The Phils continued their series with the Rays tonight. Joe Blanton got the start and pitched well, allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 10 in 7 solid innings. However, the Phils lineup went stagnant providing Blanton with just 1 run on 4 hits. Jimmy Rollins went hitless again, as did Shane Victorion, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz, and Pedro Feliz. Matt Garza pitched well for Tampa but not that well. It was really just one of those off nights for the Phils lineup. Still, through 7 and 1/2 innings it was actually enough to keep the Phils in it. Pat Burrell hit a 2 run homer in the 2nd inning and Jayson Werth slugged a solo homer just inside the foul pole in the 7th inning, but that was it, 2-1 Rays going into the bottom of the 8th. There J.C Romero took over for Blanton and got a couple outs before loading the bases, prompting Charlie Manuel to bring Chan Ho Park into the game. Park got Burrell to ground into what should have been an inning ending fielder's choice but JRoll flipped to 2nd instead of trying to get the slow footed Burrell at first, and Ben Zobrist beat the flip to keep the inning alive and allow a run to score. After that a 2 run single by Jason Bartlett and a 2 run double by Gabe Gross put it out of reach for a Phils comeback, with the score 7-1 Rays. So the Phils drop just their 10 game on the road, so they'll have to win tomorrow to avoid losing their first series on the road this season. I commented on this earlier but I just wanted to reiterate here that Brad Lidge is expected to return to the Phils bullpen which should help the Phils avoid messes like this one. By the way, Ryan Howard was still the DH for the Phils today so I don't know when he'll back at 1st base, but apparently he is over his recent bout with the flu, so it shouldn't be long now. So anyway the Phils drop to 37-32 overall now and to just 1.5 games up in the NL East.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled down to Tampa tonight to begin a series with the Rays. After 6 straight losses the Phils were just hoping for something, anything, positive and boy did they get it. What a difference the road makes. Jamie Moyer got the start and rolled through 6 innings, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits. Meanwhile the Phils just destroyed David Price, for 10 runs on 7 hits. Honestly the outcome of this one was only in doubt for about 3 innings. Price just kept throwing fastball after fastball and payed dearly for it. In the 1st inning alone the Phils scored 6 runs, on back to back doubles by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard(DHing for tonight, and probably back at first tomorrow) and a 3 run homer by John Mayberry Jr. In the 4th the Phils put up 4 more runs, on a fielder's choice, an RBI single by "the Flyin Hawaiian" , Shane Victorino and a 2 run homer by Utley for a 10-0 lead. It was pretty much over from there, although Tampa did finally score a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Jason Bartlett, to cut the final score to 10-1. So the Phils improve 24-9 on the road now. Apparently all they needed to get back on track was to get the heck away from the Bank. Seriously, the Phils couldn't have played any better in this game and the Rays couldn't have played any worse. It was the complete opposite of all those games the Phils played at home and it simply defies all the logic I can think of. So anyway, after this impressive night, to say the least, the Phils move to 37-31 overall and now back to 2.5 games up in the NL East. In others news on the injury front, Brad Lidge apparently close to the returning to the Phils bullpen after a rehab stint tonight in clearwater. Raul Ibanez also appears to be on the mend after participating batting practice today. On other hand reliever Clay Condrey went on the DL today, joining already injured relievers Lidge and Scott Eyre. So Lidge either has to come back perfect very soon or the Phils need to go get someone in a trade, because Ryan Madson, J.C Romero, Jack Taschner, Chan Ho Park, and a couple of rookies just won't do as the Phils bullpen for long.
Monday, June 22, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils are off today as they head to Tampa for a world series rematch with the Rays. You know what that means, time to continue our top 25 most dramatic Phillies victories. This week we'll do numbers 20 to 16. Next time it will be numbers 15 to 11. Okay so away we go.
20. Top Gun June 6, 2008 Phillies 4 - Braves 3
Along the way to a world title there exist several stops along the way where you win a game you have no business winning and you begin to think hey maybe this is our year. This was one such game. It is the first of 9 consecutive victories at Atlanta for the Phils on the season and the first of 3 straight games in which the Phils enter the 9th inning trailing only to rally to victory. On this night Tim Hudson takes the mound for the Braves and appears headed to an easy win, as he allows just one run on 5 hits and pitches into the 8th inning. The Phils bullpen however, keeps Atlanta from pulling away with 3 and 2/3rd's scoreless innings. Still the Phils trail 2-1 heading into the 9th. With 2 out and runners on 1st and 2nd Chris Coste hits what should be an game ending groundout, but Kelly Johnson drops it before he can throw to first, allowing Coste to safely reach first, while Eric Bruntlett streaks home from 2nd to tie the game before Johnson recovers to throw out Pedro Feliz at home. Johnson slaps a one out double in the bottom of the inning but he's stranded, setting the stage for some Phillies magic in the 10th inning. "The Flyin Hawaiian" Shane Victorino, who scored the Phils first run way back in the 1st inning, triples with one out to score one run and then scores on a double by Chase Utley to put the Phils up 4-2 heading into the bottom of the inning. Brad Lidge, perfect on save opportunities thus far, comes on to get the save but his perfect season looks like it will be over. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 out Yunel Escobar slaps what he believes is a game tying single. Instead Victorino has other ideas and with a perfect throw from center, he guns down Gregor Blanco, the tying run, at the plate by a split second to preserve the 4-3 win.
19. JRollin' July 25, 2007 Phillies 7 - Nationals 5
In the midst of a miracle season the Phils were just beginning to hit their side with 4 straight wins coming into this night. 7 brilliant innings from "Hollywood" Cole Hamels and a 3 run 4th inning appear to have the Phils headed towards a 5th successive win. Then, the bullpen which had been the one bright spot other than Hamels on an otherwise shaky pitching staff unravels in the top of the 9th inning, specfically Antonio Alfonseca, and Washington rallies to take a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the inning. After two quick outs the Nats are poised to ruin another Phils playoff push. Next up Jimmy Rollins. In the middle of an MVP campaign and performing heroics not seen in this town in over 10 years, JRoll gets lucky here. He slaps what should be a game ending flyout to left, but Ryan Langerhans blows the catch and boots the ball away from himself, allowing JRoll to race all the way to 3rd, with a triple. Then as Jroll slides into 3rd, Langerhans throws off line, even though there's no chance to get him, and the ball gets away from Ryan Zimmerman. JRoll has just enough time to see the ball get away, pick himself up and scamper home with the most incredible tying run in Phils history. 4 and1/2 innings later in the bottom of the 14th Ryan Howard crushes a game winning 2 run homer and in the most unlikely of fashions the Phils have their 5th straight win. It is only the beginning of one of the most miraculous late season charges in franchise history.
