The Phils continued their series with the Reds tonight. Rodrigo Lopez made his 2nd start for the Phils and was pretty sharp again allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits, before being forced to leave after the 5th inning with a muscle strain, which hopefully was only a minor tweak and nothing serious. Anyhow, while Lopez pitched well, the Phils could only get him one run and seemed destined to lose again, before tying it up in the 6th. So it would come down to some late heroics to decide this one, something the Phils haven't really displayed at home thus far this season. Cincinnati got it all started in the top of the 4th, as Lance Nix slapped a 2 run single. The Flyin Hawaiian, Shane Victorino, answered in the bottom of the inning, singling, stealing 2nd and scoring on a single by Ryan Howard. Later in the bottom of the 6th, Jayson Werth slammed a 2 out solo homer to knot it up at 2. From there after Ryan Madson pitched perfect 8th and 9th innings, the Phils finally put together another rally in the bottom of the 9th. Pedro Feliz led off with a single, Jimmy Rollins worked a walk to move Feliz to 2nd, and Victorino blooped a single to right field to score Feliz with the winning run to cap off the 3-2 Phils win. Madson looked to be back to his old unhittable self again in those two innings today which is a great sign for the Phils bullpen. Werth is tearing the cover off the ball right now, with now 6 homers in his last 11 games, which somewhat makes up for Raul Ibanez not being in the lineup. It was nice to see Victorino come through in the 9th. He was probably the Phils most clutch hitter late last season, so to see him get another clutch hit today, could be a sign of the good things to come for the Phils. Anyway so the Phils move to 44-38 now and still 2 games up in the NL East.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Reds tonight and all I can say is what a difference a day makes. While the Phils racked up another 10 hits, they could only come up with 3 runs this time around, good enough for a 3-0 lead. However, J.A Happ couldn't make it hold up, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 7 innings. So it came down to a battle of the bullpens, and unfortunately the Phils came out on the wrong side of it. The Phils started fast, as Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth smashed back to back homers in the bottom of the 2nd and Chase Utley slapped an RBI double in the bottom of the 3rd. The Reds rallied back with 2 in the 4th on a 2 run homer by Brandon Phillips and 1 in the 6th on a solo homer by Philips. Then in the 9th with the score tied at 3, Joey Votto slapped a leadoff double off Brad Lidge and then scored the eventual winning run on a single by Ramon Hernandez. The Phils, totally flat since the 3rd inning, then failed to score in their half of the 9th and the Reds got the win 4-3. I am not sure what happened to Brad Lidge today, but he always seems to struggle a bit when he pitches with the score tied or the Phils behind, so I wouldn't worry too much. I don't understand how you can score 22 runs one night and then just 3 the next night. I mean they did have 10 hits, so perhaps it was just bad luck. You have to think though that they'll get on track tomorrow night. You can't really score 22 runs in the first game of a series and then lose it can you? Anyway the Phils actually got lucky as the Marlins also lost tonight, thus allowing the 43-38 Phils to remain 2 games up in the NL East.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers have successfully signed newly acquired defenseman Chris Pronger to a 7 year contract extension worth 34.45 million, that will keep him in Orange and Black through 2017, assuming he doesn't retire before then. Also after this season even though he'll be making 7 million per year, Pronger's contract will only count as 5 million towards the Flyers salary cap, leaving them ample room to sign other players when needed. So ultimately, this extension at least vindicates the deal Paul Holmgren made to get Pronger in the first place since having Pronger for 7 seasons is worth about as much as all the Players the Flyers traded for him.
Monday, July 06, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils welcomed the Cincinnati Reds to the Bank tonight in the first of a 3 game set. Looking to get back on track after some recent struggles, Cole Hamels got the start and went 7 strong innings while allowing just 1 run on 3 hits. However, his was not the impressive performance on the night, that goes to the Phils offense which racked up an unbelievable 22 runs and 21 hits. Johnny Cueto alone, who came into tonight top 5 among starters in the NL in ERA. and opponent's batting average, was beat up for 9 runs on 5 hits, all in the first inning, which he failed to get out of. Honestly Cincinnati never really had a chance. The Phils went up 10-0 in the first inning and the Reds never recovered. All told in the that inning, Shane Victorino and Greg Dobbs each slammed a 2 run homer, Hamels himself slapped a 2 run double, Jimmy Rollins doubled in Hamels, and finally Chase Utley crunched a 3 run homer. The Phils weren't even closed to finished though. After Johnny Gomes tomahawked a solo homer in the top of the 2nd to give the Reds their only run, a single by Carlos Ruiz in the bottom of the 2nd and a sac fly by Jason Werth in the bottom of the 3rd upped the lead to 12-1. In the 4th inning, a double by Victorino, singles by Utley and Ryan Howard, and an error produced 4 more runs and a 16-1 advantage. Finally in the 8th inning the Phils added 6 more runs, on a single by Victorino, a double by Eric Bruntlett and a grand slam by Werth for a 22-1 lead. Scott Eyre then retired the side in the 9th to end the 22-1 massacre, er victory. It was nice to see Cole Hamels pitch like Cole Hamels for a change. Of course it helps when you have a 10-0 lead just an inning into the game, but Hamels pitched well regardless, throwing 61 strikes to just 31 balls. Atfer the way played at home earlier this season it is hard to believe that they have now won 4 in a row at the Bank. Here's hoping they keep it going. Anyway so the Phils move to 43-37 overall and now back to 2 games up in the NL East.