The Phils continued their series with the Braves this afternoon. Joe Blanton got the start and put forth another good effort, but once again he was not given any run support. Last time the Phils just had a bad night, but today Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz were each given the day off, although Ruiz was forced in later when Brian Schneider went down with an injury, so it is understandable that they weren't able to come up with much offensively. Early on Shane Victorino did slap an RBI single and Blanton tossed 5 scoreless innings but like in his first start, he ran out of gas in the 6th inning. There he allowed 3 runs on 4 hits as Atlanta jumped ahead 3-1.
The Phils had chances after that to answer back but the Braves bullpen hung on time and time again. Before you knew it they held off the Phils through 4 scoreless innings. Meanwhile Troy Glaus added an RBI single in the top of the 9th to cap off the 4-1 Brave's win. It was a tough loss but again not unexpected considering the Phils were trying to rest people. I think tomorrow with everyone playing again they should be back in business and win the series. For now they sit at 18-12 overall and remain 1st in the NL East, 1 game up on the NY Mets.
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Friday, May 07, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils welcomed the Atlanta Braves to the Bank tonight to begin a weekend series. Jamie Moyer got the start and cooked up one for the ages, in what may be arguably the greatest pitching performance by a 40+ year old in major league history, as he became the oldest man in major league history to toss a complete game shutout. He was just incredible tonight and Atlanta never quite figured him out. With impeccable control and location, he had Atlanta's hitters guessing all night long and way out ahead of pitches. In the end he needed just 105 pitches to go the distance, while allowing 0 runs on 2 hits and striking out 5 against 0 walks. It just doesn't get much better than that and no one deserves it more than Jamie.
It wasn't all Jamie though. The Phils also racked up 7 runs on 11 hits off Derek Lowe through the first 5 innings, to greatly help Moyer's cause. In the bottom of the 3rd Jayson Werth clobbered a 3 run homer for a quick 3-0 lead. Later in the bottom of the 5th Raul Ibanez and WilsonValdez collected back to back 2 out 2 runs singles to produce another 4 runs and 7-0 Phils lead. Thanks to Moyer that was pretty much all she wrote from there as the Phils racked up their 4th straight win and 19th overall to move to 18-11 overall and remain 1st in the NL East by 2 games over the Mets. It is doubtful Moyer will ever put together another gem quite as good as this one but for tonight anyway nobody could have done it better than he did and I don't think I'll ever forget it. You the man Jamie!
It wasn't all Jamie though. The Phils also racked up 7 runs on 11 hits off Derek Lowe through the first 5 innings, to greatly help Moyer's cause. In the bottom of the 3rd Jayson Werth clobbered a 3 run homer for a quick 3-0 lead. Later in the bottom of the 5th Raul Ibanez and WilsonValdez collected back to back 2 out 2 runs singles to produce another 4 runs and 7-0 Phils lead. Thanks to Moyer that was pretty much all she wrote from there as the Phils racked up their 4th straight win and 19th overall to move to 18-11 overall and remain 1st in the NL East by 2 games over the Mets. It is doubtful Moyer will ever put together another gem quite as good as this one but for tonight anyway nobody could have done it better than he did and I don't think I'll ever forget it. You the man Jamie!
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers and Bruins met at the Wachovia center tonight for game 4 of their conference semifinal series. Down 3-0 coming in, the Orange and Black had to win to keep the series alive. Fortunately on this night they got Boston' s worst performance of the postseason thus far, but that almost wasn't enough to help the Flyers stave off elimination. Once again Boston struck first, this time with Mark Recchi scoring late in the 1st. A few minutes later Danny Briere answered with his owner for a 1-1 tie heading into the 2nd. In the 1st 8 minutes of the 2nd period Chris Pronger and Claude Giroux each scored as the Flyer's got hot for the first time of the series and jumped to a 3-1 lead. A couple minutes after Giroux Boston scored again to cut it to 3-2 heading into the 3rd period.A few minutes into the 3rd period Boston scored on the power play to knot it up again at 3. After that with about 5 minutes to play Ville Leino knotched his first score of the postseason to put the Flyers ahead, seemingly for good, 4-3.
With about 30 seconds to play it was still 4-3 Orange and Black and the game seemed over in favor the Flyers, but Boston had one more faceoff in the Flyer's zone and they took advantage. With 32.8 seconds to play Recchi blasted in his 2nd score of the night to knot it up at 4 and essentially send the game overtime. In the OT period the Flyers had to survive about 13 minutes and a Boston power play to keep the game and the series alive, before Matt Carle and Mike Richards combined for some nifty assists to Simon Gagne for the winning tally. So there will be a game 5 after all. No sweeps in this town. Not with Simon Gagne healthy again anyway. He really did breathe new life into his team and it will be interesting to see much longer his return will help the Orange and Black keep this series alive. Hopefully at least a couple more games.
