I got a beat-up glove, a homemade bat and a brand new pair of confused outfielders
By egrissom | May 14, 2008
Not sure exactly the nature of Charlie Manuel’s problem with Shane Victorino, but whatever it is it almost cost the Phillies a game last night. With both Victorino and Jayson Werth in the starting lineup, Manuel put Victorino in right and Werth in center. That’s just a terrible decision even if it doesn’t cost you. It almost did — with two outs in the ninth, Werth misplayed Brian McCann’s fly ball into a double and gave two Braves a chance to come to the plate as the go-ahead run. If Manuel has a message for Victorino he should deliver it, but if his message is that the team is better defensively with Werth in center it’s going to be a hard one for anybody to take seriously.
One guy not to blame is Werth, who is at least an adequate if not better defensive center fielder. There are a whole lot of guys in the league that can’t play defense like Victorino. Werth more than made up for his miscue in the field with his bat last night, driving in four of the five Phillies’ runs.
The Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves last night, winning 5-4 to improve to 22-18 on the season.
Kyle Kendrick got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks. All six hits were singles and he struck out two. After allowing three runs on three hits in the first, Kendrick was very good. He put up five shutout innings in a row in which he allowed just three singles and three walks. Ruiz helped him get a huge out with two men on in the sixth by picking Kelly Johnson off of second base.
In his three starts at home this season, Kendrick has allowed just three extra-base hits. Opponents are slugging .315 against him at home.
Yunel Escobar started the first with a single and went to second on a passed ball before Mark Kotsay drew a walk. Chipper Jones singled to center and Escobar scored to put the Braves up 1-0. Kotsay went to second. Brian McCann grounded to first and the runners moved to second and third with one down. Kendrick got Greg Norton on a popup to shallow center for the second out, but Jeff Francoeur followed and singled into right. Both runners scored and Atlanta led 3-0. Kelly Johnson flew to right for the third out.
Kendrick walked Gregor Blanco to start the second. The pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes tried to bunt him to second but struck out for the first out. Escobar followed with a ground ball in the hole between short and third. Rollins couldn’t handle it and Escobar was safe on the error. The Phils weren’t going to get a double-play anyway, but the possibility may have made Rollins rush. Kotsay was next and hit another ball to Rollins’ right. This time Rollins made a nice diving play to take a hit away from Kotsay, forcing Escobar at second for the second out as Blanco went to third. Chipper was walked intentionally to load the bases, but Kendrick got McCann to pop to right-center to end the frame.
Francoeur singled with one out in the third. Johnson followed and grounded to short, Francoeur was forced at second for the second out. Blanco grounded back to Kendrick for the third out.
Kendrick threw a 1-2-3 fourth.
He started the fifth down 3-2. Chipper singled to start the inning, but McCann followed and hit into a double-play. Norton grounded to short to end the frame.
Johnson singled with one out in the sixth and Blanco followed with a walk. Reyes hit for himself and took the first pitch for a strike. Ruiz threw to second and Johnson was caught in a rundown and eventually tagged out for the second out. Blanco went to second in the ugly rundown for the Phils. Reyes shattered his bat grounding back to Kendrick to end the frame. Great job by Kendrick to field the comebacker as the barrel of the bat bounced right at him.
Huge play by Ruiz behind the plate to pick off Johnson with one out and two men on base.
Romero started the seventh up 4-3 and got the first two before Chipper singled and McCann followed with a walk. Romero struck out Norton to set the Braves down.
Gordon started the eighth up 5-3. Johnson singled with one out and Blanco followed with a ground ball to second. Johnson was forced at second for the second out. Switch-hitter Ruben Gotay hit for the pitcher Jorge Camillo and struck out for the third out.
Gordon’s ERA for the season is down to 3.63. He’s allowed two runs in his last 16 innings while striking out 16.
Lidge started the ninth up 5-3. He struck out Escobar to start the inning before he walked Kotsay on four straight fastballs. It brought up Chipper as the tying run. Kotsay took second on defensive indifference before Chipper hit a 2-1 pitch deep to left. Bruntlett, seeing his first action in the outfield this season after pinch-running for Burrell in the seventh and staying in to play left, took it on the warning track for the second out. McCann was next and he hit a fly ball to center field that should have ended the game. It didn’t. Werth froze, then came in before realizing the ball was over his head. It landed behind him for a double. Kotsay scored and it was 5-4 with a man on second and two outs for Norton. Norton walked to put men on first and second for Francoeur. Lidge got ahead of him 0-2 before Francoeur hit a 1-2 pitch into right-center that Victorino took to end the game.
With an assist to the Werth misplay, Lidge had to throw 26 pitches on the night. Romero 18 and Gordon 15 coming off an off-day on Monday.
The Phillies’ lineup against lefty Jo-Jo Reyes went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Burrell (6) Werth (7) Feliz (8) Ruiz. Werth started in center with Victorino in right for the Phils. To have both Victorino and Werth in your outfield and put Victorino in right and Werth in center is a poor idea. Ruiz catches. We’re going to see a lot of Werth in the series with the Braves scheduled to throw three lefties.
Victorino doubled with one out in the first and the Phils down 3-0, but Utley grounded to second and Howard struck out to end the inning.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the second.
Rollins reached on an error by Escobar with two outs in the third, but Victorino flew to left to end the inning.
Utley singled to start the fourth and Howard followed with a blast over the head of Kotsay in center and off the base of the wall for a double that moved Utley to third. Burrell struck out looking for the first out, but Werth laced a single back through the middle and both runners scored to cut the Atlanta lead to 3-2. Feliz moved Werth to second with a single, but Ruiz grounded to second and Kendrick struck out to leave both men stranded.
With one out in the fifth, Victorino singled and stole second. Utley grounded to second for the second out and Victorino went to third. Howard singled into right and Victorino scored to tie the game at 3-3. Burrell moved Howard to second with a single before Werth singled into left. Howard scored to put the Phils up 4-3 and Burrell went to second. Feliz popped to third to end the inning.
Ruiz singled to start the sixth but the Phils went in order behind him. Taguchi hit for Kendrick and bunted into an out for the first out of the frame.
Burrell doubled to right with two outs in the seventh and Bruntlett ran for him at second. Werth blooped a single in front of a diving Blanco and Bruntlett scored to put the Phils up 5-3. Burrell might not have scored on the play even with two outs, but I would have rather seen him stay in the game anyway. Feliz grounded to second for the third out.
Rollins doubled with two outs in the eighth. Victorino grounded to second behind him.
Rollins was 1-for-5 with a double. He’s 1-for-his-last-14.
Victorino 2-for-5 with a double and stole his sixth base of the season. 3-for-his-last-18.
Utley was 1-for-4.
Howard 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Burrell 2-for-4 with a double.
Werth was 3-for-4 with four RBI.
Feliz 1-for-4.
Ruiz 1-for-4.