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Mets this afternoon looking for the sweep. Joe Blanton got the start and was brilliant allowing just 4 hits over 7 and 1/3rd scoreless innings, just good enough to best Johan Santana who allowed 2 runs on 3 hits over 7 innings. Both runs came on solo homers, the first by Jimmy Rollins to leadoff the bottom of the 1st inning and the 2nd by Chase Utley with 2 out in the bottom of the 6th. The Phils didn't score again, but wouldn't have to. Chan Ho Park and J.C Romero combined to get the game to the 9th and there Brad Lidge struck out side impressively, to complete the shutout and series sweep of the Mets. Jimmy Rollins continues to be hot, after apparently tweaking his batting stance, as he compiled another 2 hits and an RBI. If it is possible Brad Lidge actually looked better today then he did yesterday. The Phils defense had as much to do with the shutout today as did their pitching. The Phils turned 3 double plays in crucial situations to get out jams. Ryan Howard turned an unassisted double play in the 4th inning with 1 on and 1 out, David Wright was doubled up with 1 out and the bases loaded in the 6th inning and Fernando Tatis bounced into a double play in the 8th inning with 2 on and 1 out. In other good news Raul Ibanez will start making rehab starts tomorrow and hopefully he'll be ready to go in a week or so. So anyway the Phils move to 42-37 overall, but remain just 1 game up in the NL East.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Saturday, July 04, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Mets this afternoon. Jamie Moyer got the start and tossed a gem, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits in 6 and 1/3rd innings. Meanwhile, Jimmy Rollins stayed a hot with another hit and 2 RBIs to lead the Phils to an early 3-0 which like yesterday stood up the rest of the way. Jayson Werth got the Phils started with a sac fly in the bottom of the 1st. Then JRoll slapped a 2 run double in the bottom of the 4th for the 3-0 lead. In the top of 5th, Melvin Nieves, the pitcher, gave the Mets their only run of the day with an RBI single. Finally in the bottom of the 6th "the Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino slapped a 2 out RBI single to put the Phils up 4-1 and put the Mets away for good. From there, the usual suspects, J.C Romero, Ryan Madson, and Brad Lidge closed it out, for Moyer's 7th win of the season. I don't want to jump the gun again, but I think this could be it this time, this could be the end of JRoll's slump. Of course only time will tell though. Today for the first time in a while Brad Lidge looked like the guy who was perfect last season, instead of the guy who blew 5 saves earlier this season and that's really a good sign for the Phils bullpen. Even more good news for Phils bullpen, is that Scott Eyre comes off the DL tomorrow so the Phils are starting to get healthy again at the right time. Anyway so the Phils move to 41-37 overall now and still 1 game up in the NL East, but now 3 games ahead of the Mets and the Braves.
Friday, July 03, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils returned to the Bank tonight to begin a long homestand, starting with a weekend series against the NY Mets. Out of the majors since 2007 thanks to injuries, Rodrigo Lopez, recently called up from AAA to replace Antonio Bastardo who is apparently on the DL now, got the start for the Phils tonight. Lopez put forth an inspiring performance, to say the least, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits in 6 and 1/3rd innings. Meanwhile, the Phils beat up on old nemesis, Livan Hernandez, for 7 runs on 10 hits in just 3 innings. So the Phils enjoyed a rare night in which they took an overwhelming advantage early the in game and could simply sit on it, perfect for a Met game. While the Mets were struggling to figure out Lopez, the Phils jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead. Jimmy Rollins got the Phils going right of the bat, leading off the 1st inning with a double and scoring on a single by Chase Utley. Then after Ryan Howard walked to load the bases, Greg Dobbs singled a couple batters laters for 2 more runs and 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 2nd, Utley sac flied in a run for a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd, Jayson Werth slugged a solo homer and JRoll slapped a 2 out 2 run double for a 7-0 lead. The Mets finally got on the board in the 7th inning scoring a couple runs on back to back doubles by Nick Evans and Brian Schneider, but they were too little too late and did little but cut the final score to 7-2. What a pleasant surprise Lopez was. I really thought he was going to get lit up but he surprised me big time. If he can keep pitching like that he could be a long term option to replace Brett Myers in the rotation for the rest of the season. Ryan Madson actually had a 1-2-3 9th inning tonight and considering how he'd been kinda struggling lately, it was great to see. Also great to see was JRoll hitting and getting on base. The Phils really need him to keep that up if they want to start a winning streak on this homestand instead of another losing streak. So anyway the Phils move to 40-37 overall and now back to a game up over the Marlins in the and 2 over the Mets in the NL East.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Braves tonight. J.A Happ got the start and tossed 7 good innings, allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits. Unfortunately, the Phils only scored 2 runs in that time as well. Ryan Madson then got unlucky in the 8th and allowed to take the lead and ultimately the win. Happ's one mistake on the night, gave the Braves the early 2-0 lead on a 2 run homer by Casey Kotchman. The Phils answered in the top of the 6th inning as a RBI double by Greg Dobbs and a fielder's choice tied it up at 2. It stayed that way until the bottom of the 8th. There, Madson got burned for an RBI double by Matt Diaz, and a 2 run homer by Garrett Anderson for a 5-2 Atlanta lead. The Phils then went down quietly in the 9th as Altanta completed the series sweep, the first time the Phils have been swept on the road all season, and that after they had gone unbeaten at Turner field last season. What happened to Ryan Madson tonight? He simply missed his spots. He's just not quite as precise and in control of his pitches right now as he is when he is at his best. The funny thing about the game tonight is that Jimmy Rollins actually had a couple hits tonight. Yeah imagine that, JRoll finally got untracked and the Phils lost anyway. They're just not getting enough production from the middle of the lineup without Raul Ibanez in there. They also don't seem to have the same will win Raul in there pushing them. Unfortunately, although he is eligible to come off the DL tomorrow, it is unlikely that he will at this point. So the Phils will have to figure out away out of this funk they're without him. So anyway with the loss they drop to 39-37 overall and now into a tie with the Marlins for first place in the NL East.