Liberty Ball

Jimmy Rollins returned to the lineup last night for the first time since sustaining a sprained ankle against the Mets way back when. Rollins went 3-5 with a homerun, a double, 3 RBI, and 1 run scored. Having him back at the top of the lineup sent a bolt of energy through the rest of the team as the Phillies went on to beat the Giants 7-4. Rollins hit a 2-run shot in the 3rd. His double came as part of a three-run 8th inning that proved to be the winning margin.

Cole Hamels notched another victory in his belt by pitching 7 innings yet again. He gave up 4 runs, all earned, and struck out 7 on the day.  Brad Lidge picked up another save by striking out 3 in the 9th, keeping his ERA on the season at 0.00.

Jamie Moyer, the oldest pitcher to have a multiple hit game, will take the mound against Tim Lincecum who is 4-1 with a 1.49 ERA. Not only are his numbers this season very good, but he pitched very well against the Phillies in his last start. Although he only threw 6 innings, he did not give up a run and struck out 6 Phillies. The game will start at 4:05 et.

Brandon Webb pitched a complete game victory against the the Phillies today.  The Dbacks won 8-3 with Brett Myers getting tagged for 6 earned runs in 5 innings in his losing effort.  Webb gave up only 2 earned runs and improved his record to an astounding 8-0.  He is only the 7th pitcher all time to get a win in each of his first 8 starts of a season.

Both Shane Victorino and Eric Bruntlett had 2 hits on the day.  Bruntlett raised his average to .250.  That might not look good, but considering where he was at when he first subbed in for Jimmy Rollins (who looks good in his rehab starts, and will rejoin the team in San Francisco this weekend).

Yesterday: The Phillies pulled yet another late game win.  The Phillies scored 2 runs in the 8th inning to take a 5-4 lead that would hold to be enough for the victory.  JC Romero got the win after he came in the finish out the 7th inning for Ryan Madson who was only able to get 1 out and gave up 1 run.  Tom Gordon then came in to hold the 8th inning giving up 1 hit and striking out 1.  Brad Lidge then came in and continued his dominance closing out the game and getting the save without giving up a hit, and striking out 2 of the 3 batters he faced.

The 8th inning rally began when Shane Victorino struck out swinging but made it to first base when the ball got away from the catcher.  Eric Bruntlett then came up to bat and drove in Vic with a double.  Chase Utley was then able to drive in Bruntlett with a single to take the lead.

The Phillies had 7 hits by 7 different players.  And Ryan Howard went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts.  Way to go Ryan.  If it were not for your power and past history, you would have been designated long ago.

…and it was a big fat LOSS.

After Eaton struggled to get through the first inning (he gave up a double, 2 singles and a run), he pitched well in the 2nd and third and had a 2-1 lead going into the 4th inning.  Then Eaton became Eaton.  He gave up 5 runs in the 4th inning.  It started with a walk then a double, followed by another walk.  After a visit to the mound, he got the next batter to fly out to center.  With the bases still loaded, Eaton walked Randy Johnson (yes, as in the Dbacks pitcher) to get one run in.  The next batter grounded out, then Stephen Drew hit a three run homerun to break the inning wide open.  Eaton finished the inning with Eric Byrnes flying out next, but did not make it any further in the game.

Eaton has looked great in some games so far only to blow up in an inning and not be able to make it out of the game.  I remember a game earlier this year when I actually made comment of how well he had pitched through 3 innings only to see him record maybe 1 out in the 4th before he was pulled.

Eric Bruntlett was the man of the day going 2-5 with 3 RBIs.  Jayson Werth 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

The bullpen was once again solid as Rudy Seanez, Tom Gordon, and Chad Durbin combinded to throw 4 shutout innings for the rest of the game.

The Phillies and Diamondbacks play again tonight at 9:40.  Kyle Kendrick (2-2, 5.01) pitches against Micah Owings (4-1, 4.42).  Owings is pitching almost as well as he is hitting this season.  He is 9-21 this season with a double and a pinch hit homerun. 

In case you’re looking to see a great pitching matchup tonight, you should watch the Indians take on the Yankees.  Both Cliff Lee and Chien-Ming Wang are a combined 10-0 this season.  They are the leaders in the AL for the Cy Young race this far into the season.

In what will be the closest series of the season, the Phillies split the two weekend games against the San Francisco Giants.  2 out of the three games in the series went into the 10th inning, and last nights game was won in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs.

Saturday the Giants scored in the top of the 10th inning again.  This time, however, they were able to keep their lead and win the game.  The Phillies had 3 hits the whole game.  Chase Utley had 2, while Geoff Jenkins had 1.  Conveniently, both of them each had solo homeruns which accounted for both runs and RBIs.  Matt Cain and Brett Myers battled as well as two pitchers can.  Each pitched 7 innings and gave up 2 runs.  Cain struck out 8, and Myers struck out 10.  Both got a no decision, obviously.

Rudy Seanez gave up the winning run and was therefore tagged with the loss.  Final score: SF 3- PHI 2

Sunday the Phillies won in the bottom of the 9th inning like I said.  In a fitting fashion for how the Giants defense played all game, the game was run on an error.  5 out of the 6 Phillies runs were unearned.

Carlos Ruiz hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the 8th inning to tie the game at 5 after Chad Durbin gave up 1 run in the top of the inning.

Twice the Phillies scored 2 runs in innings to take the lead only to have Cole Hamels give 2 back in the top of the next inning.  It happened in the 5th/6th when the Phillies scored 2, then Hamels gave up a 2-run homer to Rich Aurilia in the next frame.

