It's hard to know what to say after a game like the one the Phils played this afternoon. They had it so firmly in control through 8 innings and then it fell apart for them from that point on. Early on Ryan Howard, Wilson Valdez , and Raul Ibanez all bashed homeruns, Chase Utley slapped a triple and Phils jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Meanwhile Cole Hamels tossed 7 good innings allowig just 4 runs on 5 hits and striking out 7. Later in the bottom of the 7th Jayson Werth crunched the Phils 4th homer of the day for a 9-4 lead. Surely the bullpen would close it out after that. J.C Romero and Jose Contreras combined for a scoreless 8th. Then it was on to Jose Contreras to close it out in the 9th. Unfortunately he allowed a 2 run homer to Jim Thome and was unable to retire a batter in th e 9th. So in came Brad Lidge to close it out.
Unfortunately he couldn't get out of the inning until Joe Mauer had crushed a game tying 2 run homer. Like much of last year he just couldn't locate his fastball. Then after the Phils stranded a couple runners in the bottom of the 9th, backup catcher, Drew Butera slammed another solo shot for an 11-10 Minnsotae. Just when it seemed all hope was lost Ross Gload lined a 2 out a solo homer of his own to tie it at 10 and restore hope of a Phils win. Like the rest of the bullpen Danys Baez could not hold of the Twins as they racked up 3 more runs on a bases loaded infield single by Delmon Young and a 2 run double by Matt Tolbert to make it 13-10 Twins. This time the Phils couldn't come up with a comeback and Minnesota hung on at last for the 13-10. This was a tough one to swallow but these guys are experienced and can shake it off. With Roy Halladay on the mound tomorrow they should win the series anyway and that's all that's important.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers got their offseason going today trading Ryan Parent to the Nashville Predators which is where they got him from in the 1st place, for defenseman Daniel Hamhuis. Hamhuis is a big step up from Parent as the Flyer's 5th defenseman. He's a puck moving defenseman who can play on the power play and on the penalty kill and who can really solidfy a team's blueline. He is however, an unrestricted free agent so the Flyers will have to sign him to a contract before he can officially join the team. They 2 weeks to do so exclusively while no one else can negotiate with him and there's reason they shouldn't be able to get him signed. If they can do so and agree on a contract with free agent Braydon Coburn their defense will be solidified for the next season. That would leave only a goalie and perhaps a winger as needs for the next season, all of which could be addressed by draft day trades.
Friday, June 18, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The good times kept on rolling for the Phils tonight. Joe Blanton provided another quality start with 6 scoreless innings, while allowing just 3 runs on 7 hits over 6+ strong. Meanwhile the Phils bats finally made someone pay. Unfortunately for the Twin's Nick Blackburn that someone was him as he was slaughtered for 8 runs on 6 hits in only an inning and a 3rd. In the 1st, Chase Utley singled, Ryan Howard tripled, and Jayson Werth slapped a sac fly all with one out to produce 3 runs. In the 2nd, with 2 outs Placido Polanco slapped a RBI single, Utley crushed a 3 run homer, and Howard followed with a solo shot for a shockingly quick 8-0 lead. They weren't finished either. In the 5th Howard added a another bomb for a 9-0 lead.
It was pretty much over at that point but Minnesota did at least make it interesting. Blanton flamed out early in the 7th, allowing 2 of his 3 runs. Then things seemed to stabilize as Chad Durbin finished off the 7th without issue and J.C Romero tossed a scoreless 8th. Then Scott Mathieson, who last appeared with the Phils 3 years ago before going through Tomm John surgery twice and who was recently called up to replace the injured Antonio Bastardo, was given the chance to close it out. Not surprisingly he was bit shaky and ended up allowing a couple runs to cut the lead to 9-5. That gave Minnesota brief hope of victory before Brad Lidge came in and closed it out with just 3 pitches. So the Phils got their 3rd straight victory to move 35-30 but they remain 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
It was pretty much over at that point but Minnesota did at least make it interesting. Blanton flamed out early in the 7th, allowing 2 of his 3 runs. Then things seemed to stabilize as Chad Durbin finished off the 7th without issue and J.C Romero tossed a scoreless 8th. Then Scott Mathieson, who last appeared with the Phils 3 years ago before going through Tomm John surgery twice and who was recently called up to replace the injured Antonio Bastardo, was given the chance to close it out. Not surprisingly he was bit shaky and ended up allowing a couple runs to cut the lead to 9-5. That gave Minnesota brief hope of victory before Brad Lidge came in and closed it out with just 3 pitches. So the Phils got their 3rd straight victory to move 35-30 but they remain 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
From Jamie Moyer's gem last night the Phils just kept on rolling into tonight where Kyle Kendrick produced some magic of his own. He allowed just 1 run on 4 hits over 7 brilliant innings to frustrate the Yankee offense for the 2nd night in a row. Meanwhile the Phils bats stayed awake for another night. In the 4th Ryan Howard slapped a 1 out single for the Phils 1st run of the night. In the 5th Shane Victorino popped a 2 run homer for a 3-0 lead. After that it looked like the Phils might not score again for the rest of the night but with Kyle cruising along it didn't seem like it would matter.Then Yanks scored in the 6th to cut the lead to 6-1 and the Phils left the bases loaded yet again in the 7th. So it was clear at that point they were going need at least one or two more runs to hold off the Yanks for the 2nd night in a row.