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Braves tonight looking to rebound from their tough 10 inning loss last night. Cole Hamels got the start and looked to be cruising through 2 and 1/3rd innings, but then wheels came loose completey, and he wound up allowing 7 runs on 9 hits in just 4 innings. Meanwhile the Phils scored just one run in that time on a sac fly by Greg Dobbs in the 4th inning and needless to say they lost badly 11-1 as Jair Jurrjens went 7 good innings, holding the Phils to just 1 run on 1 hit. In fact the Phils had exactly 2 hits all night long which is just awful, although I am not sure they were really trying all that much after they fell behind 9-1 so maybe that explains it. You know for a team that had been struggling to hit coming into this series, the Braves are certainly making it look easy against the Phils. They had 11 runs on 14 hits all together and everyone in the lineup contributed. Martin freaking Prado, had another 2 hits and 2 RBIs, Chipper Jones had 2 hits and 3 RBIs, Matt Diaz had 3 hits and 2 RBIs, including a homer, I mean the list just goes on and on. It just goes to show the heightened the level of intensity teams always play with when they're facing the world champions. The Phillies aren't the hunter anymore ,they're the hunted and when you get to that point everyone you play is going to give the best they've got. So to win the Phils have to play well night in and night out, they can't just coast through games playing at an average level and expect to figure out a way to win in the end like they did last season. Right now they're just coasting again and not surprisingly losing games. If they are ever going to get out of this funk they will have to raise their play to a high level and keep it there consistently night in and night out. What has happened to Cole Hamels? After tonight's shellacking he's now just 4-5 overall with a 4.98 ERA. Is this really same guy who won NLCS and world series MVP last season? He seems to have suddenly lost his velocity and forgotten how think his way through innings. He's just going up there throwing the same pitches over and over again instead of making adjustments throughout the game to keep batters fooled from start to finish. Hopefully this isn't a harbinger of the things to come this season for Hamels. Anyway so the Phils drop to 39-36 overall now and just .5 games up in the NL East.
FLYERS NEWS
The NHL free agent signing period is in full swing right now and so is the Flyer's offseason as they made 2 additions to the team today. First they finally found their backup goalie in former Flyer Brian ,Boosh!, Boucher who had been Evgeni Nabokov's backup in San Jose with the Sharks the last few seasons. He's been a pretty good backup too, with a 12-6 record, 2.18 GAA and .917 save percentage last season, all very good totals for a backup. Ultimately, he is good insurance in case Ray Emery turns out to be a bust, and a reliable backup if Emery plays well. Next the Flyers added 35 year old 14 year veteran defensive minded winger/center Ian Lapierrere who's been with the Colorado Avalanche the last few seasons. Basically he simply adds to the higher level of defensive grit the Flyers had already added with Chris Pronger. He's the type of with 600+ penalty minutes last season who is willing take on anybody and use his body to block shots on net. He's also reportedly a very good faceoff guy which is something else the Flyer's lacked last season. So you can pretty much rest assured that with Pronger and now this guy around, the front of net will be cleared out for whoever is in goal, Emery or Boucher, to make saves this season. The only negative for the Flyers today is that Mike Knuble signed with the Washington Capitals, which removes another 25 goals from the roster. Couple with Joffrey Lupul that 50 less goals the Flyers will have this season. Of course, is Danny Briere actually stays healthy this season he could make up most of that on his own and the improved the defensive toughness will help cover some of that as well. Still, it might be nice if the Flyers added one more scorer just in case.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled to Atlanta tonight to begin a series with the Braves. Joe Blanton got the start and was decent allowing 3 runs on 8 hits in just 5 innings , just good enough to keep the Phils in the game until they could mount a late rally. The Phils took the early 1-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning on an RBI double by Ryan Howard. Atlanta answered right back in the bottom of the inning as Gregor Blanco tripled and scored on a single by Edgar Prado. The Phils retook the lead in the top of the 5th on a solo homer by Chase Utley. Then Atlanta again answered back in the bottom of the inning, as a solo homer by Prado and a fielder's choice put them up 3-2. While the Phils bullpen began to shut Atlanta down from there, dramatic homers by John Mayberry Jr. and Pedro Feliz rallied the Phils back ahead 4-3 in the top of the 8th. Unfortunately, Ryan Madson couldn't hold the lead in the bottom of the inning, as Prado slapped a 2 out RBI double to knot it up at 4. Neither team scored in the 9th inning, but the Phils had a chance in 10th to retake the lead with one on and one out, but Jayson Werth was robbed of hit by a diving Chipper Jones on an inning ending double play. In the bottom of the inning the Braves got their chance against Chan Ho Park. Park started the inning with a strike out but it got away from him after that. Matt Diaz and Blanco each singled to put runners at the corners for you guessed it, Prado, who promtply singled himself to score Diaz for the 5-4 win. Coming into tonight, Prado had exactly 3 home runs and 9 RBIs all season. So the fact that he 4 hits and 4 RBIs tonight is ridiculous. I wouldn't expect him to keep that up for the rest of the series. Ryan Madson is killing me right now. How does he keep blowing leads like this. Is it just bad luck or he has slipped a little bit? Tonight it was a little bit of both, as after getting the first 2 batters out in the 8th, he walked Blanco and threw the ball away trying to pick him off first, allowing him to move up to second. Then what happens, the very next batter Prado doubles to tie the game. You just can't make mistakes like that, but you also don't expect the next guy up to double. Sometimes in baseball bad things happen to good people. Honestly, though the Phils have to stop making stupid mistakes like this. Anyway so the Phils drop to 39-35 overall now and just 1.5 games up in the NL East, but it's the Marlins who are 2nd now.
