Results tagged ‘ Shut Out ’
Brett Myers pitches his first complete game shut out since 2004 as he nine hit the Nats, 4-0.
Brett Myers gives up nine hits and no runs to the Nationals as he pitches his first complete game shut out since May 20, 2004, as the Phils defeat the Nationals, 4-0. Myers got saved in the first inning, when, with two men on and two outs, Ryan Zimmerman, who has reached base on a Greg Dobbs’ throwing error and have gone to second on a walk to Lastings Milledge, would try to score on a Ronnie Belliard single to left. He would be cut down at the plate by a good throw by Pat Burrell, as Chris Coste supplies the tag, which would end the inning. The Phillies would take a 1-0 lead in the third, when, with two men on and one out, Coste, who has been hit by the pitch, and would reach second on a fielder’s choice ground out on a failed sacrifice bunt attempt by Myers, would score on a throwing error by rookie shortstop Anderson Hernandez, when he tried to double up Jimmy Rollins, and instead threw the ball past the glove of first baseman Belliard. The Nationals would threaten to tie the score in the fifth as they get Emilio Bonifacio to third on an infield single, a stolen base and a ground out, second to first. Myers would end the threat by striking out Zimmerman, one of nine strike out victims. The Phillies would then increase their lead in the bottom half of the inning, as Dobbs would hit a two-run home run, his sixth home run of the year, scoring Shane Victorino, who has gotten on base earlier with a single, to make it a 3-0 Phillies’ lead. Later in the inning, with a runner on third, and two outs, Jayson Werth would hit a RBI double, scoring Coste, who has earlier singled, to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead. That would be the final score as Myers would dominate the Nats for the final four innings, giving up four singles, one in each of the last four innings, but refusing to give in as only one runner would even reach second base.
Brett Myers would get the win as he pitched nine innings of shut out ball, giving up nine scattered hits and striking out nine and walking only one batter. His record is now 6-10 with a 4.71 ERA. Since his return from the minors, in six starts, Myers has given up three earned runs or less in all six starts, while pitching six innings or more in all but one of his starts. His record since his return is 3-1, with two no-decisions, in which the Phillies are 1-1, with an ERA of 1.94. He has gone a total of forty-one and two-thirds innings, giving up only ten runs, nine of which were earned, on thirty hits. Myers is back and it is about time in my opinion. Collin Balester would get the lost as he goes six innings, giving up four runs, only three of which were earned, on seven hits. His record is now 2-6 with a 4.99 ERA. The rookie Marco Estrada would pitch two scoreless innings in relief, giving up only two hits.
The Phillies’ offense did better last night, as they got nine hits, although they wouldn’t get their first hit until the fourth inning on a single by Chase Utley. The hits would be spread more evenly between the top and bottom of the order, with Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell being the only starters without a hit. Is the offense getting ready to bust out? You guess is as good as mines, but I’m praying that it finally is getting ready to burst open, and I hate to be the first ballclub that they’ll take out their frustrations on.
The Phillies (68-58) will conclude their three games home stand with the luckless Nationals (44-83) as they look to sweep the Nats. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. Their starter will be 45 years old veteran Jamie Moyer (11-7, 3.64), who is coming off a gem of a start against the Padres on August 15 as he outduel fellow 1984 Draftie Greg Maddux, as he pitched seven shut out innings, giving up only three hits, in the Phillies’ 1-0 win. In his last start against the Nationals on July 30, he would get the win as he pitched six innings, giving up only three earned runs on six hits, in the Phillies’ 8-5 win. He will be going for his twelfth win, while also going for his fourteenth straight start where he has given up three runs or less. The Nationals will counter with Tim Redding (8-8, 4.66), who is coming off a lost to the Rockies on August 15, where he went six innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits, in the Nats’ 4-3 lost. In his last start against the Phillies on July 30, the Phillies would finally get to him, as they knocked in seven earned runs on ten hits as he would only be able to go four innings plus five batters. He will be trying to stop a personal two games losing streak while trying to stop the Nationals’ team losing streak at twelve games.
The Phillies still trail the Mets by one and a half games as they defeated the fastly fading Braves. The Phillies are now ahead of the equally fading Marlins by three and a half games as they lost a squeaker to the Giants. The Phillies will be looking for a sweep of the Nationals so that they can stay close to the Mets, before preparing for a four games weekend series with the Dodgers, and a bit of revenge for their previous week fiasco in LA.
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.
Cole Hamels is once again denied his tenth win as Marlins’ pitchers would throw a four hit shut out at the Phillies’ offense.