After Kendrick got through the 7th, and Jose Contreras got through the 8th curtousy of his own spectacular backhanded catch, the Phils bats finally went back to work in the 9th. There the Yankee bullpen simply unraveled. First Joba Chamberlain allowed a leadoff double Carlos Ruiz and a single by Wilson Valdez to score Ruiz for a 4-1 lead. Then Damaso Marte replace Chamberlain and walked the bases loaded before giving up back to back sac flies to Placido Polanco and Ryan Howard for a 6-1 lead. Finally ex Phil Chan Ho Park came in and allowed an RBI double to Ibanez before getting out of the inning on a lucky break as a screaming liner off the bat of Ben Francisco clipped Ibanez in the back of his foot for the final out. From there Contreras and J.C Romero closed it out in the 9th and the Phils had won their 2nd consecutive regular season series over the Yanks. The Phils are now back to 4 games over .500 but remain 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East as the AL central leading Minnesota Twins come to the Bank for the weekend.
After Kendrick got through the 7th, and Jose Contreras got through the 8th curtousy of his own spectacular backhanded catch, the Phils bats finally went back to work in the 9th. There the Yankee bullpen simply unraveled. First Joba Chamberlain allowed a leadoff double Carlos Ruiz and a single by Wilson Valdez to score Ruiz for a 4-1 lead. Then Damaso Marte replace Chamberlain and walked the bases loaded before giving up back to back sac flies to Placido Polanco and Ryan Howard for a 6-1 lead. Finally ex Phil Chan Ho Park came in and allowed an RBI double to Ibanez before getting out of the inning on a lucky break as a screaming liner off the bat of Ben Francisco clipped Ibanez in the back of his foot for the final out. From there Contreras and J.C Romero closed it out in the 9th and the Phils had won their 2nd consecutive regular season series over the Yanks. The Phils are now back to 4 games over .500 but remain 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East as the AL central leading Minnesota Twins come to the Bank for the weekend.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers made some rare noise this afternoon trading C Samuel Dalembert to the Sacramento Kings for C Spencer Hawes and F Andres Nocioni. Dalembert has wanted out of Philly for some time now so it's no surprise to see him go and this was a pretty nice way to get rid of him. Hawes is a 7 footer like Dalembert but unlike Sammy he can score inside and shoot the 3. He can also run the floor much better than Sammy could which is perfect for a team that's at their best on the run. The only issue with Hawes is that he isn't much of a defender. He can rebound but that's about it. He is only in 3rd NBA season Howeverm so he has plenty of time to improve his defese. Nocioni is another good 3 point shooter like Jason Kapono who will probably be a valuable commodity off the bench for the Sixers. You can never too many good shooters on one team so it's nice to get him also. Now it's on to next week and the NBA draft where hopefully the Sixers will be smart and select Evan Turner.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
What a night for Jamie Moyer. He didn't even last a full 2 innings in his last start against the Boston Red Sox but tonight was a different story. He was in full command out there against the Yankees. The ump gave him the corners and he painted them all night long to crank 8 impressive innings while allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits and striking out 5. He just had the Yanks off balance all game and guessing what was coming next. Even the potent Yankee offense can't always be successful. Meanwhile, the Phils slumbering offense had their best game in some time. In the 2nd Raul Ibanez walked, stole, yes stole second, and scored on a single by, DH for the night, Greg Dobbs. Brian Schneider and Wilson Valdez followed with a walk and an infield single respectively to load the bases for Shane Victorino. For once the Victorino delivered with the bases loaded, smashing a triple for a quick 4-0 lead.
Next Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth led off the 3rd with back to back solo homers to make it 6-0. Unfortunately the Phils didn't score again after that as the Yankee bullpen shut them down. With Jamie in control through 8 it didn't matter though. Then Brad Lidge came in to close it out in the 9th and things got interesting. After striking out the first 2 batters in the innings, he got ahead of the next 3 batters but couldn't put them away, allowing New York to score and cut the lead to 6-3 and bring the tying run to the plate in the person of Jorge Posada. Lidge again got ahead of Posada and this time he fooled with a hard slider inside to at last strikeout the side and close out the 6-3 win. So it was a big bounce back night for the Phils and here's hoping it carries over to tomorrow.