With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell walked.  With Howard on second, Geoff Jenkins hit a grounder to the second baseman who let it get under his glove.  Howard scored when the catcher couldn’t hold on to the throw from the rightfielder.  Brad Lidge got the win after retiring 3 batters in the top of the ninth.  With the three hitters all making contact, the ball went a combined 70 feet with Ruiz making to putouts, and Lidge the other.  Pat Burrell was 2-3 on the day with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs.  Both Eric Bruntlett and Shane Victorino scored twice in the game.

Today the Phillies travel out to Phoenix to take on the Diamondbacks.   45 year old Jamie Moyer (1-2, 4.50) takes the hill against 23 year old Max Scherzer.  This will be Scherzer’s first career start and only his 2nd game compared to Moyer’s 557th career start.  Scherzer made his debut and only major league appearance on April 29th.  He pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief and struck out 7 batters without giving up any hits or walks.

Arizona has the best record in the league but just lost 2/3 to the Mets at home.  Hopefully we can have the same fortune in our series.

Jim Salisbury at the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote an article dealing with with future of the Phillies GM.  He comments on how Gillick’s contract is up this fall and he will probably retire.  Meanwhile, the Yankees are struggling and that means that Cashman’s run there might come to an end.  Apparently Cashman liked Philly when he was looking for a job when he was in between contracts before.  Personally I can’t see the higher-ups getting Cashman to run the team.  I do like that he is starting to develop prospects rather than buy free agents, but I don’t see the ownership letting him spend Yankee type money for this team.

Ryan Howard struck out yet again in his first atbat of tonight’s game. This brings his season total to 43 strikeouts! Coming into tonight, he had 42 strikeouts in 30 games. More importantly he has only had 108 recorded atbats (walks do not count as an atbat). This equals a 39% strikeout rate! With all of his atbats, walks included, he strikes out 1 out of every 3 trips to the plate. He is not a great fielder, even if his fielding percetage is .997. He is a slow first basemen who does not have to get to anything, and doesn’t have the opportunity to make many errors.

He is on pace to strikeout 226 times this season. He only has 19 hits and his batting average is an atrocious .176. He clearly needs more time off to figure out what is wrong with his swing. The one good thing that comes from this is that now Howard is losing ammunition for a big contract fast. At the beginning of the season he was thinking that he is worth Miguel Cabrera type money (8 years, $183 million). If he keeps this up, he won’t even be valuable enough to trade before his contract is up.

Chase Utley was named the National League Player of the Month.  Some people argued for Chipper Jones, but Utley has been hitting on a torrid pace, and the honor is well deserved.

With the game tied 4-4 at the end of the 9th inning, the Phillies and Giants went into extra innings last night.  JC Romero came into the game to pitch and gave up a leadoff homerun to one time Phillie Aaron Rowand.  Romero struggled but got through the rest of the inning without allowing any more runners to cross.

The Phillies came up in the bottom of the 10th inning down by 1 run.  Jayson Werth struck out swinging to get things started.  Then Chase Utley, who had already hit a two-run homerun in the 1st inning, came up and singled.  Ryan Howard then struck out to take his stat line to 0-5 with 3 strikeouts and 5 men left on base.  He argued the call and got ejected accordingly.  Good game, Ryan.  So with 2 outs, and one man on, Pat “the bat” Burrell stepped into the batter’s box.  Burrell saw 5 straight fastballs from Giants pitcher Brian Wilson.  The result of those 5 pitches was a full count.  So with a full count and 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th, with a runner on, down by 1, Wilson fed Burrell yet another fastball.  Burrell launched it into the leftfield bleachers for a walkoff, game winning homer.  Phils win 6-5.

Utley, Feliz, and Burrell each homered in the game.  Burrell’s 2-run game winner put him in a tie for the league lead in RBIs.  Chase Utley has now reached base safely in 29 out of 30 games this season.

JC Romero got the win even though he allowed the homer to Rowand.  Kyle Kendrick, who started the game, pitched 6 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits, and striking out 6 without walking any.  Ryan Madson gave up the other SF run.  Tom Gordon and Brad Lidge combined for scoreless 8th and 9th innings.

The Phillies take on the Giants at 7:05 tonight.  Brett Myers (2-2, 5.11) takes on Matt Cain (1-2, 4.41).  Chase Utley is 4-9 lifetime against Cain with 2 homeruns.  I don’t want to make any implications, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues his amazing beginning of the season.

After Adam Eaton gave up another first inning 2-run homerun to Adrian Gonzalez, it looked like the Phillies might be in line for the same thing that happened last night.  However; 2 RBI doubles in the 3rd by Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell tied up the game.  Howard then broke the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 8th inning with a solo shot.  Brad Lidge entered for the ninth and mowed down the Padres 1-2-3 to get his 7th save of the season.  Tom Gordon got the win by pitching a scoreless 8th inning.

The bullpen once again did not give up any runs.  Adam Eaton only gave up that one homerun in the first inning, and then continued to pitch 6 strong innings giving up only 5 hits.  Ryan Madson and JC Romero combined for a shut out 7th inning, then turned it over to Gordon and Lidge.  Final score: 3-2 Phillies win.

Eric Bruntlett is a serviceable shortstop at best. Lately he has been real quiet, which is better than when he had everybody talking about him for being terrible. Today he gets bumped back up to the second spot in the lineup. He can’t handle being there. The Phillies haven’t even batted yet and the pressure is getting to him. He has 1 error, but should have 2 on 2 very similar plays. 2 grounders up the middle where he got to the ball, and threw it in the dirt. The scorekeeper was generous to credit the first as a hit.

To add to Bruntlett’s horrible defense, Jayson Werth dropped a flyball in center. Luckily that play didn’t hurt us, but Bruntlett’s first gaff did. The next batter jacked a Moyer “fastball” to deep right field. We’re down 2-0 to start the game. Bruntlett better get a good at-bat here!

