Results tagged ‘ Wrigley Field ’
The Phils win both of their games at home with the Astros, with the bats winning yesterday’s game 5-1, before winning’s this afternoon’s game on a extra-inning walk-off home run by Hunter Pence, 4-3.
The Phils go onto the road with their first three-game winning streak as they win both of their games against the Astros, winning yesterday’s ballgame behind Joe Blanton’s excellent pitching, 5-1, before taking this afternoon’s game in extra-innings on Hunter Pence’s walk-off home run, defeating the Astros, 4-3.
In Monday night’s game, the Phils took the lead in the fifth as, with two men on, and with one man out, Freddy Galvis hits an RBI single, knocking in Placido Polanco, who was earlier safe at first on a 1-6 force out, as Carlos Ruiz, who had started off the inning by being hit by the pitch, is wiped out at second base for the inning’s first out, then reaching second base on shortstop Jed Lowrie’s force attempt fielding error on John Mayberry Jr’s grounder, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while sending Mayberry, who had been safe at first on Lowrie’s error, over to third. The Phils then took a 2-0 lead in the sixth as, with a man on third, and with one man out, Ruiz hits an RBI single, knocking in Shane Victorino, who had earlier started the inning off with a triple. Three batters later, after Polanco had hit into a 6-3 force out, wiping out Ruiz at second base for the inning’s second out, then going to third base on Mayberry’s double, and now with two men out, Galvis hits an RBI single, scoring Polanco, giving the Phils a 3-0 lead, before Mayberry, who had just doubled, is thrown out at the plate trying to score, 7-2, for the inning’s final out. The Astros would get a run back in the eighth as Marwin Gonzalez hits a solo home run, his first home run of the season, making it a 3-1 Phils’ lead. The Phils increased their lead in their half of the eighth as, with one man on, and with two men out, Polanco hits a two-run home run, his first home run of the year, and the 2000th hit of his career, as he knocked in Ruiz, who had just singled, giving the Phils a 5-1 lead. That would end up being the final score as Jonathan Papelbon threw a scoreless ninth, getting Chris Snyder to strikeout, swinging, for the game’s final out.
Joe Blanton (4-3, 2.96) got the win as he went seven strong innings, plus two batters, giving up a run on six hits and a walk, while he struck out seven. Antonio Bastardo collected his seventh hold of the season as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, striking out two batters. Chad Qualls collected his seventh hold of the season as he went a third of an inning, getting out the only man that he would face. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit, while striking out the side. Lucas Harrell (2-3, 4.40) took the lost as he went five and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out three. Wilton Lopez pitched a third of an inning, giving up a hit. Fernando Abad pitched a scoreless inning, striking out a batter. David Carpenter pitched an inning, giving up two runs on four hits, as he struck out two.
The Phils had ten hits in the game, with Freddy Galvis leading the team with three hits, all singles, as he knocked in two runs, followed by Carlos Ruiz (Singles, RBI) and John Mayberry, Jr. (Single, Double) with two hits apiece. Shane Victorino (Triple), Hunter Pence (Single) and Placido Polanco (Home Run, 2 RBIs), had the other three Phils’ hits, with Polanco’s hit being his 2000th career hit. The Phils also had two walks in the game.
In this afternoon’s game, the Phils took the lead in the second as, with one man on, and with two men out, Brian Schneider hits a two-run home run, his first home run of the year, knocking in John Mayberry, Jr. who had earlier reached base on second baseman Jose Altuve’s throwing error, giving the Phils a 2-0 lead. The Phils added to their lead in the sixth as, with one man out, Hunter Pence hits a solo home run, his eighth home run of the season, giving the Phils a 3-0 lead. The Astros would get a run back in the seventh as Matt Downs hits a lead-off home run, his third home run of the year, making it a 3-1 Phils’ lead. The Astros made it a 3-2 Phils’ lead in the ninth as, with a man on third, and with one man out, Carlos Lee hits an RBI single, scoring Jordan Schafer, who had started the inning off with a double, then went to third on Downs’ ground out, 4-3. The Astros then tied the score up at three-all two batters later, after pinch runner Brian Bogusevic, who was pinch running for Lee, had stolen second base, and now with two men out, J. D. Martinez hits a single to right, moving Bogusevic up to third, before being sent home as right fielder Pence committed a fielding error as he was trying to pick up the ball. The Phils would win the ballgame in the tenth as, win one man out, Pence hits a walk-off solo home run, his ninth home run of the season, and his second home run of the game, giving the Phils a 4-3 walk-off win.
