony Armas would pitch a 1-2-3 ninth to end the game.

The Phillies’ offense was only able to get four hits tonight, even if one of them, Howard’s three-run home run, did bring in a few runs. Moyer had another quality start, but the bullpen did something that it has not done at all this year, be unable to protect a lead late in the ballgame. Unfortunately, it was bound to happen, and hopefully there will not be a repeat performance during the rest of the series.

The four games series between the two rivals will continue tomorrow afternoon from Citizens Bank Park with the third game of their series. The game will begin at 1:35 pm Eastern, The Phillies (48-40) will send to the mound Kyle Kendrick (8-3, 4.58), who is coming off a victory over the Braves on July 1, where he went six plus innings, giving up only three earned runs on seven hits, in the Phillies’ 8-3 win. He will be trying for his ninth win of the year, hoping to make it three straight wins in a row, while trying to get even with the Mets for his early season defeat at their hands. The Mets (43-44) will counter with Oliver Perez (6-5, 4.98), who is coming off a win against the Yankess on June 29, where he went seven innings, giving up just an earned run on three hits, in the Mets’ 3-1 win. He will be gunning for his seventh win of the year whle trying to get the Mets back into the pennant race.

In spite of the lost, the Phillies’ lead is still three and a half games over the Marlins as the fish have once again lost to the Rockies. The Mets now trail the Phillies by four and a half games with tonight’s win. The Braves still trail by seven games as they have lost their game to the Astros. The Phillies will be trying to regroup, so that they can do some more damage and add on to their lead in the Eastern Division.

The Phillies are three hit by A’s pitching as they lose, 5-0.

Just hours after shutting down the A’s, the Phillies’ offense is in turn shut down by the combine pitching of A’s starter Rich Harden and reliever Alan Embree, who together would give up only three hits and a walk, while striking out eleven, as they are shut out, 5-0. The A’s would take the lead in the first inning as Adam Eaton would give up a RBI double to Ryan Sweeney, scoring Mark Ellis, who has earlier walked, making it 1-0 A’s. A batter later, Sweeney would score on a RBI single to Jack Cust, just beating Carlos Ruiz’s tag, after having slid past home plate, giving the A’s a 2-0 lead. Sweeney would be taken out of the game because of a possible injury caused by the slide. The game would then becomes a pitchers’ duel between Eaton and Harden for the next six innings, as Eaton would give up only one more run, on Carlos Gonzalez’s second home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth, which would make it 3-0 A’s, while Harden would flirt with a no-hitter until the fifth, when Shane Victorino would get a two-out single and would later get a second single off of Harden in the eighth, but the Phils would otherwise be unable to get anything started against him. The A’s would then put it away in the eighth as they score two runs off of Phils’ reliever Tom Gordon. The first run would come in on a RBI double by Jack Hannahan, knocking in Eric Chavez, who has earlier walked, to make it 4-0 A’s. The final run would come in on a RBI single by Gonzalez, who would score Hannahan, as Victornio would commit a fielding error as he tries to bare hand the ball so that he could make a throw to the plate to try and nail Hannahan. But Victorino would then redeem himself as he throws out Gonzalez as he tries to move up to second on the error, tagged out by Chase Utley. The Phillies would attempt to score in the ninth, as, with two outs, Pat Burrell would get to third base with a triple. But it would be all for naught as Ryan Howard would then ground out to first for the game’s final out.

Adam Eaton took the lost in spite of performing a quality start, going seven innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits. His record is now 2-6 with a 4.86 ERA. Tom Gordon would pitch an inning of relief, giving up two runs on two hits. Rich Harden would get the win as he shut down the Phillies for eight innings, giving up only two hits while striking out eleven. His record is now 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA. Alan Embree would pitch a scoreless ninth, giving up just one hit.

The Phillies’ offense went right back to where they’d left off on Tuesday night, not doing anything right, only this time being worst as they didn’t really give themselves any time to wear down the A’s starter, as they constantly went after either his first, second or third offering. This seriously has got to stop, because it’s making the batters look stupid and it is allowing the opposing team’s pitchers to throw them whatever junk they want to, just as long at they know that the Phillies’ batters will swing at it. Come on guys, start practicing patience while standing inside the batter’s box again. SERIOUSLY!!!!