18. Mitchy Poo to the rescue July 2, 1993 Phillies 6 - Padres 5
This is yet another of those weird, wild, and wacky 1993 finishes and without a doubt the most memorable, in the regular season anyway. It is the second half of a doubleheader which is rain delayed until just before midnight and surprisingly it begins at about 1:30 in the morning not longer after game 1 is finished, an hour that as his whiteness, Richie Ashburn, puts it to Harry Kalas, "would be bad for most people, but is just the shank of the evening for you and me". Coming into the game the Phils are embroiled in their only losing streak of the season and have seen their NL East lead drop under 5 games for the first time in months. So they need to win on this night to regain composure and maintain control of the division for the remainder of the season. The Phils actually fall behind 5-0 through 3 and 1/2 innings, but as usual they're not willing to go away quietly. Behind an RBI single by Jim Eisenreich in the 4th, a 3 run homer by Ricky Jordan in the 5th, and an RBI single by Darren Daulton in the 8th, they come all the way back to tie it. In the 9th "the wild thing" Mitch Williams walks a batter, and throws a wild pitch, but gets out of the inning anyway. He gets through the top of the 10th inning too and then in botttom of the 10th with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd, because no one is left in the bullpen, Williams comes to the plate for just his 16th and as luck would have it final major league at bat. At a little past 4:00 in the morning the unthinkable happens. Take it away Harry. " The 0-1 pitch to Williams, line drive base hit left field, here comes Incagavilia, Billy Beane's throw is late, Incavagilia's gonna score, this game is over, Phils win 6-5 in the bottom of half of the 10th inning on an RBI hit by Mitchy Poo".
17. A star is born July 19, 2005 Phillies 4 - Dodgers 3
This is another one of those 2005 miracle finishes which as mentioned were only enough to bring the Phils one agonizing game short of the playoffs. On this night Brad Penny and Brett Myers duel to a stalemate with each allowing 3 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings, thanks mostly to a clutch 2 out single in the 5th inning by Chase Utley which ties the game at 3. So it comes down to a battle of the bullpens which would seem to give the edge to the Phils with the likes of Ryan Madson, Ugueth Urbina, and Billy Wagner. Instead after he rolls through the 9th inning, Wagner seemingly blows it in the top of the 10th, issuing a bases loaded walk to then Dodger Jayson Werth. Then in the bottom of the 10th Pat Burrell, of all people, leads off and legs out a triple, setting the stage for young Ryan Howard to hopefully tie the game or at least get on base. At the time Howard has hit just 5 homeruns in his career and has been struggling to the fill the shoes left by Jim Thome who's virtually done for the season with various injuries. No one expects the kid to do anything special here. Probably already shocked to see Burrell round the bases, a stunned Citizens Bank crowd looks on as Howard crushes the first pitch he sees from Yhenzy Brazoban for a game winning 2 run homer. From who? to hero just like that, Howard is only at the beginning of arguably the greatest rookie season any Phillies player has ever had. In just 88 games he racks up an incredible 22 homers, 63 RBIs, and 90 hits, and runs away with rookie of the year honors.
16. Didn't I October 11, 1993 NLCS Game 5 Phillies 4 - Braves 3
It's been a great season thus far, but the Phils are still 2 wins away from the world series. Coming into this night their NLCS series with the Braves is tied at 2 games a piece and the winner will probably win the series. Thankfully, Curt Schilling is unhittable on this evening, tossing 8 scoreless innings. After Darren Daulton slugs a solo homer the Phils take a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th. Then Schilling runs out of gas, allowing the first 2 runners to reach base on a walk and an error. Despite having thrown 131 pitches, Schilling pleads to stay in the game, but Jim Fregosi will have none of it and brings in the "wild thing" Mitch Williams for the save, oops. Williams is wild again on this night, allowing Atlanta to tie the game at 3 and with only one out they load the bases, putting the Atlanta Fulton county stadium crowd into a frenzy. Somehow after Mark Lemke slaps a potential game winning single just foul, Williams gets out of the jam. After that with one out and nobody on in the top of the 10th "the Dude" Lenny Dykstra steps to the plate, knowing its up to him to save the day again. A few minutes later he sends Mark Wohlers 3-2 offering over the fence to put the Phils up 4-3, and as he rounds 3rd, he screams into then 3rd base coach Larry Bowa's ear, didn't I! didn't I!. Yes Dude you did it. Minutes later lost in the Dykstra euphoria, an exhausted Larry Andersen comes in and gets his only save of the season in the bottom of the inning and just like that the Phils are one game away from their first trip to the world series in 10 years.
15-11
20. Top Gun June 6, 2008 Phillies 4 - Braves 3
Along the way to a world title there exist several stops along the way where you win a game you have no business winning and you begin to think hey maybe this is our year. This was one such game. It is the first of 9 consecutive victories at Atlanta for the Phils on the season and the first of 3 straight games in which the Phils enter the 9th inning trailing only to rally to victory. On this night Tim Hudson takes the mound for the Braves and appears headed to an easy win, as he allows just one run on 5 hits and pitches into the 8th inning. The Phils bullpen however, keeps Atlanta from pulling away with 3 and 2/3rd's scoreless innings. Still the Phils trail 2-1 heading into the 9th. With 2 out and runners on 1st and 2nd Chris Coste hits what should be an game ending groundout, but Kelly Johnson drops it before he can throw to first, allowing Coste to safely reach first, while Eric Bruntlett streaks home from 2nd to tie the game before Johnson recovers to throw out Pedro Feliz at home. Johnson slaps a one out double in the bottom of the inning but he's stranded, setting the stage for some Phillies magic in the 10th inning. "The Flyin Hawaiian" Shane Victorino, who scored the Phils first run way back in the 1st inning, triples with one out to score one run and then scores on a double by Chase Utley to put the Phils up 4-2 heading into the bottom of the inning. Brad Lidge, perfect on save opportunities thus far, comes on to get the save but his perfect season looks like it will be over. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 out Yunel Escobar slaps what he believes is a game tying single. Instead Victorino has other ideas and with a perfect throw from center, he guns down Gregor Blanco, the tying run, at the plate by a split second to preserve the 4-3 win.