Next Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth led off the 3rd with back to back solo homers to make it 6-0. Unfortunately the Phils didn't score again after that as the Yankee bullpen shut them down. With Jamie in control through 8 it didn't matter though. Then Brad Lidge came in to close it out in the 9th and things got interesting. After striking out the first 2 batters in the innings, he got ahead of the next 3 batters but couldn't put them away, allowing New York to score and cut the lead to 6-3 and bring the tying run to the plate in the person of Jorge Posada. Lidge again got ahead of Posada and this time he fooled with a hard slider inside to at last strikeout the side and close out the 6-3 win. So it was a big bounce back night for the Phils and here's hoping it carries over to tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
It's been a roller coaster of a year for Roy Halladay thus far. For the most part it's been a great year for Doc with 8 wins, an ERA at 2.36, 90 strikeouts, and that perfect game in Miami. Tonight it wasn't so great as the Yankees touched him up for 8 runs on 6 hits in 6 innings. He didn't pitch that poorly he just simply left a few pitches over the heart of the plate and the red hot Yankees made him pay for it with 3 homers, 2 of which were cheap New Yankee Stadium homers. If the Phils had been playing anywhere else they wouldn't have gone out and tonight might have been a different story.
In fact, Judging by their 4th inning explosion, the Phils might have even figured out a way to pull it out. In that inning they racked up 3 runs on 4 hits off C.C Sabathia but should have had more. They quickly loaded the bases to start the inning with back to back singles and hit batter. Then Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez each collected singles while Ben Francisco grounded into a fielder's choice to produce the 3 runs. Unfortunately Juan Castro and Carlos Ruiz followed with a strikeout and a groundout to the end the inning. Although they threatened again in the 5th inning with the bases loaded and 2 out, the Phils never managed to score again and eventually lost 8-3 after David Herndon and Danys Baez finished off the night with a scoreless inning and a 3rd. What a team.
In fact, Judging by their 4th inning explosion, the Phils might have even figured out a way to pull it out. In that inning they racked up 3 runs on 4 hits off C.C Sabathia but should have had more. They quickly loaded the bases to start the inning with back to back singles and hit batter. Then Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez each collected singles while Ben Francisco grounded into a fielder's choice to produce the 3 runs. Unfortunately Juan Castro and Carlos Ruiz followed with a strikeout and a groundout to the end the inning. Although they threatened again in the 5th inning with the bases loaded and 2 out, the Phils never managed to score again and eventually lost 8-3 after David Herndon and Danys Baez finished off the night with a scoreless inning and a 3rd. What a team.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
Having been totally destroyed by the Red Sox the last two days the Phils desperately needed a gem from Cole Hamels and on this afternoon he obliged. Just as he's been most of the season he was sharp and his fastball was buzzing. In other words he was on and you don't want to face someone like Cole when he's at his best. For 7 innings Boston sure didn't look too happy to see him as they managed just 1 run on 5 hits and struck out 8 times. Meanwhile the Phils had a big 4th inning against Tim Wakefield. Ryan Howard slapped a 1 out double and scored on a single by Jayson Werth. Raul Ibanez followed by crushing a 2 run homer. Then Ben Francisco doubled and scored a single by Juan Castro. Finally, Carlos Ruiz grounded into a double play to end the inning, but the damage, 4 runs on 5 hits, had already been done and was more than enough to propel to his 6th win. It was not without some complications though.
Thanks to a long at bat by Victor Martinez in the 6th Hamels was forced to leave the game after the 7th inning. Jose Contreras replaced him in the 8th and allowed back to back 1 out singles. Fortunately, just when it looked like Boston was going to mount a rally Adrian Beltre grounded sharply to 3rd, leading to an around the horn double play to the end the inning. Werth then manufactured a run in the 9th by walking, stealing two bases, and scoring on a sac fly for a 5-1 lead. The run proved to be huge as J.C Romero allowed an unearned run and issued a walk, before being replaced by Brad Lidge. Lidge struck out Darnell Mcdonald but then Daniel Nava, yes the rookie, blooped a Lidge slider up the middle for another run to cut the lead to 5-3 and put the tying run at the plate in the person of Marco Scutaro. Fortunately Lidge got Scutaro to end the threat and the snap the Phils losing streak at 3. It will be tough to string together some wins from here as they head to the Bronx for a series with the Yankees but at least they avoided the sweep.
Thanks to a long at bat by Victor Martinez in the 6th Hamels was forced to leave the game after the 7th inning. Jose Contreras replaced him in the 8th and allowed back to back 1 out singles. Fortunately, just when it looked like Boston was going to mount a rally Adrian Beltre grounded sharply to 3rd, leading to an around the horn double play to the end the inning. Werth then manufactured a run in the 9th by walking, stealing two bases, and scoring on a sac fly for a 5-1 lead. The run proved to be huge as J.C Romero allowed an unearned run and issued a walk, before being replaced by Brad Lidge. Lidge struck out Darnell Mcdonald but then Daniel Nava, yes the rookie, blooped a Lidge slider up the middle for another run to cut the lead to 5-3 and put the tying run at the plate in the person of Marco Scutaro. Fortunately Lidge got Scutaro to end the threat and the snap the Phils losing streak at 3. It will be tough to string together some wins from here as they head to the Bronx for a series with the Yankees but at least they avoided the sweep.
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