No no-no, but newest Roy giving Phils lots to enjoy
By egrissom | September 2, 2010
Roy Oswalt held the Dodgers to one hit over 6 1/3 innings yesterday, a two-out single by Casey Blake just out of the reach of Werth in right in the sixth. Oswalt wasn’t quite as good as that sounds, he walked six, but the Phils scored five runs in the game and rolled to a 5-1 win to take the series two games to one.
Oswalt has been a fantastic addition to the Phillies rotation, providing exactly the spark the team was counting on. He struggled in his first start as a Phillie, allowing five runs over six innings. Since then the Phils are 6-0 in the games Oswalt has started and he has thrown nearly seven innings a start (6.94). He’s 4-0 with a 1.30 ERA and an 0.91 ratio over those six games.
The Phillies are 75-58 on the year after beating the Dodgers 5-1 yesterday afternoon. They take the series two games to one. They’re still three games behind the Braves in the NL East and leave the Giants by a game and a half for the Wild Card. The Cardinals are behind the Giants in the Wild Card race and are five games behind the Phils.
Oswalt got the start for the Phils and went 6 1/3 shutout innings, allowing one single and six walks. He struck out six.
He threw a 1-2-3 first with a 1-0 lead.
He started the second up 2-0. He walked James Loney with one out, but got Casey Blake on a fly ball to right for the second out and Ronnie Belliard on a fly ball to left for the third.
Rod Barajas walked to start the third and the pitcher Clayton Kershaw bunted him to second with the first out. Scott Podsednik grounded back to Oswalt with Barajas holding second and Jamey Carroll flew to center to end the inning.
Oswalt struck out Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp to start the fourth before walking Loney and Blake back-to-back. He struck Belliard out swinging 1-2 to leave the runners stranded at first and second.
Barajas reached on a two-base error by Werth to start the fifth and Kershaw bunted him to third with the first out. Oswalt struck Scott Podsednik out for the second out and got Carroll to fly to right to leave Barajas stranded.
Big strikeout of Podsednik for Oswalt with one out and a man on third.
He walked Loney with two outs in the sixth and Blake followed with a single to right that moved Loney to third. Oswalt got Belliard to pop to Utley for the third out.
He started the seventh with a 3-0 lead and walked Ryan Theriot with one out. Oswalt had thrown 115 pitches in the game, so Romero came on to pitch to Podsednik and got him to hit into a double-play to end the inning.
Romero was pitching for the third straight day. Over his last eight appearances he’s thrown 6 2/3 innings with a 1.35 ERA and an 0.75 ratio. He hasn’t walked any of the 25 batters that he’s faced. In his 40 appearances before those eight he had walked 23 of the 119 batters he faced.
Madson pitched the eighth. Carroll led off with a single before Ethier flew to center for the first out. Kemp was next and hit a ball to short that Rollins didn’t handle for an error, putting men on first and second with one down for Loney. Loney smashed a ball off the wall in right for a long single, scoring Carroll to cut the lead to 3-1. With men on first and second, Blake hit into a double-play to end the inning.
Madson is pitching way too much. He has appeared in five of the last six games for the Phils. He didn’t pitch on Monday, so he has thrown two days in a row.
Lidge pitched the ninth with a 5-1 lead. He allowed a two-out walk to Theriot, but got Podsednik swinging 1-2 to end the game.
Two days in a row for Lidge. Over his last 14 games he’s allowed one run in 13 1/3 innings, pitching to an 0.68 ERA with an 0.53 ratio. He has struck out 14 and opponents are hitting .114 and on-basing .170 against him in those appearances.
The Phillies lineup against lefty Clayton Kershaw went (1) Rollins (2) Utley (3) Polanco (4) Howard (5) Werth (6) Victorino (7) Ibanez (8) Ruiz. Utley up to second and Polanco dropped to third against the lefty. Victorino moves up to sixth with Ibanez hitting seventh. Ruiz catches the day game after Schneider caught the night game with a righty on the mound for LA on Tuesday.