19. JRollin' July 25, 2007 Phillies 7 - Nationals 5
In the midst of a miracle season the Phils were just beginning to hit their side with 4 straight wins coming into this night. 7 brilliant innings from "Hollywood" Cole Hamels and a 3 run 4th inning appear to have the Phils headed towards a 5th successive win. Then, the bullpen which had been the one bright spot other than Hamels on an otherwise shaky pitching staff unravels in the top of the 9th inning, specfically Antonio Alfonseca, and Washington rallies to take a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the inning. After two quick outs the Nats are poised to ruin another Phils playoff push. Next up Jimmy Rollins. In the middle of an MVP campaign and performing heroics not seen in this town in over 10 years, JRoll gets lucky here. He slaps what should be a game ending flyout to left, but Ryan Langerhans blows the catch and boots the ball away from himself, allowing JRoll to race all the way to 3rd, with a triple. Then as Jroll slides into 3rd, Langerhans throws off line, even though there's no chance to get him, and the ball gets away from Ryan Zimmerman. JRoll has just enough time to see the ball get away, pick himself up and scamper home with the most incredible tying run in Phils history. 4 and1/2 innings later in the bottom of the 14th Ryan Howard crushes a game winning 2 run homer and in the most unlikely of fashions the Phils have their 5th straight win. It is only the beginning of one of the most miraculous late season charges in franchise history.
18. Mitchy Poo to the rescue July 2, 1993 Phillies 6 - Padres 5
This is yet another of those weird, wild, and wacky 1993 finishes and without a doubt the most memorable, in the regular season anyway. It is the second half of a doubleheader which is rain delayed until just before midnight and surprisingly it begins at about 1:30 in the morning not longer after game 1 is finished, an hour that as his whiteness, Richie Ashburn, puts it to Harry Kalas, "would be bad for most people, but is just the shank of the evening for you and me". Coming into the game the Phils are embroiled in their only losing streak of the season and have seen their NL East lead drop under 5 games for the first time in months. So they need to win on this night to regain composure and maintain control of the division for the remainder of the season. The Phils actually fall behind 5-0 through 3 and 1/2 innings, but as usual they're not willing to go away quietly. Behind an RBI single by Jim Eisenreich in the 4th, a 3 run homer by Ricky Jordan in the 5th, and an RBI single by Darren Daulton in the 8th, they come all the way back to tie it. In the 9th "the wild thing" Mitch Williams walks a batter, and throws a wild pitch, but gets out of the inning anyway. He gets through the top of the 10th inning too and then in botttom of the 10th with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd, because no one is left in the bullpen, Williams comes to the plate for just his 16th and as luck would have it final major league at bat. At a little past 4:00 in the morning the unthinkable happens. Take it away Harry. " The 0-1 pitch to Williams, line drive base hit left field, here comes Incagavilia, Billy Beane's throw is late, Incavagilia's gonna score, this game is over, Phils win 6-5 in the bottom of half of the 10th inning on an RBI hit by Mitchy Poo".
17. A star is born July 19, 2005 Phillies 4 - Dodgers 3
This is another one of those 2005 miracle finishes which as mentioned were only enough to bring the Phils one agonizing game short of the playoffs. On this night Brad Penny and Brett Myers duel to a stalemate with each allowing 3 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings, thanks mostly to a clutch 2 out single in the 5th inning by Chase Utley which ties the game at 3. So it comes down to a battle of the bullpens which would seem to give the edge to the Phils with the likes of Ryan Madson, Ugueth Urbina, and Billy Wagner. Instead after he rolls through the 9th inning, Wagner seemingly blows it in the top of the 10th, issuing a bases loaded walk to then Dodger Jayson Werth. Then in the bottom of the 10th Pat Burrell, of all people, leads off and legs out a triple, setting the stage for young Ryan Howard to hopefully tie the game or at least get on base. At the time Howard has hit just 5 homeruns in his career and has been struggling to the fill the shoes left by Jim Thome who's virtually done for the season with various injuries. No one expects the kid to do anything special here. Probably already shocked to see Burrell round the bases, a stunned Citizens Bank crowd looks on as Howard crushes the first pitch he sees from Yhenzy Brazoban for a game winning 2 run homer. From who? to hero just like that, Howard is only at the beginning of arguably the greatest rookie season any Phillies player has ever had. In just 88 games he racks up an incredible 22 homers, 63 RBIs, and 90 hits, and runs away with rookie of the year honors.
16. Didn't I October 11, 1993 NLCS Game 5 Phillies 4 - Braves 3
It's been a great season thus far, but the Phils are still 2 wins away from the world series. Coming into this night their NLCS series with the Braves is tied at 2 games a piece and the winner will probably win the series. Thankfully, Curt Schilling is unhittable on this evening, tossing 8 scoreless innings. After Darren Daulton slugs a solo homer the Phils take a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th. Then Schilling runs out of gas, allowing the first 2 runners to reach base on a walk and an error. Despite having thrown 131 pitches, Schilling pleads to stay in the game, but Jim Fregosi will have none of it and brings in the "wild thing" Mitch Williams for the save, oops. Williams is wild again on this night, allowing Atlanta to tie the game at 3 and with only one out they load the bases, putting the Atlanta Fulton county stadium crowd into a frenzy. Somehow after Mark Lemke slaps a potential game winning single just foul, Williams gets out of the jam. After that with one out and nobody on in the top of the 10th "the Dude" Lenny Dykstra steps to the plate, knowing its up to him to save the day again. A few minutes later he sends Mark Wohlers 3-2 offering over the fence to put the Phils up 4-3, and as he rounds 3rd, he screams into then 3rd base coach Larry Bowa's ear, didn't I! didn't I!. Yes Dude you did it. Minutes later lost in the Dykstra euphoria, an exhausted Larry Andersen comes in and gets his only save of the season in the bottom of the inning and just like that the Phils are one game away from their first trip to the world series in 10 years.