*Edit*

Okay, so he got a single and extended his hitting streak to 8 games. Works for me.

*Edit*

Tie game.  Thank you Chase Utley. 2-run HR.  Bruntlett scores on it.

The Phillies poured it on late to ensure the victory last night over Greg Maddux and the San Diego Padres.  Doubles by Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, and Greg Dobbs helped in the big inning.  Utley, Ruiz, and Pedro Feliz each went 2-4 on the day.

Cole Hamels got the win for the Phillies.  He pitched 7 1/3 innings, and only gave up 2 earned runs while striking out 6.  Hamels has pitched 7 innings in each of his first 6 starts.  His record now stands at 3-3 although he has an outstanding ERA of just 2.70.

JC Romero replaced Hamels in the 8th and gave up a walk.  After the walk he was immediately replaced with Tom Gordon who finished out the inning perfectly.  Ryan Madson was summoned to pitch the last stanza, and gave up 2 runs in doing so.  He gave up 2 hits, one of which was a homerun, and struck out 2 batters.

Shane Victorino saw his first game action when he pinch hit in the 8th inning since going on the DL on April 12th with a right calf strain.  He flew out to the left fielder in his only at bat.

Tonight the Phillies go against those same Padres as Jamie Moyer (1-1, 4.05) takes on Chris Young (1-2, 3.77).  A win tonight would mean yet another series win for the Phillies who have now improved their record to 15-12.  They have actually secured a winning record for the month of April which has been a rare thing in past years.  They are still a half game back of the Florida Marlins for 1st place in the NL East.

The Phillies lost to the Pirates today 5-1.  Pirates lefty starter, Paul Maholm, won the game in 99 pitches.  He only allowed 2 hits, and faced just 30 batters in the game.  He walked 4, but also got 2 double plays in the game.

Pat Burrell got one of the hits on a double in the 5th inning.  Eric Bruntlett then got the 2nd hit to drive in Burrell for the only run.  Bruntlett was then caught stealing when he took of for second on a pick off move by Maholm.

Brett Myers lasted 5 innings.  He pitched well, but gave up a leadoff homerun to Nate McClouth, and then another homer to the same man in the 5th inning.  Rudy Seanez gave up his first run of the season in the 6th.  Ryan Madson pitched the 7th, and Clay Condrey the 8th.

The Phillies come back home to take on the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.  Cole Hamels will face off against a long time favorite of mine, Greg Maddux.  Shane Victorino is scheduled to be back from his stint on the DL for the game, but there is no word yet to how much he will play.

In the midst of this 3 game winning streak and winning 6 of their last 7, the Phillies have improved their record to 14-11 and are just a half game behind the Florida Marlins for first place in the NL East.  The Phillies had struggled to get above .500 for most of the season but now are pushing to stay on top.

The Phillies beat the Pirates 8-4 yesterday with the help of a huge 5-run first inning.  The best part is that all the action started with 2 outs in the inning.  Jayson Werth lead off the game by grounding out to short.  Greg Dobbs then popped out to the 3rd baseman.  Chase Utley got the rally started with a single to right.  Ryan Howard then crushed a homerun to centerfield.  Phillies 2-0.  Pat Burrell singled over the shortstop’s head.  Geoff Jenkins hit a liner to right that went off of Xavier Nady’s glove for an error.  Burrell scored and Jenkins went to 2nd.  Phillies 3-0.  Chris Coste was hit by a pitch.  Eric Bruntlett singled in Jenkins.  Kyle Kendrick hit a grounder to short that was booted into centerfield allowing Coste to score.  E6, Phillies 5-0.  Werth then came up and committed his second out of the inning by flying out to right.

Pirate’s starter threw 49 pitches in the first inning!  He was pulled after getting 2 outs in the second.  Sadly, it might have been Morris’ last outing of his career.  He is now 0-4 on the season with a 9.67 ERA.  His fastball is maybe in the mid 80s and he doesn’t have the control to be a finesse pitcher.  There has been a lot of talk of him either being released (but then the Pirates would have to eat a lot of $) or him possibly just retiring (but there’s all that cash)

I just looked again to find the link, and apparently in the hour since I last looked, the Pirate’s did release him.  He said “I’ve always said the other team will let you know when you’re done.”  Well that team was the Phillies.

The Phillies go for the sweep of the Keystone Series today as Brett Myers (2-1, 4.78) takes on Paul Maholm (1-2, 4.22).  The Phillies have to wait until Tuesday to get Shane Victorino back from the 15-day DL.  Luckily Jason Werth has been on fire in his time filling in.  I just looked, and Ryan Howard has 4 strikeouts in I think 9 at bats against Maholm.  I know it sounds repetitive, but look for him to fan a couple more times.

The Phillies were able to outlast the Pirates last night to win 6-5.  With 1 out in the bottom of the 4th inning, I thought that Adam Eaton and the Phillies were going to roll through the rest of the game.  Boy was I wrong.  Eaton proceeded to give up a homerun to Jason Bay, then 3 doubles, and was pulled after he pitched around the #8 batter to get to the pitcher with a force out in play.  Chad Durbin came in to finish out the inning.  What was a 6-0 lead was now a 6-3 lead and Eaton long gone.

Durbin gave up 2 more runs in the 5th inning, and that’s also when the Phillies offense got ice cold.  After the 2 runs in the fourth inning, the team combined to get only 2 hits the rest of the game, and one of those was Durbin’s first ever Major League hit.  Luckily for the team, relievers Tom Gordon, JC Romero, and Brad Lidge all pitched scoreless innings and preserved the victory.  Gordon earned the victory and Lidge got another save by striking out 2 in the 9th.