Rollins led off the game and hit the 1-0 offering from Kershaw just out to left, putting the Phils up 1-0. Utley followed that with a double to center, but Polanco and Howard both struck out behind him. Werth went down on a ball fielded by the catcher to end the frame.
Howard blows his chance to put up a 5.000 OPS after the end of August right out of the game. Things aren’t like they used to be.
Victorino hit an 0-2 pitch out to left to start the second. 2-0. Ibanez, Ruiz and Oswalt all struck out behind him.
Polanco singled to left with two outs in the third, but Howard grounded out to the second baseman for the third out.
Werth started the fourth with a walk. Victorino and Ibanez both struck out before Ruiz moved Werth to second with another walk. Oswalt struck out looking to leave both runners stranded.
Howard doubled to right to start the sixth. Werth, Victorino and Ibanez all struck out to leave him stranded.
That’s 11 strikeouts for Kershaw in his six innings.
Rollins walked with two outs in the seventh and stole second. Utley doubled to center on a 2-1 pitch, scoring Rollins to extend the lead to 3-0. Polanco followed that with a walk, but Howard grounded to first to leave both runners stranded.
Victorino singled with one out in the eighth, but Ibanez grounded into a double-play behind him.
The lead had been cut to 3-1 when the Phillies hit in the ninth. With one out and righty Ronald Belisario on the mound for the Dodgers, Brown hit for Madson and reached on a ground-rule double to left. Rollins followed that with a single that scored Brown, putting the Phils up 4-1. Rollins took second as the throw came home. Utley was next and he doubled again, scoring Rollins. 5-1. Polanco lined back to the pitcher and Utley was doubled off of second to end the frame.
Brown’s 2-for-his-last-10. He has struck out 18 times more than he’s walked for the season (18 strikeouts and one walk).
Rollins was 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run and three runs scored in the game. 2-for-13 with a walk in the series. Everyone’s looking for a big September from Howard, but getting Rollins back offensively would be just about as big.
Utley was 3-for-5 with three doubles and two RBI. 5-for-13 in the series. His line since his return from the DL is at 241/362/328 over 69 plate appearances.
Polanco 1-for-4. 3-for-13 with a walk in the series. He’s hitting 186/234/220 over his last 65 plate appearances.
Howard was 1-for-4 with a double and left four men on base. 2-for-11 with a walk in the series.
Werth 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. 1-for-7 with a double and four walks in the series. He’s 4-for-his-last-25 with two home runs and seven walks.
Ibanez 0-for-4 and struck out three times. 1-for-12 with a double in the set. 185/228/333 over his last 57 plate appearances.
Ruiz 0-for-3 with a walk. 1-for-6 with three walks and three strikeouts in the series. He’s hitting just .219 over his last 42 plate appearances (7-for-32), but has drawn ten walks and posted a .405 on-base percentage.
Joe Blanton (6-6, 5.15) faces righty Jhoulys Chacin (7-9, 3.79) tonight as the Phils play a makeup game with the Rockies. Blanton is 3-1 with a 3.41 ERA and a 1.29 ratio over his last nine starts. He’s allowed just four home runs in 58 innings, which is a dramatic improvement from his first 13 starts of the year in which he gave up 15 long balls in 80 innings. The 22-year-old Chacin has struck out 109 in 102 innings this season. He made six appearances in relief for the Rockies in July, but returned to the rotation in mid-August and he made three starts since, going 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.12 ratio. Righties have hit 178/296/300 against him for the year, but lefties have done much better, posting a 278/347/380 line.
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Phils hope they’ve found the answers to their offensive problems at the local Monasteriosary
By egrissom | September 1, 2010
The Phillies scored six runs in the first three innings last night, which was a welcome development for a team that came into the game having scored three runs or less in ten of their last 12. Brian Schneider and Ryan Howard both delivered early three-run homers off of former Phillie Carlos Monasterios and the Phils rolled to an 8-4 win.