15-11
Sunday, June 21, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Orioles and thus their homestand this afternoon. Cole Hamels got the start and went 8 brilliant innings, allowing just 2 runs on 9 hits, while striking out 10. Unfortunately with Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez both MIA the Phils could only give Hamels one run and ultimately fell 2-1 for their 6th consecutive loss. Charlie Manuel even took my advice and got himself thrown out of the game but the Phils still didn't get fired up. Either no one was paying attention or only road trips get them going these days. The Phils actually led early 1-0 on a solo homer by Greg Dobbs and then Brian Roberts rallied Baltimore ahead for the 2nd game in a row, doubling and scoring the tying run in the 6th and singling with one out in the 8th inning to knock in the eventual winning run. So the Phils drop to 13-22 at home and are just dying right now. Hopefully with the off day tomorrow Howard will get well and return to the lineup to start the road trip on Tuesday, because they are really going to need him to provide the spark until Ibanez comes back, especially considering that Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and Pedro Feliz all failed to register a single hit today, as they went a combined 0 for 13. So anyway the after getting swept for the 2nd straight time the Phils drop to 36-32 overall, but thanks to another Met's loss the Phils remain 2 games up in the NL East
Saturday, June 20, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Orioles tonight. J.A Happ got the start and was pretty good allowing just 2 runs on 10 hits in 6 solid innings. Unfortunately the Phils again couldn't provide any run support. However, down just 2-0, they were finally able to get on board and take the lead in the 7th inning. In the end though Ryan Madson was not able to hold the lead in the 9th and the Phils lost their 5th in a row. From the beginning the Phils were a bit shorthanded as Ryan Howard came down with the flu and was deemed unavailable for the game. So it was not surprising when Aubrey Huff doubled in a run in the 5th inning and Brian Roberts sac flyed in a run in the 6th inning and worked a bases loaded walk in the 7th to give Baltimore a 3-0 lead through 6 and 1/2 innings. A dramatic bottom of the 7th then nearly saved the day for the Phils. First Chase Utley doubled in a run and Greg Dobbs singled in a 2nd run. Finally with 2 on and 2 out, the flu-ridden Howard managed to drag himself to the plate to pinch hit and in a scene reminiscent of Kirk Gibson in the 1988 world series, slammed a dramatic 3 run homer to put the Phils up 5-3. That set the stage for Ryan Madson to get the save in the 9th, but he could not. First Greg Zaun slammed a solo homer, and then with 1 on and 2 out ,Roberts broke the Phil's hearts with what turned out to be a game winning 2 run homer. Final score Baltimore 6 Phils 5. So the Phils are now just 13-21 at home as they lose yet another series at the bank. Oops, it seems Jimmy Rollins is not out of his slump yet after all, as he is now 0 for his last 6. While Howard did pinch hit today, he didn't stay in the game afterwards and the jury is still out on whether he'll back in the lineup tomorrow or not. I hope to god he is, because otherwise the Phils will struggle to score runs big time. With or without him they really need to figure out how to win tomorrow otherwise they'll suffer an embarrassing 2nd sweep in a row at home no less. So anyway the Phils drop to 36-30 overall now, but they remain 2 games up in the NL East, because the Mets also lost again.
Friday, June 19, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils welcomed the Baltimore Orioles to the Bank tonight to begin a weekend series. Antonio Bastardo got the start and was fairly decent allowing 4 runs on 5 hits in 7 solid innings. Unfortunately the Phils couldn't give him much support with just 2 runs on 5 hits. In the end the Phils were never able to add to those 2 runs and they and Bastardo went on to take the loss again. The Phils actually had the early 2-0 lead after Jayson Werth slapped a 2 run double in the bottom of the 1st. In the top of the 2nd the Orioles took the lead on a 2 run double by Matt Wieters and an RBI single by the pitcher Rich Hill. In the top of the 6th Aubrey Huff doubled in a run for a 4-2 lead. Finally in the top of 9th Nolan Reimold slammed a solo homer and Nick Markakis slapped a 2 run double to push the lead to 7-2 and avert any hopes of a Phils comeback. So the Phils drop to 13-20 now at home and they have now lost 4 in a row. That's just awful and I just don't know what they can do now to turn that around. John Mayberry Jr looked pretty good again today as he went 2 for 4, but he struck out the one chance he had to knock in some runs. Still, I think he might be alright after all, but the Phils aren't right now. The only hope for the Phils now is to somehow take the last 2 games of this series and then they go back on the road and can start another winning streak. Anyway so the Phils drop to 36-29 overall and are now just 2 games up in the NL East.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Blue Jays this afternoon on yet another wet and dreary day. This time they played a little bit better but it still wasn't good enough. Joe Blanton got the start and lasted just 5 and 1/3rd innings while allowing 4 runs on 9 hits. Meanwhile, the Phils were able to take advantage of the fact the Toronto starter Brad Mills lasted just 3 and 2/3rds innings, just enough to take a lead into the 7th inning, but everything fell apart from there. The Jays took the early lead 2-0, on a 2 run homer by Chavez in the 2nd inning. Jayson Werth answered with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning to cut it to 2-1. In the top of the 3rd Vernon Wells doubled in a run for a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd Werth sac flyed in a run to cut it to 3-2. In the bottom of the 4th Jimmy Rollins slugged a 2 run homer to put the Phils up 4-3. In the bottom of the 5th John Mayberry Jr (playing in place of the injurted Raul Ibanez) slammed a solo homer for a 5-3 lead. In the top of the 6th Adam Lind lined a solo homer to cut it to 5-4. In the top of the 7th Scott Rolen doubled and scored on a single by Alex Rios to tie it at 5. In the top of the 8th Wells ,and Rolen each knocked in another run for a 7-5 lead, and then Mayberry Jr gunned down Wells at plate to prevent a 3rd run. In the bottom of the 8th the Phils battled back one last time, as a solo homer by Greg Dobbs, and a 2 out RBI single by Shane Victorino tied it up again at 7. Finally in the top of the 9th, behind 0-2 in the count, Rod freaking Barajas clubbed a pinch solo homer for an 8-7 Jays' lead and at last that proved too much for the Phils to overcome. So the Phils drop to 13-19 at home now and I mean things really can't any worse than that can they? Actually with Ibanez on the DL for at least 2 weeks due to a strained groin, things could easily get a whole lot worse. The Phils just have to hope Mayberry Jr can fill the void while Ibanez is out. He is a very good outfielder and has legitimate power to all fields, he's just a little raw right now and a bit of free swinger, so hitting coach Milt Thompson has his work cut out for him. Speaking of hitting, its official now, the slump is over, JRoll is back. He had 3 more hits today, including a homer and appears to have to returned to all-star form. Anyway, so the Phils drop to 36-28 overall now , but remain 3 games up in the NL East, thanks team that comes in tomorrow to begin a 3 game series, the Orioles, who took 2 of 3 from the Mets.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Blue Jays tonight. Jamie Moyer got the start and pitched okay through the first 6 innings, holding the Jays to just 4 runs and keeping the Phils in it. Then in the 7th inning he got a little roughed up and wound up ending his night having allowed 6 runs on 10 hits. Meanwhile, Scott Richmond was Brilliant for Toronto allowing just 1 run on 5 hits, while striking out 11 in 8 innings. In other words the Phils never really had a chance in this one. They fell behind early as Toronto scored 3 runs right off the bat in the 1st inning, on a double by Marco Scutaro, a single by Aaron Hill and a fielder's choice, and Richmond was just too tough the rest of way. The only bright spot for the Phils was a solo homer by Jayson Werth in the 4th inning, which brought the Phils to within 3 at 4-1, but they never got closer. In the end after the Jays added homers by Rod Barajas, Hill, and Scott Rolen, the Phils fell 7-1 on this literally dark and dreary night(it rained lightly through half the game, but not enough to force a delay). So the Phils drop now to 13-18 at home and there's nowhere to go but up from there, hopefully. Moyer has games like these from time to time, so hopefully this was just a slight glich and he'll be fine his next time out. As for the rest of the Phils they just can't seem to get up for games at the Bank anymore for some reason and I don't understand it. Maybe Charlie Manuel should get himself thrown out of the game tomorrow or something, surely if nothing else that will light a fire under these guys. Oh well, so anyway the Phils drop to 36-27 now but remain 3 games up in the NL East.