Cliff Lee received a no-decision as he pitched eight strong innings, giving up a run on five hits and a walk, while striking out ten. Chad Qualls blew his fourth save attempt of the year as he threw two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on four hits. Jake Diekman, who was making his major league debut, received the win, (1-0, 0.00), the first win of his career, as he threw one and one-thirds scoreless innings, while striking out three. Jordan Lyles also received a no-decision as he went six innings, giving up three runs, only one of which was earned, on six hits and a walk, while he struck out four. Fernando Abad, Fernando Rodriguez and Brandon Lyon combined for three scoreless innings, giving up three hits (Abad (1), Lyon (2)) between them, while striking out two batters (Abad (1), Lyon (1)). Brett Myers (0-1, 2.08) took the lost as he pitched a third of an inning, giving up a run on a hit.
The Phils had ten hits in the game, with Hunter Pence leading the team with three hits (Single, 2 Home Runs, 2 RBIs), including the game winner, followed by Jimmy Rollins (Single, Double), Placido Polanco (Singles) and Brian Schneider (Single, Home Run, 2 RBIs) with two hits apiece. John Mayberry, Jr. (Single) had the other Phil hit. The Phils also had two walks in the game.
The Phils (18-19, 5th East), who have now won four of their last five games, and have their first three-game winning streak, will now go onto the road for a short two-game series with the Cubs (15-21, T-5th Central). The game will be played at Wrigley Field and will start at 8:05 pm EDT (7:05 pm Central). The Phils will send to the mound Kyle Kendrick (0-3, 7.32), who is pitching in place of Vance Worley, who is not making the trip because of a sore elbow. Kendrick last pitched on May 9 against the Mets in relief, pitching an inning plus, giving up five runs on four hits and two walks, in the Phils’ 10-6 loss. Kendrick will be trying to bounce back from that bad appearance. The Cubs will counter with Matt Garza (2-1, 2.56), who is coming off a no-decision against the Brewers on May 11, as he went five innings, giving up a run on three hits and five walks, while striking out three, in the Cubs’ 8-7 lost. He will be out to gain his second win against the Phils this season. The Phils will be going out to win their fourth game in a row.
The Phils rally to score four runs in the last two innings to take one from the Cubs, 4-2.
The Phils score four late innings runs to defeat the Cubs, 4-2.
The Cubs took a quick 2-0 lead in the first as, with a runner on second and with nobody out, Stalin Castro hits a two-run home run, his third home run of the season, knocking in Reed Johnson, who had started off the Cubs’ half of the first with a lead-off double. After that, Cliff Lee would spend the next six innings dodging several bullets as he gave up six more hits, all but one of them hard hit, as he struck out six batters, while keeping the Cubs from scoring any more runs, while Cubs’ starter Matt Garza pitched seven innings, as he kept the Phils’ offense off-balanced all night, giving up three hits and walked three batters, while striking out five Phils. The Phils were finally able to get onto the scoreboard in the eighth as, with two men on, and with nobody out, Chase Utley hits a two-run double, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who had started the inning off with a single, which led to Garza being taken out of the game, and being replaced by Sean Marshall, then stopping at second base as Michael Martinez greeted Marshall with a single, and Martinez, who has just singled, and just got home before the throw to the plate, tying the game up at two-all. The Phils then took the lead in the ninth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Martinez hits a two-run double, scoring pinch hitter Ben Francisco, who had earlier singled, then reached second base on an infield single by Rollins on a sharp grounder to third baseman Aramis Ramriez that bounced off his glove and went to shortstop Castro, and Rollins, who had just hit an infield single, giving the Phils a 4-2 lead, before he is thrown out trying to go to third on the throw home, 9-2-6-5, for the inning’s final out. That would be the final score as Antonio Bastardo collected his seventh save of the year as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out the side.
Cliff Lee received a no-decision as he pitched six innings, giving up two runs on eight hits, as he struck out six. Michael Stutes (4-1, 3.24) got the win as he went two innings, giving up two hits while striking out one. Antonio Bastardo picked up his seventh save of the season as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out the side. Matt Garza also received a no-decision as he went seven innings plus a batter, giving up a run on four hits and three walks, while he struck out five. Sean Marshall committed his third blown save of the season, before taking the lost (5-4, 3.18), as he pitched two innings, giving up three runs on five hits, while he struck out three.