Brett Myers (2-3, 5.56) faces lefty Tom Glavine (0-1, 4.03) tonight. Glavine has made six starts on the year and allowed two runs or fewer in five of them. The Reds hit him hard on May 4 and he was charged with six runs in 4 2/3 innings. In his other five starts on the season he’s thrown to a 2.59 ERA. Lefties are hitting .360 against him on the season and have hit two of the three home runs he’s allowed — lefties have actually hit him better over his career, but not at a .360 clip (lefties have hit .263 against him in his career). The former Met made five starts against the Phils in 2007 and went 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA and a 1.25 ratio. April 12, April 17, June 5, August 28 and September 14. Myers has allowed 19 runs in 24 innings over his past four starts. Twelve home runs in his last 44 innings. Righties are hitting .325 against him. He’s not pitching well. He went 1-0 with a 4.30 ERA, a 1.30 ratio and four saves in eight appearances against Atlanta last season.
Manuel talks about starting Werth in center last night here.
Topics: Game recap | 3 Comments »
Eight is enough to make you throw up in your mouth a little bit
By egrissom | May 13, 2008
A two-run homer from Steve Holm I can live with, but intentionally walking Omar Vizquel three times in a game is a little bit tougher. That’s just indefensible for a lot of reasons, but the big ones are that he’s 41-years-old and on-based .305 and slugged .316 last season.
And yes, I do remember that after each of the three intentional walks to Vizquel in Sunday’s game the pitcher struck out the next Giant to end the inning. It’s not that kind of a thing.
Indefensible or not, there’s got to be something going on. Turns out it might be that what part of it is is that the Phils are getting shelled by eight hitters this season. Here’s what guys in the eight hole have done against the Phillies so far:
|
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
| 309 | 405 | 434 | 839 |
If that looks bad, well, it is. The .839 OPS that opponents eight hitters have posted against Phillies hurlers is the worst in the NL. By a lot. Not including yesterday’s game, Colorado had been second-worst against eight hitters using OPS as a measure. They had posted a .775 OPS against them.
Overall for the season, opponents have hit 264/333/422 against the Phils, a .756 OPS — eight hitters have been significantly better than other hitters in the lineup.
The .309 batting average eight hitters have posted against Phils’ hurlers is the worst in the league. The Phillies have struck out opponents eight hitters 17 times this season, also (tied for) the worst in the league. The Reds have struck out the eight hitter the most times — again, not counting yesterday’s games, 43. The Phils have walked the eight hitter intentionally six times, the most in the NL.
Put it all together and you’ve turned the molehill of the eight-spot into a mountain. Here’s what Phillies’ pitchers have done overall against hitters in each of the non-pitchers spot in the order so far this season, and their rank compared to the other NL teams using OPS as the measure (still doesn’t include yesterday’s games. Really, nothing in this post includes anything from yesterday’s games):
|
# in order |
OPS against |
NL Rank |
| 1 | .829 | 14 |
| 2 | .675 | 5 |
| 3 | .913 | 12 |
| 4 | .882 | 9 |
| 5 | .806 | 7 |
| 6 | .749 | 9 |
| 7 | .745 | 9 |
| 8 | .839 | 16 |
Using OPS as the measure, not only have the Phillies been the worst team in the NL against eight hitters, but #8 hitters in the order have been more effective against them than leadoff men, #2, #5, #6 and #7 hitters.
Eight NL teams, that’s half, have thrown to a lower OPS against their opponents #3 hitters than the Phillies have to their opponents’ #8 hitters (ie, eight NL teams have thrown to an OPS lower than .839 against #3 hitters).
In 2007, eight hitters hit 285/366/374 against the Phillies pitchers. That was bad, 11th worst in the NL, but not quite as bad as the Phils were overall. Overall in 2007 the Phils’ pitchers threw to the 13th-best OPS in the league.
In 2007 the Phils still walked the eight hitter a lot. The 68 walks to the eight hitter were third most in the league (overall the Phils were tied for allowing the eighth-most). They intentionally walked the eight hitter 17 times. Only two teams intentionally walked the eight hitter more than that, Colorado and Arizona both walked the eight hitter 18 times in ‘07.
All these huge numbers for eight hitters this year must at least one someone and probably more on the Phillies’ pitching staff is getting bombed by guys in the eight hole. And someones are. Among the guys in the rotation, eight hitters are 7-for-19 with a double and three walks against Myers (368/455/421 with an .876 OPS). That’s bad, but Kendrick and Moyer have been even worse. Eight hitters are 5-for-15 with two doubles, a home run and two walks against Kendrick (333/444/667, 1.111 OPS). 7-for-16 with four doubles, a triple and two walks against Moyer (438/500/813, 1.313 OPS).
Some of that is surely just bad luck that will even out along the way. The thing the Phillies can definitely control is how often they pitch around the eight hitter and how often they walk him intentionally. I’d go with a lot less. It’s just one that doesn’t need to be over-thought. There’s a reason that the guy is hitting eighth and the chances are pretty good that it’s there are seven guys in the lineup that can hit better than he can. Try to get him out.
Topics: Bullpen, Rotation | No Comments »
Holm is where the hurt is
By egrissom | May 12, 2008
If you walk Omar Vizquel intentionally three times in a game you deserve to lose, and apparently the baseball gods aren’t afraid to get a little creative in figuring out how. Yesterday they went with career home run number one for Steve Holm. The two-run blast came off of JC Romero in the bottom of the seventh and proved to be the difference as the Phils fell 4-3.
Romero has been fantastic since joining the Phils and has earned more than one blowup. No chance his run ends as well as it started, though, and the way he has been used by Manuel has to concern you. The details of the backup plan when it comes to a lefty out of the pen are a little fuzzy.
The Phillies lost to the San Francisco Giants yesterday afternoon, falling 4-3 to drop to 21-18 on the season. The Giants win the series two games to one. The Phils have lost three of four and scored three or fewer runs in each of the three games they lost.
Eaton got the start for the Phils and went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and five walks. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, both doubles. He struck out four and dropped his ERA to 5.40. His line wasn’t that impressive, but he was worse than his line. Chad Durbin bailed him out after Eaton put runners on second and third with nobody out to start the sixth.
He threw a 1-2-3 first.
Bengie Molina started the second with a single and Aaron Rowand followed with a walk. John Bowker fisted a 2-2 pitch just over the glove of Rollins and into left-center. Molina scored to put the Giants up 1-0 and Rowand went to second. Jose Castillo smashed a ball, but right at Utley and Utley started a double-play. With Rowand at third and two outs, Eaton walked Omar Vizquel intentionally before he struck out the pitcher Jonathan Sanchez to end the inning.
Fred Lewis walked to start the third, but Eugenio Velez hit into a double-play behind him. Randy Winn followed and hit a slow ground ball to second. Utley fielded, but his overhand flip to Howard was bad for an error. Ruiz threw Winn out trying to steal second for the third out.
Molina started the fourth with a double and again Eaton walked Rowand behind him. Bowker singled to load the bases and Castillo hit into another double-play. Molina scored to put San Francisco up 2-1. Eaton again walked Vizquel intentionally, putting men on first and second before Vizquel stole second. Eaton again struck out Sanchez to end the inning.