Monday, June 29, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils are off today as they travel to Atlanta to start a series with the Braves. Thus, it's time for the 3rd installment of our top 25 most dramatic phils victories, No.s 15-11.
15. October 19, 1980 World Series game 5 the dynamic Trillo Phillies 4 - Royals 3.
After 97 years of futility the 1st world title in franchise history is finally within reach. However, after winning the first 2 games of the world series at the vet, they've lost the last two on the road in Kansas City. Now after beating up on Marty Bystrom for 3 runs on 10 hits, the Royals are leading again 3-2 through 6 innings at old Kauffman stadium. While the Phils show no signs that they have another comeback left in them, Tug Mcgraw keeps them in the game, with scoreless frames in the 7th and 8th innings. Finally it's the top of 9th and the Phils are 3 outs from watching another title bid all but slip away. Fortunately, the indomitable will to win that got them here, finally kicks in as the Phils mount a rally against ultra tough Royal's closer Dan Quisenberry. Mike Schmidt who knocked in the Phils only runs to this point with a 2 run homer, leads off with a single. Del Unser then doubles down the line in right to score Schmidt with the tying run. Keith Moreland bunts Unser over to 3rd, to set up Gary Maddox "the secretary of defense", to knock in the go ahead run but he grounds out to 3rd, leaving Unser stranded with 2 outs. So its up to Manny Trillo, the NLCS MVP, to come through one more time. After falling behind in the count 0-2 he laces a single back up the middle, Unser walks home, and the Phils lead 4-3. Mcgraw finishes off a remarkable 3 inning effort with a scoreless 9th, but as usuall isn't easy as he loads the bases with the 2 outs before striking out Jose Cardenal to end it and just like that the Phils are one win away from their first world title.
14. October 6, 1993 NLCS game 1 Kim Dandy Phillies 4 - Braves 3
In the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, the Phils are pitted against the heavily favored Atlanta Braves, then the 2 time defending national league champs. It's the Phils though that look like the stronger team in this one. Curt Schilling is brilliant in his first postseason start striking out the first 5 batters he faces, as he allows just 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 10 in 8 innings. Moreover, Pete Incaviglia's 4th inning homer and Steve Avery's wild pitch in 6th have the Phils ahead 3-2 heading into the 9th inning. Then Jim Fregosi decides to bring Kim Batiste into the game as a defensive replacement for Dave Hollins, oops. After Mitch Williams walks Bill Pecota to start the inning, Mark Lemke hits a sharp ground ball right at Batiste which should be an easy double play, except Batiste throws it into left field, allowing Pecota to go 3rd and then score a couple batters later on a fielder's choice. Fortunately for Batiste, Williams strikes out Ron Gant to end the inning with the game still tied. After the Phils fail to score in the bottom of the inning. Williams finds his away out of another jam in the top of the 10th. Almost right off the bat in the bottom of the inning, after John Kruk doubles off the wall in right Batiste gets a chance to redeem himself. He does, sending Greg Mcmicheal's 1-2 offering down the left field line for a game winning double. From goat to hero in a manner of minutes, Batiste is held aloft and carried off the field by his teammates.
13. September 23, 2008 NL East clincher - the double play. Phillies 4 - Nationals 3
Back on September 10 the Phils again found themselves behind the NY Mets in the standings, this time by 3.5 games. Once again NY choked away their lead and by this day the Phils lead the NL East by a game with 2 to play and with NY having lost again earlier in the day, they have their first opportunity to clinch their 2nd consecutive NL East title. They won't need another one. Just as he was a year earlier Jamie Moyer is called on to start and he does not disappoint going 6 strong innings while allowing just 1 run on 6 hits. Meanwhile, a 5th inning homer by Jayson Werth and a clutch 2 out RBI double by Pedro Feliz in the 8th inning pace the Phils to a 4-2 lead heading into the 9th. Brad Lidge comes in for the save looking to close out a perfect regular season. He strikes out Emilio Bonifacio to start the inning and then things get a little wild. Roger Bernardina singles, Ryan Langerhans walks and Anderson Hernandez singles to score Bernardina and cut the lead to 4-3. Then Cristian Guzman singles and suddenly the tying run is on 3rd and the go ahead run is on 2nd, with the Nationals most, er only feared hitter, Ryan Zimmerman coming to the plate. Zimmerman slaps a ground ball towards the hole, which looks like it might get through and put Washington ahead, but Jimmy Rollins makes a spectacular play to get to the ball and flip it to Chase Utley for one out and Utley relays perfectly to Ryan Howard at first for the second and final out and its on to the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row.
12. October 4, 1980 NL East Clincher - Schmidt bombs Expos Phillies 6 - Expos 4.
Neck and neck with Montreal all September the Phils had finally pulled a game ahead after a win the day before in the first game of this series and now they can put the Expos away for good with a win here. Larry Christenson tosses 6 solid innings, allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits but the Phils can manage just one run in those 6 innings on an RBI single by Pete Rose and still trail 2-1 late in the game. That is until "the Bull" Greg Luzinski slaps a 2 run double in the 7th inning for a 3-2 lead. Unfortunately Sparky Lyle can't hold the lead in the bottom of the inning and the Phils are behind again 4-3 until a clutch 2 out single by Bob Boone ties it at 4 in the 9th inning. Tug Mcgraw keeps Montreal off the board in the bottom of the inning and in the 10th after the Phils fail to score he keeps the game alive again. Finally in the top of the 11th with one on and one out Montreal manager Dick Williams makes the stupid decision to pitch to Mike Schmidt, when he can easily walk him. Micheal Jack makes him pay, crushing a 2 run homer to put the Phils up for good 6-4. Mcgraw quickly ends Montreal's playoff hopes with a 1-2-3 11th to complete an impressive 3 inning effort and for the Phils its on to the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 years.