The Phils had nine hits in the game, with Jimmy Rollins (Singles), Michael Martinez (Single, Double, 2 RBIs) and Dom Brown (Single, Double) led the team with two hits each. Chase Utley (Double, 2 RBIs), Carlos Ruiz (Single) and pinch hitter Ben Francisco (Single), had the other three Phils’ hits.
The Phils (60-36, 1st East) will conclude their series with the Cubs (39-59, 5th Central) with an afternoon game at Wrigley Field, which is about to start.
After a wild eighth inning, the Phils hold on to defeat the Mets, 8-5.
After getting through a very wild eighth inning, the Phils hold on to leave New York with a series win, as they defeat the Mets, 8-5.
The Phils took the lead in the first as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, scoring Chase Utley, who had earlier walked, then stole second base, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Phils then took a 4-0 lead in the fifth as, with two men on, via singles by Kyle Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins, with Kendrick stopping at second base, and with one man out, Michael Martinez hits a three-run home run, his first home run of the season, and of his career, knocking in both Kendrick and Rollins. The Phils then added to their lead in the seventh as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Martinez hits a sacrifice fly, knocking in Brian Schneider, who had earlier singled, moved up to second base on Kendrick’s sacrifice bunt, 2-4, and then stopped at third on Rollins’ single, giving the Phils a 5-0 lead. The Mets finally got on the scoreboard in their half of the seventh as, with a runner on second, and with one man out, pinch hitter Scott Hairston hits an RBI single, knocking in Ronny Paulino, who had earlier doubled, making it a 5-1 Phils’ lead. The Phils then took advantage of a defensive mistake by the Mets in the top of the eighth as left fielder Jason Bay committed a fielding error on Howard’s fly ball as it hit his glove, allowing Howard to reach first base safely. After Raul Ibanez popped out to the first baseman in foul territory for the inning’s first out, Dom Brown walked, sending Howard to second base. Then, after John Mayberry, Jr., popped out to the first baseman in foul territory for the second out of the inning, Schneider walked, loading up the bases, moving up a base both Howard and Brown, with two men out, while bringing up to the plate pinch hitter Ross Gload. Gload proceeded to walk, forcing in Howard to make it a 6-1 Phils’ lead, while sending Brown on to third base and Schnieder up to second base, as the bases remained loaded. The next batter, Rollins, then hits a two-run single, scoring both Brown and Schneider, giving the Phils an 8-1 lead, while sending Gload all the way to third. Martinez then ended the inning by striking out, swinging. The Mets then started to make things close in their half of the eighth as Phils’ reliever Juan Perez would load up the bases by walking Willie Harris, Daniel Murphy and Bay, with nobody out. Charlie Manuel then came out, and replaced Perez with Ryan Madson. Madson then proceeded to get Lucas Duda to hit into a 4-6-3 doubleplay, wiping out Bay at second base, as Harris scored, making it an 8-2 Phils’ lead, while Murphy would reach third base. Paulino then followed with an RBI single, knocking in Murphy, making it an 8-3 Phils’ lead. After Madson hits Ruben Tejada with a pitch, sending Paulino up to second base, he reloaded the bases as he walked pinch hitter Nick Evans, moving up a base both Paulino and Tejada. The Mets then made it an 8-4 Phils’ lead as Angel Pagan hits an RBI single, scoring Paulino, while sending Tejada to third, and Evans to second, leaving the bases loaded. Manuel then came out, and called in Antonio Bastardo to attempt a four-out save. Bastardo finally ended the inning by striking out Justin Turner, swinging, as the Mets batted around in the inning. In the ninth, the Mets cut the Phils’ lead down to 8-5 as, with one man on, and with two men out, Luca hits an RBI triple, scoring Murphy, who had earlier doubled. But that would be the final score as Bastardo recorded his sixth save of the year by getting Paulino to ground out, 5-3, for the game’s final out.
Kyle Kendrick (5-4, 3.34), got the win as he pitched seven strong innings, pitching his way out of a couple of early jams, as he gave up just one run on six hits and three walks. Juan Perez pitched to three batters, giving up two runs, as he walked all three of the men that he would face. Ryan Madson pitched two-thirds of an inning, as he gives up a run on two hits, a walk and a hit batter. Antonio Bastardo collected his sixth save of the year as he went an inning and a third, giving up a run on two hits, while striking out a batter. Mike Pelfrey (5-9, 4.67) took the lost as he went five innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out two. D.J. Carrasco pitched an inning and a third, giving up a run on three hits. Tim Byrdak pitched two-thirds of an inning, getting out both men that he would face. Pedro Beato pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up three unearned runs, as he walked three batters. Ryota Igarashi pitched a third of an inning, giving up a hit, while he struck out one. Jason Isringhausen pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk, while striking out two.