Jayson Werth was the only Phillie to go deep in this game.  He ended up 2-4 with the homerun, 2 runs, and 2 RBI.  Chris Coste was my MVP of the game going 3-5 with a double and three RBI.  Brad Harman also got his first Major League hit with an RBI double in the 4th inning.  He came around to score on a single by Werth.

Harman got the start at 2nd because Chase Utley played 1st base.  Ryan Howard has been absolutely awful at the plate, and has finally been sat down to get the point across, although he did strike out when he pinch hit for the pitcher again!  At this pace he could close in on 275 Ks this season.  I don’t care how hard he hits in when he makes contact if that is only 1-10 times.  That’s 2 times every 5 games.

If I were to tell you before the season started that the Phillies bullpen would have a record of 6-4 through 23 games you would have said I was nuts.  Almost half of the games have been decided late in games.  This is not surprising considering that the Phillies lead the league in come from behind wins last year.  What is surprising is how well the bullpen has performed since the Opening Day gaff.

Jamie Moyer only gave up 1 run in 6 innings of work last night, but got a no decision.  It was Tom Gordon who picked up the W in the 3-1 defeat of the Milwaukee Brewers.  Once again the bullpen combined to not give up any runs with both JC Romero, and Ryan Madson picking up holds while Brad Lidge got the save.

The Phillies scored their run on a solo shot by Jayson Werth in the 6th, and a 2 RBI double by Pat Burrell in the 8th that drove in Greg Dobbs and Chase Utley.  Utley went 3-4 on the day, but all his hits were singles.  He has clearly lost his power.

Ryan Howard did not start…but still managed to strike out 2 times.  He wasn’t in the lineup because he can’t hit, and he proved it again by striking out 2 times when he pinch hit in the 8th for the pitcher, and again in the 9th after he stayed in to play 1st.

Chase Utley is playing first right now in the game against Pittsburgh and things appear to be going well so far.

Despite homeruns by Chase Utley, Greg Dobbs, and Pat Burrell, the Phillies lost 5-4 last night to the Milwaukee Brewers.  Cole Hamels picked up the loss, dropping his record to 2-3 with a 2.75 ERA.  He struck out 11 batters in the game but gave 2 2-run homeruns to Prince Fielder, and 5 earned runs overall in 7 innings.  The Brewers took the lead in the bottom of the 8th inning with Fielder’s second homer and closed the game out in the ninth.

The Phillies scored 3 runs on a bases loaded double by Pat Burrell in the top of the 9th inning last night and held on to get the come from behind win over the Rockies 8-6.  Brad Lidge recorded his 4th save on the season by going 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th with 2 strikeouts.  Ryan Madson recorded the win in relief with pitching a scoreless 8th inning.  Manny Corpas blew his 3rd save in 7 opportunities for the Rockies.

Chase Utley’s homerun streak came to an end.  He was only able to go 2-5 with a 2 RBI double and a run scored.  Come on, Chase.  You need to pick it up.

Well I was right, and I hate being right.  Ryan Howard did strike out 2 times, the exact way I said he would.  Francis was able strike him out on slow, outside curveballs.  Howard was nowhere close on either one.  I don’t see why any team would pitch him any other way than that.  He has proved that he can’t hit that pitch all season.

Pedro Feliz did not go deep, but he did have a big day.  The third basemen went 3-5 on the day with a double and a run scored.  Jayson Werth was the only Phillie to hit a 4 bagger.  This time it was the more conventional way by crushing one out in left-center field.

Brett Myers pitched 7 inning, but gave up 6 earned runs.  He gave up 2 homeruns and only struck out 3.  He left the game trailing 6-5 but was taken off record when the Phills tied it up and took the lead in the 9th.

Once again, the Phillies’ bullpen was stellar.  Although they only pitched 2 innings, they did not allow a run.

Chase Utley hit another homerun in last night’s 9-5 win over Colorado extending his streak of games with a homerun to 5.  He has hit 6 in that span.

Utley’s homer was the second of back to back knocks by the Phillies in the 6th inning.  Jayson Werth hit the first one, although it wasn’t how you would think a homerun was hit.  He hit an inside the park homerun.  Werth hit the ball to the base of the wall in right-center field.  The centerfielder couldn’t get to the ball and it bounced off the wall and shot back towards center.  By the time the centerfielder got to the ball, Werth had used his long strides to make it almost to third where he was waved home.  He dove for the plate head first making it easily.

Pat Burrell also went deep in the game when he drove a 3-1 pitch to the seats in left field.

The Phillies were down 4-5 going into the 8th inning, but were able to score 2 runs on a bases loaded double by Carlos Ruiz.  The Phillies then added three more runs in the ninth with both Werth and Burrell hitting RBI doubles.  Rudy Seanez was credited with the W after pitching a scoreless 7th inning.  Tom Gordon got the Hold in the 8th, and Brad Lidge was able to close the game out, although it was not a save opportunity.  The bullpen did not allow any runs in their 4 innings of work (Condrey came in to pitch the 6th).

Kyle Kendrick went 5+ innings, and gave up 5 runs on 2 homeruns.  He seemed to get into jams in every inning, but was only hurt on those two shots.  Luckily for him, his offense battled back and he received a No Decision.

Once again the Phillies owned the #1 play on Sportscenter’s top 10 this morning.  This time it was a fantastic diving stop by Chase Utley who then flipped the ball with his glove to Eric Bruntlett for the double play.

The Phillies once again try to get above .500 on the season tonight as they take on the Rockies at 8:35.  Brett Myers (2-1,  3.96) takes on Jeff Francis (0-2, 5.89).  Look for Pedro Feliz to go deep in this game, and maybe Burrell again.  Howard will get a couple strikeouts (what else is new) with a lefty on the mound.  He will receive a steady diet of breaking balls away until he can figure out to step into them and take them to left field.