11. April 24, 2009 Miami Miracle II Phillies 7 - Marlins 3.
Coming into this matchup the Phils are just in 3rd place in the NL East after a rough start to their season. The Fish however, have been on a tear and are in first place coming into this the first of a 3 game series. The two teams trade places after this night. For most of the night it looks the roll will continue for the Marlins. Dan Uggla crushes a 3 run homer off Brett Myers in the first inning and Josh Johnson throws 7 scoreless innings, allowing just 3 hits while striking out 8 as the Phils lineup shows no signs of life. The Phils stay in it though, just down 3-0 as Myers settles down and goes through 6 scoreless innings of his own. After Clay Condrey pitches a scoreless 8th inning the Phils are still only down 3-0 heading into 9th. There the Phils finally come to life. After Ryan Howard grounds out to start the inning, Jayson Werth doubles, Raul Ibanez works a walk, Matt Stairs singles to score Werth and cut the lead to 3-1 and finally Lou Marson walks to load the bases with one out for Eric Bruntlett. After all that Marlins' closer Matt Lidstrom seems to settle down and strikes out Bruntlett. So it looks like he' s going to get out of the jam and the Phils will come up short. Instead Jimmy Rollins works a walk to force in a run and cut it to 3-2. Next up the "Flyin Hawaiian" Shane Victorino. A few pitches later, Victorino does the unthinkable sending his first career grand slam into the seats in right and stunningly the Phils are ahead 6-3. Chase Utley then follows with a solo homer to cap off an incredible 7 run 9th inning and send a reeling Lindstrom to the showers. Final tallies, 7 runs, 5 hits, and yes yet another shellshocked Marlins' team. In fact the win propels the Phils to a series sweep and knocks Florida into a tailspin which sees them drop out of first and eventually down to 3rd. Meanwhile, the Phils finally string together some wins and climb up to first just a week and a half later.
10-6
15. October 19, 1980 World Series game 5 the dynamic Trillo Phillies 4 - Royals 3.
After 97 years of futility the 1st world title in franchise history is finally within reach. However, after winning the first 2 games of the world series at the vet, they've lost the last two on the road in Kansas City. Now after beating up on Marty Bystrom for 3 runs on 10 hits, the Royals are leading again 3-2 through 6 innings at old Kauffman stadium. While the Phils show no signs that they have another comeback left in them, Tug Mcgraw keeps them in the game, with scoreless frames in the 7th and 8th innings. Finally it's the top of 9th and the Phils are 3 outs from watching another title bid all but slip away. Fortunately, the indomitable will to win that got them here, finally kicks in as the Phils mount a rally against ultra tough Royal's closer Dan Quisenberry. Mike Schmidt who knocked in the Phils only runs to this point with a 2 run homer, leads off with a single. Del Unser then doubles down the line in right to score Schmidt with the tying run. Keith Moreland bunts Unser over to 3rd, to set up Gary Maddox "the secretary of defense", to knock in the go ahead run but he grounds out to 3rd, leaving Unser stranded with 2 outs. So its up to Manny Trillo, the NLCS MVP, to come through one more time. After falling behind in the count 0-2 he laces a single back up the middle, Unser walks home, and the Phils lead 4-3. Mcgraw finishes off a remarkable 3 inning effort with a scoreless 9th, but as usuall isn't easy as he loads the bases with the 2 outs before striking out Jose Cardenal to end it and just like that the Phils are one win away from their first world title.
14. October 6, 1993 NLCS game 1 Kim Dandy Phillies 4 - Braves 3
In the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, the Phils are pitted against the heavily favored Atlanta Braves, then the 2 time defending national league champs. It's the Phils though that look like the stronger team in this one. Curt Schilling is brilliant in his first postseason start striking out the first 5 batters he faces, as he allows just 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 10 in 8 innings. Moreover, Pete Incaviglia's 4th inning homer and Steve Avery's wild pitch in 6th have the Phils ahead 3-2 heading into the 9th inning. Then Jim Fregosi decides to bring Kim Batiste into the game as a defensive replacement for Dave Hollins, oops. After Mitch Williams walks Bill Pecota to start the inning, Mark Lemke hits a sharp ground ball right at Batiste which should be an easy double play, except Batiste throws it into left field, allowing Pecota to go 3rd and then score a couple batters later on a fielder's choice. Fortunately for Batiste, Williams strikes out Ron Gant to end the inning with the game still tied. After the Phils fail to score in the bottom of the inning. Williams finds his away out of another jam in the top of the 10th. Almost right off the bat in the bottom of the inning, after John Kruk doubles off the wall in right Batiste gets a chance to redeem himself. He does, sending Greg Mcmicheal's 1-2 offering down the left field line for a game winning double. From goat to hero in a manner of minutes, Batiste is held aloft and carried off the field by his teammates.