Cole Hamels is once again denied winning his tenth victory of the season, although he would pitch a lot better than he did in his previous two starts, as the Phillies fall to the Marlins’, 3-0. The Marlins would score their first run in the second when, with a runner on second and two outs, Matt Treanor would hit a RBI single, scoring Dan Uggla, who has gotten on base earlier with a two-out double to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. The game would then becomes a pitchers’ duel between Hamels and Marlins’ starter Chris Volstad until the sixth, when with a runner on second and two outs, Josh Willingham would hit a RBI double, scoring Jeremy Hermida, who would has earlier singled and stole second, to make it 2-0 Marlins. Then in the seventh, the Marlins’ would score their final run, as, with the bases loaded and one man out, and with Ryan Madson pitching in relief of Hamels, Hanley Ramirez would hit into a RBI ground out, short to first, scoring Cody Ross, who has gotten on base earlier with a single, to make it 3-0 Florida. That would be the final score as Marlins’ pitching would put out the only Phillies’ rally, runners on first and second, with two out in the eighth, as Matt Lindstrom would get Geoff Jenkins to ground out.
Cole Hamels would take the lost, his third lost in his last six starts, which would include three no-decisions, for which the Phillies are 2-1, as he would pitch six and a third innings, giving up three runs, two of which were earned, on seven hits. His record is now 9-8 with a 3.35 ERA. Ryan Madson would pitch two thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Clay Condrey and Brad Lidge would each pitch a scoreless inning, giving up only two hits, both against Lidge. Chris Volstad would get the win, as he throws six scoreless innings, as he three hits the Phils. His record is now 3-2 with a 2.67 ERA. Joe Nelson, Arthur Rhodes and Matt Lindstrom would combine to pitch two scoreless innings against the Phillies, giving up only one hit between them (Rhodes). Kevin Gregg would get the save, his twenty-fifth of the year, as he pitches a scoreless ninth.
The Phillies’ offense would once again be put to sleep as they are only able to get three hits, all singles against Volstad, while getting only four hits overall, with the last one being their lone extra-base hit, a double. Seriously, what is it going to take for the offense to stop Randy Lerching Cole Hamels, forcing him to be practically near perfect to win his starts? Something has got to give, either him telling his teammates off, or the offense starting to crank out runs. Hopefully it’ll be the later and not the former.
The Phillies (62-52) will continue their six games home stand as they prepare to welcome the lowly Pirates (52-62, 5th National League Central) for three weekend games. The first game will be played tomorrow night at Citizens Bank Park. The game will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Joe Blanton (6-12, 4.94), who is coming off his first victory as a Phil against the Cardinals on August 2, as he went seven innings, giving up only an earned run on four hits, in the Phillies’ 2-1 win. This will be his first start against the Bucos since being traded to the Phillies. He will be looking for his second win as a Phil while trying to continue Pittsburgh’s present woes. His opponent will be Pete Maholm (7-7, 3.95), who is coming off a lost to the Cubs on August 2, as he got bombed by the Cubbies, giving up five earned in six innings of work on eight hits, in the Pirates’ 5-1 lost. He has faced the Phillies earlier this year, pitching a complete game against them on April 27, giving up only one earned run on two hits. He hopes to improve his record while hoping that the Phillies’ batters won’t do any better against him this time around.
The Phillies lead against the Marlins is now down to a game and a half thanks to the lost, as the Marlins go on to New York to face the Mets. The Mets now trail by two games, defeating the Padres, as they prepare to welcome the Marlins at Shea Stadium. The Braves presently trail the Phillies by ten games as they start a four games series with the Diamondbacks in Arizona. The Phillies will be trying to put a little distance between them and their nearest opponent as they prepare to face one of the weakest teams in the National League while hoping that the Mets and the Marlins will hurt each other during their three games series.
Kendrick gets his tenth win as he and the bullpen five-hits the fish for a shutout.
Kyle Kendrick pitches six scoreless innings as he would Houdini-like constantly pitch himself out of trouble while he and the bullpen would combined to five hit the Marlins as the Phillies defeated the fish, 5-0. The victory would push the Phillies’ lead back to two and a half games over Florida. The Phillies would score their first run in the first as Chase Utley would hit a RBI double, scoring Shane Victorino, who has gotten on base earlier with a walk, to give the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Phillies would increase their lead in the second as Eric Bruntlett would hit a RBI double, scoring Geoff Jenkins, who has reached base earlier on Marlins’ starter Anibal Sanchez’s fielding error, and has moved to second base when Chris Coste was hit by the pitch, and sent Coste to third, to make it 2-0 Phillies. Kendrick would then help his own cause by hitting a RBI ground out, short to first, that would score Coste and send Jenkins to third, to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. The Phillies would then make it 4-0 in the third as Ryan Howard would hit his thirty-second home run of the year, a solo shot. Kendrick would pitch six innings of scoreless ball, constantly pitching himself out of jams as he would only get one 1-2-3 inning (5th) before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the sixth. Said pitch hitter, Mark Cervenak, would then get his first Major League hit and first career RBI, as he singles in Bruntlett, who has gotten on base earlier with a single, stole single and then went to third on Dan Uggla’s fielding error, to make it a 5-0 Phillies’ lead. That would be all the runs the Phillies would need, as Chad Durbin and Ryan Madson would combine for three scoreless innings against the Marlins, giving up only one hit between them.