Very bizarrely similar to the second inning. To review, Molina led off both innings and the same hitter was hitting in the same slot in the order in both frames. The second went 1B, BB, 1B, GDP, IBB, K and the fourth went 2B, BB, 1B, GDP, IBB, K.
Two times in three innings is too many to walk Omar Vizquel intentionally.
Eaton threw a 1-2-3 fifth.
He started the sixth up 3-2 and hit Molina. Emmanuel Burriss ran for Molina and Rowand doubled to right, sending Burriss to third. With the lefty Bowker at the plate, Manuel pulled Eaton and brought Durbin in to pitch. Durbin hit Bowker with his first pitch to load the bases. Castillo was next and lined into a double-play to first, with Howard catching the ball and doubling Bowker off first. Third time in five innings Castillo had hit into a double-play. Vizquel was walked intentionally for the third time to load the bases. Switch-hitter Ray Durham hit for the pitcher Billy Sadley and Durbin struck him out to end the inning.
Romero started the seventh still up a run. Winn singled to left with one out and it brought up Steve Holm, who came on to catch after the Giants ran for Molina in the bottom of the sixth. The righty Holm hit the first pitch he saw from Romero out to left to put the Giants up 4-3. Romero walked Rowand before he got Bowker to pop to third for the third out.
Gordon started the eighth and gave up a leadoff triple to Castillo. He struck out Vizquel, got Rich Aurillia on a fly ball to shallow center and Lewis on a ground ball to second to leave Castillo stranded.
Romero threw 22 pitches, Durbin nine and Gordon 16. With the off day today all three may be available tomorrow against the Braves.
The Phillies’ lineup against lefty Jonathan Sanchez went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Burrell (6) Werth (7) Feliz (8) Ruiz. Jenkins plays right against the lefty. Ruiz catches despite then homer from Coste the day before.
Utley singled with two outs in the first, but Howard flew to right for the third out.
Burrell started the second with a single. Werth followed with a ground ball to short. Burrell was forced at second for the first out with Werth safe at first. Feliz flew to center for the second out before Werth stole second. Ruiz drew a walk to put men on first and second for Eaton, but Eaton flew to center for the third out.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the third.
Burrell walked with one out in the fourth. Werth struck out behind him, but Feliz doubled down the left field line and Burrell moved to third. Ruiz was walked intentionally to load the bases for Eaton, and Eaton drew a walk that forced in Burrell and tied the game at 1-1. Rollins was next and would have walked too, but he swung at ball four and flew to center for the third out.
Utley walked with one out in the fifth and Howard followed with a triple off the wall in right. Utley scored to tie the game again, this time at 2-2. Burrell hit a fly ball to right deep enough to score Howard and the Phils led 3-2. Werth fouled out to end the frame.
The Phillies went 1-2-3 in the sixth.
With one out in the seventh, Victorino singled and stole second. Utley flew to right for the second out, moving Victorino to third, but Howard struck out to end the frame.
Down 4-3 in the eighth, the Phillies went 1-2-3.
Righty Brian Wilson came on for the Giants in the ninth to protect a 4-3 lead. Jenkins hit for Ruiz and struck out. Dobbs hit for Gordon and hit a ball hard down the first base line. Rich Aurillia made a nice diving play, but Wilson didn’t cover first base nearly in time and Dobbs had a single. Rollins hit an 0-1 pitch back to the pitcher and Wilson started a double-play to end the game.
Rollins was 0-for-5 and left four men on base. He was 3-for-14 with a double and a home run in the series and is hitting 283/309/509 on the year.
Victorino was 1-for-4. 1-for-13 with a single in the set. 232/291/284 on the year. He’s in danger of losing time to Werth soon if he doesn’t start to hit.
Utley was 1-for-3 with a walk. 1-for-11 with two walks in the series. 327/409/680.
Howard was 1-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. 3-for-13 with a triple and a home run in the series. 171/280/357.
Burrell was 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. 1-for-6 with five walks. 298/437/605.
Werth was 0-for-4. 1-for-9 in the series. 252/328/495 on the year after going 4-for-his-last-27. Jenkins was 0-for-1 yesterday and 1-for-4 in the series. 255/291/345.
Feliz was 1-for-4 with a double. 3-for-11 with two doubles in the series. 240/291/424 on the year. Dobbs was 3-for-5 with an RBI in the series and is hitting 320/364/480.
Ruiz was 0-for-1 and walked twice. 1-for-5 with three walks and two RBI in the series and 233/310/311 for the year. Coste was 1-for-3 with a home run in the series. 291/381/527.
No game today. First of three against the Braves tomorrow night in Philadelphia.
Topics: Game recap | 2 Comments »
Moyer goes foyer
By egrissom | May 10, 2008
The San Francisco Giants’ offense is hide-your-eyes-Bengie-Molina-hitting-cleanup bad, but it didn’t help Jamie Moyer much today. Coming off a fantastic outing against the Snakes his last time out, Moyer got pounded by the Giants. He could give the Phils just four innings and exited down 6-1.
Tim Lincecum, on the other hand, was dominant. He struck out eight Phils in eight innings, holding them to four hits. The Phillies’ runs came on solo homers from Coste and Howard.
The Phillies lost to the San Francisco Giants this afternoon, falling 8-2 to drop to 21-17 on the season. The series is tied at one game apiece and the teams will play the final game of the set tomorrow afternoon.
Moyer got the start for the Phillies and went four innings, allowing six runs on nine hits and a walk. Four of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and two home runs. He struck out one.
Omar Vizquel singled with one out in the first, but Moyer got the next two.
Moyer started the second with a 1-0 lead. Aaron Rowand led off the inning with a home run to center that tied the game at 1-1. Jose Castilllo followed with a double and Emmanuel Burriss bunted him to third. Dan Ortmeier drew a walk and it put men on first and second for Lincecum. Lincecum singled back up the middle. Castillo scored to make it 2-1 and Ortmeier went to second. Lewis flew to center for the second out and Vizquel grounded to third to end the inning.
Randy Winn singled to start the third. Bengie Molina lined to Feliz at third for the first out, but Rowand and Castillo followed with back-to-back singles that loaded the bases for Burriss. Burriss flew to left deep enough to score Winn and put the Giants up 3-1 with men on first and second. Ortmeier followed with double into right that cleared the bases and made it 5-1. Lincecum grounded to short to end the inning.
Moyer got the first two in the fourth before Winn homered to left to extend the lead to 6-1. Molina flew to center for the third out.
Seanez started the fifth down 6-1. Rowand and Castillo singled back-to-back to start the inning, putting men on first and second for Burriss. Burriss grounded to third for the first out and the runners moved to second and third. Seanez walked Ortmeier intentionally to load the bases for Lincecum. Lincecum hit a ground ball to first and Howard threw home to force Rowand for the second out. Coste threw to first to try to get Lincecum, but his throw was bad and got passed Howard. Utley backed Howard up, but didn’t field the throw cleanly. Castillo came in to score and put the Giants up 7-1. Lewis grounded to second for the third out.