For the slumping Howard it was his first home run since July 27 and raises hopes that Howard is poised to put on another September show. Howard hit 303/390/582 between the end of August and the end of the regular season in 2009 and was even better in 2008, putting up a 352/422/852 line over 102 plate appearances.
Finally, the Phillies got outstanding work from their bullpen in the game in relief of Kendrick. Durbin, Romero, Madson and Lidge combined to allow one hit and didn’t walk a batter in four scoreless innings. Madson made his 18th appearance of what was a spectacular August for him — he threw to an ERA under one for the month and struck out 27 batters in 18 1/3 innings.
The Phillies are 74-58 on the season after beating the Dodgers 8-4 last night.
Kendrick got the start for the Phillies and went five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, a double and a home run. He didn’t strike anyone out. He has a 7.02 ERA over his past three starts. Opponents are hitting .357 against him in those outings.
Scott Podsednik doubled to left to start the bottom of the first and Kendrick hit Jamey Carroll with a pitch behind him. Andre Ethier popped out to Rollins for the first out, but Matt Kemp followed with a single that loaded the bases with one out. Kendrick walked Loney on five pitches, forcing Podsednik in to make it 1-0. Casey Blake hit into a double-play to avoid further damage.
Kendrick didn’t help his numbers against lefties in that frame. Podsednik with the double and Loney with the RBI-walk.
Up 3-1, Kendrick threw a 1-2-3 second.
Up 6-1, he allowed a one-out single to Carroll in the third. He got the next two hitters behind Carroll to end the inning.
He set the Dodgers down in order in the fourth. Rollins made a nice play for the second out, diving to his right to field the ball and making a strong throw to get Blake.
Rod Barajas started the fifth with a single to left. Pitcher Kenley Jansen hit for pitcher Ramon Troncoso and got ahead in the count 3-1 before he singled into center, moving Barajas to second. Podsednik was next and hit a ground ball to second. Jansen was forced at second for the first out and the Dodgers had men on first and third. Carroll hit a ground ball to short and Rollins threw him out at first with Barajas scoring to cut the Phillies lead to 6-2. Ethier flew to center for the third out.
Kendrick can’t throw strikes to the pinch-hitting pitcher, getting behind in the count 2-0 before Jansen delivered his single on a 3-1 pitch.
Kemp started the sixth with a single and Loney homered to right on a 2-2 pitch behind him, cutting the lead to 6-4. Durbin took over for Kendrick. He allowed a one-out double to Ronnie Belliard, but got the next two LA hitters to leave Belliard stranded at second.
Lefties (Loney in this case) against Kendrick. Repeat as necessary. It’s CTRL+L on my keyboard.
Romero threw a 1-2-3 seventh with the Phils up 8-4.
Madson threw a 1-2-3 eighth. He is pitching great these days, but he’s pitching too often. He made 18 appearances in August in which he threw to an 0.98 ERA and an 0.82 ratio while striking out 27 (!) in 18 1/3 innings. Opponents slugged .209 against him for the month. Eighteen appearances in August ties him for the most in either league with Randy Choate of Tampa Bay, but Choate only threw 11 1/3 innings in his 18 appearances. The Phillies should try pretty hard not to ask him to pitch with a four-run lead.
Lidge threw a 1-2-3 ninth.
Lidge threw 21 pitches in the game. Durbin 17, Romero 16 and Madson nine. Romero has pitched for two days in a row.
The Phillies lineup against righty Carlos Monasterios went (1) Rollins (2) Polanco (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Werth (6) Ibanez (7) Victorino (8) Schneider. Polanco back hitting second with Utley third. Schneider starts against the righty with the Phillies scheduled to face a lefty in a day game this afternoon. That’s wily.
Polanco singled with one out in the first and Utley was hit by a pitch behind him. Howard hit into a double-play to end the inning.