Kyle Kendrick would get the win as he pitches six scoreless innings, giving up only four hits. His record is now 10-5 with a ERA of 4.37. Chad Durbin and Ryan Madson would combine to pitch three scoreless innings (Durbin 2, Madson 1) in relief, giving up only one hit (Durbin). Anibal Sanchez would pitch five innings, giving up four runs, three of which were earned, on five hits. His record is now 1-1 with a 4.22 ERA. Doug Waechter would pitch a third of an inning, giving up an earned run on three hits. Mark Hendrickson would pitch two and two-thirds innings of shut out ball, giving up only one hit.
The victory would put the Phillies (62-51) once more two and a half games ahead of the Marlins (60-54), while the Mets would once again trail the Phillies by three games, as they would lose to the Padres. The Braves now trail the Phillies by ten and a half games.
Moyer improves his lifetime record against the Marlins to 9-0 as he help the Phils leave Miami with a win.
Jamie Moyer and reliever Brad Lidge would combine to three hit the Marlins as the Phillies are able to leave Miami with a win, 3-0. Moyer and Marlins’ starter, Scott Olsen would spend the first five innings in a pitchers’ duel before the Phillies are finally able to score the first runs of the game in the top of the sixth. With two men on and two out, and with Ryan Howard batting, Olsen would uncork a wild pitch, which would allow Jimmy Rollins, who has singled earlier, to score from third, while Shane Victorino, who has gotten on base earlier on a force out, would move over to third. Victorino would then score on Marlins’ catcher Matt Treanor’s throwing error, to make a 2-0 game. The Phillies would then add a run in the eighth when Jayson Werth singles in Chase Utley, who has reached base earlier on a single, making it 3-0 Phils. Brad Lidge would pitch the ninth inning in relief of Moyer, recording his eighteenth save in eighteen tries.
Jamie Moyer would get the win, going eight innings, giving up no runs on two hits. His record is now 7-3 with an ERA of 4.12. Brad Lidge would go an inning, as he records his eighteenth save of the season, giving up no runs on one hit. Scott Olsen would get the lost, going seven innings, giving up two runs, only one of which was earned, on six hits. His record is now 4-3 with a 3.27 ERA. Renyel Pinto would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up an earned run on one hit. Matt Lindstrom would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on two hits. Logan Kensing would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on two hits.
The Phillies lost their first series since their weekend home stand against the Blue Jays last month, mainly because their pitchers got hit for six home runs, which would score all eleven runs that the Marlins would score during the three games series. Also, because they had lost the series, they would be unable to bury the Marlins early, although neither the Braves or the Mets would be able to take advantage of the Phillies’ problems with the Marlins.
The Phillies (40-28) with the win are now once again twelve games over .500 as they head on to St. Louis for a weekend series with the Cardinals (40-28, 2nd National League Central). The first game of their weekend series will be played tonight at 8:15 pm Eastern (7:15 pm Central) in the New Busch Stadium. The Phillies will send to the mound Kyle Kendrick (5-2, 4.87), who is coming off of a no-decision against the Braves on June 7, where he went five and a third innings, giving up only two earned runs on four hits, in the Phillies’ 6-2 win. He has won his two previous starts. He is 2-0 lifetime against the redbirds, with both wins coming last year. He will be trying to improve his personal record against the Cardinals while trying to help his team forget about their recent bad series in Florida. His opponent will be Todd Wellemeyer (7-1, 2.93), who is coming off of a win against the Nationals on June 5, as he pitched six scoreless innings, giving up only five hits in the Cardinals’ 4-1 win. He has won five of his last seven starts, having not lost a game since April 28. He hopes to make it six wins in eight starts while trying to help the Cardinals keep pace with the red hot Chicago Cubs.
The first place Phillies has increased their lead back to three games with their win over the Marlins, who will now start a weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays of the American League at Tampa Bay. They now have a seven and a half games lead over both the Braves and the Mets, after their losts to the Cubs and the D-backs, respectively. The Braves will start a weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, also of the American League, in Anaheim, while the Mets will be facing the Teas Rangers of the American League for three games at home. The Phils hope that when they return to Philadelphia that they have increased their lead over the rest of the division.
