The Phils continued their series with the Red Sox tonight on a rain soaked evening. Antonio Bastardo got the start and finally got roughed up for the 1st time allowing 5 runs on 3 hits in just 1 inning of work. Then the rain wiped out any chance for him to pitch longer. Although Chad Durbin pitched 3 brilliant innings following the rain, the Phils just didn't have enough bullets to hang with the Red Sox in this one. They did make it close for a while though. Thanks to two errors, a 2 run homer by Jason Bay and a single by Julio Lugo the Red Sox took a 5-0 lead in the top of the 1st. In the bottom of the 3rd Chase Utley doubled in a run to cut it to 5-1. In the bottom of the 4th Raul Ibanez slammed a solo homer and Pedro Feliz lined a 2 run homer to cut it to 5-4. The Phils would never get closer though as in the 5th a double by Jason Varitek, a single by Lugo, and a single by Dustin Pedroia produced 3 runs and an 8-4 lead. Jayson Werth singled in a run in the bottom of the 5th to cut it to 8-5 but it was of no use. The Red Sox then all but put it away in the 7th, scoring 2 more runs on a single by Jacoby Ellsbury and a sac fly by Bay for a 10-5 lead. From there homers by Werth in the bottom of 7th and Ellsbury in the 9th only served to make the final score 11-6 Red Sox. So the Phils struggles continue at home as they drop to 12-16 overall. Hopefully that will turn around soon. Bastardo got a little roughed up here, but so does everyone against the Red Sox and he only went one inning, so we'll never know how things would have gone if he had been able to stay in the game longer. Thus, I think it would be too early to give up on him and call someone else up in his place. Nevertheless I am sure the Phils will consider doing so and who could blame them. So anyway the Phils drop to 35-25 overall and back to 3 games up in the NL East.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
After essentially stealing 2 of 3 games from the Mets, the Phils returned to the Bank at last tonight to begin a series with the Boston Red Sox, currently the AL's best team record wise. Joe Blanton got the start and pitched well allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits in 7 very good innings. Unfortunately the Phils scored just 1 run on 2 hits off Jon Lester through those 7 innings and thus would again need some late game heroics to pull out the win. The Phils actually had the early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd as Raul Ibanez singled and scored on a fielder's choice. In the top of the 4th Kevin Youkillis struck back with a solo homer to knot it up at 1. In the top of the 5th J.D Drew got booed as always, and apparently it didn't affect him as he slammed a solo homer for a 2-1 lead. From there Chan Ho Park and J.C Romero combined to get the Phillies to the 9th with score still 2-1. The Phils then caught a break as regular Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon was not available to pitch tonight, leaving Ramon Ramirez to close the game. With one out and nobody on Ramirez fired a fast ball right down the middle to Ryan Howard who crushed it for a game tying solo homer. From there the Phils bullpen rolled through 2 more scoreless innings to run their streak to 14 in a row. Then after Greg Dobbs narrowly missed a walkoff homer in the bottom of the 12th, the bullpen finally ran out of magic in the top of 13th. There Kyle Kendrick, forced into duty in place of the now injured Scott Eyre(apparently he strained his calf muscle last night while throwing exactly 2 pitches), allowed 3 runs on a single by Jacoby Ellsbury, a sac fly by Nick Green, and a single by Mike Lowell. The Phils had no answer in the bottom of the inning and so the Sox got the win 5-2. It's a tough loss for the Phils but they gave it there all once again and you can't fault them for that. What has happened to Kyle Kendrick? He was so good when the Phils first brought him up late in 2007, and for most of last season as a member of the rotation. How has he gone from that to being this bad? I hope for his sake he figures out where it all went wrong before too long. In the meantime you have to hope Scott Eyre get's well quickly because the Phils won't win much with Kendrick opening the floodgates every other night. Just when it seemed he was back on track Jimmy Rollins went 0 for 6 tonight. Hopefully that's just because Jon Lester was that good tonight. Anyway so the Phils drop to 35-24 overall but thanks to the Met's losing via a walkoff error if you will, the Phils remain 4 games up in the NL East.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Mets tonight. Jamie Moyer got the start and like Hamels last night he too was hit around a bit, but he with stood the beating and allowed just 3 runs over 6 solid innings. Meanwhile the Phils again found themselves behind early despite Moyer's solid outing, and again they rallied back to force extra innings. In the bottom of the 1st Luis Castillo doubled and scored on a fielder's choice for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 3rd Jimmy Rollins sac flyed in a run to tie it at 1. In the bottom of the inning Carlos Beltran answered with an RBI double for a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the 5th Luis Castillo doubled and scored on a sac fly for a 3-1 lead. In the top of the 6th Chase Utley answered with a run scoring double to cut it to 3-2. In the top of the 7th Pedro Feliz