Vizquel and Winn started the sixth inning with back-to-back singles, putting men on first and second with no outs for Molina. Molina flew to center and Rowand struck out, but Castillo singled into right and Vizquel scored to extend the lead to 8-1. Burriss grounded to second for the third out.
Madson threw a 1-2-3 seventh.
Condrey pitched the eighth with the Phils down 8-2. He gave up a leadoff single to Winn, but got Vizquel to hit into a double-play and Molina on a fly ball to deep right for the third out.
Two runs in four innings for the pen. Seanez was hit pretty hard, allowing five hits and a walk in two innings. Madson and Condrey both pitched well. Seanez threw 37 pitches, Madson 14 and Condrey 11, so Seanez should be shelved for a day or two.
The Phillies’ lineup against righty Tim Lincecum went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Burrell (6) Jenkins (7) Feliz (8) Coste. Jenkins in right against the righty. Coste catches.
Lincecum struck out the side in the first.
Howard started the second with an opposite field home run to put the Phils up 1-0. The next three Phils went in order.
The Phils went 1-2-3 again in the third.
Down 5-1 in the fourth, they went 1-2-3 again.
Burrell walked to start the fifth and Jenkins moved him to second with a single. Feliz and Coste struck out back-to-back and Dobbs hit for Moyer. Dobbs grounded to first to end the frame.
The Phillies went 1-2-3 in the sixth and the seventh.
Coste homered with one out in the eighth to cut the San Francisco lead to 8-2. Dobbs followed with a single off the wall in right, but Rollins and Victorino went down behind him to leave him stranded.
Brian Wilson set the Phils down 1-2-3 in the ninth.
Rollins was 0-for-4.
Victorino 0-for-4 and struck out three times.
Utley 0-for-4. Top three in the order combined to go 0-for-12 with five strikeouts.
Howard 1-for-4 with a home run.
Burrell 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
Jenkins 1-for-3.
Feliz 0-for-2.
Coste 1-for-3 with his third home run of the year.
Eaton (0-1, 5.63) faces lefty Jonathan Sanchez (2-2, 4.74) tomorrow afternoon. Sanchez has made seven starts on the season and two, including his most recent, have been really bad. Twice he allowed seven runs in a start — in his other five starts he’s thrown to a 1.80 ERA. Lefties are hitting .194 with an 0.70 ratio against him, righties .248 with a 1.61 ratio. He made two relief appearances against the Phils in 2007 and allowed two runs in 2 2/3 innings. Monster contract or not, Eaton is going to have to show something soon. His numbers through seven starts this year are a little better than last, but not enough better. Righties are hitting just .254 against him, lefties .286. He faced the Giants twice last season and threw to a 14.14 ERA in those starts. May 3 and June 1.
Topics: Game recap | 2 Comments »
Rollins reminds the Phils what they’ve been Misching
By egrissom | May 10, 2008
| Team | W-L | R | R/G | NL Rank R | OPS (NL) | SB | CS |
| SF | 14-21 | 117 | 3.34 | T-15 | 689 (14) | 38 | 12 |
| PHI | 20-16 | 173 | 4.81 | 4 | 766 (7) | 17 | 5 |
| Team | W-L | RA | RA/G | NL Rank RA | Starter ERA | Pen ERA |
| SF | 14-21 | 165 | 4.71 | 10 | 4.40 (7) | 4.10 (12) |
| PHI | 20-16 | 159 | 4.42 | 7 | 4.58 (10) | 2.70 (1) |
MVP returned to the Phillies lineup last night with a bag. Two bangs, actually. In the fifth he hit a two-run shot off of Giants’ starter Pat Misch. He added an RBI double in the eighth and finished the day 3-for-5 with three RBI as he led the Phils to a 7-4 win over the Giants.
With the win the Phils are 21-16 on the season.
Hamels got the start for the Phillies and went seven innings, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, a double and a triple. He struck out seven. After eight starts his ERA on the season is 3.36.
He struck out Fred Lewis and Jose Castillo to start the first before Randy Winn flew to center for the third out.
He threw a 1-2-3 second.
In the third, Emmanuel Burriss singled with one out and the pitcher Pat Misch bunted him to second. Lewis followed with a single back up the middle. Victorino threw home strong, but Burriss slid in safe and Ruiz didn’t handle the ball cleanly (would have been safe anyway). Lewis went to second and Ruiz was charged with an error. The game was tied at 1-1. Hamels struck out Castillo to end the inning.
Winn started the fourth with a double, but Hamels got ground outs from the next two hitters with Winn holding second. Rich Aurillia got ahead 3-0 on two bad ball-strike calls from the home plate ump and was then walked intentionally. It put men on first and second with two outs for Eugenio Velez and Velez hit a slow ground ball to short. Rollins charged but did not handle it. Error on Rollins. Winn got a great jump on the 2-2 pitch and scored to put San Francisco up 2-1. Burriss followed with a triple down the line in right. Both runners scored and it was 4-1. Hamels walked Misch on five pitches, but struck out Lewis for the third out.
Winn singled with one out in the fifth, but Castillo hit into a double-play behind him.
The score was tied at 4-4 when Hamels started the sixth. Aurillia walked with one out and Velez followed and hit a ground ball to third. Aurillia was forced at second for the second out before Velez was picked off of first to set the Giants down.
Hamels threw a 1-2-3 seventh.
Gordon pitched the eighth up 7-4 and walked Castillo to start the inning. Winn flew to center for the first out before Castillo went to second on defensive indifference. Bengie Molina flew to left for the second out. Rowand walked to bring up Aurillia as the tying run, but Gordon got him to pop to second to end the inning.
Lidge got three strikeouts in the ninth to earn his ninth save on the year. Burriss singled with one out, but Lidge struck out pinch-hitter John Bowker and Lewis to end the game and keep his ERA at 0.00 for the year.
Another nice day from the pen. Gordon has been charged with two runs in his last 15 innings while allowing eight hits, seven walks and striking out 15. His ERA is down to 4.11. He threw 27 pitches, Lidge 14. That may mean Gordon is not available this afternoon.
The Phillies’ lineup against lefty Pat Misch went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Burrell (6) Werth (7) Feliz (8) Ruiz. Rollins returns to the lineup for his first start since April 8. Werth in right against the lefty with Jenkins on the bench. Ruiz catches.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the first. Rollins grounded to short on an 0-1 fastball in his first at-bat back.
Burrell walked with one out in the second. Werth flew to right for the second out before Feliz moved Burrell to third with a single. Ruiz scored Burrell with a single to center to put the Phils up 1-0 before Hamels struck out to end the frame.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the third. Lewis made a nice play colliding with the wall for the second out on a line drive by Victorino.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the fourth.
In the fifth, Hamels singled with two outs and Rollins followed and hit the first pitch of his at-bat out to left, cutting the Giants’ lead to 4-3. Victorino grounded to short for the third out. Two out hit for Hamels gives Rollins a chance.
