Just when you thought it couldn't get much worse for the Phils than last night it did today. While he managed to go longer than Jamie Moyer, lasting 4 innings, Joe Blanton was ultimately no better allowing 9 runs on 13 hits. At least he pitched a scoreless 1st inning. So the Phils at least had a chance early on. In fact they had the lead 2-0 heading into the bottom of the 2nd. Then Blanton allowed 5 in that inning, 3 in the 3rd and 1 in the 4th before the Phils were forced to remove him from the game with a 9- 2 deficit. Faced with an insurmountable deficit for the 2nd straight game the Phils didn't do much the rest of the way. The bullpen, with Chad Durbin J.C Romero, and Jose Contreras was again solid, allowing just 1 run the rest of the way. It didn't matter though as the Phils failed to score the rest of the way, despite racking up 5 of their 7 hits in the remaining innings.
Chase Utley had one of the Phils 7 hits which is a sign tht perhaps he is coming out of his slump. On other hand after a 3 hit night yesterday, Jayson Werth hitless again today with a strikeout. Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino were also hitless so the obviously the team's slump isn't over yet. While the Phil's best hitters were punchless Brian Schneider, playing in place of Carlos Ruiz, collected 3 hits and knocked in both of the Phils runs which makes him pretty much the only bright spot for the Phils tonight. To add insult to injury the big hitter for the Red Sox in this one was Daniel Nava, a rookie playing in his first MLB game. Shockingly he had a grand slam in his first at bat and a double in the next one. Without him the score would have been 5-2 most of the night and the Phils would at least have been in striking distance and who knows what would have happened then. Sometimes when it rains it pours.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
Jamie Moyer has had a great season thus far, even for a 47 year old. Tonight was not one of his prouder moments. In just an inning + of work he allowed tatooed by the Boston Red Sox for 9 runs on 9 hits. They had 5 runs in the 1st, 4 in the 2nd, another 3 in the 3rd off David Herndon and before you could say cheese it was 12-0 Boston. In other words the Phils really had no chance in this one thank's to Jamie's ineffectiveness. It's not hard to see why he was so ineffective either. Time and time again he didn't get the corners and was forced to leave pitches over plate. Boston simply made him pay for it. A lot of great pitchers can't win without the corners, and a guy like Jamie who relies on fooling batters rather overpowering them has no chance without the corners.
So in short I guess you could say it just wasn't the Phils night. To there credit though they did keep Boston off the board the rest of the night. Herndon, Antonio Bastardo, and Kyle Kendrick combined for 5 scoreless innings to finish the night. Besides that the other bright spots for the Phils were 10 hits overall and a 3 hit night for Jayson Werth. In fact he had a hand in both the Phils runs. He doubled with one out in the 4th, just in front of a fielder's choice that allowed Ryan Howard to score from 3rd. Later he led off the 7th with a single and scored on another fielder's choice. Other than that there wasn't much to cheer on the Phils for as they fell 12-2. It's only one game though. Here's hoping they take the next two and the series.
So in short I guess you could say it just wasn't the Phils night. To there credit though they did keep Boston off the board the rest of the night. Herndon, Antonio Bastardo, and Kyle Kendrick combined for 5 scoreless innings to finish the night. Besides that the other bright spots for the Phils were 10 hits overall and a 3 hit night for Jayson Werth. In fact he had a hand in both the Phils runs. He doubled with one out in the 4th, just in front of a fielder's choice that allowed Ryan Howard to score from 3rd. Later he led off the 7th with a single and scored on another fielder's choice. Other than that there wasn't much to cheer on the Phils for as they fell 12-2. It's only one game though. Here's hoping they take the next two and the series.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
Less than 2 weeks after a he threw perfect game against them Roy Halladay took the mound tonight looking to do more damage to the Marlins psyche. Once again he was brilliant allowing just 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 8. Unfortunately for the Phils Josh Johnson was just a touch better, tossing 8 shutout innings while striking out 5 and allowing just 3 hits. The Phils had runners in scoring against him just twice. Jasyon Werth struck out to end the 1st inning with runners on 2nd and 3rd, while Shane Victorino was stranded on 2nd after leadoff double in the 3rd. Other than that it was all Johnson.
