Liberty Ball

This has been an ugly stretch.  The only consolation is that the Mets have struggled as well, not that we have much of a chance of catching them.

Things started out on a familiar note, and that was a rain out.  That meant two yesterday and the Phillies dropped both of them and neither were pretty.  I’d like to just ignore them if you don’t mind.

Sigh.

Today was the win though. Ryan Madson was one out short of a complete game shutout but Gordon came in and got the save.  Dave Delucci hit his fifth homerun of the season and drove in two.

Next up are the Blue Jays.  Alex Rios is out so that’ll help but this is a team that can score.  And just one quick comment on Bret Myers.  His actions were unfortunate on several levels and I’ll be interested to see how it all plays out.  Right now, he’s been dropped down to A ball, but that was just to free up a roster spot for another pitcher.

The situation in the NL East is getting ugly.  The Phillies have dropped five straight, yet they’re still in second place.  Problem is, the Mets now have a massive twelve game lead and we’re not even to the halfway point yet.  The wild card situation is even worse.  The Phillies still have seven teams in front of them and they’re 5 1/2 games back of first place.

On Friday, Ryan Madson was knocked around.  He didn’t even last two innings and he gave up six runs.  The pen didn’t fare much better because they gave up four runs the rest of the way.  Chase Utley was the offense and his two run shot put the Phillies on the board. Final score was 10-2.

Saturday’s game was closer yet more heart wrenching.  The Phillies tied it up with a run in the seventh and the game then went into extra frames.  David Ortiz then hit a two run walk off homerun off of Tom Gordon in the tenth to put the game away.  Bobby Abreau drove in two runs and Jimmy Rollins had three hits.

The rain came on Sunday and pushed the finale to today.  The Red Sox jumped out to a 6-0 lead and the Phillies answered with six runs to once again send the game into extra frames.  Neither team scored until the twelth when Jimmy Rollins doubled home Scott Victorino.  Unfortunately that lead wouldn’t hold.  Clay Condrey gave up two runs, including a walk off RBI single by Big Papi to end the game.  Jimmy Rollins had three hits and four RBIs in the 8-7 loss.

Next up are the Orioles, who are near the bottom in the AL East.  Hopefully the Phillies can make up some ground this week.

If it’s not one New York team, it’s the other.  Things got off to a good start in this series, but it went downhill since Tuesday.  The net result is, we’re now two games below .500 and while we can still lay claim to second place in the NL East, we’re still 9 1/2 games back.  We’re only four games back for the wild card with one problem.  Seven teams are in front of us.

Bret Myers bounced back on Monday and he improved to 5-3 on the season.  He struck out eleven, but he also walked six in 6 2/3 innings.  Tom Gordon pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save of the season.  Pat Burrell drove in two runs and Shane Victorino had two hits and two runs.

On Tuesday, it was a one man show and the Yankees ruined Ryan Howards moment in the spotlight.  Howard finished with two homeruns, a triple and seven RBIs in the 9-7 loss.   Pat Burrell had two hits and three runs in the loss.  Cory Lidle had a mediocre start, but it was Arthur Rhodes who got shelled and who took the loss.  He gave up three hits and a walk and was credited with four runs without getting a single guy out.

Yesterday, we ran into a recovering Jaret Wright and man did he shut us down.  He and four relievers combined to throw a three hit shutout.  Jimmy Rollins had two of the three hits and he stole a base.  Cole Hamels threw a solid game but he took the loss and is now 1-3.

It doesn’t get any easier, because we travel to Fenway Park for a three game series.

This has been a tough stretch.  I’m not sure what’s worse, losing three straight to a tough team like the Mets or losing two of three to a bad team like the Phillies.  We’ve also slipped below .500 and even with the win today, we’re a win away from an even record.

On Friday, the Devil Rays jumped all over Cole Hamels.  He dropped to 1-2 and he gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and one walk in 3 2/3 innings.  Jimmy Rollins drove in two and Ryan Howard had two hits and an RBI in the 10-4 loss.

Yesterday was more of the same, although this game was close for a while.  The Devil Rays were up 3-2 before they started scoring runs in the sixth inning and the game ended up being 7-2.  Scott Kazmir held the Phillies in check and the two runs were scored on back to back homeruns by Abraham Nunez and Sal Fasano.  Scott Mathieson made his first career start and he gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings.

Today, the Phillies finally got a win.  Ryan Howard’s three run homerun in the fifth inning opened this game up and Ryan Madson pitched well enough to improve to 7-4 on the season.  Howard ended up with four RBIs and Tom Gordon threw 1 2/3 to earn his 19th save of the season.  Chase Utley scored three times and stole his seventh base of the season.

It doesn’t get easier, because the Yankees come to town although they haven’t looked all that great the last week and a half.  Maybe we can catch them while they’re down.

I was afraid of this.  The first place Mets come to town and now they leave with what looks like an insurmountable lead in the NL East.  It looks like the Wild Card is going to be our best bet, so we’ll have to keep an eye on that from here on out.

Tuesday’s game was a blow out disguised as a close game.  The Phillies didn’t make it close until they scored three runs in the seventh inning.  Ryan Madson was shelled and he took the loss.  Jimmy Rollins hit two homeruns and Aaron Rowand, Bobby Abreau and Dave Delluci all went yard as well.  All seven Phillies runs came on homeruns.