The Phils had eleven hits in the ballgame, with Jimmy Rollins leading the team with three hits, all singles, knocking in two runs, as he raised his batting average to .271. Raul Ibanez (Singles), Brian Schneider (Singles) and Kyle Kendrick (Singles), all followed with two hits each. Michael Martinez (Home Run, 4 RBIs) and Ryan Howard (Single, RBI), had the other two Phils’ hits. Ross Gload had the other Phil RBI with a bases loaded walk.
The Phils (59-35, 1st East) will start a three-game series with the Cubs (38-58, 4th Central) with a game tonight. The game will be played at Wrigley Field and will start at 8:05 pm EST (7:05 pm CST). The Phils will send to the mound their ace Roy Halladay (11-3, 2.45), who is coming off a no-decision against the Braves on July 8, as he went seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits, while striking out seven, in the Phils’ 3-2 win. He will be going for win no. 12 on the season. The Cubs will counter with Rodrigo Lopez (1-2, 4.02), who is coming off a no-decision against the Pirates on July 8, as he pitched six innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk, while striking out three, in the Cubs’ 7-4 lost. He will be trying to beat his old team. The Phils will be trying to start off the series with another opening series victory.
A ninth inning melt down by the Cubs’ closer leads to the Phils beating the Cubs, 4-1.
The Cubs’ closer Carlos Marmol had a melt down in the top of the ninth, allowing the Phils to come back to win the game, as the Phils defeated the Cubs, 4-1.
The game for the first six and a half innings was a pitchers’ duel between Phils’ starter Cole Hamels, who in six scoreless innings would give up six hits and two walks, while striking out six Cubbies, while Cubs’ starter Randy Wells would pitch seven shut out innings, giving up seven hits and two walks, while striking out five Phils. The Cubs would finally take the lead in the bottom of the seventh as, with a runner on third, and with one man out, Stalin Castro, who had earlier doubled, and then moved to third on pinch hitter Xavier Nady’s ground out, 6-3, would score on Ryan Theriot’s bunt single on a grounder to Hamels, giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead. After neither team scored in the eighth, the Cubs sent their closer, Carlos Marmol, to the mound to wrap up the game. Instead, he had a melt down on the mound. After getting out the lead-off batter, he walks pinch hitter Brian Schneider. He then walks pinch hitter Ross Gload, sending Schneider up to second. After getting Shane Victorino to strike out swinging for the inning’s second out, the just returned Placido Polanco followed by hitting an RBI single, scoring Schneider, who crossed the plate sliding head first as the Cubs’ catcher Geovany Soto is unable to hold onto the throw from the left fielder, tying the game up at one-all, while Gload would go to third on the throw, while Polanco moved up to second. One batter later, Marmol would walk his third batter of the inning, Jimmy Rollins, loading the bases, but Soto allowed ball four to get past him and go to the backstop, allowing Gload to score on the wild pitch, to give the Phils a 2-1 lead, while Polanco would move up to third, putting runners on the corners. After Rollins steals second base, Ryan Howard is intentionally walked, to load the bases. Jayson Werth then follows with the fifth walk of the inning, scoring Polanco from third, to give the Phils a 3-1 lead, while both Rollins and Howard both moved up a base. That would be it for Marmol, as he is taken out of the game and replaced by James Russell. Raul Ibanez welcome Russell by hitting an infield single to first baseman Derek Lee, as he had no one to throw to at first, scoring Rollins from third, making it a 4-1 Phils’ lead, while moving both Howard and Werth up a base. After pinch hitter Cody Ransom hits into a force out, 6-4, wiping out Ibanez to end the inning, the Phils handed the ball to their closer Brad Lidge for the save. Lidge proceeded to record his seventh save of the year, by getting Theriot to fly out to right for the game’s final out.