Werth started the second with a double with the Phils down 1-0. Ibanez moved him to third with a fly ball before Victorino drew a walk. Schneider was next and hit the first pitch he saw out to right for a three-run homer, putting the Phils up 3-1. Kendrick and Rollins went down to end the frame.
Polanco and Utley reached on back-to-back singles to start the third. That was it for Monasterios and righty Ramon Troncoso came in to pitch to Howard. Howard hit a 1-0 pitch out to center, putting the Phils up 6-1. Werth flew to right for the first out before Ibanez doubled. Ibanez took third on a ground out by Victorino and Schneider was walked intentionally. Kendrick grounded to second to leave the runners stranded at first and third.
First home run for Howard since July 27. Since July 27 he’s hitting .094 with 25 strikeouts in 57 plate appearances.
The Phils went in order in the fourth.
Howard reached on an error by Belliard to start the fifth. Werth was next and hit a ground ball to second with Howard forced at second for the first out. Ibanez moved Werth to second with a ground out and Werth stole third, but he was left there when Victorino struck out swinging 0-2 to end the frame.
The lead was cut to 6-2 when the Phillies hit in the sixth. Schneider led off with a walk and Kendrick bunted him to second. Rollins flew to right and Polanco lined to third to leave him at second.
It was 6-4 when they hit in the seventh. Utley led off and fouled out to Podsednik in foul territory for the first out. Podsednik made a fantastic play, falling into the stands and holding onto the ball after a long run. Howard and Werth followed that with back-to-back walks and Ibanez moved them up to second and third with a ground out. With two down and men on second and third, Victorino was walked intentionally to load the bases and the lefty George Sherrill could face Schneider. Ruiz hit for Schneider and righty Jonathan Broxton came in to pitch to Ruiz. Ruiz singled to left, scoring Howard and Werth to put the Phils up 8-4. Brown hit for Durbin and struck out swinging for the third out.
Brown is on-basing .222. The notion that he should be playing for Ibanez or Werth in an effort to spark the Phillies offense seems like a big stretch to me.
Utley singled with two outs in the eighth and stole second, but was left there when Howard struck out swinging 3-2.
Werth started the ninth with a walk. He went to second on a ground out by Ibanez and third on a ground out by Victorino. Ruiz was walked intentionally to put men on first and third. Sweeney hit for Madson and popped to second to leave both men stranded.
Rollins was 0-for-5. He’s 2-for-his-last-17.
Polanco 2-for-5. 2-for-his-last-16.
Utley 2-for-4.
Howard 1-for-4 with a three-run homer and a walk.
Werth 1-for-3 and walked twice. 333/446/549 over his last 186 plate appearances. He’s on pace to hit 53 doubles.
Ibanez 1-for-5 and left five men on base. He’s 1-for-his-last-16.
Victorino 0-for-3 and walked twice. 3-for-his-last-19.
Schneider 1-for-1 with a three-run homer and two walks.
Oswalt (9-13, 3.12) faces lefty Clayton Kershaw (11-8, 3.01) this afternoon. Oswalt is 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA and an 0.88 ratio over his last six starts. Kershaw started against the Phillies on August 12 in Philadelphia and held the Phillies to two runs over 6 2/3 innings.
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Victorino updates his angry gesture at Kuroda from don’t-throw-it-near-our-heads to don’t-throw-it-near-our-bats
By egrissom | August 31, 2010
Remember game three of the 2008 NLCS? After Myers had thrown behind Manny Ramirez in game two and Clay Condrey knocked Russell Martin down in the second inning, Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda nearly took Victorino’s head off with a fastball in the top of the third. Victorino delivered a memorable don’t-throw-the-ball-at-my-head gesture and the benches emptied when he and Kuroda exchanged words after Victorino grounded out to end the frame.
Kuroda and Victorino were the memorable players in last night’s game as well and this one didn’t have a happy ending for the Phils either. Kuroda was fantastic in the game. Victorino broke up his no-hitter with a clean single to right with one out in the eighth, but that was the only hit for the Phils on the night as the Dodgers rolled to a 3-0 win.