singled, moved to 3rd on a double by Chris Coste, and scored on a fielder's choice to tie it at 3. From there the Phils bullpen strung together another 3 straight consecutive scoreless innings, until with 2 out and 2 on in top of the 10th Raul Ibanez crushed his 21st homer of the season for a stunning 6-3 Phils lead. Ryan Madson then rolled through a 4th consecutive scoreless inning and 10th overall for the Phils bullpen, to close out the win. So the Phils move to 35-23 overall and 4 games up in the NL East. It is hard to imagine a more exciting series between these two rivals, and it is only June. It should be one heck of a pennant race. You have to be impressed with the resiliency of the Phillies though. Even last year's team didn't win as many games in the late innings as this team has. I guess that just goes to show you what winning a world series can do for you.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Mets tonight, looking to rebound from a loss in the series opener. Cole Hamels got the start and was tagged for 11 hits, but he with stood the onslaught to allow just 4 runs and keep the Phils in it long enough to pull a late rally. In the bottom of the 3rd Mike Pelfrey, the pitcher, doubled and scored on a fielder's choice for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 4th Chase Utley slugged a solo homer to tie it at 1. In the bottom of the 4th 3 consecutive singles, by Pelfrey, Luis Castillo, and Alex Cora produced 3 runs for a 4-1 lead. In the top of the 7th the Phils came back with 3 straight singles, by Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and Jayson Werth to load the bases. Then Pedro Feliz singled in one run, an error by David Wright allowed a 2nd run to score, and finally Werth scored on a fielder's choice to tie it up at 4. From there the Phils bullpen strung together 5 straight scoreless innings, thanks to the spectacular defensive play of Werth, whose diving catching preserved the 4-4 tie in the 10th inning. Finally in the top of the 11th Chase Utley slammed his 2nd homer of the night for a 5-4 lead. Ryan Madson(Lidge is now on the DL again as he's been playing through an injury all season) then retired the Mets in order in the bottom of the inning, for the 6th straight scoreless inning out of the bullpen and the 5-4 win. This was without a doubt one of the best games of the season thus far. It just doesn't get much more dramatic than a diving catch followed by an 11th inning homer. These two teams really do bring the best out of each other and it is always fun to watch. It would have been nice if Hamels could have just gone the distance again, but obviously you just can't expect than from him every night, well at least not in the regular season anyway. So the Phils move to 34-23 overall and back to 3 games up in the NL East.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled to New York tonight to begin a key series with the Mets. J.A Happ got the start and provided less than his best effort, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits. Against anyone other than Johan Santana that might have been enough to help the Phils win, but tonight it wasn't and this despite the fact that the Phils homered off Santana 4 times. On a night when the two teams combined for 7 homers, David Wright got it all started with a solo shot in the bottom of the 2nd for a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd Carlos Beltran belted a 2 run homer for a 3-0 lead. In the top of the 4th Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez combined for back to back solo homers to cut the lead to 3-2. In the top of the 6th Jimmy Rollins slapped a 2 run homer to put the Phils ahead 4-3. In the bottom of the 6th Santana himself doubled in one run and Alex Cora singled in another for a 5-4 lead. In the bottom of the 7th Ryan Church lined a solo homer for a 6-4 lead. In the top of the 8th Chase Utley slugged the last homer of the night to cut it to 6-5. Finally in the top of the 9th, JRoll leadoff with a single, but Matt Stairs followed by grounding into a fielder's choice leaving him safe at first and JRoll out at 2nd. Both Pedro Feliz, and Greg Dobbs then failed to get Stairs home to tie it up as Frankie "K-Rod" Rodriguez notched his 16th save of the season. So again the Phils had the lead late and again they could not hold it. This time, the culprit was probably just jet lag and frankly a rare good hitting night by the shorthanded Mets. It was uplifting though to see JRoll rack up 3 hits, a run scored, 2 RBIs, and 6 total bases. Hopefully this means he is coming out of the slump finally, but he'll have keep consistently playing like this. In the end the pitching just wasn't quite good enough for the Phils tonight, but with Cole Hamels on the mound, it should be tomorrow night. So the Phils drop to 33-23 overall and back to just 2 games up on the Mets in the NL East.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers are expected to announce tomorrow that they have acquired goalie Ray Emery. Emery was the top goalie for the Ottawa Senators until last season and one of the top goalies in the NHL. Personality issues off the ice got in the way for Emery though and he ended up spending last season playing in Russia. This signing is a gamble then for the Flyers but it could payoff big time. If Emery can control himself and display the same talent he did before flaming out a couple years ago he's steal for the Flyers. This is because he is a much cheaper signing than either Marty Biron and Antero Niittymaki who probably won't be back with the Flyers next season. Signing Emery and letting those two go, thus gives the Flyers the cap room to go after their biggest need which is a top defenseman or two. If they can add a few top defenseman and Emery performs up to his peak, the Flyers could be cup contenders next season, if not though it could get very messy in a hurry. Hopefully the latter will occur.