Than Danys Baez served a leadoff homer to Dan Uggla in the 8th. So the Phils went into the 9th trailing 2-0. They almsot pulled it out. Placido Polanco slapped a one out double, giving Chase Utley a chance to tie it up with one swing. Unfortunately Utley grounded out and then Howard struck out to cap off the 2-0 loss. Just two nights after putting up 10 runs the Phils were scoreless again. I don't think you can blame their offensive struggles on this one though. You just have to tip your cap to Josh Johnson. He is one of the best pitchers in the NL right now and he was just too good tonight. Better luck tomorrow I guess.
Than Danys Baez served a leadoff homer to Dan Uggla in the 8th. So the Phils went into the 9th trailing 2-0. They almsot pulled it out. Placido Polanco slapped a one out double, giving Chase Utley a chance to tie it up with one swing. Unfortunately Utley grounded out and then Howard struck out to cap off the 2-0 loss. Just two nights after putting up 10 runs the Phils were scoreless again. I don't think you can blame their offensive struggles on this one though. You just have to tip your cap to Josh Johnson. He is one of the best pitchers in the NL right now and he was just too good tonight. Better luck tomorrow I guess.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
What a ride it's been for the Orange and Black this postseason. Unfortunately all postseason runs must come to an end sometime and so the Flyer's did tonight. Fittingly they went down fighting and were oh so close to forcing a game 7 but it just wasn't meant to be. Both teams deserve credit for a great series and it's a crime that it didn't at least go 7, especially since I believe the Flyers would have won if it had gone that far. The loss not withstanding it's clear the Orange and Black gave everything they had in this series and really appeared at times tonight as if they had nothing left to give. Therefore I can live with this result, it just makes it that much toucher to swallow, knowing they put it all out there and were so close, but I digress.
Early on this one things got off on the wrong foot for the Flyers as Chicago scored the opening goal on the power play. The Flyers came right back with a power play goal by Scott Hartnell in the final seconds of the period to knot it up at 1. Then halfway through the 2nd period Danny Briere and Ville Leino teamed up a for pretty goal to give the Orange and Black they're only goal of the night. Less than 2 minutes later the ex-Flyer Patrick Sharp tied it up on a goal Micheal Leighton probably should have stopped. Late in the peiod the Flyers suddenly appeared to run out of gas and Chicago took advantage with Andrew Ladd scoring for a 3-2. Thanks to Leighton Chicago was unable to extend the lead from there. Still, it appeared Chicago would hang on for the win anyway, until the Orange and Black dug down deep one last time as Ville Leino threw a puck at the net that deflected off Hartnell and in for the 3-3 tie.
After that the Flyers had a couple chances to win in regulation but couldn't quite put it away so the game went into overtime. There they had only the momentum early on and couple golden opportunities to win off Blackhawks turnovers but they couldn't cash in. A couple minutes after those opportunities Patrick Kane rumbled into the Flyer zone but it appeared Braydon Coburn had him in check. Somehow though he managed to get off an angled shot, but Leighton appeared to be in position to stop it. I still don't how but it got through Leighton and then lodged in the far side of net where no one except Kane could see that it went in, setting off an odd celebration by the Hawks while no linesman gave a signal and the goal light and horn did not go off. It was a heartbreaking end to a great season that I'll never forget. There's always next year and I think if we can add one more defenseman to our 3rd or 4th line the cup is ours.
Early on this one things got off on the wrong foot for the Flyers as Chicago scored the opening goal on the power play. The Flyers came right back with a power play goal by Scott Hartnell in the final seconds of the period to knot it up at 1. Then halfway through the 2nd period Danny Briere and Ville Leino teamed up a for pretty goal to give the Orange and Black they're only goal of the night. Less than 2 minutes later the ex-Flyer Patrick Sharp tied it up on a goal Micheal Leighton probably should have stopped. Late in the peiod the Flyers suddenly appeared to run out of gas and Chicago took advantage with Andrew Ladd scoring for a 3-2. Thanks to Leighton Chicago was unable to extend the lead from there. Still, it appeared Chicago would hang on for the win anyway, until the Orange and Black dug down deep one last time as Ville Leino threw a puck at the net that deflected off Hartnell and in for the 3-3 tie.