The Phillies are 73-58 on the year after losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 last night. They are in second place in the NL East, three games behind the Braves. They remain the Wild Card leaders, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Giants.
The bats for the Phils continue to slump. They have scored 28 runs in their last 12 games. In eight of their last 12 games they have scored two runs or less. In ten of their last 12 they have scored three runs or less. Their pitching, on the other hand, has been rather outstanding, allowing them to go 5-6 over their last 11 games.
Halladay got the start for the Phillies last night and went seven innings, allowing three runs on ten hits and a walk. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and a home run. He struck out four and walked one.
Ryan Theriot walked with one out in the first and moved to second when Andre Ethier followed with a single. Halladay struck Matt Kemp out for the second out, but James Loney was next and singled to right. Theriot scored to put LA up 1-0 and Werth threw Ethier out at third to end the inning.
Casey Blake and Jamey Carroll singled back-to-back to start the second inning. It put men on first and third for Rod Barajas. Halladay got Barajas to bounce into a double-play, but Blake scored from third to make it 2-0. The pitcher Kuroda grounded to Utley for the third out.
Ethier doubled with two outs in the third, but Halladay got Kemp on a ground ball to third to end the inning.
Carroll singled with two outs in the fourth. Ruiz threw him out trying to steal second for the third out.
Barajas homered to left to start the fifth. 3-0. Theriot singled with two outs, but Ethier flew to right to leave him stranded at first.
Blake doubled with two outs in the sixth, but Halladay struck Carroll out behind him to end the inning.
Kuroda singled with out in the seventh. Halladay got Scott Podsednik to hit into a double-play behind him.
Herndon started the eighth and got Theriot to ground to Rollins for the first out. Romero took over to pitch to the lefty Ethier and Ethier reached on an infield single. Romero struck out Kemp and got Loney on a ground ball to second to end the inning.
Romero threw 14 pitches in the game and Herndon nine.
The Phillies lineup against righty Hiroki Kuroda went (1) Rollins (2) Utley (3) Polanco (4) Howard (5) Werth (6) Ibanez (7) Victorino (8) Ruiz. Utley again hits second with Polanco third. Victorino back to seventh in the order after hitting second in game three against the lefty with Howard on the bench.
Utley and Polanco struck out in a 1-2-3 first.
Down 1-0, Werth was hit by a pitch with one out in the second. Ibanez hit into a double-play behind him.
The Phillies went without a base-runner in the third, fourth and fifth.
They started the sixth down 3-0. Ruiz walked with one out. Halladay was next and tried to bunt him to second, but couldn’t do it with either of Kuroda’s first two pitches and bunted the next pitch foul down the first base line for the second out. Rollins struck out to leave Ruiz stranded.
The Phils went in order in the seventh.
Werth walked to start the eighth. Ibanez was next and hit a ground ball to short. Werth was forced at second for the first out with Ibanez safe at first. Victorino followed Ibanez and lined a 1-1 pitch into right for a single, moving Ibanez to second. Ruiz struck out for the second out and Brown hit for Halladay with Kuroda still on the mound for LA. The Dodgers called on lefty Hong-Chih Kuo to pitch to Brown. Sweeney hit for Brown and grounded to short for the third out.
The Phils went in order in the ninth.
Rollins 0-for-4.
Utley 0-for-4.
Polanco 0-for-4 and struck out twice.
Howard 0-for-3. He’s 4-for-his-last-49 with four singles, two walks and 24 strikeouts.
Werth 0-for-1 with a walk and a hit by pitch.
Ibanez 0-for-3. 1-for-his-last-16.
Ruiz 0-for-2 with a walk.
Kyle Kendrick (8-7, 4.64) faces righty Carlos Monasterios (3-4, 3.54) tonight. Kendrick has had two unimpressive starts in a row, allowing nine runs in 11 2/3 innings. Lefties are hitting 321/378/556 against him for the season. The former Phil Monasterios has made ten starts for the Dodgers on the season and thrown more than five innings once. He’s been very good against lefties this season, holding them to a 244/327/385 line.