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils welcomed the Toronto Blue Jays to the Bank tonight. Cole Hamels got the start and was steady as usual, surviving a bases loaded jam in the 6th inning to hold the Jays to just 2 runs on 7 hits in 6 solid innings. Meanwhile, the Phils were able to scratch out enough runs to take a lead into the 9th inning. Unfortunately, it was simply not to be for the Phils on this night. The Phils jumped out early as Jimmy Rollins leadoff the 1st inning with a double and scored on a single by Chase Utley for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 4th Toronto finally got to Hamels as Adam Lind slugged a solo homer and Kevin Millar doubled in a run for a 2-1 Jay's lead. After as mentioned Hamels got out of a jam in the top of the 6th, the Phils rallied ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the 6th, as Jayson Werth slammed a 2 run homer. Both teams put on the pressure on again in the 8th inning, but came up empty, as the Jays left bases loaded again and the Phils stranded 2. In the 9th Ryan Madson came in for the save and you guessed it, loaded the bases with nobody out no less. He too nearly got out of it, before offering up a game-tying walk to Lyle Overbay. Madson then retired the side from there and the Phils failed to score in the bottom of the inning. So once again the Phils would need to win in extra innings. At this point after loading bases 3 times without registering a single hit with the bases loaded, Toronto had stranded 15 runners on base and yet somehow they still managed to tie the game at 3 and force extra innings. So you knew something weird was going on. It only got weirder in the 10th inning as Clay Condrey came in and you guessed it, loaded the bases, but only after allowing Scott Rolen to bloop an RBI single to put Toronto ahead 4-3. Condrey then walked in a run and his night was over. Rookie Tyler Walker, recently called up from AAA, was then left to cleanup Condrey's mess. Unfortunately, Walker wasn't quite up to the task, allowing a sac fly and a bases clearing double by Rod Barajas of all people, for an 8-3 lead. The dejected Phils then went down quietly in the bottom of the inning to finish the 8-3 loss. So the Phils drop to just 13-17 at home now, and with their next 5 games at home(2 more with the Jays, and 3 with the Orioles) they're going to have figure out how to turn that around in a hurry. Seriously, where's the Nationals when you need them? Anyway one thing that does appear to have turned around is JRoll's swing. After crushing a homerun sunday, he went 2 for 5 tonight with a run scored and most importantly no strikeouts. So he's making contact in every at bat and making progress. Anyway so the Phils drop to 36-26 overall and back to 3 games up in the NL East.
Monday, June 15, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils return to action tomorrow night against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Bank. In the meantime I thought it would be fun to do another countdown. Last time we did the top emotionally charged moments involving Philly sports figures. This time we'll do the top 25 most dramatic Phillies victories. Starting today we'll go through numbers 25-21 and reveal another 5 on each Phillies off day until we hit number 1. So let's get started.
25. Dude-riffic July 7, 1993 Phillies 7 - Dodgers 6
In a season full of crazy, wild and unbelievable finishes this was one of the most memorable. It started just like any normal game. Terry Mulholland tossed 7 strong innings and John Kruk and the dude, Lenny Dykstra each homered to give the Phils a 5-3 lead heading into the top of the 9th. Then well, let's just say they didn't call Mitch Williams the wild thing for nothing because wild is exactly what he was on this night. He walked 3 batters, allowed a single and before you knew it the lead was gone, leaving Larry Anderson to get out of a bases loaded jam. First Kevin Stocker bailed out Andersen with a perfect throw off a ground ball to get Mike Piazza at home and preserve a 5-5 tie. Then Anderson found his way out of the inning after that. From there it just kept dragging on through the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and on until the 20th inning where then rookie Mike Williams finally allowed a run on an error no less, after having pitched 5 brilliant scoreless innings. So the Phils found themselves down 6-5 in the bottom of the 20th inning and ordinarily that might have been too much for them to overcome, but not this year and not with this team. With 2 on and 2 out Dysktra, who had leadoff this whole mess 6 hours earlier, delivered a game winning 2 run double and at last after one of the longest games in Vet history the fans could go home happy.
24. Miami Miracle #1 Sept 17, 2005 Phillies 10 - Marlins 2
Things haven't always gone the Phillies way at pro player stadium. The Florida Marlins are always a scrappy bunch and there was a time when the Phillies just couldn't buy a win there, that is until this game. The psychologically challenged Vicente Padilla put together a rare good outing allowing just 2 runs in 7 innings, but then all-star Dontrelle Willis was downright nasty tossing 8 scoreless innings. So good was Willis that although he had already thrown over 100 pitches in the game manager Jack Mckeon decided to leave him in for the 9th. The move backfires badly, when the obviously exhausted Willis loses the strikezone and his infield suddenly forgets how to field a ball. First a Jimmy Rollins leadoff single squirts through the infield. Then after getting ahead 0-2 Willis walks Jason Micheals. Next Bobby Abreu hits what should be a double play ball, but Luis Castillo boots it and a run scores to cut it to 2-1. Then Todd Jones replaces Willis, and precedes to give up 4 straight RBI singles, followed by another error, this time Carlos Delgado misplays a ground ball, and now its 6-2 Phils. Now Ron Villone replaces Jones and gives up two more singles and at this point it is now 8-2, 10 Phillies have come to plate, and not one has been retired. Finally Villone strikes out Micheals for the first out, but the Phils aren't done yet. Two more hits and yet another error and another pitching change later the Phils are up 10-2 and inning is finally over. The Final tallies are 4 errors, 8 hits, 10 runs, and 1 shellshocked Marlins team.
23. Johnny On the Spot September 23, 2001 Phillies 5 - Marlins 4
Thanks to games like these the young 2001 Phillies came within a couple games of a surpise playoff berth. The Phils came into this game just a half a game behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East and desperately needed a win to stay there. Early on it looked like they would get it as Brandon Duckworth pitched into the 6th inning, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits. Thanks to Duckworth and a 4th inning homer by Travis Lee the Phils took a 3-2 lead into the 8th inning. After retiring the first two batters in the inning Ricky Bottalico served up back to back homers to Preston Wilson and Mike Lowell for a stunning 4-3 Marlins lead. For the most part after that the Phils gave no indication they had any fight left in them. Then with 2 out in bottom of the 9th Lee saved the day with a game tying solo homer. It was his 3rd game saving 9th inning homerun of the season(the first won a game against Montreal and the 2nd tied a game which the Phils went on to win in extra innings). After Jose Mesa rolled through a rare 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 10th, Johnny Estrada leadoff the bottom of the inning with a pinch solo homerun, just his 8th homer of the season, to complete the huge 5-4 win.