The Phillies (43-37) will now go to Arlington Texas, for a three games weekend series with the Texas Rangers (40-39, 3rd American League West). The first game of the three games set will be played in Rangers Park in Arlington, with a start time of 8:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Central). The Phillies’ starter will be Brett Myers (3-9, 5.51), who is coming off a recent lost to the Angels on June 21, as he is once again hurt by the long ball as he would go seven and two-thirds innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits, in the Phillies’ 6-2 lost. Myers will be trying to see if he can pitch another good game while not giving up any more gopher balls, while hoping that the offense’s bats will finaly wake up in the Texas heat. His opponent will be Kason Gabbard (2-3, 4.96), who is coming off his second win of the year against the Nationals on Jnne 21, as he goes five and one third innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits, in the Rangers’ 13-3 win. He will be trying to even his record, while hoping that the Phillies’ bats will continue to stay cold.

The first place Phillies are still leading the East by two games, as the Marlins were swept by the Rays, losing 6-1. Their leads over the Mets and the Braves are now three and a half and four games respectively thanks to their lost to the A’s. As they go to Texas to face the Rangers, the Marlins will begin a three games series with the Diamondbacks in Miami, while the Mets will face the New York Yankees, at Yankee Stadium for one game and Shea Stadium for three, for a four games series, including a day/night doubleheader at both stadiums tomorrow night, and the Braves will be meeting the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, Canada for a three games series. The Phillies will be hoping that they can bounce back and take out their present frustrations on the Rangers, before they take the day off on Monday, and then start a three games set with the Braves in Hot-lanta.

Two disconnections between Utley and Gordon in the 10th leads to an extra-inning lost.

The Phillies lose to the Cardinals in ten innings, as Chase Utley and Tom Gordon were twice unable to connect on throws from the second baseman to the pitcher covering first to lose the ballgame, 7-6. The Phillies would score first in the top of the first as Ryan Howard would hit a RBI double, knocking in Jimmy Rollins, who has earlier singled, to take a 1-0 lead. Brett Myesr would quickly give it back in the bottom of the first, as he would give up a RBI double to Ryan Ludwick, scoring Skip Schumaker, who has earlier doubled, to tie the game at one apiece. Rick Ankiel would then follow him with a RBI double, scoring Schumaker, to make it 2-1 Cardinals. The Cardinals would then increase their lead in the third when Schumaker would hit a solo home run off of Myers, his fourth home run of the year, to make it 3-1 Cardinals. Four batters later, Troy Glaus would hit a two-run home run, his ninth home run of the season, scoring Aaron Miles, who has earlier singled, to make it 5-1 Cardinals. The two home runs would be the nineteenth and twientieth home run of the year that Myers has given up so far this year, leading the league in that category. More on that later. The Phillies would then strike back in the fifth, as, with the bases loaded, and one out, Howard would hit a two- run single, scoring Rollins, who has reached base earlier on a force out, and Jayson Werth, who has walked, to cut the Redbirds’ lead to 5-3. Tony LaRussa would then take out Cardinals’ starter Mitchell Boggs and replace him with reliever Kyle McClellan. Pat Burrell would greet McClellan with a RBI single, scoring Utley, who has earlier been hit by the pitch, making it 5-4 Cardinals. The Redbirds would get a run back in the sixth, when Howard committed a fielding error on a Chris Duncan ground ball, which would score Ankiel, who has earlier tripled, which made it 6-4 Cardinals. The Phils would tie it up in the eighth inning, when with two outs, Rollins would start things off by getting a triple. Werth and Utley would then walk to load the bases. Howard would then follow them with a walk, scoring Rollins, making it 6-5 Cardinals. Burrell would then follow him with another walk, scoring Werth, and tying the score at six all. In the ninth, the Phillies would get a chance to break the tie, when, with Eric Bruntlett, who was pinch running for Greg Dobbs, who has singled, on third and Shane Victorino on first, Rollins would hit a ground ball to first baseman Duncan. With Bruntlett moving on contact, Duncan would throw home, and catcher Yadier Molina, after catching the ball, would turn around and tag out Bruntlett for the second out, as he found some way to hold onto the baseball as he gets nailed hard around the shoulders by Bruntlett. Molina would then spend the next several minutes lying on the ground, with a dead man’s grip on the ball, before he is finally taken out of the game and then taken to the hospital to be checked on for any possible shoulder and neck injuries. The Phils would then load the bases, but would fail to get a clutch hit with the bases loaded for the fourth time today, as Utley flies out. In the tenth, Tom Gordon, pitching in relief of Chad Durbin, would get the first two Cardinals out. Ankiel would then hit a grounder to Utley for what should’ve been the third out of the inning. Instead, Utley would commit a throwing error as he did not lead Gordon to first base with the throw. Gordon then gives up a single to Glaus, moving Ankiel to second. Gordon would then get Duncan to hit a grounder to Utley, for what should’ve been the third out. But, uncannily, with Utley this time actually leading Gordon to first, it would be Gordon who would commit the error by not catching the thrown ball, thus allowing Ankiel to score the winning run and giving the Cardinals a 7-6 win in extra-innings. Gordon, showing his disgust at himself for the error, would slam his glove onto the ground, before picking it up and then heading towards the visitors’ dugout.