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California redeeming
By egrissom | August 30, 2010
The Phils got back to their winning ways this weekend in California with a sweep of the Padres. If you want to sweep a three-game series in which you score 11 runs you better pitch pretty well. The Phillies did, led by a starting rotation that saw Oswalt, Blanton and Hamels combine to throw to an 0.82 ERA and a 0.73 ratio in the series, allowing two earned runs over 22 innings.
Yesterday it was Hamels who was lights out. He allowed four singles over eight shutout innings. The Phils didn’t exactly explode offensively in the game, but extended their 1-0 lead to 3-0 on a two-run homer from Sweeney in the seventh and got a solo shot from Werth in the ninth as they rolled to a 5-0 win. They got a lot of help from the Padres, who made four errors in the game.
The Phillies are 73-57 on the year after beating the San Diego Padres 5-0 yesterday afternoon. The Phils sweep the three-game series and are in second place in the NL East, two games behind the Braves. They’re leading the Wild Card race with a 1 1/2 game lead on the Giants.
Hamels got the start for the Phillies and went eight shutout innings, allowing four hits. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.
Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Ludwick singled back-to-back with two outs in the first. It put men on first and second for Chase Headley, but Hamels got Headley to pop to Utley to leave both runners stranded.
Scott Hairston singled with one out in the second. Hamels struck Will Venable and the pitcher Clayton Richard to leave Hairston stranded.
Hamels started the third with a 1-0 lead. Gonzalez singled with two outs, but Hamels got Ludwick to pop to short for the third out.
He set the Padres down in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
He started the seventh up 3-0 and again threw a 1-2-3 frame, getting two ground outs and a strikeout.
Up 4-0, he threw a 1-2-3 eighth.
Madson pitched the ninth inning with a 5-0 lead. He allowed a one-out single to Gonzalez, but struck Ludwick out for the second out and got Headley to fly to center to end the game.
Madson threw in all three games in the series and was pitching for the third straight day. He threw 24 pitches in the game. He has made 17 appearances in August, which is too many. In those appearances he’s thrown 17 1/3 innings, pitching to a 1.04 ERA and an 0.87 ratio.
The Phillies lineup against lefty Clayton Richard went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Polanco (4) Utley (5) Werth (6) Sweeney (7) Ibanez (8) Ruiz. Sweeney at first against the lefty with Howard on the bench. Victorino hits second in the lineup with Polanco and Utley dropped to third and fourth.
The Phillies went in order in the first and second.
Ruiz singled with one out in the third and Richard threw the ball away trying to pick him off at first, allowing Ruiz to take second. Hamels grounded to first with the second out, moving Ruiz to third. Rollins singled into right, scoring Ruiz to put the Phils up 1-0. Victorino flew to left for the third out.
The Phillies went 1-2-3 in the fourth.
Sweeney started the fifth and hit a ground ball to third that Headley didn’t handle for an error, but Ibanez hit into a double-play behind him. Ruiz grounded to short for the third out.
The Phils went in order in the sixth.
Polanco and Utley both struck out to start the seventh, but Werth drew a two-out walk and Sweeney hit the first of his at-bat out to left to put the Phils up 3-0. Ibanez grounded to second for the third out.
Ruiz started the eighth with a single. Hamels bunted and threw in the dirt to second where the ball wasn’t handled. Richard was charged with another error and the Phils had runners on first and second. Rollins lined a ball to right and Ludwick made a nice diving catch for the first out, but tried to double Hamels off of first and threw the ball into the Padres dugout. Ruiz scored to make it 4-0 and Hamels took third. Victorino flew to right and Polanco flew to left to leave Hamels stranded at third.
No RBI for Victorino with one out and the pitcher on third.
Werth put the Phils up 5-0 with a solo homer to right with one out in the ninth. Sweeney and Ibanez went down behind him.