22. Del-lightful July 10, 1979 Phillies 6 - Padres 5
The 1979 season was probably one of the Phillies most dissapointing as after 3 straight trips to the postseason they came up completely empty. They had added Pete Rose to the roster in the offseason and everyone thought they would finally get to and win the world series. Instead they were ravaged by injuries ,and got off to a slow start, costing Manager Danny Ozark his job in mid-season. Of course he was replaced by Dallas Green and rest as they say is history. Anyway one of Ozark last bright moments came on this night. Nino Espinosa started the game for the Phils terribly, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits and failing to get out of the 5th inning. Somehow the Phils bullpen, always stellar in those years with the likes of Rolly Eastwick and Warren Brustar, managed to keep the game from getting any further out of hand with 5 and 1/3rd scoreless innings the rest of the way. Still, through 8 innings the Phils could only muster a solo homer by Mike Schmidt and trailed 5-1 heading into the 9th. After 2 runners reached base with just one out, future hall of famer, Rollie Fingers came in to clean things up, but he instead he allowed Bob Boone to slap a 2 run single to cut it to 5-3. A few batters later with 2 out and 2 on Del Unser came into pinch hit and crushed a game winning 3 run homer, his record tying 3rd consecutive pinch hit homerun, an impossible feat no one saw coming.
21. Schmidt Tames Wrigley April 17, 1976 Phillies 18 - Cubs 16
Wrigley Field has a history of wild high scoring games, especially when the Phillies are in town. Few Phillies-Cubs matchups at the old ballpark were wilder than this one. By the 3rd inning the Cubs are ahead 12-1 and seemingly in control. Then Mike Schmidt goes to work. In the 5th inning he hits his first homerun of the day to cut it 13-2. In his next at bat in the 7th, he homers again and the lead is down to 13-7. In his next bat in the 8th he goes deep again, this time a 3 run homer and its down to 13-12. By the end of the 9th the game is tied at 15. Finally, in the 10th Schmidt bats again and crushes his 4th straight homerun this time a 2 run homer and now at last after Dave Cash adds a sac fly the Phils are ahead for good 18-15. The Cubs score again in the bottom of the inning before Tug Mcgraw finally ends this wild affair. All told the two teams combine for an incredible 43 hits and 34 runs. As for Schmidt, he is still the last Phillies player to hit 4 homeruns in a game, and the only one to do it consecutively. Not bad for a day's work and you were wondering why people frequently call him the greatest 3rd baseman ever.
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25. Dude-riffic July 7, 1993 Phillies 7 - Dodgers 6
In a season full of crazy, wild and unbelievable finishes this was one of the most memorable. It started just like any normal game. Terry Mulholland tossed 7 strong innings and John Kruk and the dude, Lenny Dykstra each homered to give the Phils a 5-3 lead heading into the top of the 9th. Then well, let's just say they didn't call Mitch Williams the wild thing for nothing because wild is exactly what he was on this night. He walked 3 batters, allowed a single and before you knew it the lead was gone, leaving Larry Anderson to get out of a bases loaded jam. First Kevin Stocker bailed out Andersen with a perfect throw off a ground ball to get Mike Piazza at home and preserve a 5-5 tie. Then Anderson found his way out of the inning after that. From there it just kept dragging on through the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and on until the 20th inning where then rookie Mike Williams finally allowed a run on an error no less, after having pitched 5 brilliant scoreless innings. So the Phils found themselves down 6-5 in the bottom of the 20th inning and ordinarily that might have been too much for them to overcome, but not this year and not with this team. With 2 on and 2 out Dysktra, who had leadoff this whole mess 6 hours earlier, delivered a game winning 2 run double and at last after one of the longest games in Vet history the fans could go home happy.
24. Miami Miracle #1 Sept 17, 2005 Phillies 10 - Marlins 2
Things haven't always gone the Phillies way at pro player stadium. The Florida Marlins are always a scrappy bunch and there was a time when the Phillies just couldn't buy a win there, that is until this game. The psychologically challenged Vicente Padilla put together a rare good outing allowing just 2 runs in 7 innings, but then all-star Dontrelle Willis was downright nasty tossing 8 scoreless innings. So good was Willis that although he had already thrown over 100 pitches in the game manager Jack Mckeon decided to leave him in for the 9th. The move backfires badly, when the obviously exhausted Willis loses the strikezone and his infield suddenly forgets how to field a ball. First a Jimmy Rollins leadoff single squirts through the infield. Then after getting ahead 0-2 Willis walks Jason Micheals. Next Bobby Abreu hits what should be a double play ball, but Luis Castillo boots it and a run scores to cut it to 2-1. Then Todd Jones replaces Willis, and precedes to give up 4 straight RBI singles, followed by another error, this time Carlos Delgado misplays a ground ball, and now its 6-2 Phils. Now Ron Villone replaces Jones and gives up two more singles and at this point it is now 8-2, 10 Phillies have come to plate, and not one has been retired. Finally Villone strikes out Micheals for the first out, but the Phils aren't done yet. Two more hits and yet another error and another pitching change later the Phils are up 10-2 and inning is finally over. The Final tallies are 4 errors, 8 hits, 10 runs, and 1 shellshocked Marlins team.
23. Johnny On the Spot September 23, 2001 Phillies 5 - Marlins 4
Thanks to games like these the young 2001 Phillies came within a couple games of a surpise playoff berth. The Phils came into this game just a half a game behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East and desperately needed a win to stay there. Early on it looked like they would get it as Brandon Duckworth pitched into the 6th inning, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits. Thanks to Duckworth and a 4th inning homer by Travis Lee the Phils took a 3-2 lead into the 8th inning. After retiring the first two batters in the inning Ricky Bottalico served up back to back homers to Preston Wilson and Mike Lowell for a stunning 4-3 Marlins lead. For the most part after that the Phils gave no indication they had any fight left in them. Then with 2 out in bottom of the 9th Lee saved the day with a game tying solo homer. It was his 3rd game saving 9th inning homerun of the season(the first won a game against Montreal and the 2nd tied a game which the Phils went on to win in extra innings). After Jose Mesa rolled through a rare 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 10th, Johnny Estrada leadoff the bottom of the inning with a pinch solo homerun, just his 8th homer of the season, to complete the huge 5-4 win.