After that the Flyers had a couple chances to win in regulation but couldn't quite put it away so the game went into overtime. There they had only the momentum early on and couple golden opportunities to win off Blackhawks turnovers but they couldn't cash in. A couple minutes after those opportunities Patrick Kane rumbled into the Flyer zone but it appeared Braydon Coburn had him in check. Somehow though he managed to get off an angled shot, but Leighton appeared to be in position to stop it. I still don't how but it got through Leighton and then lodged in the far side of net where no one except Kane could see that it went in, setting off an odd celebration by the Hawks while no linesman gave a signal and the goal light and horn did not go off. It was a heartbreaking end to a great season that I'll never forget. There's always next year and I think if we can add one more defenseman to our 3rd or 4th line the cup is ours.
PHILLIES NEWS
It was supposed to be another classic pitching matchup tonight between Roy Halladay and Josh Johnson but unfortunately mother nature got in the way as the game was rained out. So they'll face each other tomorrow night instead.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
After yet another disappointing showing from his team last night, Charlie Manuel decided to shake things up as the Phils began a series with the Florida Marlins tonight. He gave Jayson Werth another night off and put Ben Francisco in right field and in the number 5 spot in order, in his place. The moved turned out to be serendipitous as Francisco collected 2 hits, knocked in 2 runs, scored 2 runs and proved to be a key player on the night. He was not alone in his offensive prowess though. In fact Carlos Ruiz proved to be the Phils only starter who could not hit safely in the game as they exploded for 10 runs on 13 hits. The way the Phils bats had been going lately it fell like more of a volcanci eruption than just a mere explosion and despite it all the Phils almost lost.
3 time the Phils fell behind in this and 3 times they rallied back before victory was assured. Kyle Kendrick was tagged early and often from the onset, allowing 6 runs on 6 hits in just 5 innings of work. By the end of the Marlins half of the 3rd inning it was already 4-0 and things did not look good. Then in the bottom of the 3rd, Ryan Howard crushed a 2 run homer and Francisco manufactured a run with a single and stolen base followed a Raul Ibanez RBI single to cut it to 4-3. Florida quickly pushed it back to 6-3 in the 4th inning, but Shane Victorino answered with a solo shot in the bottom of the 4th to cut it to 6-4. Then in the 5th an error, an infield single by Ibanez, and a fielder's choice allowed the Phils to bleed out 2 more runs to pull even at 6. One inning later a sac fly by Chase Utley made it 7-6 Phils, their first lead of the night. It didn't last long as Florida rallied for runs in the 7th and 8th to push back out to an 8-7 lead. Finally the Phils engineered one final rally in the bottom of the 8th. Francisco slapped a clutch 2 out 2 run single and then scored on a infield singly by Wilson Valdez to put the Phils up seemingly for good at 10-8
However, Florida also put togethet a final rally against Brad Lidge but he was up for the test. After allowing a leadoff single to Hanley Ramirez, He struck out Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla. Then pitched around Cody Ross to put 2 on with 2 out for rookie Mike Stanton. Having never seen Lidge before Stanton was as an easy mark after 3 pitches he grounded into a game ending forceout at 2nd except Wilson Valdez forgot to put his foot on the bag, allowing Cody Ross to slide in safely and load the bases for ex-Phil Ronnie Paulino. After a few more pitches Lidge got Paulino to harmlessly pop out and the Phils had their 10-8 win. Hopefully they can build off this and get back to scoring runs like we know they can. Until here's hoping for another perfecto from Roy tomorrow.
3 time the Phils fell behind in this and 3 times they rallied back before victory was assured. Kyle Kendrick was tagged early and often from the onset, allowing 6 runs on 6 hits in just 5 innings of work. By the end of the Marlins half of the 3rd inning it was already 4-0 and things did not look good. Then in the bottom of the 3rd, Ryan Howard crushed a 2 run homer and Francisco manufactured a run with a single and stolen base followed a Raul Ibanez RBI single to cut it to 4-3. Florida quickly pushed it back to 6-3 in the 4th inning, but Shane Victorino answered with a solo shot in the bottom of the 4th to cut it to 6-4. Then in the 5th an error, an infield single by Ibanez, and a fielder's choice allowed the Phils to bleed out 2 more runs to pull even at 6. One inning later a sac fly by Chase Utley made it 7-6 Phils, their first lead of the night. It didn't last long as Florida rallied for runs in the 7th and 8th to push back out to an 8-7 lead. Finally the Phils engineered one final rally in the bottom of the 8th. Francisco slapped a clutch 2 out 2 run single and then scored on a infield singly by Wilson Valdez to put the Phils up seemingly for good at 10-8
However, Florida also put togethet a final rally against Brad Lidge but he was up for the test. After allowing a leadoff single to Hanley Ramirez, He struck out Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla. Then pitched around Cody Ross to put 2 on with 2 out for rookie Mike Stanton. Having never seen Lidge before Stanton was as an easy mark after 3 pitches he grounded into a game ending forceout at 2nd except Wilson Valdez forgot to put his foot on the bag, allowing Cody Ross to slide in safely and load the bases for ex-Phil Ronnie Paulino. After a few more pitches Lidge got Paulino to harmlessly pop out and the Phils had their 10-8 win. Hopefully they can build off this and get back to scoring runs like we know they can. Until here's hoping for another perfecto from Roy tomorrow.