Rollins was 1-for-4 with an RBI in the game. 5-for-14 with a double, a walk and an amazing slide in the series. 248/331/379 on the season.
Victorino was 0-for-4 yesterday and 2-for-13 with a triple and two RBI in the series. 251/312/429 for the year.
Polanco 0-for-4 in the game and 2-for-13 with a home run in the series. 309/343/408.
Utley 0-for-4 and struck out twice. 1-for-11 with three walks in the set. His average is down to .265 thanks to 2-for-his-last-17. 265/377/434 for the year.
Top four in the order went 1-for-16 yesterday.
Werth 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run yesterday. 1-for-10 with three walks in the series. 296/388/518.
Sweeney was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer yesterday. Howard was 1-for-9 with a walk in four strikeouts in the series and is hitting 280/342/498 for the year. He’s 2-for-his-last-25 with 14 strikeouts.
Ibanez was 0-for-4. 1-for-13 in the series. 262/346/423 for the season.
Ruiz 2-for-3 yesterday and 2-for-7 in the series. 291/385/429 for the year.
Halladay (16-9, 2.22) faces righty Hiroki Kuroda (9-11, 3.56) tonight in LA. Halladay allowed three runs to the Astros in seven innings in his last start. He’s gone 6-1 with a 1.70 ERA and an 0.92 ratio over his last seven starts. Kuroda has allowed just 12 home runs on the season and has held right-handed batters to a .289 on-base percentage.
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Latest effort leaves Phils feeling nostalgic for the days they were scoring two runs a game
By egrissom | August 27, 2010
Remember when Jayson Werth got picked off of second by the catcher on an intentional walk? Or when Howard went 0-for-7 with five strikeouts? It was a simpler time.
After three straight days of scoring two runs a game, things managed to get a little worse for the Phillies offense yesterday. Wandy Rodriguez and the Astros held them to a single run as the Astros beat them 5-1 to complete a four-game sweep in Philadelphia. The Phils have now scored two runs or less in seven or their last eight games.
Kendrick gave up four runs in the first four innings yesterday and that turned out to be too many given the miserable performance of the offense. They managed one walk through the first four innings. In the fifth they put men on second and third with nobody out and didn’t score. The top four hitters in their lineup went 1-for-15 in the game.
The Phillies are 70-57 on the season after losing to the Astros 5-1 yesterday afternoon. They have lost four in a row and are in second place in the NL East. They trail the Braves by three games in the division and the Giants by a half game in the Wild Card race.
Kendrick got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing four runs on nine hits. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and a home run. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out one.
Anderson Hernandez singled with one out in the first. Hunter Pence flew to right for the first out before Carlos Lee doubled to the corner in left, scoring Hernandez to put Houston up 1-0. Chris Johnson grounded to short for the third out.
Angel Sanchez and Jason Castro singled back-to-back with one out in the second. It put men on first and second and the pitcher Wandy Rodriguez bunted them to second and third with the second out. Michael Bourn was next and he singled into right, scoring Sanchez to put Houston up 2-0 and moving Castro to third. Kendrick got Hernandez on a ground ball to Utley for the third out.
Lee hit a 3-2 pitch out to left with one out in the third. 3-0 Houston. Kendrick got the next two hitters behind him.
Sanchez started the fourth with a double and moved to third when Castro followed and grounded out to Howard at first. The pitcher Rodriguez singled into right, scoring Sanchez. Schneider caught Rodriguez headed for second for the second out and Bourn flew to left to end the frame.
Pence singled to right with one out in the fifth, but Kendrick got Lee to hit into a double-play behind him.
He set the Astros down in order in the sixth.
Romero started the seventh with the Phils down 4-1. Bourn singled with two outs on a ball deflected by a diving and shoe-losing Romero and stole second. Hernandez was next and hit a ball slowly to third. Polanco charged and barehanded the ball, but his throw to first was late and Hernandez was safe with a single. Bourn was running all the way and scored from second on the slow developing play, putting the Astros up 5-1. Pence grounded to second for the third out.