Redding, Nationals’ bullpen shut down the Phillies as the offense go 0-12 with runners in scoring position.
Tim Redding shuts down the Phillies’ offense for the second time this season, as the Washington Nationals defeat the Phils, 4-0. Redding would go six and a third innings against the Fightin’s, scattering seven hits, as he and the Nationals’ bullpen would keep the Phils’ off the scoreboard, while the Phillies’ offense would go 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, Phils’ starter Brett Myers would give up three runs to the last place Nationals as they hurt him mostly with hard hit doubles. The Nationals’ first run would come in the first, as Dmitri Young hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Cristian Guzman, who has earlier singled. The Nationals would increase their lead in the third, making it 3-0, on a RBI double into no man’s land in right field, with the bases loaded, by Lastings Milledge, knocking in Felipe Lopez, who has doubled earlier, and Guzman, who has singled. The National’s last run would come in the seventh inning, off of Ryan Madson, pitching in relief of Myers, as Guzman scores on a double play ground out by Young.
The lost would be only the second time this year that the Phils would not score a run in a game, both times coming at the hands of Tim Redding. So far this year, Redding has blanked the Phils for thirteen and a third innings, giving up only eight hits to the Fightin’s and no runs. And this is also the first time during the season that the Phils have lost three games in a row. Even worst, the Phillies’ offense, during all three losts, has been unable to get a key hit when they’d needed it the most. In fact, starting with their series against the San Diego Padres back on April 29-May 1, the Fightin’s have not been crushing weaker teams like they should. Their record against weak teams, starting with that series, has been 8-8, with them in fact losing two of their last three. The Phillies’ offense need to turn things around, and fast, else they are not going to be in contention for the pennant comes September.
Brett Myers was the losing pitcher, as he goes six innings, giving up three earned runs on eight hits. His record is now 2-5 with a 5.76 ERA. Ryan Madson went two innings in relief, giving up an earned run on two hits. Tim Redding was the winner for the Nationals, as he would go six and one third innings, giving up no runs on seven hits. His record is now 6-3 as his ERA drops to 3.16. Saul Rivera would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Luis Ayala and Joel Hanrahan would both pitch an inning in relief, both giving up no runs on no hits.
The Phils are now in third place in the National League East, a game and a half behind the first place Marlins, a half game behind the second place Mets, and a half game ahead of the fourth place Braves, who all had the day off. As the Phillies (24-22) met the Nationals (20-26) tonight, the Braves and Mets will start a four games series in Atlanta, while the Marlins will met the best team in the National League, the Diamonbacks, for three games in Miami, Florida. The Phillies need to get back to their winning ways, and once again get close to first place, while hoping that the Diamondbacks will beat the Marlins in their series, while the Braves and Mets will hurt each other in theirs.
The next Phillies game will be played tonight in Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., starting at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phils’ ace Cole Hamel (5-3, 2.89) will be their starter, hoping to end the bleeding. He is coming off his first complete game shut-out against the Braves on May 15, where he gave up no runs on four hits, while striking out six, in the Phils’ 5-0 victory. He has won three of his last four starts, giving up four runs or less in each of his starts. Lifetime against the Nationals, he is 4-3 with a 2.49 ERA in ten starts. He hopes to improve his record while giving the Phillies’ offense a chance to break loose. The Nationals will counter with Jason Bergmann (1-1, 7.45), who is coming off a win against the Mets on May 15, where he went seven innings, giving up no runs on three hits, in the Nationals’ 1-0 win. In three previous starts, he got hammered, including his first game this year against the Phils way back on April 3, where he received a no decision, as he pitched five and one third innings, giving up five earned runs on seven hits to the Fightin’s, in the Nationals’ 8-7 lost. He’ll be looking to improve his record while looking to increase the Phils’ present hitting woos.
mlblogsphilliesredpinstripes
Cole Hamels three hits the Reds, as Junior is unable to launch home run number 600.