13. September 23, 2008 NL East clincher - the double play. Phillies 4 - Nationals 3
Back on September 10 the Phils again found themselves behind the NY Mets in the standings, this time by 3.5 games. Once again NY choked away their lead and by this day the Phils lead the NL East by a game with 2 to play and with NY having lost again earlier in the day, they have their first opportunity to clinch their 2nd consecutive NL East title. They won't need another one. Just as he was a year earlier Jamie Moyer is called on to start and he does not disappoint going 6 strong innings while allowing just 1 run on 6 hits. Meanwhile, a 5th inning homer by Jayson Werth and a clutch 2 out RBI double by Pedro Feliz in the 8th inning pace the Phils to a 4-2 lead heading into the 9th. Brad Lidge comes in for the save looking to close out a perfect regular season. He strikes out Emilio Bonifacio to start the inning and then things get a little wild. Roger Bernardina singles, Ryan Langerhans walks and Anderson Hernandez singles to score Bernardina and cut the lead to 4-3. Then Cristian Guzman singles and suddenly the tying run is on 3rd and the go ahead run is on 2nd, with the Nationals most, er only feared hitter, Ryan Zimmerman coming to the plate. Zimmerman slaps a ground ball towards the hole, which looks like it might get through and put Washington ahead, but Jimmy Rollins makes a spectacular play to get to the ball and flip it to Chase Utley for one out and Utley relays perfectly to Ryan Howard at first for the second and final out and its on to the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row.
12. October 4, 1980 NL East Clincher - Schmidt bombs Expos Phillies 6 - Expos 4.
Neck and neck with Montreal all September the Phils had finally pulled a game ahead after a win the day before in the first game of this series and now they can put the Expos away for good with a win here. Larry Christenson tosses 6 solid innings, allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits but the Phils can manage just one run in those 6 innings on an RBI single by Pete Rose and still trail 2-1 late in the game. That is until "the Bull" Greg Luzinski slaps a 2 run double in the 7th inning for a 3-2 lead. Unfortunately Sparky Lyle can't hold the lead in the bottom of the inning and the Phils are behind again 4-3 until a clutch 2 out single by Bob Boone ties it at 4 in the 9th inning. Tug Mcgraw keeps Montreal off the board in the bottom of the inning and in the 10th after the Phils fail to score he keeps the game alive again. Finally in the top of the 11th with one on and one out Montreal manager Dick Williams makes the stupid decision to pitch to Mike Schmidt, when he can easily walk him. Micheal Jack makes him pay, crushing a 2 run homer to put the Phils up for good 6-4. Mcgraw quickly ends Montreal's playoff hopes with a 1-2-3 11th to complete an impressive 3 inning effort and for the Phils its on to the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 years.
11. April 24, 2009 Miami Miracle II Phillies 7 - Marlins 3.
Coming into this matchup the Phils are just in 3rd place in the NL East after a rough start to their season. The Fish however, have been on a tear and are in first place coming into this the first of a 3 game series. The two teams trade places after this night. For most of the night it looks the roll will continue for the Marlins. Dan Uggla crushes a 3 run homer off Brett Myers in the first inning and Josh Johnson throws 7 scoreless innings, allowing just 3 hits while striking out 8 as the Phils lineup shows no signs of life. The Phils stay in it though, just down 3-0 as Myers settles down and goes through 6 scoreless innings of his own. After Clay Condrey pitches a scoreless 8th inning the Phils are still only down 3-0 heading into 9th. There the Phils finally come to life. After Ryan Howard grounds out to start the inning, Jayson Werth doubles, Raul Ibanez works a walk, Matt Stairs singles to score Werth and cut the lead to 3-1 and finally Lou Marson walks to load the bases with one out for Eric Bruntlett. After all that Marlins' closer Matt Lidstrom seems to settle down and strikes out Bruntlett. So it looks like he' s going to get out of the jam and the Phils will come up short. Instead Jimmy Rollins works a walk to force in a run and cut it to 3-2. Next up the "Flyin Hawaiian" Shane Victorino. A few pitches later, Victorino does the unthinkable sending his first career grand slam into the seats in right and stunningly the Phils are ahead 6-3. Chase Utley then follows with a solo homer to cap off an incredible 7 run 9th inning and send a reeling Lindstrom to the showers. Final tallies, 7 runs, 5 hits, and yes yet another shellshocked Marlins' team. In fact the win propels the Phils to a series sweep and knocks Florida into a tailspin which sees them drop out of first and eventually down to 3rd. Meanwhile, the Phils finally string together some wins and climb up to first just a week and a half later.