Strange inning for Romero, who was charged with a run on two softly hit singles and a stolen base. He’s allowed eight runs over 4 2/3 innings in his last eight appearances.
Contreras threw a 1-2-3 eighth on five pitches. He was pitching for the third straight day and has allowed one run in 12 2/3 innings over his last 14 appearances.
Herndon pitched the ninth. He had thrown 50 pitches on Tuesday. Castro doubled with one out and Herndon got Jason Bourgeois to pop to Schneider for the second. Bourn reached on an infield single and stole second before Herndon struck Hernandez out swinging to leave both runners stranded.
Romero threw 20 pitches in the game, Herndon 18 and Contreras five. If Contreras pitches tonight it will be four days in a row. I’d say there’s no chance that’s going to happen, but I would have bet a lot against seeing Herndon yesterday on one day’s rest after throwing 50 pitches.
The Phillies lineup against lefty Wandy Rodriguez went (1) Rollins (2) Utley (3) Polanco (4) Howard (5) Werth (6) Ibanez (7) Victorino (8) Schneider. Utley hits second in the order with Polanco dropped to third against the lefty. Schneider catches the day game after a night game.
Down 1-0, the Phils went in order in the first.
Down 2-0, Ibanez walked with two outs in the second. Victorino grounded to short for the third out.
Down 3-0, the Phils went in order in the third.
Down 4-0, the Phils went in order in the fourth.
Werth started the fifth with a single and moved to third when Ibanez followed with a double to right. Victorino struck out for the first out. Schneider was next and hit a fly ball to shallow right field. Pence made the catch and threw home to nail the tagging Werth for the third out.
No run for the Phils with nobody out and men on second and third.
Francisco hit for Kendrick to start the sixth and reached on an infield single. Rollins grounded to third with Francisco forced at second for the first out. Utley was next and ripped a double into the right field corner with Rollins scoring from first to cut the Houston lead to 4-1. Polanco grounded to third with Utley holding and Howard struck out to end the inning.
The Phils were down 5-1 when they hit in the seventh. Ibanez singled with one out, but Victorino and Schneider went down behind him.
Utley walked with two outs in the eighth. Polanco popped to second behind him.
Ibanez and Victorino singled back-to-back with two outs in the ninth. Ruiz hit for Schneider with men on first and second and flew to center to end the game.
Rollins was 0-for-4 in the game and 3-for-20 in the series. He’s hitting 242/327/375 for the year. He’s on-basing .305 in 1,040 plate appearances since the end of the 2008 season.
Utley was 1-for-3 in the game with a walk and an RBI-double. 4-for-16 with a double and four walks in the series. 272/381/446 for the season.
Polanco was 0-for-4 in the game. 3-for-15 with a double and two walks in the series. 314/348/416 for the season.
Howard was 0-for-4 in the game and 1-for-16 with ten strikeouts in the series. 283/345/506.
Werth was 1-for-4 with a strikeout in the series. 6-for-19 with a double, a home run and seven strikeouts in the series. He’s hitting 300/389/520 for the year.
Ibanez was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk yesterday. 6-for-14 with two walks and three doubles in the series. 268/353/434.
Victorino 1-for-4 with a strikeout and four men left on base. 3-for-15 with four walks in the set. 254/317/433 for the year.
Schneider was 0-for-3 with a strikeout and three men left on base. He was 0-for-5 in the series and is hitting 208/298/347 for the year after going 1-for-his-last-16.
Oswalt (9-13, 3.22) faces righty Mat Latos (13-5, 2.33) tonight. The Phillies have won the last four games that Oswalt has started. He’s gone 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA and an 0.95 ratio in those outings. Latos has allowed more than two runs in a start once in his last 19 starts. Over those games he has thrown 122 1/3 innings, pitching to a 1.69 ERA and an 0.90 ratio.
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