Cole Hamels receives a no-decision as he pitches seven innings, giving up a run on eight hits and two walks, while he strikes out six. Chad Durbin gets the win as he pitches a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk, while striking out a batter. His record is now 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA. Brad Lidge records his seventh save of the year as he pitches a scoreless inning, giving up just a walk, while striking out one. Randy Wells also receives a no-decision, as he pitches seven innings, giving up only seven hits and two walks, while striking out five. Sean Marshall records his twelfth hold, as he pitches a scoreless inning, giving up only a walk, while striking out two. Carlos Marmol blew his fourth save attempt, before taking the lost, as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs on one hit and five walks, while striking out a batter. His record is now 2-2 with a 2.91 ERA. James Russell pitches to just one batter, giving up a hit. Andrew Cashner pitches a third of an inning, giving out the only man that he would face.
The Phils had nine hits in the game, with Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez each leading the team with two hits apiece, with Victorino and Ibanez each having two hits, all singles, with Ibanez knocking in a run, while Werth had a single and a double, knocking in a run on a bases loaded walk. Placido Polanco, Ryan Howard and Wilson Valdez had the other three Phil’s hits, all singles, with Polanco knocking in a run, as the Phil’s other run came in on a wild pitch. The Phils’ offense is still trying to break out of its scoring and hitting slump, as they did not get a key hit until the ninth during Marmol’s melt down.
The Phillies (48-42, 2nd NL East) will conclude their four-game series with the Cubs (41-51, 4th NL Central) with a night game tonight, trying to end the series with a series split. The game will be played at Wrigley Field and will start at 8:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Central). The Phils will send to the mound their ace Roy Halladay (10-7, 2.19), who is coming off a nine innings no-decision against the Reds on July 10, as he gave up only five hits and a walk, while striking out nine, in the Phils’ 1-0 extra-innings win. In his last three starts, he went 1-1 with a no-decision, as he pitched twenty-six innings, giving up five runs on twenty-three hits and two walks, while striking out twenty-six batters. He will be trying to collect his eleventh win of the year, while hoping the bats will give him some real runs support. The Cubs will counter with Tom Gorzelanny (4-5, 3,16), who is coming off a win against the Dodgers on July 10, as he pitched six innings, giving up two runs, only one of which was earned, on six hits and a walk, while striking out seven, in the Cubs’ 7-3 win. In his last three starts, his record is 2-0 with a no-decision, as he pitched sixteen innings, giving up five runs, four of which were earned, on fifteen hits and ten walks, while striking out sixteen. He will be trying to even up his record. The Phils will be trying to end the four game series with a split before going on to St. Louis to meet the Cardinals for four.
Phils let one slip away as they lose to the Cubs, 4-3.
The Phils let a winnable game slip out of their fingers as Ryan Madson gives up a solo home run in relief as the Phils lose to the Cubs, 4-3.
The Phils took a 1-0 lead in the fourth as, with one out, Shane Victorino hits a solo home run, his fifteenth home run of the year, to give the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Cubs would tie the game up at one-all in the fifth as, with the bases loaded, via a single to Aramis Ramirez, a walk to Alfonso Soriano, moving Ramirez up to second base, a Starlin Castro ground out, 6-3, which would send Ramirez to third and Soriano to second, and an intentional walk to Geovany Soto, and with two men out, Cubs’ starter Ted Lily receives a walk, forcing in Ramirez, which moving Soriano to third and Soto up to second base. The Phils retook the lead in the sixth as, with a runner on base, and with two men out, Ryan Howard hits a two-run home run, his third in two games and his twentieth home run of the season, knocking in Jayson Werth, who had earlier walked, and then went to second on a Lily wild pitch, to give the Phils a 3-2 lead. The Cubs would tie the game up at three-all in their half of the sixth as, with a runner on second and with two men out, Marlon Byrd hits a two-run home run, his tenth home run of the season, scoring Ramirez, who had earlier doubled. The Cubs took the lead in the eighth as, with two men out, Ramirez hits a solo home run, his eleventh home run of the year, giving the Cubs a 4-3 lead. That would be the final score as Carlos Marmol collected his seventeenth save as he struck out the side.
Joe Blanton gets a no-decision as he pitches seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks, while striking out eight. Ryan Madson took the lost as he gives up a run on one hit. His record is now 2-1 with a 6.57 ERA. Ted Lily also receives a no-decision as he gives up three runs on four hits and a walk, while striking out ten. Sean Marshall gets the win as he pitches a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. His record is now 6-2 with an ERA of 1.96. Carlos Marmol collects his seventeenth save of the year as he pitches a 1-2-3 inning, striking out the side.