Howard singled with one out in the sixth and Burrell followed with a walk. Werth struck out for the second out, but Feliz hit the first pitch of his at-bat off the wall in right on a hop. Howard scored and Burrell went to third. 4-4. Ruiz was walked intentionally to load the bases, but Hamels hit for himself and struck out. Have to let Hamels hit for himself there.
Rollins started the seventh with a single, but the Phils went in order behind him.
Burrell walked to start the eighth and Taguchi ran for him at first. Werth singled and Taguchi went to second. Feliz struck out on a wild pitch and the runners moved to second and third. With the count full, Ruiz hit a ground ball to second and Velez came home, but Taguchi slid in safe to put the Phils up 5-4. Velez took the ball with his momentum carrying him towards first and the play at the plate wasn’t close. With men on first and third and one out, Dobbs hit for Hamels and singled. Werth scored, 6-4, and Ruiz went to second. Rollins followed with a double to right, scoring Ruiz and moving Dobbs to third with the Phils up 7-4. Victorino grounded to first and Aurillia came home to get Dobbs for the second out. Utley was walked intentionally to load the bases for Howard, but Howard flew to center to end the frame.
Taguchi walked to start the ninth but the Phils went in order behind him.
Rollins was 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI.
Victorino 0-for-5.
Utley 0-for-4 with a walk.
Howard 1-for-5 and left four men on base.
Burrell 0-for-1 with three walks.
Werth was 1-for-5 and left four men on base.
Feliz 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.
Ruiz 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBI.
Jamie Moyer (2-2, 4.15) faces righty Tim Lincecum (4-1, 1.49) this afternoon. Lincecum’s last start came against the Phils on May 4. He allowed four runs over six innings, all of which were unearned, on six hits and two walks. He has struck out 45 in 42 1/3 innings on the season and has allowed just one home run. In three of Moyer’s last four starts he’s gone at least six innings and allowed two runs or fewer. So far in ‘08 both his walk and home runs rates are down compared to ‘07, although he is allowing opponents to hit for a higher batting average overall, .319 in ‘08 versus .285 in ‘07. He faced the Giants once last year. On May 4, 2007, Moyer allowed three runs over seven innings and took the loss.
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Phils caught in a web of Webb
By egrissom | May 8, 2008
Brett Myers has been pitching badly just about all year long, so it’s hard to say that throwing 121 pitches against the Giants on Saturday was a factor in today’s start. It is safe to say that there’s just about zero chance it helped, though.
For the third time in four starts, Myers gave the Phils a miserable outing. The Diamondbacks were all over him and he exited down 7-1 after five innings.
The contrast with Diamondbacks’ ace Brandon Webb wasn’t so hot. Webb threw a complete game and didn’t allow an extra-base hit.
The Phillies lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks today, falling 8-3 to drop to 20-16 on the season. The teams split the four-game set. The Phillies haven’t lost a series since the Mets beat them two out of three April 18-20. They’ve played six series since and won four and split two.
Myers got the start for the Phillies and went five innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits and three walks. Only six of the runs were earned. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, a double, a triple and a home run. He struck out five. Myers continues to be hurt by the home run, among other things. After the one he allowed today he has now given up 12 in his last 44 innings.
With one out in the first, Augie Ojeda singled and Chris Young followed with a home run to left, putting Arizona up 2-1. Myers got the next two.
Mark Reynolds and Chris Snyder started the second with back-to-back singles that put men on first and second for Chris Burke. Burke hit into a double-play with Reynolds safe at third. Myers struck out the pitcher Brandon Webb to end the inning.
Myers threw a 1-2-3 third.
In the fourth, Myers walked Justin Upton and Stephen Drew to start the inning before Mark Reynolds reached on an infield single. Snyder hit a two-run double to left that put Arizona up 4-1 with men on second and third. Burke hit a ground ball between third and short that went off the glove of Dobbs for a single. Reynolds scored and it was 5-1. Webb flew to right for the first out before Byrnes hit a double-play ball to second that Utley dropped for an error, loading the bases. Ojeda flew to center and Snyder scored. 6-1. Young popped to short to end the inning.
The first five batters in the inning went walk, walk, single, double, single, which isn’t really what you’re looking for.
Drew tripled to right with one out in the fifth and scored when Reynolds followed with a single. 7-1. Snyder popped to second for the second out before Reynolds stole second. Myers got behind the righty Burke 2-0 and walked him intentionally to pitch to Webb. He struck Webb out to end the inning. Walking Burke intentionally is not a good decision. You really need to try to get him out so the pitcher starts the next inning. You’re already down by six runs and Burke ended the day hitting .149 for the year. That might not have been the difference in this one, though.
Condrey pitched the rest of the game for the Phils. He threw a 1-2-3 sixth. Upton lead off the seventh with a home run that made the score 8-1, but Condrey got the next three in order. He got three ground outs in a 1-2-3 eighth.
Nice job by Condrey to pitch well enough to save the bullpen. He was in just his second game since April 27. That’s not enough. He threw 34 pitches, which should put him out at least one game.
The Phillies’ lineup against righty Brandon Webb went (1) Victorino (2) Bruntlett (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Jenkins (6) Dobbs (7) Taguchi (8) Coste. Burrell, 4-for-16 with a home run against Webb in his career, on the bench with Taguchi in left. Dobbs gets a start at third despite the big home run from Feliz the night before. Coste catches Myers.
Victorino led off the first with a ground ball to first that Burke knocked down but couldn’t handle cleanly. Victorino was safe with a single. Bruntlett hit a ground ball to short and it looked like Drew could have gotten Victorino at second, but threw to first for the first out with Victorino safe at second. Victorino went to third on a passed ball before Utley flew to center deep enough to score him, putting the Phils up 1-0. Howard struck out for the third out.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the second and again in the third.
Bruntlett was hit by a pitch to start the fourth and stole second after Utley flew to left for the first out. Howard grounded to first and Jenkins popped to third.
1-2-3 in the fifth. Bruntlett singled with two outs in the sixth but Utley grounded to first behind him.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the seventh.
In the eighth, Coste singled with one out. Harman, who entered the game in the sixth as a pinch-hitter and stayed on to play second and give Utley some rest in the blowout, hit into a double-play to end the frame.
With Webb still on the mound, Victorino started the ninth with a single and stole second. Bruntlett followed with another single, scoring Victorino to cut the lead to 8-2. Ruiz hit for Condrey and grounded to third for the first out with Bruntlett moving to second. Howard lined a single into right and Bruntlett scored. 8-3. Jenkins hit into a double-play to end the game.
The Phils had six singles in the game and didn’t draw a walk.
Victorino was 2-for-4 in the game and 6-for-17 with a double and two walks in the series. He’s hitting 256/322/317 on the year.
Bruntlett was 2-for-3 with an RBI. 7-for-18 with two doubles, a triple and a home run in the series. 250/308/352.
Utley was 0-for-2 with an RBI and his fifth error in the game. 3-for-13 with two doubles in the series. 345/423/727 on the year.