The Phillies were able to hold off the New York Mets last night 5-4 to win the last game of a 3 game series. JC Romero got the win in relief and Brad Lidge was able to pick up the save. Chase Utley crushed 2 homeruns on the day. He was a perfect 3-3 with 2 homeruns, and 4 RBIs.

Utley hit his second homer in the bottom of the 5th inning. The dinger drove in Jayson Werth and Greg Dobbs. That put the score at 4-0 after 5. It was at this moment that I had the feeling of “I’m not sure 4 runs is a big enough lead right now.” Sure enough Adam Eaton started off the 6th inning by giving up a triple to Jose Reyes, an RBI single to Luis Castillo, a double to David Wright, and a 2 RBI single to Carlos Beltran. Eaton was then pulled without recording an out in the 6th inning. Chad Durbin came into the game and allowed 1 more run in Eaton’s name before getting out of the inning. Up until the 6th, Eaton had pitched very well striking out 4 while only giving up 2 hits. Much like last year, he was unable to stop the bleeding once it started and had to be pulled.

After the brutal 6th inning was over, the score was tied 4-4.

Pedro Feliz came in to pinch hit for Greg Dobbs in the 7th inning and hit a solo, opposite field homerun to take the lead 5-4.

JC Romero pitched 2 scoreless innings (7-8), and left the game to closer Brad Lidge for the 9th. Lidge made it interesting walking the first batter he faced, then allowing a base hit to the next man. He got out of the jam when Eric Bruntlett made a great play at short.  He was able to dive and get a grounder and turn it into a fantastic double play.  It was the Sportscenter #1 play this morning.

Chase Utley now leads the majors in homeruns with his two in the game. He has a 4-game homerun streak going and has hit 5 in that time. He is seeing the ball really well, and his swing is nice and compact which allows him to get around on a lot of pitches even if he’s fooled.

Unfortunately the win came after 2 disappointing losses to the Mets. On Friday, Johan Santana was dealing. He struck out 10 batters through 7+ innings. The Phillies got the game to 4-5 going into the 9th, but the Mets scored 1 in the top of the inning off of Brad Lidge and were able to close out the game 6-4.

Saturday, the Phillies lost 4-2. Jamie Moyer gave up 2 runs through 6 innings, but Ryan Madson gave up another 2 in the top of the 7th. Those 2 runs proved too much for the Phillies to overcome as Billy Wagner was able to save the game for Oliver Perez. Ryan Howard had another rough day, and now leads the league in strikeouts.

The Phillies take on the Colorado Rockies tonight in about 15 minutes. Kyle Kendrick (1-2, 4.40) takes on Mark Redman (2-1, 4.60). The game is out at Coors so hopefully the ball will travel that extra 10% in the thinner air for us.

Today the Phillies put Jimmy Rollins and recently called up Chris Snelling on the 15-day Disabled List.  Rollins is still suffering from his ankle sprain and Snelling has left knee inflammation.  Rollins was hopeful to get back and play last week, but that never happened and he has yet to get better.  He has pinch hit some while he has been out, but it has been apparent that he cannot run on his ankle.

Brad Harman, an infielder from AA Reading, and TJ Bohn, an outfielder from AAA Lehigh were called up to fill the roster spots.  Harman was hitting a whopping .222, while Bohn was hitting at a blistering average of .190.  Awesome.

Also, the Phillies are trying to not get swept by the Mets tonight at 8:05pm.  I haven’t been able to watch the first two games yet but I know they were slightly disappointing.

The Phillies beat the Houston Astros 10-2 today.  Brett Myers got the win while Brandon Backe got the loss for the Astros.  The Phillies scored 10 runs but still left another 10 men on base.  There were 6 homeruns hit in the game; 4 by the Phillies and 2 solo homeruns hit by the Astros for their only runs.

Brett Myers pitched another strong game going 7 innings with only giving up 1 run while he struck out 8.  Tom Gordon came in and recorded a scoreless 8th inning, and Clay Condrey came in for the 9th and gave up a solo homer to Carlos Lee on his first pitch, then followed that up with a single, then retired the next three to end the game.

The Phillies chases Astros starter Brandon Backe from the game with no outs recorded in the 4th inning.  He gave up 6 runs, but one was due to an error.

I almost feel bad for Jose Valverde…almost.  I think that we might have really done some damage to his psyche in this series.  Not only did he blow the first game, but he came in tonight to get some work and gave up a double to Geoff Jenkins and then a homerun to Chris Coste.  He started the 8th inning on a roll, but then got hammered.  Hopefully he will be able to still be their closer and only blow up against us.

Every starting position player had a hit today.  Everybody besides Eric Bruntlett that is, but I don’t count him oftentimes.  Chris Coste lead the way going 4-5 with a homerun, a double, and 3 RBIs.  He also reached base on an error in his one at bat that wasn’t a hit.

Chase Utley hit his 4th homerun of the season.  Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell combined for their first back to back homeruns of the season in the 6th inning.  Burrell continues to put up video game like numbers (he is the leading MVP candidate for me in 2K8) with 6 homers and 17 RBIs.

While it was nice to see the bats get hot, it could have been so much more.  We really need to capitalize on our opportunities.  Luckily our pitching was fantastic tonight and we got away with leaving so many men on base.

Tomorrow is the game that every phan has been waiting for since the winter deal of Johan Santana to the Mets.  Tomorrow, Phillies ace lefty Cole Hamels (2-1, 0.82) will take on Mets ace lefty Johan Santana (1-2, 3.05).  It is the first time that each pitcher will face the other team this season.  Opening pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm.

Jimmy Rollins will not be available for the game.  He went home to California to be with his family following the death of his uncle.  I wish all the Rollins family the best.