22. Del-lightful July 10, 1979 Phillies 6 - Padres 5
The 1979 season was probably one of the Phillies most dissapointing as after 3 straight trips to the postseason they came up completely empty. They had added Pete Rose to the roster in the offseason and everyone thought they would finally get to and win the world series. Instead they were ravaged by injuries ,and got off to a slow start, costing Manager Danny Ozark his job in mid-season. Of course he was replaced by Dallas Green and rest as they say is history. Anyway one of Ozark last bright moments came on this night. Nino Espinosa started the game for the Phils terribly, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits and failing to get out of the 5th inning. Somehow the Phils bullpen, always stellar in those years with the likes of Rolly Eastwick and Warren Brustar, managed to keep the game from getting any further out of hand with 5 and 1/3rd scoreless innings the rest of the way. Still, through 8 innings the Phils could only muster a solo homer by Mike Schmidt and trailed 5-1 heading into the 9th. After 2 runners reached base with just one out, future hall of famer, Rollie Fingers came in to clean things up, but he instead he allowed Bob Boone to slap a 2 run single to cut it to 5-3. A few batters later with 2 out and 2 on Del Unser came into pinch hit and crushed a game winning 3 run homer, his record tying 3rd consecutive pinch hit homerun, an impossible feat no one saw coming.
21. Schmidt Tames Wrigley April 17, 1976 Phillies 18 - Cubs 16
Wrigley Field has a history of wild high scoring games, especially when the Phillies are in town. Few Phillies-Cubs matchups at the old ballpark were wilder than this one. By the 3rd inning the Cubs are ahead 12-1 and seemingly in control. Then Mike Schmidt goes to work. In the 5th inning he hits his first homerun of the day to cut it 13-2. In his next at bat in the 7th, he homers again and the lead is down to 13-7. In his next bat in the 8th he goes deep again, this time a 3 run homer and its down to 13-12. By the end of the 9th the game is tied at 15. Finally, in the 10th Schmidt bats again and crushes his 4th straight homerun this time a 2 run homer and now at last after Dave Cash adds a sac fly the Phils are ahead for good 18-15. The Cubs score again in the bottom of the inning before Tug Mcgraw finally ends this wild affair. All told the two teams combine for an incredible 43 hits and 34 runs. As for Schmidt, he is still the last Phillies player to hit 4 homeruns in a game, and the only one to do it consecutively. Not bad for a day's work and you were wondering why people frequently call him the greatest 3rd baseman ever.
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Sunday, June 14, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finished their series with the Red Sox this afternoon in a wild game. J.A Happ got the start and did just enough to keep the Phils in it, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits in a decent 5 and 2/3rd's innings. Meanwhile, after he had pretty much shut them down for4 innings the Phils recovered to touch up Josh Beckett for 7 runs on 11 hits. In the end those 7 runs would be all they needed to claim victory, but it wasn't easy. In the bottom of the the 1st, Jayson Werth actually gave the Phils the early 1-0 lead with an RBI single. That lead lasted all of about 5 minutes until the top of the 2nd, as Rocco Baldelli and Nick Green each slammed solo homers, Jacoby Ellsbury smacked a sac fly, and Jason Bay singled in a run for a 4-1 lead. From there Beckett seemed to be rolling and the Phils looked finished. Then in the bottom of the 5th they finally got to Beckett, scoring one run on a fielder's choice, another on a single by the "Flyin Hawaiian" Shane Victorino and finally 2 more on a clutch RBI double by Ryan Howard, for a 5-4 lead. After venting his frustrations in the dugout, Beckett used them to his advantage as he leadoff the top of the 6th with a solo homer to knot it up at 5. After rolling through the bottom of the 6th, Beckett ran out of bullets in the bottom of the 7th and the normally reliable Red Sox bullpen imploded allowing, 6 runs on 4 hits. First Jimmy Rollins crushed a solo homer. Then Shane Victorino singled, stole second and scored on errror. Next Pedro Feliz slapped a 2 out 2 run double. Then Chris Coste was walked intentionally, Chan Ho Park was walked unintentionally to load the bases and JRoll was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Finally Victorino came up again and worked a bases loaded walk to force in another run and just like that the Phils were stunningly ahead 11-5. George Kottaras(that's the Red Sox backup catcher in case you're wondering) later doubled and scored a meaningless run in the 8th inning which only delayed an inevitable 11-6 Phils win. So the Phils do salvagea game in the series and move to 36-25 overall and back to 4 games up in the NL East. I am not sure but I think after that homer, JRoll might finally have his swing and confidence back. Hopefully it will stay with him now for the rest of the season. It was a little tough to see Happ get a bit roughed up today, especially after what happened to Bastardo last night. He did keep his cool though and he kept the Phils in it long enough for their bats to get going. Essentially that is exactly what the Phils shorthanded staff will have to do for the rest season, just keep it close and let the offense do the rest.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
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.
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.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Dodgers tonight. Jamie Moyer got the start and went 7 strong innings allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits. Unfortunately, the Phils wasted Moyer's best outing of the season, by supplying him with just 3 runs of support. Thus, the door was open for the Dodgers to rally late. In the top of the 3rd Jayson Werth singled and scored on a fielder's choice for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 4th Chase Utley slapped a 2 run double for a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 4th Juan Pierre was hit by a pitch, stole second and later scored on a fielder's choice to cut it to 3-1. In the bottom of the 7th James Loney singled in a run to cut it to 3-2. In the bottom of the 8th the Dodgers then had the tying run in scoring position with 2 outs, but J.C Romero managed strike out Pierre to get out of the jam. Finally it came down to Brad Lidge in the 9th and after he retired the first 2 batters it looked like the Phils were headed to victory. Three times at that point he got within a strike of closing out the win, 3 times the Dodgers denied him. First Casey Blake blooped a single. Then Loney worked a walk and Russell Martin hit into what appeared to be a game ending groundout, but normally shorthanded Pedro Feliz booted the ball and then threw wildly to first pulling Ryan Howard off the bag. That loaded the bases for Andre Eithier, hitless on the night, but of course he promptly slapped a game winning double and the Phils had lost 4-3. Chalk this one up to bad luck, the absence of Shane Victorino(the game winning double wizzed by, short and slow footed Eric Bruntlett playing in right, had the taller, faster Jayson Werth, still in center in place of Victorino, been there instead, he might have been able to catch it) , and just another night in which the Phils couldn't consistently get runners home, stranding 10 on base. Jimmy Rollins is in fact 0 for his last 10 now, and will to have wake up before long and start hitting again if the Phils are to keep up this hot streak they're on right now. Anyway so the Phils drop to 32-21 overall and just 3 games up in the NL East.