Yesterday’s loss was probably toughest because it was Bret Myers, who’s been our best start all season.  He was touched up early and didn’t even make it to the rain delay.  Rollins hit his third homerun in two days and ninth overall while Abreau and Rowand each had two hits.

Today’s game was the closest even though it didn’t start out that way.  Cory Lidle was roughed up for four runs in the first inning, but it was a single run in the fifth that ended up being the difference in the 5-4 loss.  Pat Burrell homered twice and drove in three runs.

Tampa Bay is on deck, and they just lost three of four to the Tigers so hopefully we’ll catch them while they’re down (which I guess they’re doing to us as well).  And speaking of that wildcard, the good news is, we’re only four games back. The bad news is, there’s seven teams ahead of us, so it’s time to get moving.

I hate to say it, but our best chance this year is going to be the wild card.  The Mets are just too stacked and over the long haul of a 162 game season, they’re going to come out more times then not.  Anything can happen in the playoffs though, so getting that wild card spot is just as big as winning the division.

This series had it all, in a bad way.  Thursday was somewhat of a pitchers dual.  Eude Brito took his second loss in a row and the Phillies could only manage two runs on five hits.  Friday was a close but high scoring extra inning game.  The Phillies came back with five runs in the seventh to take a one run lead, then gave that right back in the bottom half of the inning.  Neither team scored from there until Robert Fick drove in the winning run with a single.

Saturday was the win, although we needed a big five run eighth to put the game away.  Geoff Geary improved to a perfect 4-0 and Cory Lidle had the best start of the series.  Pat Burrell hit a two run shot that put the Phillies ahead and Aaron Rowand had three hits.

Yesterday was a beat down.  Cole Hamels was knocked around and the Phillies were shutout at the plate.  Ryan Howard had two of the Phillies three hits and Hamels gave up four runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in five innings.

We get a day off today, and then we host the first place Mets.  If we’re going to have any chance in the NL East, two of three is paramount.  We’re 6 1/2 back as it is and we can’t slip any further.

I was a little pessimistic about this series.  It’s never easy playing out in the desert, the Diamondbacks are a first place team and the Phillies had been playing a little flat as of late.  Fortunately they carried their win against the Dodgers on Sunday and turned it into a four game winning streak.  They did it with some mighty fine pitching.

On Monday, Cory Lidle and Brandon Webb battled to a draw and it was the bullpen that decided this one.  The Phillies battled back from being down 3-0 and Mike Lieberthal’s RBI double gave the Phillies the lead in the eighth.  Ryan Howard hit his 20th homerun of the season and Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley both had two hits in the 4-3 win.

Yesterday, Cole Hamels looked like the superstar that he’d been billed as and he picked up his first career win.  He gave up one run on three hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings.  Pat Burrell hit his fourteenth homerun of the season and Scott Victorino and Bobby Abreau both drove in two runs.

Sal Fasano had a career day today in the Phillies 7-3 win.  He went four for four with a homerun.  Ryan Howard hit homerun number 21 and Ryan Madson improved to 6-3 with 7 2/3 solid innings.  He gave up three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. 

The Phillies head to the nation’s capital for four games beginning tomorrow.  With the win, the Mets are now down by only three games.  We won’t know what happens with the Mets until later tonight.

I guess it could have been worse considering we needed to win the final game to make it a 2-2 split.    The good news is, the Braves have hit the skids and we now have second place to ourselves again.  Problem is, the Mets have now extended their NL East lead to 4 1/2 games.

On Thursday, Gavin Floyd was hit hard and early.  By the end of the fourth inning, Floyd was on the bench and the Dodgers had a 7-0 lead.  The Phillies threw together two runs in the top of the ninth to make it 7-2, but they never really threatened.  Bobby Abreau and David Bell both had two hits.

The Phillies outhit the Dodgers on Friday.  Chase Utley went four for four with a solo homerun and three runs and Ryan Howard hit his 19th dinger of the season and he scored twice.  Ryan Madson didn’t get a decision and he was knocked around.  He gave up five runs in five innings.  Geoff Geary picked up the win and Tom Gordon notched save number 16.

Saturday’s game was pretty close to Thursday’s, only the Dodgers scored one more run (8-2).  Eude Brito was hit hard in an emergency start after Gavin Floyd was sent down to the minors and the Phillies were held to only two hits.  In fact, the Dodgers scored all they needed, and outhit the Phillies, with just their first inning numbers.

Today, Chase Utley single home a run in the eighth that broke a 3-3 tie.  The Phillies scored two more that inning, and while the Dodger threatened in the ninth, we took home a 6-4 win.  Utley also homered for the eleventh time this season earlier in the game and Jimmy Rollins scored twice.  Bret Myers failed to get a decision after yet another solid start.  Geary did get the win and he’s now 3-0.  Gordon got into trouble in the ninth but picked up his 17th save of the season. 

The Diamondbacks are on deck for three as the Phillies continue their west coast road trip.   The Diamondbacks stand atop the NL West and at this point, all we can do is keep on winning to keep up with the Mets.  Good news though as Randy wolf has started his rehab assignment.  Boy could we use him in the rotation.