Oh yeah.  Here are the stats I came up with for the offense on my scorecard:

So Taguchi CF:

2-5 (Run)

Greg Dobbs 3B:

2-5 (2 Runs)

Chase Utley 2B:

2-5 (HR, 2 RBI, 2 K)

Ryan Howard 1B:

2-4 (HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K)

Pat Burrell LF:

2-4 (HR, 2R, 2 RBI, 1 BB)

Geoff Jenkins RF:

2-4 (2 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K)

Chris Coste C:

4-5 (HR, 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI, Reached on Error)

Eric Bruntlett SS:

0-5 (2 K)

Brett Myers P:

0-3 (BB, K)

The Phillies waited until the bottom of the 9th inning to score any runs tonight, and beat the Houston Astros.  They rallied to score 4 runs and win the game on a walkoff double by Pedro Feliz, winning 4-3.  Geoff Jenkins scored on the play from 1st.  He reached after striking out but getting to first when the strike 3 pitch got past catcher Brad Ausmus.

“Senor Out”, as Feliz is so kindly nicknamed, went 3-4 on the day with that game winning RBI double.  I think this game will earn him some much needed respect from phans.  Not only has his D been stellar at 3rd, but it seems like he is going to start producing like he was expected to when he was signed.

Shawn Chacon pitched an amazing game for the Astros.  He pitched 8 scoreless innings, giving up only 4 hits, and two walks while striking out 5.  The Astros then turned the game over to closer Jose Valverde, who started the inning by giving up a pinch hit to newly called up Chris Snelling.  He hit Chase Utley before striking out Ryan Howard.  Pat Burrell came up next and crushed an opposite field homerun to tie the game at 3.  After blowing the save, Valverde struck out Geoff Jenkins.  However; Jenkins was able to make it to first after the strikeout pitch got past catcher Brad Ausmus and bounced off the backstop and towards first base.  Pedro Feliz then came up and rifled a double down the third base line.  Jenkins was off on the hit and knew that he had a chance to score.  The Astros had a good relay from Carlos Lee to Miguel Tejada, but Jenkins was able to get in under the tag of Ausmus to end the game.

Adam Eaton pitched well, but got the No Decision.  He pitched 6 innings, gave up 7 hits and three runs.  Eaton also fanned 3 batters.  Chad Durbin added 2 scoreless innings, and Rudy Seanez pitched a scary, but scoreless, 9th inning and got the win.

Tomorrow the Phillies take on the Astros at 7:05 at home.  Kyle Kendrick (1-1, 6.14) takes the mound against Houston ace Roy Oswalt (0-3, 9.00).  Oswalt is usually one of the most dominant right-handed pitchers in the NL, but he has had a rough start in 2008.  He has started 3 games but has only pitched 16 innings.  In those 16 innings, he has given up 16 runs on a whopping 30 hits.  5 of the hits that he has given up are homeruns.  Left-handed batters are batting an astonishing .467 against Oswalt.  Hopefully our powerful lefties in the lineup can continue to help Oswalt struggle.

Meanwhile, Kendrick has only gone 7 1/3 innings in his two starts.  He has yet to show the control that he had last season and is looking to rebound quickly before things get out of hand for him.

Jimmy Rollins wore number 42 tonight in honor of the late great Jackie Robinson.  Jimmy pinch hit for the pitcher in the 8th inning and grounded out to third.  He said that he is up to full speed but moving to his left to get groundballs still hurts some.  He said that he expects to be in the lineup in the next few days, probably Thursday.

Once again, I kept a scorecard at home.  Here are the offensive numbers I got for the Phillies:

Jayson Werth CF:

1-4

Carlos Ruiz C:

0-3

–Chris Snelling PH:

1-1 (solo HR)

Chase Utley 2B:

0-3 (HBP, R)

Ryan Howard 1B:

0-3 (2 K, 1 BB)

Pat Burrell LF:

1-4 (HR, 2 RBI, 2 K)

Geoff Jenkins RF:

0-4 (R, 2 K)

Pedro Feliz 3B:

3-4 (2B, RBI)

Eric Bruntlett SS:

1-2 (BB, SB)

Adam Eaton P:

0-1

–Greg Dobbs PH:

0-1 (K)

–Jimmy Rollins PH:

0-1

I’m not one for blaming umps for a game, but last night was a different story.  In the 6th inning, Mark DeRosa hit what the umpires called a solo homerun off of Brett Myers.  Further replay showed that the ball was clearly foul.  The homerun should have never counted, meaning that the Cubs would have had one less run and the game would have never gone into extra innings, and the Phillies would have won.

Charlie Manuel got ejected arguing that the ball was foul.  He has a great argument.  Expect this to come back if we finish a game out of first or the wild card in what should be some extremely close races this year.

Cole Hamels was dominant yet again last night allowing just 3 baserunners on 1 hit, and 2 walks in 7 innings to the Cubs.  The Phillies won the game 7-1 with Ryan Madson giving up the only run in the 8th.  The Phillies were able to chase Ted Lilly from the game after just 4 1/3 innings after he allowed 5 earned runs.  Both Pedro Feliz and Ryan Howard hit 2 run homeruns off of Lilly before he left.

The biggest (and worst) news from the game came when Geoff Jenkins came in to the game for Shane Victorino.  Victorino re-injured the calf that caused him to miss time last year.  He claims that he injured it in the 5th inning when he scored on a wild pitch.  I watched the 5th and 6th innings again today to see if I could what happened and it appeared that he injured it during his at-bat in the 6th.  He spun awkwardly a few times when he fouled pitches off, and it was obvious that he wasn’t feeling good when he grounded out. 