Brett Myers, inspite of pitching a bad game, would get a no-decision as he pitches six innings, giving up six earned runs on eight hits. Ryan Madson would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on no hits, as he struck out the side. J.C. Romero would also pitch a scoreless and hitless inning. Chad Durbin would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. Tom Gordon would take the tough lost, going two-thirds of an inning, giving up one unearned run on one hits, as two errors were committed behind him. His record is now 5-4 with an ERA of 5.06. Mitchell Boggs would go only four and one third innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits. Kyle McClellan would go one and two-thirds innings, giving up no runs on two hits. Chris Perez would pitch one and two-thirds innings, giving up two earned runs on one hit. Randy Flores would face only two batters, walking both. Russ Springer would pitch a third of an inning, getting a blown save, giving up no runs on no hits. Ryan Franklin would go one innings, giving up no runs on two hits. Anthony Reyes would get the win, going an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. His record is now 2-1 with an ERA of 4.91.

Okay, what is up with Brett Myers? He has given up twenty home runs up to this point in the season, and most of them has been on balls which, for lack of a better word, has been wrapped up neatly on a silver platter to the batters to be hit out of the park. Even worst, he can’t seem to get out of the first inning without giving up a run. Myers needs to get whatever mental problems he presently has out of his blasted mind and do it before his next start if he doesn’t want to find his *** getting removed from the starting rotation. If it means that he has to finally listen to the pitching coach, then he better do so!!!! He’s a grown up and a professional ball player. He therefore needs to act like one!!!! (Yes, I’m poed with Myers’ pitching. How can you tell?) 

In spite of losing this afternoon’s game, the Phillies (41-30) will come home with a winning (5-4) road trip despite of losing their last two series. They will be coming back home to start a three games series with the World Champions Red Sox (44-26, 1st American League East). The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park tomorrow night at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Cole Hamels (6-4, 3.27), who is coming off a no-decision against the Marlins on June 11, where he would pitch eight innings, giving up only two earned runs on three hits while striking out thirteen, in the Phils’ 6-2 lost. This will be his first start against the BoSox, as he plans to start off the home stand with a win for the Phillies. His opponent for the Red Sox will be Bartolo Colon (4-1, 3.41), who is coming off a win against the Baltimore Orioles on June 11, where he would pitch five innings, giving up only one earned run on five hits, in the Red Sox’s 6-3 win. Lifetime against the Phillies, he is 1-1 with a 4.00 ERA in four starts. This will be his first start at Citizens Bank Park. He will be trying to defeat the Phils to help the Red Sox increase their lead in the American League East

The first place Phillies are now leading the Marlins by three games as they were able to defeat the Rays. The Phillies are leading the Braves by six games as they prepare to play the Angels tonight. The Mets are now six and a half games behind the Phils as they won the second half of a double header with the Rangers which they split. As the Phillies prepare for their home series with the Red Sox, the Marlins will face the Seattle Mariners in Seattle and the Mets will face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Anaheim. The Phillies will try to win the series against the World Champs.

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