With about 30 seconds to play it was still 4-3 Orange and Black and the game seemed over in favor the Flyers, but Boston had one more faceoff in the Flyer's zone and they took advantage. With 32.8 seconds to play Recchi blasted in his 2nd score of the night to knot it up at 4 and essentially send the game overtime. In the OT period the Flyers had to survive about 13 minutes and a Boston power play to keep the game and the series alive, before Matt Carle and Mike Richards combined for some nifty assists to Simon Gagne for the winning tally. So there will be a game 5 after all. No sweeps in this town. Not with Simon Gagne healthy again anyway. He really did breathe new life into his team and it will be interesting to see much longer his return will help the Orange and Black keep this series alive. Hopefully at least a couple more games.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finished their series with the Cardinals this afternoon. Roy Halladay got the start and was magnificent again. He allowed just 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 9 over 7 strong inning. He didn't get in a jam in the 7th with 2 on and 2 out for Matt Holliday, but where he wouldn't have for any other pitcher, Charlie Manuel stuck with Roy and he got out of it. Meanwhile the Phils beat up on Kyle Lohse for 5 runs on 9 hits. Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard did all the damage with respectively, a 3 run homer in the 1st and a 2 run single in the 2nd.
Later, with Lohse out of the game, Raul Ibanez added to the Phils tally with a solo shot in the 5th. Then Carlos Ruiz put the icing on the cake with an RBI single in the 7th. From there Chad Durbin pitched a scoreless 8th. Then Danys Baez finished the afternoon with a scoreless 9th to cap off the easy 7-2 win. So just like that the Phils walked off with an impressive series win over the Cardinals. The fact that they took 3 of 4 from the Cards is in itself impressive but the more impressive thing is that the Phils did it mostly with their much maligned pitching. So as far as I am concerned the Phils pitching is okay after all and will only get better in next couple weeks as J.A Happ returns to the rotation. For now the Phils move up to 17-11 overall, 2 games up on the Mets for 1st in the NL East.
In some more somber news Robin Roberts, arguably the greatest righhanded pitcher in Phils history, passed away today ate age 83. In a hall of fame career, Roberts won 286 games, including 20 wins for 6 straight years, with 45 shutouts, 2,357 strikeouts, a 3.41 ERA and 305 complete games. None of those complete games were greater than his 10 inning gem in the final game of 1950 season that sent the Whiz Kids to world series, at the time the Phils first such venture in 35 years. He'll be remembered not just as a great player but a great person off the field as well who always had stories to tell this generation of Phillies' players. He will be sorely missed at Phils alumni weekends from here on out.
Later, with Lohse out of the game, Raul Ibanez added to the Phils tally with a solo shot in the 5th. Then Carlos Ruiz put the icing on the cake with an RBI single in the 7th. From there Chad Durbin pitched a scoreless 8th. Then Danys Baez finished the afternoon with a scoreless 9th to cap off the easy 7-2 win. So just like that the Phils walked off with an impressive series win over the Cardinals. The fact that they took 3 of 4 from the Cards is in itself impressive but the more impressive thing is that the Phils did it mostly with their much maligned pitching. So as far as I am concerned the Phils pitching is okay after all and will only get better in next couple weeks as J.A Happ returns to the rotation. For now the Phils move up to 17-11 overall, 2 games up on the Mets for 1st in the NL East.
In some more somber news Robin Roberts, arguably the greatest righhanded pitcher in Phils history, passed away today ate age 83. In a hall of fame career, Roberts won 286 games, including 20 wins for 6 straight years, with 45 shutouts, 2,357 strikeouts, a 3.41 ERA and 305 complete games. None of those complete games were greater than his 10 inning gem in the final game of 1950 season that sent the Whiz Kids to world series, at the time the Phils first such venture in 35 years. He'll be remembered not just as a great player but a great person off the field as well who always had stories to tell this generation of Phillies' players. He will be sorely missed at Phils alumni weekends from here on out.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Cardinals tonight. Kyle Kendrick got the start and put forth his most brilliant performance thus far, going 7 scoreless innings while striking out 4 and allowing just 6 hits. Meanwhile, the Phils racked up 4 runs from the 4th inning through to the 7th inning. Placido Polanco slammed a 2 run homer in the 4th. Shane Victorion launched a solo shot in the 6th. Last but not least Greg Dobbs lined an RBI double in the 7th.
From there Danys Baez tossed a scoreless 8th inning and Jose Contreras closed it out in the 9th with another 1-2-3 inning. In all it was the best combined pitching performance by the Phils thus far this season and the only shutout they've had thus far without Roy Halladay on the mound. That coupled with Cole Hamels stellar outing last night is a very encouraging sign for a team whose pitching had been struggling a bit. Now with Halladay going tomorrow the Phils can actually win this series and surprise everyone. For now they sit at 16-11 overall, 1 game ahead of the Mets for 1st in the NL East.