The Phils had only four hits in the game, with Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, Cody Ransom and Carlos Ruiz each collecting a hit, with Victorino’s hit being a solo home run, Howard’s hit being a two-run home run and Ransom and Ruiz’s hits both being singles. The offense could not get anything going, as they were kept off-balanced by Lily and the Cubs’ bullpen.
The Phils (47-42, 3rd NL East) will continue their series with the Cubs (42-40, 4th NL Central) with an afternoon game tomorrow. The game will be played at Wrigley Field and will begin at 1:05 pm Eastern (12:05 pm Central). The Phils will send to the mound Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.78), who is coming off a win against the Reds on July 11, as he gave up just six hits and three walks in seven and two-thirds innings of work, while striking out three, in the Phils’ 1-0 win. In his last three starts, he is 1-1 with a no-decision, as he pitched twenty-one and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs on nineteen hits and eight walks, while striking out nineteen batters. He will be going for his eighth win of the season, while trying to stop the Phils’ recent two-game slide. The Cubs will counter with Randy Wells (4-7, 4.61), who is coming off a lost to the Dodgers on July 8, when he pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out seven, in the Cubs’ 3-2 lost. In his last three starts, he is also 1-1 with a no-decision, as he pitched twenty and two-thirds innings, giving up five runs on fourteen hits and six walks, while striking out nineteen. He will be trying to see if he can add to the Phils’ present troubles. The Phils need to bounce back after losing the first two games in the series, to keep from falling any deeper behind the Braves in the NL East.
The Phils starts the second half with a four-game visit to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs.
Inspite of being hurt by the injury bug, the third place Phils (47-40) are still in the thick of the National League Eastern division pennant race as they attempt to become the first National League team, since the 1942-1944 St. Louis Cardinals, to win three straight NL pennants. The Phils will start the second half of the season with a four-game visit to Chicago to face the fourth place Cubs (39-50) of the National League Central, who are having a bad year.
The first game of the four game set will be played tonight within the friendly confines of old Wrigley Field. The game will begin at 8:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Central). The Phils’ starter for the first game of the series will be grand pappy Jamie Moyer (9-8, 4.51), who is so far having a good season, although he has lost his last start against the Braves on July 7, as he got clubbed for seven runs on seven hits and a walk in five and a third innings of work, as the Braves ganged up on him in the sixth inning for six of those runs, while he struck out only three, in the Phils’ 7-5 lost. In his last three starts, Moyer is 1-2, as he pitched eighteen and a third innings, giving up eleven runs, ten of which were earned, on eighteen hits and three walks, while striking out eighteen batters. He will be trying to end a personal two-game losing streak while trying for the third time to get his tenth win of the season, which would tie him for the club lead with the team’s ace Roy Halladay. The Cubs will counter with Ryan Dempster (7-7, 3.61), who is coming off a win against the D-backs on July 7, as he pitched just five innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk, while he struck out six, in the Cubs’ 8-3 win. In his last three starts, his record is 2-1, as he also pitched eighteen and a third innings, giving up eleven runs, eight of which were earned, on nineteen hits and seven walks, while striking out twenty-three. He will be going for his eighth win of the year. The Phils’ offense will be trying to break out of its present mini-slump while trying to build on their recent sweep of the National League Central Division leading Reds by trying to get their fifth straight win, while waiting for more of their injured players to come off the disabled list.
The Phils end the first half on a high note with a sweep of the 1st place Reds.
The Phils end the first half of the regular season on a high note as they sweep the 1st place Reds behind the six-hit pitching of Cole Hamels, as they defeat the Reds, 1-0.
The Phils took the lead in the third as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Jimmy Rollins hits an RBI single, scoring Carlos Ruiz, who was safe on second on a ground-rule double, thanks to fan interference as a fan in the left center field seats touched the ball while it was still in play, which was confirmed when the umpires reviewed the call, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Reds tried to come back in the fourth, as they loaded the bases, via a single to Paul Janish and walks to Joey Votto and Scott Rolen, and with nobody out, when Jonny Gomes hit into a force out, 5-2, wiping out Janish at home as Ruiz touches the plate for the inning’s first out, while both Votto and Rolen would move up a base, and Gomes would be safe at first. The Phils then got out of the inning as Jay Bruce lined out to Phils’ starter Cole Hamels, who would catch the ball before it could hit the ground, then throw over to second for a 1-6 doubleplay, doubling up Votto, to end the inning, with the Phils still in the lead. The Phils then tried to increase their lead in their half of the fourth, as they loaded the bases via a ground-rule double for Jayson Werth, as another fan interfered with a ball in play, this time preventing what could have been either a triple or an inside-the-park home run, depending on how the ball would’ve hit the wall in center field, by catching it, a call that was once again confirmed by a review by the umpires, Ryan Howard being hit by the pitch, and a walk to Ruiz, moving both Werth and Howard up a base, and with two men out. Reds starter Matt Maloney would turn the Phils’ away by getting Wilson Valdez to hit into a force out at third, 6-5, wiping out Howard for the inning’s final out. Neither team would make another serious threat during the game as both starters would keep the bats under control. The game would end as a Phils win as the Reds would go down 1-2-3 in the ninth as J.C. Romero would strike out Bruce swinging for the inning’s first out, then Brad Lidge would record his sixth save of the season by first striking out Drew Stubbs swinging and then getting pitch hitter Miguel Cairo to pop out to right for the game’s final out.
