PHILLIES NEWS

Remember how I said the Astros have been the Phils arch nemesis for last few years, well today they showed why. Randy Wolf tossed 6 solid innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits, Carlos Ruiz homered in the 5th inning, and Jeff Conine singled in a run in the 6th inning for a 2-2 tie, but that was as good as it would get for the Phils. The game stayed tied at 2 into the top of the 9th inning and it looked like the Phils were headed toward another extra inning thriller, but it was not to be. As they have in the last couple weeks the Phils bullpen collapsed late, this time in the form of Ryan Madson. Madson, got himself in trouble right off the bat in the top of the 9th inning by loading the bases with only 1 out. From there, he struck out Craig Biggio and actually got ahead of Lance Berkman 0 balls and 2 strikes. Now, just 1 strike away from ending the inning, there was hope that Madson could get himself out of the jam, but a couple pitches later Berkman managed to inside out a curveball just inside the foul line for a bases clearing double. At this point, down 5-2 it was pretty much over for the Phils, and although they rallied to score a run in the bottom of the inning, they still fell short 5-3. Needless to say it was a crushing loss for the Phils, but one they can still recover from. Anyway, at the moment the Phils trail the Padres by 2.5 games, but they can get back to within 2.0 games if the Padres lose later tonight. The Padres won last night, but currently they are locked in a scoreless tie with the Rockies through 5 innings(I will have to update you on the situation tomorrow). Well, happy trails everyone.