Phillies’ starter Cole Hamels three hits the Reds while going the distance as the Phillies defeat the Reds, 5-0. Junior is finally in the Reds’ starting line-up, going one for four with a double as he is unable to hit home run number 600 in Philadelphia. The closest he would get would be with a deep fly ball to center field that would be caught right in front of the wall by Shane Victorino. Also, Jimmy Rollins would be taken out of the ballgame, because he didn’t hustle as he was disgusted with himself after hitting a pop up high into the air in the third inning, with a runner on second and two out, that was misplayed by Reds’ shortstop Paul Janish into an error, which would lead to the Phillies’ first unearned run of the game, as it gave the Phils a sudden 1-0 lead. Since Rollins did not end up on second because of his lack of hustling, Charlie Manuel would bench him for the rest of the game and replace him with Eric Bruntlett. More on that later. The runner on second at the time, Carlos Ruiz, who has gotten on base earlier with a single, and moved to second on Hamels’ sacrifice bunt, would score on the play. The Phils would increase their lead in the fifth, when Ken Griffey, Jr. would misplay Bruntlett’s fly ball, allowing it to drop in for an error, scoring Pedro Feliz, who has earlier reached base on an infield single and has went to second on a throwing error by Reds’ starter Homer Bailey, to make the score 2-0 Phils. Victorino would then hit an RBI single, scoring Ruiz, who has earlier walked, giving the Philliess a 3-0 lead. In the sixth inning, the score would become 4-0 Phillies when Geoff Jenkins would hit his sixth home run of the year. The Phils’ final run would come in the seventh, when Ryan Howard would hit a RBI single of off Jeremy Affeldt, who was pitching in relief of Bailey, scoring Bruntlett, who has earlier walked. Hamels would end the game by getting Corey Patterson to pop out to Howard in foul territory with a runner on first.
Cole Hamels gets the win, as he pitches both his second complete game and his second shut out of the year, as he gives up no runs on three hits. With this good performance, his record is now 6-4 with a 3.36 ERA. Homer Bailey would take the lost for the Reds, as he would last six and one third innings, giving up five runs, only two of which were earned, thanks to three Reds’ errors, on only four hits. His record is now 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA. Jeremy Affeldt would pitch a third of an inning in relief, giving up no runs on only one hit, Ryan Howard’s RBI single. Mike Lincoln would pitch one and a third innings, giving up no runs on no hits.
On Jimmy Rollins’ benching, I agree with Charlie doing it 100%. As Jimmy would himself acknowledge during a post-game interview, he should’ve been running hard towards first after hitting the ball into the air, because if he had been running hard, he would’ve been on second after seeing the Red’s shortstop botch the play. Jimmy acknowledged in the interview that he had screwed up and had accepted the benching like a professional. Okay, the deed has been done, the punishment has been assessed and accepted, and that should be the end of it.
Junior would finally get into the Reds’ starting line-up this afternoon, and as mentioned earlier, he would only go one for four, getting only a double and just miss hitting a home run in the top of the ninth. Within the four games series, he would go one for four with two walks. But, I will not be talking about that. I’m going to be talking about the error that he made during the game. As I listened to the game this afterrnoon, I’d heard the Phillies’ announcers say that Junior had moved back on the ball when he got close to it before it would drop in for an error. I would not be surprised if that have happened because his knees are still sore from last Sunday’s game. If that is the reason, then the Reds should have kept him out of the line-up for one more game, for both his and their own good, because, while having him hit home run number 600 might be important, I, personally would’ve preferred that it happen when he is 95-100 percent, and it would not hurt his team defensively. But, hey, I’m a fan, and a Phillies’ fan at that, what the heck do I know.
The Phillies’ offense recently have not been getting the hits lately. This might not be the best time for it to happen as they head on the road to visit Atlanta, Miami and St. Louis, for nine games. Hopefully, the bats will return when they enter Atlanta for a three games series that will start tomorrow night at Turner Field at 7:30 PM Eastern. The Phillies’ (36-26) starter will be Jamie Moyer (6-3, 4.65), who is coming off of his fourth straight victory, as he was the winning pitcher in the Phils’ 7-5 defeat of the Marlins on June 1. Moyer would go seven innings, giving up all five earned runs on seven hits. He will be trying for his fifth straight win, while hoping to continue the Phillies’ starters recent string of quality starts while also hoping that the offense will continue to support him with runs. The Braves (32-29) will counter with Tim Hudson (7-4, 3.01), who left his last start with a hamstring pull, which was a lost to the Reds on June 1. In that game, he would go six innings, giving up four runs, three of which were earned, on six hits, in the Braves’ 6-2 lost He hopes that he will be more successful in his third attempt for his eighth win of the season, while trying to see if he can keep the Phillies’ offense quiet.
With the win, the Phillies, with their 8-2 home stand, are now once again leading the second place Marlins by two and a half games as they lost the third of their four games with the third place Braves. The Braves’ victory keep them three and a half games behind the Phils. The fourth place Mets, with their lost to San Diego, fall back four and a half games behind the Phillies. The Phillies hope that they can continue their good fortune on the road while doing some damage to the Braves’ home record. when they play in Atlanta tomorrow.