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers sent Reggie Evans to the Toronto Raptors today for forward Jason Kapono, the NBA's top three point shooter. Three point shooting is the one lacking ingredient the Sixer's needed to succeed under new coach Eddie Jordan. Kapono fills that need, but historically he's been a liability on the defensive end, which explains why he played so few minutes for the Raptors last season, despite shooting over 45% from beyond the arc. For the Sixers he instantly upgrades their shooting, but they'll to have figure out a way to consistently play him, without too often sacrificing their defensive intensity. As for Evans, he probably wouldn't have fit into the Sixer's rotation next season anyway,considering Jason Smith and Elton Brand will both be back healthy, and Maurice Speights figures to get more minutes in his 2nd full season. Still, Evans' energy and hard work on the defensive end will be missed.
Monday, June 08, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
There was no game tonight as the Phils head to New York to start a series with Mets. With the Mets injury depleted, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and J.J Putz are all on the DL, the Phils should be able to and need to use this series to bury NY and build a nice size lead in the NL East.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finished their series with the Dodgers tonight, as they looked to earn a series split. Antonio Bastardo got his 2nd career start and pitched well again allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits in 5 strong innings of work. Meanwhile the Phils blasted 3 homers to carry Bastardo to his 2nd win in as many starts. In the top of the 2nd Pedro Feliz sac flyed in a run for a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the 4th Matt Kemp singled in a run to knot it up at 1. In the top of the 5th Carlos Ruiz and "the Flyin Hawaiian"each colleted an RBI single for a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the 6th Casey Blake doubled and scored on a fielder's choice to cut it to 3-2. In the top of the 7th Ruiz and Victorino struck again, as Ruiz slugged a 2 run homer and Victorino lined out a solo shot for a 6-2 lead. In the top of the 8th Ryan Howard further added the Dodger misery, crushing a solo homer for a 7-2 lead. From there Chan Ho Park retired the side in the 8th and Ryan Madson did likewise in the 9th to close out the 7-2 win. So the Phils got their split and still have not lost a series on the road thus far this season. That's pretty impressive when you consider how much Jimmy Rollins has struggled so far this season, but tonight however Rollins finally seemed to find himself, going 2 for 4, with a run scored. That's good news for the Phils already potent lineup which has much more success when JRoll gets on base and scores then we he doesn't. Anyway so the Phils move to 33-22 overall and remain 3 games up in the NL East.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Dodgers this afternoon looking rebound from a heartbreaking loss last night. Joe Blanton got the start and provided another solid outing from a Phils starter, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits in 6 strong innings. However, the Phils again could not get much going offensivvely, and actually failed to score a run while Blanton was still in the game. So heading into the top of the 7th, the Dodgers were still leading 1-0, courtesy of a solo shot by Andre Ethier in the bottom of the 1st. The Phils finally got on the board in the 7th though as Matt Stairs slapped a 2 out 2 run double to rally the Phils ahead 2-1. From there it once again came down to Brad Lidge in the 9th. This time he got one out, and then two strikes on Rafeal Furcal, before Furcal suprised everyone by golfing out a solo homer to knot it up at 2 and send the game into extra innings. While, the Phils never had any baserunners in the extra frames the Dodgers had an opportunity with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 out, but Chad Durbin struck out Matt Kemp to keep the game alive. After retiring the next 5 batters, Durbin ran out of luck with 2 out in the top of the 12th as Andre Ethier slammed a game winning solo homer for the 3-2 Dodger win. So once again it was a heartbreaking day for the Phils, and they will need to rebound tomorrow to avoid losing their first series on the road this season. I don't know what it is about the Dodgers but the Phils just can't hit off them this season. Also I don't know what is wrong with Brad Lidge but he is running out of time to figure it out, with this his 7th blown save today. It may soon be time to move Ryan Madson into the closer's role, now that J.C Romero is available as the setup guy. Anyway so the Phils drop to 32-22 overall but remain 3 games up in the NL East as the Mets lost today as well.
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