Charlie Manual strikes again. We could have passed the Braves last night but Manual left Bret Myers in there an inning to long. Even worse, the Marlins finally caught up to us. And now the Phillies are down 7-4 in the sixth in the makeup game. What’s even worse is the team’s caught in limbo. They’re close enough to still make a run, but the chances of them making the playoffs are pretty low. So they should sell heading into the deadline, but if they do, then they’ll then probably have no chance.
The Phillies got off to a good start on Friday. They were down 3-2 and tied it up in the seventh and took a three run lead in the eighth. Tom Gordon gave up a two run shot that made things interesting, but the Phillies hung on. Jimmy Rollins was four for five with a homerun and David Bell was a perfect four for four with two runs. Cory Lidle threw eight solid innings and he improved to 7-7.
Saturday’s game was rained out and then Sunday disaster struck. Bret Myers took a 1-1 lead into the ninth when he gave up two runs, as did Tom Gordon, who’s really been struggling. The Phillies scored their one run on Mike Lieberthal’s ground out in the second inning.
Cole Hamels struck out twelve in 5 1/3 innings, but he was tagged for seven runs today, including five in the sixth. The Phillies battled back with three in the bottom of the sixth, but it’s still 7-4 in the seventh. And Atlanta is threatening in the seventh.
Next up for the Phillies will be a three game series against the Diamondbacks. I’d say it’s time to turn things around, but it’s getting late.