10-6
Sunday, June 28, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finished their series with the Bluejays this afternoon looking to win two in a row for the first time in a while. Jamie Moyer got the start and was good enough scattering 4 runs on 5 hits over 5 solid innings to earn his 252nd career victory, which moves him ahead of the great Bob Gibson on the all-time wins list. Moyer can thank the bullpen and timely hitting for this one. The bullpen went 4 scoreless in relief of Moyer and the Phils surged ahead for good in the top of the 4th, just in time to qualify Moyer for the win. Early on however, things didn't look quite as good. Aaron Hill homered in the bottom of the 1st, Jose Bautista homered in the bottom of the 2nd, and Hill homered again in the bottom of the 3rd, to put Toronto ahead 4-1 heading into the 4th inning. There with a little luck and one big hit the Phils pushed ahead. First a perfect drag bunt by Eric Bruntlett loaded the bases with no one out for Carlos Ruiz. Ruiz hit a sharp ground ball a few pitches later, which Scott Rolen stupidly threw to second instead of home,allowing Pedro Feliz to score, and after a perfect takeout slide by Bruntlett, ruining any chance for a double play. Next the "Flyin Hawaiian" Shane Victorino hit a sac fly to cut it to 4-3. Finally, Chase Utley cleared the bases with a triple to put the Phils up 5-4. From there, after Moyer got out of a jam in the 5th, the Phils bullpen took over. Chan Ho Park rolled through 6th and 7th innings, Ryan Madson tossed a scoreless 8th, and Brad Lidge got the save in the 9th, but only after allowing the first to batters to reach base. Still, it was good to see him looking like last year's Lidge for a change. It also was nice to see the Phils take not just the game today, but the series from the Jays. Now if only they could do that at home. Anyway, so it looks the like the Phils bullpen will be just fine after all if it can just get healthy. Hopefully, now that interleague play is over, the Phils lineup will go back to normal, although it won't really be the same again until Raul Ibanez comes back from the DL. Finally, as for the rotation, I would say the Phils appear to have 4 solid starters right now, in Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, J.A Happ, and Jamie Moyer. However, Antonio Bastardo hasn't looked at all major league ready his last few times out. He looked good before, but really all he was doing was throwing fastball after fastball and batters just weren't hitting them. That's pretty much still all he is doing, except they're hitting them now. It might be time to bring someone else up from AAA in his place and I would say at most he'll get maybe one more start. Anyway so with the win the Phils move to 39-34 overall and now back up to 2.5 games up in the NL East.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers are preparing to start playing summer league games, specifically there usual stop in Orlando in about a week. Besides Mo Speights, and 1st round pick Jrue Holiday, the Sixers have also added ex Temple star Dionte Christmas to their summer league roster. Christmas whom many thought would go in the 2nd round of the draft because of his outstanding outside shooting and scoring touch(he torched Tennessee for 40 points and about 6 threes early last season in a upset win for the Owls), went undrafted. However, thanks his ability to hit threes and score at will at times, he could easily make the team, in fact if they'd had a 2nd round pick the Sixers might have taken him. Plus Sixers fans always love to cheer on local products, so he'd be hit with the wachovia center faithful right off the bat. So anyway get ready to hear the phrase its Christmas in July on highlights shows in the next week or so.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Blue Jays this afternoon and what a difference a day makes. J.A Happ got the start and was brilliant, allowing just 5 hits in the first complete game shutout of his career. Perhaps even more impressive is that he didn't allow a single walk in the game, and threw just 100 pitches. So he was rolling big time and so were the Phils, as they beat up on Toronto starter Brad Mills for 8 runs on 8 hits and eventually finished with 10 runs on 14 hits overall. They jumped out early with 4 runs in the 1st on 2 run homers by Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz. They then added 1 in the 4th, on a double by Carlos Ruiz, 4 in the 5th on singles by Werth, Ruiz and Ryan Howard, and a sac fly by Eric Bruntlett, and finally 1 in the 6th on a solo homer by Werth to cap off the 10-0 win. Yeah Werth had about as good a day as Happ, with 4 hits, 3 runs scored, and 3 RBIs, to singlehandedly account for over half the Phils offense. I really didn't see this coming from Happ, although he really hasn't had a bad start since replacing Chan Ho Park in the rotation and I would say he's pretty much earned himself a spot in the rotation for the rest of the season and actually he has better numbers than anyone else in the rotation right now, at 5-0 with an ERA of 3.00. Seriously, how did Chan Ho Park beat out Happ for the 5th spot in the rotation during spring training anyway. I don't know if this win will carry over in to tomorrow for the Phils, but I don't see why not with the veteran Jamie Moyer on the mound. It just depends on whether or not the Phils can keep hitting for once. Anyway with the win the Phils move to 38-34 overall and back up to 1.5 games up in the NL East, as the Mets, Marlins, and yes, Braves all lost again today.
FLYERS NEWS
On day 2 of the NHL draft the Flyers actually made some picks although nothing significant. In the 3rd round they took goalie Adam Morrison and defenseman Simon Bertillson. In the 5th round they took goalie Nicola Riopel. In the 6th round they took center Dave Labrecque and left wing Eric Wellwood. Finally in the 7th round they took defenseman Oliver Lauridsen. Ultimately, none of these guys will be joining Flyers anytime soon if at all. In fact they're all 20 years of age or younger and will probably need at least 3 years to develop. Probably the best of all the picks would be the defenseman Bertillson who scored 31 points including 9 goals in 30 games with his Swedish team Brynas. God only knows about the rest of these guys.
Friday, June 26, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The the first day or round 1 of the NHL draft was tonight. However, the Flyers did make any picks tonight because they traded away their first round pick(number 21) along with their 1st round pick in the 2010 draft, forward Joffrey Lupul, and defenseman Luca Sbisa to the Anaheim Ducks for future hall of fame defenseman Chris Pronger and young forward Ryan Dingle who will probably play in the AHL next season. Although he is now just one of the best defenseman in the NHL, rather than the best, Pronger is exactly what the Flyers needed, a tough as nails defenseman not afraid to intimidate others. He is the blue line leader the Flyers have lacked since Derian Hatcher's was felled by career ending injuries. Sure, they had to get rid of a lot to get him, but Lupul an average 25 goal scorer, was being grossly overpaid at 4 years for $4.5 million and thus was expendable and getting rid of him frees up the cap space the Flyers needed to sign a backup goalie and to re-sign Mike Knuble. Also both of the picks the Flyers gave up were late first rounders and in the NHL especially, late first rounders are always hit or miss and often take years develop before they can assume a role on the