From there Danys Baez tossed a scoreless 8th inning and Jose Contreras closed it out in the 9th with another 1-2-3 inning. In all it was the best combined pitching performance by the Phils thus far this season and the only shutout they've had thus far without Roy Halladay on the mound. That coupled with Cole Hamels stellar outing last night is a very encouraging sign for a team whose pitching had been struggling a bit. Now with Halladay going tomorrow the Phils can actually win this series and surprise everyone. For now they sit at 16-11 overall, 1 game ahead of the Mets for 1st in the NL East.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers and Bruins met at Wachovia center tonight for game 3 of their conference semifinal series. Trailing 2-0 in the series tonight was a must win for the Orange and Black. As expected they came out strong with Aaron Asham scoring just 2 and a half minutes into the contest to give the Flyers their first lead of the series at 1-0. It lasted all of 2 minutes before Boston was tied at 1 and then another minute before the Bruins led 2-1. Behind yet again, the Flyers just didn't have the energy to recover this time. Mark Recchi put the proverbial nail in his old mates' coffins with a power play goal early in the 3rd period and then Patrice Bergeron nailed the coffin shut with an empty netter to cap off a disappointing 4-1 Boston victory.
Cynics will say that the Orange and Black lost this one and will lose the series because they have reverted back to their regular season ways, but I don' t think that's totally true. I believe they simply came into this series too outmanned and outgunned to succeed. Boston has had the best penalty kill in the playoffs so far and today was no different with the Flyers going 0 for 4 on the power play. You just can't beat a penalty kill that is firing on all cylinders if the like the Flyer's you don't have all your big guns. The Flyers also played pretty good defense tonight holding Boston to just 19 shots on goal and Brian Boucher saved 16 of them. So You can't say the Flyer's level of play and effort has dropped off really, it just doesn't go as far without the likes of Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter, and Ian Laperriere in the lineup. Gagne could return tomorrow which could help, and teams have come from 3-0 down to win series in the NHL before, but I would say this series is over for the Orange and Black. Hopefully they at least push it to 5 or 6 games though.
Cynics will say that the Orange and Black lost this one and will lose the series because they have reverted back to their regular season ways, but I don' t think that's totally true. I believe they simply came into this series too outmanned and outgunned to succeed. Boston has had the best penalty kill in the playoffs so far and today was no different with the Flyers going 0 for 4 on the power play. You just can't beat a penalty kill that is firing on all cylinders if the like the Flyer's you don't have all your big guns. The Flyers also played pretty good defense tonight holding Boston to just 19 shots on goal and Brian Boucher saved 16 of them. So You can't say the Flyer's level of play and effort has dropped off really, it just doesn't go as far without the likes of Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter, and Ian Laperriere in the lineup. Gagne could return tomorrow which could help, and teams have come from 3-0 down to win series in the NHL before, but I would say this series is over for the Orange and Black. Hopefully they at least push it to 5 or 6 games though.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Cardinals tonight. In battle of number 2s, Cole Hamels got the start against the Cards Adam Wainright. Up until now Wainright was having the better season but it was Cole who shined tonight, allowing just 1 run on 8 hits while striking out 8 over 8 brilliant scoreless innings. Unfortunately the Phils only scored one run in that span also, with Raul Ibanez tripling and scoring on a single by Carlos Ruiz in the bottom of the 7th. As for the Cardinals, their lone run with nobody out in the 9th, as Hamels, flustered by another idiot fan running on to the field, surrendered back to back doubles and the Phils 1-0 lead. Just like that his night was over
With the go ahead run on the second and nobody out, Charlie Manuel called Brad Lidge to keep the game tied and is first big situation of the season Lidge delivered the goods. He got Skip Schumaker to ground out, intentionally walked Colby Rasmus, struck out Brendan Ryan, and finally got Jon Jay to pop up for the last out of the inning. The Phils failed to score in the bottom of the inning so the game went into extra innings. There Jose Contreras continued his impressive thus far this season, retiring the side except Albert Pujols who cracked a meaningless double. Then in the bottom of the 10th Carlos Ruiz led off with a walkoff homer for the big 2-1 win. He really was the hero tonight, knocking in both of the Phils runs on the night, but so was Cole Hamels with his 8 strong and Brad Lidge with his 9th inning bailout. If they can keep it up for the rest of the season then Phils pitching will be just fine. Anyway for now the Phils move to 15-11 overall remain 1st in the NL East.
With the go ahead run on the second and nobody out, Charlie Manuel called Brad Lidge to keep the game tied and is first big situation of the season Lidge delivered the goods. He got Skip Schumaker to ground out, intentionally walked Colby Rasmus, struck out Brendan Ryan, and finally got Jon Jay to pop up for the last out of the inning. The Phils failed to score in the bottom of the inning so the game went into extra innings. There Jose Contreras continued his impressive thus far this season, retiring the side except Albert Pujols who cracked a meaningless double. Then in the bottom of the 10th Carlos Ruiz led off with a walkoff homer for the big 2-1 win. He really was the hero tonight, knocking in both of the Phils runs on the night, but so was Cole Hamels with his 8 strong and Brad Lidge with his 9th inning bailout. If they can keep it up for the rest of the season then Phils pitching will be just fine. Anyway for now the Phils move to 15-11 overall remain 1st in the NL East.
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