Howard was 1-for-4 with an RBI. 2-for-13 with two singles and six strikeouts in the set. 165/285/331.
Jenkins was 0-for-4. 4-for-14 in the series. 255/292/349. He has one extra-base hit in his last 51 at-bats.
Dobbs was 0-for-3. 1-for-5 in the series. 283/333/457.
Taguchi 0-for-3. 0-for-5 in the series. 182/217/227. 2-for-his-last-23 with two singles.
Coste was 1-for-3. 1-for-6 in the series. 288/383/481 on the season. Ruiz was 0-for-1 in the game and 5-for-11 with five singles in the series. 235/293/318.
Burrell was 1-for-12 with five strikeouts in the series. 305/432/627 on the year.
Feliz was 5-for-11 with a double and a home run in the series. 237/293/421 on the year. That gives him an OPS for the season of .714 — from 2005 through 2007 the range on his OPS at the end of the season went from .708 to .717.
Cole Hamels (3-3, 3.10) faces lefty Pat Misch (0-0, 5.40) on Friday in San Francisco as the Phils play the first of three against the Giants. Misch has made just two appearances with the Giants this season, and one of them was a start against the Phils on May 2. The Phils scored four runs against Misch in four innings in that start. Utley and Feliz both homered off of him. Righties are hittting .333 against Misch, lefties are 1-for-12. On the year he’s allowed four home runs in ten innings. Over his last three starts Hamels has allowed 11 runs in 20 1/3 innings and seven of the runs have come on the four home runs he’s allowed. Opponents are hitting .213 against him, lefties .211 with an 0.87 ratio. He faced the Giants on May 4 and allowed four runs in six innings. Rich Aurillia hit two doubles and a home run off of him in that game.
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Conor Jackson may be wishing he’d just gone with drinking too much tequila and getting arrested for peeing on a wall
By egrissom | May 8, 2008
Apparently that just wasn’t good enough for him. I sometimes find the elitism of professional athletes to be nearly unbearable.
The Phils got a fantastic win last night with the help of key back-to-back hits from Bruntlett and Utley in the eighth and more great work from the pen. It’s safe to say that Snakes’ first baseman Conor Jackson will never forget his 26th birthday. Also in the eighth, after Jackson had been hit by a pitch early in the game, Jackson and Victorino attempted to occupy the same space at the same time and produced one of the uglier baseball collisions you’ll ever see. Jackson had to leave the game.
This quotes Jackson as saying he is all right. Also says he’s day-to-day.
Jimmy Rollins is poised to return soon for the Phils, perhaps as soon as tomorrow against the Giants, which will surely mean an end to regular playing time for the red-hot Eric Bruntlett. Bruntlett had one of the biggest hits of the game last night as his eighth-inning double scored Victorino and tied the game. When Utley followed with a single, Bruntlett game around to score what would prove to be the game-winner. Bruntlett is 5-for-15 with two doubles, a triple and a home run and seven RBI in the first three games of the set.
On the other end of the spectrum, Ryan Howard continues to struggle horribly. After going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts last night, Howard is hitting .163 on the season. He’s 1-for-his-last-20 with 11 strikeouts.
The Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks last night, winning 5-4 to improve to 20-15 on the season. Five of the Phillies’ last seven games have been decided by one run and the Phils have gone 4-1 in those one-run games.
Kyle Kendrick got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing three runs on ten hits and a walk. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, a double, a triple and a home run. He struck out two.
Augie Ojeda singled to left with one out in the first. Kendrick got Eric Byrnes on a fly ball to Victorino for the second out before Conor Jackson moved Ojeda to third with a single. Stephen Drew was next and he laced a single into left. Ojeda scored to put Arizona up 1-0 and Jackson went to second. Mark Reynolds hit a slow grounder to third. Feliz charged and made a nice play to throw Reynolds out at first.
Jeff Salazar started the second with a single, but Ruiz threw him out trying to steal second. Chris Snyder walked before Kendrick struck out pitcher Micah Owings for the second out. Chris Young smoked a single into left-center, moving Snyder to second. Kendrick struck Ojeda out swinging at a 2-2 pitch for the third out.
Salazar’s stolen base cost the Diamondbacks at least a run. Through two innings the Snakes had five hits, all singles, and a walk against Kendrick and had scored one run.
Jackson was hit by a pitch with one out in the third, but Drew followed and hit into a double-play.
Snyder singled with one out in the fourth. It brought up Owings, who lined a ball into right. Jenkins made a nice diving catch coming in to end the inning.
Young started the fifth with a home run that put Arizona up 2-1. Ojeda followed with a triple before Byrnes grounded back to the pitcher for the first out. Jackson hit a slow ground ball to second for the second out. Ojeda scored and it was 3-1. Drew flew to center for the third out.
Salazar singled with one out in the sixth. Snyder was next and hit a ground ball to third. Feliz threw to second for the first out, but Howard didn’t handle the relay from Utley for an error and Snyder was safe at first with two outs. Owings doubled into left and Snyder went to third. Young grounded to Feliz for the third out.
Madson started the seventh with the game tied at 3-3. Byrnes singled with one out and stole second. Jackson lined one into left-center and Victorino took a bad angle on the ball. It got past him and to the wall for a double — it should have been a hit but just a single. Byrnes scored to make it 4-3. Romero came in to pitch to the lefty Drew and Drew grounded to second, moving Jackson to third. Righty Justin Upton hit for the lefty Salazar and struck out.
Interesting to see Manuel to put Madson into the game in such a pressure situation. Madson hasn’t been one of Manuel’s first options of the pen for much of the year. This time didn’t go well, but it’s nice to see anyway. Manuel needs to use his whole pen or Lidge and Romero are going to be done long before the season is.
Madson has now allowed six hits in his last 2 1/3 innings.
Gordon started the eighth with the Phils up 5-4 and Snyder led off with a double. Snyder was left stranded when Gordon set down Montero (flew to left), Young (struck out) and Ojeda (ground ball to second).
Lidge started the ninth with a one run lead and struck out Byrnes and Chris Burke before getting Drew to ground to first to end the game.
Great day for Romero, Gordon and Lidge, who combined to allow a hit and a walk while striking out five in 2 1/3 innings after Madson was hit hard in the seventh. Madson and Lidge both threw 15 pitches, Romero 13 and Gordon 11. Gordon pitched on Tuesday so he probably won’t go three days in a row, but my guess would be the other three are available this afternoon.
The Phillies’ lineup against right Micah Owings went (1) Victorino (2) Bruntlett (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Burrell (6) Jenkins (7) Feliz (8) Ruiz. Jenkins in right field with Werth on the bench despite the home run from Werth last night. Coming into the game Werth was hitting 218/290/400 against righties on the season, Jenkins 287/323/402. Howard back in the lineup and Utley back at second. Ruiz catches Kendrick.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the first.
Howard struck out to start the second and Burrell followed with a walk. Jenkins struck out and Feliz popped to third.