The Phillies placed Victorino on the 15-day DL and called up Chris Snelling from AAA Lehigh.  For the time being, Jayson Werth and So Taguchi look to split time in center.  With both Jimmy Rollins and Victorino out today, Geoff Jenkins is batting lead off because of his success against Jason Marquis.  I’m surprised that the Phillies decided to call up Snelling.  He was only batting around .200 for the Iron Pigs this season.  Personally, I would have gone with Greg Golson from AA Reading.  He is batting .343 in 8 games, but more importantly, he has 7 stolen bases.  Right now, there is no speed in our lineup, and he would add that.  Snelling has only 2 steals in 89 career big league games.  Also, he is not a true centerfielder.  We do not have 1 actual centerfielder on the roster now.

The game today is in the third inning right now and has just been tied 1-1 by the Cubs.  Pat Burrell bobbled the ball and couldn’t make the throw home to the plate so Henry Blanco scored with ease.  The Phillies secured the series win with the victory last night, and Jamie Moyer looks to get the sweep today against Jason Marquis.  Already the Phils have loaded the bases in each inning and have only come away with 1 run.

People in Boston are saying that the Phillies are interested in aquiring Kyle Snyder.  Snyder was designated for assignment by the Reds, but they are still looking to get something in return for him.  With the injury to Dontrelle Willis, and the lack of bullpen pitching they have, I’m sure that the Tigers will put in a good bid to get Snyder.  He appeared in 46 games for the Red Sox last year and had a 3.81 ERA.  I have not heard who, or what the Phillies are willing to offer.

Brett Myers got his first win of the season last night as the Phillies beat the Cubs, 5-3.  Myers looked like he was in for another rough start after giving up back to back solo homeruns to Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez in the first inning.  He was able to rally and only gave up 1 more run on yet another solo homerun, this time to Alfonso Soriano, in the 6th inning.  Myers did exactly what he needed to for the night.  He went 8 strong innings before handing the game over to Brad Lidge who pitced a scoreless 9th for the save.  Myers made it so that the bullpen could rest after having to pitch so much in that 12 inning game against the Mets.

It wasn’t the lefties as I predicted that got to Zambrano, but right handed Pat “the Bat” Burrell.  Burrell went 2-4 with a homerun, a double, and 3 RBI.  He has been the best Philly at the plate thus far this season, raising his batting average up to .400.  Greg Dobbs, who was playing 3rd for Pedro Feliz for the left handed bat, went 2-3 with a double and RBI of his own.  He produced just like the 2nd batter in the lineup should.

Cole Hamels take on Ted Lilly tonight at 7:05 pm.  I do not like the fact that the three right-handed big time hitters for the Cubs, Soriano, Lee, and Ramirez, all went deep last night.  I said over on beerleaguer just before Lee hit his homerun that I have a lingering feeling that he will have a big series against us.  Hopefully Hamels can use his changeup to keep them off balance tonight.  A win tonight would even us back at .500, and also give us our first series win of the season.

The Phillies were an astonishing 0-12 with runners in scoring position!  One hit in any of those at-bats and the game would have been completely different.  Eric Bruntlett cost us the game.  Once again his defense was shaky, although he did not commit any errors (thanks to Chase Utley), and he alone left 7 men on base by going 0-6!  More importantly, in the 11th inning, Jayson Werth got on base to start the inning off with an infield single.  Charlie Manuel then pinch hit Cole Hamels in the pitcher spot to sacrifice bunt Werth to 2nd.  Hamels laid down a perfect bunt and was safe at first due to bad communication from Wright and Schneider (3rd base and catcher for the Mets).  Bruntlett is the next batter, and he is batting in the 2 spot in the lineup.  The 2 spot is supposed to be the best bunter on the team.  He’s supposed to be able to move runners on the bases the best of anybody on the team.  Why Manuel had Bruntlett in that spot still baffles me.  Bruntlett fouled 3 straight bunt attempts for a strikeout; failing to move the runners over.  Next batter, Chase Utley grounded into an inning ending double play.  Even if Jimmy Rollins is out for the game tonight, Bruntlett better not be anywhere near the top of the order!

The Phillies ended up losing 4-3 to the Mets after 12 innings.  Jose Reyes started the bottom of the inning with a double off of Tom Gordon.  The next batter up, Angel Pagan, drove him in with a single to centerfield.  Jayson Werth got the ball and fired home for the closest play at the plate I’ve seen in a long time.  I watched many replays of it, and I think that Reyes was able to get his hand down on the plate just before Coste tagged him.  Coste did a great job of blocking the plate but Reyes was able to touch the plate with his hand.  At any rate, I could not see him being out because the play was so close, and a tie always goes to the runner.

Adam Eaton remains without a defeat in his career against the Mets.  Eaton gave up three runs over 6 innings.  Eaton struck out 5, walked 2, and only gave up 5 hits.  He was on the horn for the loss until the Phillies tied the game up in the 7th inning with a solo homerun from Ryan Howard, and a run scored by So Taguchi as a pinch runner for Pat Burrell.  Taguchi went from 1st to 3rd on a single by Geoff Jenkins, and was driven in on a groundball out by Pedro Feliz, who also hit a solo homerun in the 6th.

The bullpen pitched 5 scoreless innings after Eaton left the game, although they made my blood pressure raise from time to time.  They got into some big jams but were able to get out of them, until that run in the 12th.  JC Romero got out of the biggest jam after having Jose Reyes and David Wright perform a successful double steal.  He was able to strike out the next batter and get out of the inning without anything big happening.

It was a good, hard-fought game that hopefully foreshadows what the season series will be like.  I’m perfectly fine with having every game against the Mets be a battle.  I just hope that we come out on the winning end more than the losing.

Tonight Brett Myers (0-1, 6.30) takes on Carlos Zambrano (1-0, 1.32, 12 Ks) and the Chicago Cubs at home at 7:05 pm.  Zambrano is one of the most dominant right-handers out there, but hopefully our lineup full of lefties can give him some problems.