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled to L.A tonight to begin a series with the Dodgers. Hollywood himself, Cole Hamels got the start and was brilliant tossing a complete game shutout on just 5 hits. Incredibly and thanks in large part to the defense behind him, Hamels needed just 97 pitches to complete the game. Meanwhile, the Phils eked out a few runs for the win. In the top of the 4th Ryan Howard sac flyed in a run for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 6th Raul Ibanez slapped an RBI double for a 2-0 lead. In the top of the 7th Jayson Werth slapped an RBI single for a 3-0 lead. From there Hamels closed out the 3-0 win. So once again the Phils did little wrong tonight, and there's not much to talk about. It was great to see Hamels go deep into a game again, as it was questionable he would still be able to do so after all the innings he threw last season. Clearly he is up for the task. Anyway so the Phils move to 32-20 overall and 4 games up in the NL East. In others not so good news, Shane Victorino strained his left hip in yesterday's game and could miss some time. He will be examined by a doctor, and hopefully they'll figure out it is not too serious. Until Jayson Werth will start in center and there will probably be rotating starters in right field. It would seem though after tonight that the Phils can win without him.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Padres tonight. J.A Happ got the start and produced a brilliant outing with 7 shutout innings on just 4 hits. Meanwhile, the Phils touched up Chris Young for 3 runs on 5 hits in just 6 innings of work, to help Happ earn the win. In other words it was another easy night for the Phils. In the top of the 1st, Ryan Howard crushed a 2 run homer to dead center for a 2-0 lead. In the top of the 4th Pedro Feliz sac flyed in a run for a 3-0 lead. In the top of the 7th Jayson Werth singled in a run and then scored on a fielder's choice for a 5-0 lead. From there J.C Romero, finally done serving his 50 game suspension, made his first appearance of the season allowing a run on a single by David Eckstein before retiring the side in the 8th. He then got the first out in the 9th before Ryan Madson came in to close out the 5-1 win. So the Phils just keep on rolling. Romero looked fairly decent tonight, for a guy who missed the first 50 games of the season. Also Happ is looking much better than I thought he would and I'm thinking he'll keep it up. Here's hoping the Phils keep up this win streak as well because this has been fun to watch. Anyway so the Phils move to 31-20 overall, 2nd best record in the Majors, behind the next team on the schedule, the L.A Dodgers, and good enough for a 3 game lead in the NL East.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Padres tonight. Antonio Bastardo, making his major league debut, got the start and shined, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits in 6 impressive innings. Meanwhile the Phils tagged Jake Peavy with 4 runs on 3 hits in just 1 inning of work, on their way to racking up 10 runs on 11 hits, unbelievable totals at cavernous Petco Park. Needless to say it was a pretty easy night for the Phils. In the top of the 1st, Ryan Howard doubled in 2 runs and scored on a double by Raul Ibanez, who then scored on a sac fly by Greg Dobbs for a 4-0 lead. In the top of the 3rd, Ibanez slammed a 2 run homer for a 6-0 lead. In the top of the 4th the "Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino tripled and scored on a fielder's choice for a 7-0 lead. In the top of the 5th Dobbs slugged a solo homer for an 8-0 lead. Finally in the bottom of the 6th Adrian Gonzalez put the Padres on the board with a solo shot to cut it to 8-1. In the top of the 7th Ibanez crushed another 2 run homer for a 10-1 lead. Chan Ho Park relieved Bastardo in the bottom of the inning and ran into some trouble, allowing 4 runs on a single by Edgar Gonzalez, a bases loaded walk to Adrian Gonzalez, and a single by Chase Headley to cut it to 10-5. Fortunately, Chad Durbin took over from there and got within one out of closing out the 10-5 win, before Ryan Madson was forced to come in and get the final out with the bases loaded. All I can say about the Phils at this point is wow. They are 18-6 on the road and I just can't figure it out. How do they keep playing so well on the road? I keep waiting for them to start to cool off on the road, and it just hasn't happened yet. Hopefully it will never happen this season. Anyway so the Phils are now 30-20 overall and lead the NL East by 2.5 games.
Monday, June 01, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled out to San Diego tonight to begin a series with the Padres. Joe Blanton got the start and delivered another solid outing allowing just 3 runs on 6 hits in 7 strong innings of work. Meanwhile, the Phils collected 5 runs on 2 hits, just enough run support to boost Blanton to the win. In the bottom of the 2nd Jerry Hairston singled and scored on a fielder's choice for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 3rd back to back singles by "the Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino and Chase Utley, produced 2 runs for a 2-1 lead. In the top of the 5th Chase Utley golfed out a solo homer down the line and Ryan Howard made it back to back homers, crushing a solo homer to dead center field, for a 4-1 lead. In the bottom of the 6th the Padres answered with back to back homers of their own, by Adrian Gonzalez and Haurston, cutting the lead to 4-3. In the top of the 8th Greg Dobbs slapped a pinch double and scored on a double by Victorino for a 5-3 lead. From there Scott Eyre retired the Padres in the 8th inning and Brad Lidge came in to get the save in the 9th to close out the 5-3 Phils win. So overall it was just another solid, "get the job done" night for the Phils which leaves me nothing else to talk about regarding the game. There also isn't any other news to talk about either. All I can say is that it has been impressive the way the Phils have been playing lately. Anyway so the Phils move to 29-20 overall with the win and now reside 1.5 games clear in the NL East.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finished their series with the Nationals this afternoon. Jamie Moyer got the start once again going for career win No. 250. This time at last thanks to improved control and a good bullpen behind him he got it. Of course the fact that the Phils were playing the Nationals also probably had something to do it. Anyway Moyer allowed just 1 run on 3 hits in 6 strong innings in getting the win. The Phils meanwhile, didn't offer him much run support but it was enough to give him a lead he would not relinquish. In the bottom of the 1st Chase Utley doubled in a run for a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the 2nd Chris Coste launched a solo homer for a 2-0 lead. In the top of the 4th Josh Willingham slammed a solo homer to cut it to 2-1. In the bottom of the 4th Raul Ibanez tripled and scored on a fielder's choice for a 3-1 lead. In the top of the 7th Willingham slugged another homer to cut it to 3-2. In the bottom of the 7th Ryan Howard tripled to knock in a run for a 4-2 lead. From there Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge got through the 8th and 9th innings as usual to close out the 4-2 win. On the whole it was a good night for Phils in all areas the so there's really nothing extra about the game to talk about. However, it seems the Phils have made a decision on the Brett Myers situation, calling up Antonio Bastardo, who's been tearing up AAA, to replace him for now. Beyond a few starts from Bastardo, if he does not pitch well the Phils may have to consider acquiring an established pitcher through free agency or a trade. It would probably take a lot of prospects for them to do so, but Jake Peavy, Roy Oswalt, and others are there for the taking if the Phils are interested. Personally I think they need to give Bastardo a chance to show his stuff first. If he pitches well enough, then there's no reason make a trade or sign a free agent. If he falters however I am afraid they'll have no choice but to acquire a better pitcher. Hopefully he'll pitch well. Anyway so the Phils move to 28-20 overall with the win today and remain 1st in the NL East by half a game over the Mets.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles hired former Cowboys defensive coordinator coach Brian Stewart today, presumably to replace Jim Johnson if his current health issues cause him to miss the season. At this point Stewart has no role for the Birds. He is however a good coach and it is a smart move for the Eagles to hire him.
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