Monday, June 07, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
It's been less than a month since Roy Halladay's perfect night in South Florida but that didn't stop Cole Hamels from bidding to match him tonight. For 6 and 1/3rd innings he kept San Diego in check, with no runs or hits, dazzling them with his full array of pitches, cutter, fastball, curveball, and changeup. Just like Florida against Halladay San Diego' hitters often appeared in this one as if they didn't know what was coming next. That is, Until Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Hairston clipped back to back homers. Still Cole got out of the 7th without further damage and finished off the 8th so there was no reason the 2 homers would be enough to win right?
Wrong. The Phils again struggled to score, wasting most of their opportunities. They really didn't have all that many chances with just 7 hits all night long. So when the dust cleared after 9, despite 8 brilliant innings while allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits and striking out 6 Hamels ended up as the loser on the night. He really didn't everything he could though and shouldn't be blamed for this loss. Danys Baez wasn't quite so sharp coming out of the bullpen as he allowed a 1 run on 2 hits to stretch the San Diego lead to 3-0. Finally in the bottom of the 9th the Phils got on the board with a Ryan Howard RBI double but it was too little too late as one batter later Jayson Werth struck out to end the 3-1 Padre win. It seemed Like the Phils were finally coming out of it with their performances that last couple days but clearly there's still some work to do
Wrong. The Phils again struggled to score, wasting most of their opportunities. They really didn't have all that many chances with just 7 hits all night long. So when the dust cleared after 9, despite 8 brilliant innings while allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits and striking out 6 Hamels ended up as the loser on the night. He really didn't everything he could though and shouldn't be blamed for this loss. Danys Baez wasn't quite so sharp coming out of the bullpen as he allowed a 1 run on 2 hits to stretch the San Diego lead to 3-0. Finally in the bottom of the 9th the Phils got on the board with a Ryan Howard RBI double but it was too little too late as one batter later Jayson Werth struck out to end the 3-1 Padre win. It seemed Like the Phils were finally coming out of it with their performances that last couple days but clearly there's still some work to do
Sunday, June 06, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
Coming into tonight the Flyers were unbeaten in game 5s in the year's NHL playoffs. Not anymore after a stirring effort by the Chicago Blackhawks this one. Chicago just came out surging right from the beginning and the Flyers couldn't stay with them. They tried their hardest, I mean it's not as if they played all that poorly, Chicago was just too good in this one. Somehow the Flyers managed to withstand the early Chicago surge for 12 minutes before the Hawks finally got on the board and floodgates opened after that. By the time the 1st period was over Chicago led 3-0 and was well on their way to victory. To their credit the Flyers didn't give up though. Scott Hartnell scored only about 30 seconds into the 2nd period to cut it to 3-1. Then after Chicago made it 4-1 the Flyers answered back to cut it to 4-2.
Unfortunately Chris Pronger took a rare penalty near the end of the period and thus was not on the ice when Dustin Byfuglien finally scored his first goal of the series to make it 5-2. Still to the annoyance of Chicago the Flyers didn't give up as James Van Reimsdyk scored his 1st goal of the series to cut it to 5-3. The Orange and Black then had a chance on the power play after that to cut it to 5-4 but they couldn' t take advantage and Patrick followed not along after with breakaway goal to make it 6-3. The Flyers put together one last surge though as Ville Leino beautifully set up Simon Gagne to cut it to 6-4. Then with 2 and a half minutes to go the Flyers pulled Brian Boucher(he replaced Micheal Leighton after the 1st period) in favor of the extra attacker. Unfortunately it seemed they were just a little too spent to stage anymore heroics as Byfuglien managed to get the puck away and fire it down the ice and into the empty net to clinch a 7-4 win.