Ruiz started the third with a single and Kendrick bunted him to second. Victorino singled into center and Ruiz slid in to the plate just in front of the throw from Young to tie the game at 1-1. Really good base-running from Ruiz on the play. Bruntlett flew to right for the second out before Utley walked and stole second. Howard struck out for the third out.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
They started the seventh down 3-1. Jenkins singled with one out and it brought up Feliz and Feliz jerked Owings’ 0-1 pitch down the line in left and just out. 3-3. Ruiz grounded out behind him and Werth hit for Kendrick and struck out.
Victorino led off the eighth and struck out swinging at a 2-2 pitch. Strike three got away from Snyder and Victorino took off for first base. It looked like Jackson at first set up to receive the throw from Snyder on the dugout side of the first base line, but the throw came on the second base side. Jackson reached across his body to catch the ball just as Victorino arrived and a horrific collision ensued. Victorino’s legs came out from under him and he wound up on his back, while Jackson wound up lying face down in front of first. Jackson had to leave the game but Victorino stayed in. Bruntlett was next and he ripped a double down the left field line and into the corner. Victorino scored to tie the game at 4-4. Utley singled into center and Bruntlett scored. 5-4. Howard and Burrell both struck out before Jenkins walked. Feliz grounded to short for the third out.
Dobbs hit for Gordon with one out in the ninth and singled, but Victorino and Bruntlett went down behind him.
Victorino was 1-for-5 with an RBI. Amazing that he could stay in the game after a play like that and score from first when the next hitter doubled — he got a great jump cause he was trying to steal second on the pitch that Bruntlett doubled on (the ball rattled around, so he may have been safe anyway).
Bruntlett was 1-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Big hit for Bruntlett.
Utley was 1-for-3 with a walk and a single that won the game.
Howard was 0-for-4 and struck out three times.
Burrell 0-for-3 with a walk.
Jenkins 1-for-3 with a walk. Nice play in right to take a hit away from Owings.
Feliz was 1-for-4 with a big homer, his fifth on the season, and two RBI. He’s 5-for-11 with a double and a home run so far in the series.
Ruiz 1-for-4 with a single.
Brett Myers (2-2, 4.70) faces righty Brandon Webb (7-0, 2.49) this afternoon. Righties are hitting .152 against Webb and have drawn three walks this season. Lefties do at least a little better, but you’d sort of have to. They are hitting .247 against Webb and have hit both the home runs that Webb has allowed on the year (Helton and Delgado). Webb didn’t face the Phils last season. Myers threw 121 pitches his last time out, but he’s a big strong kid so it’s probably nothing. Over his last six starts Myers has allowed 11 home runs in 39 innings — if he allowed home runs at that rate over 200 innings he would surrender 56. That would be too many. Myers didn’t start against the Snakes in ‘07, mostly cause he was being a big strong kid in the bullpen just about all the time he wasn’t on the DL.
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Antiques roadshow
By egrissom | May 7, 2008
Old pitchers have been the story of the first two games of the Phils’ series with the Diamondbacks. After 45-year-old Jamie Moyer bested young Max Scherzer in the first game of the set, 44-year-old Randy Johnson got the win last night as he outpitched Adam Eaton.
Not that outpitching Eaton was that remarkable a feat. Eaton again was hurt by the big inning, and for the second time in three starts didn’t get an out in the fifth inning. The lowlight was walking The Big Unit on four pitches with the bases loaded, but if lowlights are your thing the three-run bomb by Stephen Drew two batters later is highly recommended.
Ryan Howard started the game on the bench for the Phils against the lefty Johnson. After striking out in a pinch-hitting appearance Howard is hitting .168 on the year. He’s 1-for-his-last-16 with eight strikeouts.
The Phillies lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks last night, falling 6-4 to drop to 19-15 on the season. The four-game series is tied at one game apiece.
Eaton got the start for the Phillies and went four innings, allowing six runs on five hits and three walks. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and a home run. He struck out one.
In the first he got ahead of Chris Young 0-2 before Young ripped a double down the left field line. Stephen Drew grounded back to Eaton for the first out, with Young holding second. Eric Byrnes was next and he hit a chopper down the third base line. It went off the heel of Feliz’s glove and Feliz flipped to Eaton covering third to try and get Young at third, but the flip was wild and the ball rolled down the third base line towards home. Byrnes went to second on the flipping error by Feliz. Fourth error on the year for Feliz. Conor Jackson was next and he lined a single into left-center off the tip of the glove of a diving Bruntlett. Young scored to make it 1-0 and Byrnes went to third. Justin Upton followed with a ground ball back to the mound and Byrnes was caught between third and home in a rundown. Upton went to second on the rundown, so it put men on second and third for Mark Reynolds with two outs. Reynolds popped to short for the third out.
Eaton hit Augie Ojeda with a 1-2 pitch with one out in the second. Pitcher Randy Johnson couldn’t bunt him to second and struck out for the second out. Young grounded to third for the third out.
Eaton threw a 1-2-3 third.
He started the fourth with a 2-1 lead and everything went bad quickly. He walked Upton on five pitches to start the inning. Reynolds was next and hit a ball to deep right that went in and out of the glove of Werth for a double. Miguel Montero followed with a walk to load the bases. Ojeda flew to center for the first out and the runners had to hold. The pitcher Randy Johnson was next and Eaton walked him on four pitches, forcing in Upton to tie the game at 2-2. Young hit a ground ball to short and Johnson was forced at second for the first out as Reynolds scored. 3-2 with men on first and third for Drew. Drew hit a three-run homer to right-center. 6-2. Byrnes flew to right for the third out.
Eaton allowed three walks, a double and a home run in the inning.
Seanez threw a 1-2-3 fifth and a 1-2-3 sixth to drop his ERA on the year to 1.38. After walking eight hitters in his first nine innings on the season, he hasn’t walked a batter in his last four innings.
Gordon started the seventh and gave up a one out single to Drew. Flash threw away a pickoff attempt at first with Byrnes at the plate and Drew went to second. Drew moved to third when Byrnes grounded out for the second out. Jackson flew to right for the third out.
Chad Durbin started the eighth with Brad Harman playing third base after Howard hit for Feliz in the top of the inning. Upton led off with a single, but Durbin struck out Reynolds and Montero flew to left for the second out. With Ojeda at the plate, Upton was caught stealing to end the inning.
Durbin threw 17 pitches in his inning. Seanez needed just 16 to throw two. Gordon threw 13.
The Phillies lineup against lefty Randy Johnson went (1) Victorino (2) Bruntlett (3) Utley (4) Burrell (5) Werth (6) Feliz (8) Coste (8) Harman. Howard starts the game on the bench against the lefty. Utley plays first with Harman at second. Werth in right and Victorino in center. Coste catches.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the first.
Feliz walked with two outs in the second and moved to second when Coste was hit by a pitch. Harman flew to center for the third out.