Here are the final offensive totals that I came up with on my scorecard from last nights game:

Shane Victorino CF:

1-3 (1 K, 1 BB, CS)

–Jayson Werth PH(for Eaton)/CF:

1-2 (1 BB)

Eric Bruntlett SS:

0-6 (2 Ks)

Chase Utley 2B:

1-5 (K, BB)

Ryan Howard 1B:

1-5 (HR, K, BB)

Pat Burrell LF:

0-1 (3 BB)

–So Taguchi PR/LF:

0-2 (1 Run, for Burrell)

Geoff Jenkins RF:

2-5 (2B, BB, reached on error)

Pedro Feliz 3B:

1-6 (HR, 2 RBI, 1 K)

Chris Coste C:

1-4 (2B, 1 K, 1 BB)

Adam Eaton P:

0-1 (Sac Bunt)

–Jimmy Rollins PH:

0-1 (K)

–Cole Hamels PH:

1-1

The Phillies have signed left-handed relief pitcher Steve Kline to a minor league contract.  He is headed to AAA Lehigh as a test to see if he can make the team.  It will take a lot of weight off of JC Romero if he pitches well considering it will put another lefty in the pen besides just him.

The Phillies lost to the Mets last night 8-2 dropping their record to 4-5 on the season. Kyle Kendrick took the loss even though he only gave up 1 earned run. The problem was that he gave up 6 unearned runs as the Phillies committed 4 errors in the game. Kendrick was pulled after recording only 1 out in the 3rd inning and giving up 6 walks. The Mets ended up scoring 6 runs in the inning. Carlos Ruiz had an error on a throw to 3rd base off of a bunt, and Jimmy Rollins’ sub, Eric Bruntlett, had 2 fielding errors in the inning. The game was a high pressure situation for Bruntlett to be in, and he was given a chance to really prove himself to Phillies fans and the rest of the club. Well his first impression was not a good one.

Pat Burrell went 2-4 and scored a run and that was just about the only positive the Phillies had going. The bullpen also only allowed 1 run after the third inning. The Phillies actually outhit the Mets in the game because errors do not count as hits for the offense.

Tonight’s game is at 7:10. Adam Eaton will take on John Maine who lost his first start of the season only going 4 innings and giving up 4 runs. Gametime temperature should be in the upper 50’s and there is a 10% chance of rain.

Look for Rollins to be back in the lineup if it is true that his ankle is okay and yesterday was simply a precaution. He played in all 162 games last year and I’m sure he is itching to get back on the field after what happened yesterday.

The Phillies beat the New York Mets 5-2 today.  Jamie Moyer was able to get the win by pitching 6 innings, giving up both of the runs in the game.  The bullpen had another good session getting scoreless innings from Chad Durbin, JC Romero, and Tom Gordon.  Gordon got the save by getting the Mets to go 1-2-3 in the 9th.

The Phillies waited until the 7th inning to start scoring and got three runs in the top of the inning.  The big play was a throwing error by Carlos Delgado on what should have been a double play hit by Ryan Howard.  Delgado fielded the ball then hit Utley with his throw to second base sending the ball into centerfield.  Both Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino score on the play.

Rollins scored and drove in a run in the 8th inning, but had to leave the game with a sprained left ankle after he crossed the plate.  The injury occured on a pickoff attempt at second base.  While Rollins was trying to get back to the base, his toe caught in the dirt causing him to roll over his ankle.  He was able to get up and continue enough to score the run but was very slow and was replaced in the field with Eric Bruntlett in the bottom half of the inning.  There is no word yet to the severity of the injury.

Chase Utley tied an MLB record today by getting hit by 3 pitches.  The Mets did not try to hit him, they were simply trying to pitch him inside.  Utley, who led the league in HBP last season and also missed time from getting hit by a pitch, could have easily gotten out of the way of all three pitches, but chose to take the base instead.  The last time he got hit, I saw him actually take a step in towards home plate with his left foot as the pitch was coming.  I’m all for earning a way on base as long as he doesn’t get hurt again by doing it.

Shane Victorino earned his worth today in my mind by going 2-4, but more importantly by chasing down several flyballs in centerfield.  His speed is unmatched in center, and he single-hadedly saved the Phillies 2 runs today with his defense.  He and rightfielder Jayson Werth collided on one play in deep right-centerfield.  Vic called the ball late, and Werth did not have time to get out of the way.  He was able to soften the blow by basically tackling Victorino.  The trainers came out to check on the players, but both were fine and remained in the game.

Moyer pitched well today but was not dominant by any means.  He showed his guile by getting out of a few jams.  He gave up a huge solo homerun to Delgado in the second, and loaded the bases twice in the 4th, but only gave up 2 runs total. 

Gordon got the save because regular closer Brad Lidge was unavailable after pitching in the last two ballgames.  The Phillies don’t want to overuse him when he is just coming back off of the DL.  They said that as of right now, he will not go three days in a row.

Once again I was keeping score during the game, and these are the batting totals I came up with for the Phils:

Jimm Rollins SS:

2-5 (2 Runs, 1 RBI)

Shane Victorino CF:

2-4 (1 Run, 1 BB)

Chase Utley 2B:

1-2 (2B, 1 Run, 1 RBI, 3 HBPs)

Ryan Howard 1B:

0-4 (1 RBI, 1 K, 1 BB)

Pat Burrell LF:

0-3 (1 K, 1 BB)

-So Taguchi PH/LF:

 0-2 (Sac Bunt)

Jayson Werth RF:

2-4 (1 RBI, 1 BB)

Pedro Feliz 3B:

0-4 (1 BB)

Carlos Ruiz C:

1-4 (1 Run, 1 BB)

Jamie Moyer P:

0-1 (Sac Bunt)

-Geoff Jenkins PH:

 0-1