team. In fact Anaheim didn't even use that 21st pick they got from the Flyers tonight, instead trading it to Columbus. So ultimately all the Flyers really gave up for Pronger was Sbisa. Out of all the young defenseman on the Flyers he probably had the potential to become the most talented, but it would have taken him at least a couple more years to harness that talent. Also Sbisa was never going to have the same 6-6 221 lb size and the intimidation ability of Pronger. Therefore, while some would say the Flyers gave up too much for Pronger, I think it may have been worth it. The only problem is that Pronger has only a year left on his current contract so if the Flyers want to keep him for a few years at least, they'll have sign him to a new deal, but it sounds like that won't be a problem. At any rate this clearly shows the Flyers are committed to winning a cup now rather than a few years from now because at 34 years old Pronger probably can only help them get to the cup for another 3-5 years. So let's leave it at this. If the win a cup in next 3-5 years, than this arguably the best trade they have ever made. Otherwise it is a huge bust. At any rate though with Ray Emery and now Pronger in tow the Flyers will at least be a fun team to watch next season.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled to Toronto tonight to begin a series with the Blue Jays. After getting demolished by the Tampa Bay Rays last night , they were hoping to bounce back tonight. Instead, it was only more of the same. Even Cole Hamels, who got the start tonight, couldn't save the Phils as he allowed 4 runs on 8 hits in just 4 and 2/3rd's innings of work. Meanwhile Ricky Romero sparkled for Toronto no-hitting the Phils for 6 innings, before losing it in the 7th. In all he tossed 7 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits. Thus, by the time the Phils finally scored a run in this one, it was the top of the 9th and too late mount any sort of comeback. All of the Toronto runs off Hamels, came in the 4th and 5th innings. In the 4th, Alex Rios singled in a run for a 1-0 lead, and in the 5th a 2 run double by Aaron Hill and a sac fly by Scott Rolen pushed it to 4-0. Later Toronto added 2 in the 8th on a single by Raul Chavez and a bases loaded walk issued to Hill to push the lead to 6-0. Finally as mentioned the Phils scored in the 9th on a sac fly by Jason Werth, but it was too late and they fell 6-1. So the Phils lose their 3rd in a row on the road for the first time all season. It really was just another terrible night for the Phils. They had exactly 3 hits all night long, 2 by Chase Utely, and one by Werth and everyone else, Ryan Howard(finally back at 1st) Pedro Feliz, Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino, etc; went hitless. Hamels had his worst start of the season thus far and he's now just 4-4 overall with an oddly high 4.44 ERA. Brad Lidge did get finally back into a game again tonight, but he threw a wild pitch and gave up those 2 runs in the 8th inning. They just don't look like the same Phillies team that won the world series with now. I don't know maybe it is just that they're stuck in interleague play, which is alway they're worst time of the year. Simply put they stink against american league teams, year in and year out. Especially against the AL East, which who they have been playing this year. So hopefully that's all that is going on with them right now, and as soon this series is over and they go back to playing NL teams they'll be fine. In the mean time, despite the loss they remain 1st in the NL East at just 37-34 overall, since the Mets(0.5 back), Marlins(1 back), and Braves(4 back) all lost tonight as well, thank God.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phillies completed their series with the Rays tonight and it wasn't pretty. Antonio Bastardo got the start and was touched up for 6 runs on 7 hits in just 3 and 2/3rd's innings. So maybe he's just not ready to be a part of the Phils rotation after all. Meanwhile the Phils put up 4 quick runs in the 1st inning, then um didn't score again the rest of night. Seriously it was like the whole team fell asleep. They made fielding mistakes(Jayson Werth badly misplayed line drive off the wall in right), base-running mistakes(Pedro Feliz got caught way off first on an obvious fly out with just one out at the time) and just a lot of really stupid mistakes. Suffice it to say they didn't play like world champions tonight. Doubles by Ryan Howard and Matt Stairs, and a single by Pedro Feliz put the Phils up 4-0 in the 1st inning, but it was all down hill from there. Tampa came right back with 3 runs in the 1st inning on a double by Carlos Pena and 2 run homer by Ben Zobrist. They scored 3 more in the 2nd inning on a solo homer by Willy Aybar, a double by Carl Crawford, and a fielder's choice. So before you knew it Tampa was ahead 6-4 and they never looked back. With 3 in the 6th on singles by Jason Bartlett, and Aybar, and 1 in the 7th on a fielder's choice, Tampa went on to win easily 10-4. Frankly I am disgusted with the way the Phils played tonight. Champions aren't supposed to play like this. Where's the heart? Where's the hustle? Wherever it is they better find it, because now after dropping to just 37-33 overall they lead the NL East by just a half a game.
SIXERS NEWS
The NBA draft was tonight and with 17th pick of the 1st round, their only pick in the draft, the Sixers selected UCLA point guard Jrue Holiday. Holiday was projected as a top 10 pick so I guess the fact that the Sixers got him can be considered a steal. The problem is that Holiday is a bit of a project. He has the potential to become a very good point guard in the NBA in a couple years and probably will be, but he's not ready to step in as the Sixer's point guard right now. Which means the Sixers either must be confident they can bring back Andre Miller for at least couple more years or they really don't plan on putting together a contender for a couple more years. Honestly, Thad Young and Mo Speights probably won't be good enough to elevate the Sixers into contention for a couple years anyway so perhaps getting Holiday was a smart pick. I just wish the Sixers were a little more committed to winning now instead of a couple years from now. Realistically though, with the Magic adding Vince Carter, and the Cavs adding Shaq, the Sixers probably weren't going to be able to get much farther this season or even next season, than they did last season. So ultimately, I guess I would say getting Holiday was a nice pick for the Sixers. In fact if the Sixers can bring back Miller then it would be the perfect learning situation for Holiday and maybe he could end up being a very good pick. Make no mistake is a very good player. At a big physical height of 6-3, with a wingspan of 6-7 he is a very good defender capable of wreaking havoc in the lane and he's also a good athlete and good ball handler. Also other than his one college season at UCLA, he has played point guard his entire life, so unlike Lou Williams he really is a pure point guard. The only problem with the Holiday is that he needs to work on his shooting. Once he gets that done though he could be a star. So who knows maybe the Sixers really are better after this draft.
PHILLIES NEWS
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.
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.
20 -16
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.
20 -16
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.
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