Cole Hamels gets the win as he pitches seven and two-thirds strong innings, giving up six scattered hits and three walks, while striking out three. His record is now 7-7 with a 3.78 ERA. Jose Contreras collects his seventh hold of the year as he pitches a third of an innings, walking a batter. J.C. Romero also pitches a third of an inning, striking out the only man that he would face, collecting his fourth hold of the season. Brad Lidge collects his sixth save of the year as he pitches two-thirds of an inning, getting out both men that he would face, striking out one. Matt Maloney took the lost, as he pitches six innings, giving up a run on four hits and a walk, while striking out one. His record is now 0-2 with a 3.09 ERA. Nick Masset and Arthur Rhodes pitches for two shut out innings, giving up just one walk (Masset) and a hit batter (Rhodes) between them, while striking out three (Masset).
The Phils had just four hits in the game, with Jimmy Rollins leading the team with two hits, both singles, as he knocked in the only run of the game, for the second game in a row. Carlos Ruiz and Jayson Werth had the other two Phils’ hits, both ground-rule doubles, thanks to fan interference in both cases, with the second one, on Werth’s hit, being the more costly, as it might have ended up being either a triple or an inside-the-park home run, based on where the ball might have hit the wall and with Reds’ center fielder Drew Stubbs being positioned almost against the wall in center, that ball would have been going places, but, since the fan caught it, we may never know. Guys, let the ball alone unless you are quite sure it will be leaving the ballpark. You may never know what might be the results.
The Phils (47-40, 3rd NL East) will be off for the next three days (except for Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay, who will both be at the All-Star Game), trying to recharge their batteries before they start the second half with a four-game set against the Cubs (39-50, 4th NL Central) in Chicago at Wrigley Field.
The bats appear to have come alive as the Phils crush the Cubs while giving some runs support to Pedro Martinez as he returns to the majors.
The Phillies’ bat appear to have decided to come out of hiding as they crush the Cubs, 12-5, as they give runs support to Pedro Martinez as he pitched his first game back in the major leagues. Their lead has now gone back up to four and a half games over both the Marlins and the Braves as the Marlins lose to the Astros.
The Phils jumped to a quick lead in the first as, with a runner on third, and with one man out, Chase Utley hits an RBI double, knocking in Shane Victorino, who had earlier tripled, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Phils made it a 2-0 lead as Ryan Howard tripled home Utley. The Cubs would cut the lead in half in the second as, with one man on, and one out, Jeff Baker hits an RBI single, knocking in Kosuke Fukudome, who had earlier doubled, making it a 2-1 Phils lead. The Phils increased their lead in the third as, with a man on, and with nobody out, Victorino hits a two-run home run, his ninth home run of the year, knocking in Jimmy Rollins, who had just doubled, making it 4-1 Phils. The Phils then busted the game wide open in the fourth. With two men on, and with nobody out, Carlos Ruiz hits an RBI single, scoring Jayson Werth, who had earlier singled, and had moved up to second base on Pedro Feliz’s single, giving the Phils a 5-1 lead, while Feliz who go all the way to third on Cubs’ center fielder Fukudome’s throwing error, while Ruiz would move up to second base. Two batters later, after Phils’ starter Pedro Martinez had grounded out, 4-3, for the inning’s first out, Jimmy Rollins hits a three-run home run, his fifteenth home run of the season, knocking in both Feliz and Ruiz, while giving the Phils an 8-1 lead. Four batters later, with two men on base, and two men out, Raul Ibanez hits a three-run bomb of his own, his twenty-seventh home run of the year, knocking in Utley, who had earlier singled, and Howard, who had just walked, moving Utley to second, as the Phils took an 11-1 lead, while batting around. Two batters later, Feliz would make it a 12-1 Phils lead, as he hit an RBI single, knocking in Werth, who had just doubled. After Ruiz walked, moving Feliz up to second, the Cubs would finally get out of the inning as Martinez struck out swinging. The Cubs got a run back in the fifth as, with the bases loaded, via a single by Koyie Hill, a walk by Sean Marshall and a single by Ryan Theriot, and