On the whole the game was a complete reversal of the rest of the series with Chicago having and the edge on special teams and a slight edge defensively. This Chicago tonight is the Chicago that was supposed to be here all series long and you just have to tip your cap to them after this performance. Still, if you take away the 1st period the Flyers played the Hawks to a draw the rest of the way. That tells me there is a very good chance that they'll win game 6 and force the series back to Chicago one more time for game 7 and who knows what happens after that.
Unfortunately Chris Pronger took a rare penalty near the end of the period and thus was not on the ice when Dustin Byfuglien finally scored his first goal of the series to make it 5-2. Still to the annoyance of Chicago the Flyers didn't give up as James Van Reimsdyk scored his 1st goal of the series to cut it to 5-3. The Orange and Black then had a chance on the power play after that to cut it to 5-4 but they couldn' t take advantage and Patrick followed not along after with breakaway goal to make it 6-3. The Flyers put together one last surge though as Ville Leino beautifully set up Simon Gagne to cut it to 6-4. Then with 2 and a half minutes to go the Flyers pulled Brian Boucher(he replaced Micheal Leighton after the 1st period) in favor of the extra attacker. Unfortunately it seemed they were just a little too spent to stage anymore heroics as Byfuglien managed to get the puck away and fire it down the ice and into the empty net to clinch a 7-4 win.
On the whole the game was a complete reversal of the rest of the series with Chicago having and the edge on special teams and a slight edge defensively. This Chicago tonight is the Chicago that was supposed to be here all series long and you just have to tip your cap to them after this performance. Still, if you take away the 1st period the Flyers played the Hawks to a draw the rest of the way. That tells me there is a very good chance that they'll win game 6 and force the series back to Chicago one more time for game 7 and who knows what happens after that.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils took the field this afternoon looking to complete the series win over the Padres. They got off to another quick start with 5 runs in the first 2 innings. In the 1st, Shane Victorino singled to lead off, stole 2nd, and scored on back to back fielder's choices. In the 2nd, Placido Polanco and Ryan Howard each slapped 2 out 2 run singles to produce the Phils 2nd 4 run inning in as many nights. That's not bad for a team whose lineup is supposedly struggling mightily. Unfortunately Joe Blanton couldn't hold the Phils early lead and by the 5th San Diego had rallied to tie it at 5. Meanwhile the Phils squandered all their opportunities to score after the 2nd inning, leaving a total of 15 men on base.
So after Blanton exited following the 5th, all the pressure in the world shifted onto the bullpen to keep the game tied until the Phils could come up with another run. For 4 innings they did just that, with Chad Durbin, J.C Romero, Jose Contreras, and Chad Durbin combining to do the deed. After the Phils blew a golden opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the 9th, stranding the winning run at 3rd, Danys Baez came in to pitch the 10th. He was as lucky as aforementioned allowing a 2 out run on an infield single that was just deep enough to short that Wilson Valdez couldn't do anything with it. The Phils then had another golden opportunity in the bottom of the 10th to rally back and perhaps win it, but Polanco was thrown out trying to go to 3rd on a single by Chase Utley and then with runners on the corners and 2 out, Jayson Werth struck out to end the Phils day. So they didn't get the sweep but they did win series and with 5+ runs for the 2nd game in a row they seem to be coming out of there slump. Things can only get better from here.
So after Blanton exited following the 5th, all the pressure in the world shifted onto the bullpen to keep the game tied until the Phils could come up with another run. For 4 innings they did just that, with Chad Durbin, J.C Romero, Jose Contreras, and Chad Durbin combining to do the deed. After the Phils blew a golden opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the 9th, stranding the winning run at 3rd, Danys Baez came in to pitch the 10th. He was as lucky as aforementioned allowing a 2 out run on an infield single that was just deep enough to short that Wilson Valdez couldn't do anything with it. The Phils then had another golden opportunity in the bottom of the 10th to rally back and perhaps win it, but Polanco was thrown out trying to go to 3rd on a single by Chase Utley and then with runners on the corners and 2 out, Jayson Werth struck out to end the Phils day. So they didn't get the sweep but they did win series and with 5+ runs for the 2nd game in a row they seem to be coming out of there slump. Things can only get better from here.
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