with nobody out, Milton Bradley hits an RBI single, scoring Hill, making it a 12-2 Phils’ lead, while Marshall and Theriot moved up to third and second respectively. Two batters later, with the bases still loaded and with one man out, Jake Fox hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Marshall, making it a 12-3 Phils’ lead, while also sending Theriot to third. On the play, Victorino, who caught the ball, had a cup of beer thrown at him from the stand by one of the Cubs fans. After the play, Victorino showed his displeasure by looking at the fan, who was quickly removed from the ballpark by security. I don’t know what that idiot was thinking, cause Fox would’ve been called out by the umpires for fan interference if Victorino had dropped the ball. Folks, I don’t want to hear any excuses, cause that guy was a moron, pure and simple!!!! In the ninth, with runners on the corners, and one man out, Aaron Miles hits into an RBI ground out, 3-unassisted, for the inning’s second out, scoring Sam Fuld, who had earlier singled, and had gone to third on Eric Bruntlett’s fielding error of a Hill ground ball, making it a 12-4 Phils’ lead, while Hill, who was safe on Bruntlett’s error, moved up to second base. The next batter, Theriot, then hits an RBI single, scoring Hill, cutting the Phils’ lead down to 12-5. But that would be it as pinch hitter Geovany Soto grounded out, 5-3, for the game’s final out.
Pedro Martinez got the win as he went five innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out five in his first start in the majors since last September. His record is now 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA. Chan Ho Park pitched three scoreless innings, as he struck out three. Chad Durbin pitched an inning, giving up two runs, neither of which were earned, on two hits. Jeff Samardzija took the lost, as he pitched only three and a third innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits, as he struck out four. His record is now 1-2 with an ERA of 7.81. Sean Marshall pitched three and a third innings, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out four. Aaron Heilman and Carlos Marmol combined for two and a third scorless innings, striking out a batter between them (Marmol).
The Phils exploded for fourteen hits, with each of the regulars having at least one hit. Chase Utley lead the team with three hits, including a double, knocking in a run, while scoring two, as he raised his average to .296. Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz followed with two hits a piece, with Rollins’ hits being a double and a three-run homer, while Victorino’s two hits were a triple and a two-run home run and one of Werth’s two hits was a double. Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Carlos Ruiz each had a hit, with Howard’s hit being a triple and Ibanez’s hit being a three-run home run. Besides the runs knocked in by Utley, Rollins, Victorino and Ibanez, Howard, Feliz and Ruiz each knocked in a run. The Phils had a total of eight extra-base hits in last night’s game (3 (2B), 2 (3B), 3 (HR)). Hopefully, this will mean that the offense has returned.
The Phils (63-48, 1st National League East) will conclude with an afternoon game against the Cubs (58-54, 2nd National League Central). The game is already in progress and is being played at Wrigley Field. The Phils’ starter is Cliff Lee (9-9 (2-0), 2.95 (1.13)), who is coming off a win against the Rockies on August 6, where he went seven innings, giving up only one run on six hits and a walk, as he struck out nine, in the Phils’ 3-1 win. He is trying to lead the Phils to a sweep over the Cubs. The Cubs will counter with Ryan Dempster (6-5, 4.04), who is coming off a win against the Rockies on August 8, where he went six innings, giving up just two runs on nine hits, while striking out two, in the Cubs’ 6-5 win. He will be trying to avoid the sweep. The Phils are presently leading the Cubs, 5-1, after six innings, trying to perform a sweep of the Cubbies, before going on to Atlanta to see if they can push the Braves back, as well as increase their lead in the NL East.
Update: Turns out security threw out the wrong person last night, as the moron who threw the beer let someone else take the rap for his misdeed. But, both the Cubs and Victorino have filed a complaint against the toad, while his face is getting plastered all over the place. Hopefully it’ll be only a matter of time before the Chicago boys in blue come knocking at his door.
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