Eaton led off the third and hammered a 1-0 pitch into center for a double. Victorino put down a pretty bunt and it took a nice bare-handed play by Reynolds at third to get him at first. Eaton went to third, but it didn’t matter cause Bruntlett hit the first pitch he saw out to left to put the Phillies up 2-1. Johnson struck out Utley and Burrell to end the frame.
Werth singled to start the fourth. Feliz followed and looped a ball into shallow left-center, but Byrnes made a nice diving catch for the first out. Werth stole second with Coste at the plate and went to third on a throwing error by catcher Miguel Montero. Coste struck out and Harman flew to right, so the Phils couldn’t score after the Phils put a man on third with one out.
With one out in the fifth, Victorino walked and scored when Bruntlett ripped an 0-1 pitch into the right field corner for a double, cutting the Arizona lead to 6-3. Utley grounded to first and Burrell struck out swinging.
Werth started the sixth with a home run, making the score 6-4. Feliz was next and singled off the glove of Conor Jackson and into right field, but he was thrown out going for second. Coste popped to short and Harman struck out swinging.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the seventh.
Burrell singled with one out in the eighth and went to second on a ground out by Werth. With righty Tony Pena on the mound, Howard hit for Feliz and struck out to end the frame.
Howard and not Dobbs was a choice Manuel made in the eighth. Howard got a chance as the tying run with a man on and the Phils down 6-4, but it meant that Harman had to play third in the bottom of the eighth. Dobbs would get a chance to tie the game with a man on in the ninth against a righty anyway.
Righty Brandon Lyon came on for the Diamondbacks in the ninth to protect a 6-4 lead. Coste popped out to the catcher for the first out before Ruiz hit for Harman and singled into left. It brought Chad Durbin up as the winning run and Dobbs hit for Durbin and flew to left for the second out. Victorino singled, moving Ruiz to third and putting the tying run on base for Bruntlett, but Bruntlett flew out to left to leave both runners stranded and end the game.
Victorino was 1-for-3 with a walk. He’s 5-for-his-last-13 with two doubles. He still has just four extra-base hits and a .315 slugging percentage on the season.
Bruntlett was 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and three RBI. He’s 4-for-10 with three extra-base hits and six RBI in the first two games of the series.
Utley was 0-for-4 and struck out three times.
Burrell 1-for-4 and struck out twice.
Werth was 2-for-4 with his sixth home run.
Feliz 1-for-2 with a walk and robbed of another hit by a nice catch by Byrnes.
Coste 0-for-3.
Harman 0-for-3.
Kyle Kendrick (2-2, 5.01) faces righty Micah Owings (4-1, 4.42) tonight. Owings was 4-0 with a 2.42 ERA in his first four starts. In his last two he’s allowed 11 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings. Overall on the season he’s allowed six home runs in 36 2/3 innings. Lefties are hitting .310 against him, righties .145. He made two starts against the Phils in 2007 and went 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA. May 8 and May 29. Lefties are hitting .350 with a 2.05 ratio against Kendrick, righties .247, 1.18. He hasn’t walked a batter in his last two starts and has never faced Arizona.
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Phils sack Max
By egrissom | May 6, 2008
| Team | W-L | R | R/G | NL Rank R | OPS (NL) | SB | CS |
| ARI | 21-10 | 179 | 5.77 | 2 | 809 (2) | 15 | 2 |
| PHI | 18-14 | 150 | 4.69 | 7 | 768 (7) | 15 | 5 |
| Team | W-L | RA | RA/G | NL Rank RA | Starter ERA | Pen ERA |
| ARI | 21-10 | 125 | 4.03 | 3 | 3.86 (4) | 2.43 (1) |
| PHI | 18-14 | 137 | 4.28 | 6 | 4.31 (9) | 2.66 (2) |
After the schedule-makers gave them the struggling Pirates, Padres and Giants all in a row you would have to think going to Arizona to face the Diamondbacks with their NL-best 21-10 record would be something of a shock for the Phils. If it was they didn’t show it. The pounded out 11 runs on 17 hits and took the first game of the four-game set 11-4.
The Phils won by seven runs, but the game wasn’t that close. Jamie Moyer outpitched fireballing prospect Max Scherzer and the Phils hit up and down their lineup. The first three in the order for the Phils went 6-for-14. At the bottom of the lineup, Jenkins, Feliz and Ruiz combined to go 8-for-16. The Phils scored 11 times without a home run.
The Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks last night, winning 11-4 to improve to 19-14 on the season. The Phils are five games over .500 for the first time in 2008.
Moyer got the start for the Phillies and was fantastic. He went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, a triple and a home run. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.
With two outs in the first, Orlando Hudson singled to right and moved to second on an error by Jenkins. Conor Jackson flew to right for the third out.
Justin Upton singled to start the second with the Phils up 1-0. Mark Reynolds flew to center for the first out before Chris Snyder ripped a ball ticketed for left. Feliz made a great play at the line and threw to second to force Upton for the second out. Stephen Drew followed and tripled into the gap in right-center. Snyder scored to tie the game at 1-1. The pitcher Max Scherzer grounded to short to end the inning.
Moyer threw a 1-2-3 third with the Phillies up 5-1.
He struck out Upton and Reynolds in a 1-2-3 fourth.
And Drew in a 1-2-3 fifth.
Chris Young and Eric Byrnes started the sixth with back-to-back singles. It put men on first and second with nobody out for Hudson, who hit into a double-play. Jackson grounded to short for the third out.
Moyer started the seventh with a 9-1 lead. He got the first two before Snyder homered to left. 9-2. Drew struck out to end the inning.
Madson pitched the eighth and gave up a one-out single to Young, but got the next two to leave him stranded.
Condrey started the ninth, seeing his first action since April 27. In that time the Phillies called on Brett Myers to throw 121 pitches in a start and asked both Romero and Lidge to pitch four days in a row. If you’re going to have a problem, seventh guy in the bullpen is a nice place to have one. But the Phils need someone they are willing to put in the game when the score isn’t 11-2. Pinch-hitter Miguel Montero and Upton started the inning with singles. Reynolds was next and he bounced one into right. Jenkins failed to field the ball as he charged and was given his second error of the game. Montero scored to cut the Phillies’ lead to 11-3. With men on first and third and nobody out, Robby Hammock hit one to third and Feliz came home with the ball to get Upton for the first out. Drew loaded the bases with a single to left. Chris Burke hit a ground ball to second for the second out. Reynolds scored and it was 11-4. Young grounded to short to end the game.
Condrey’s ERA is up to 7.45 on the season after allowing two runs on four hits in the inning. He threw 17 pitches, Madson 11.
The Phillies’ lineup against righty Max Scherzer went (1) Victorino (2) Bruntlett (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Burrell (6) Jenkins (7) Feliz (8) Ruiz. Werth again on the bench against the righty with Jenkins in right and Victorino in center. Ruiz catches.
Victorino led off the game with a double and Bruntlett followed and was hit by a pitch while trying to bunt. Utley grounded to first and Bruntlett was forced at second for the first out as Victorino moved to third. Howard flew to center and Victorino scored to put the Phils up 1-0. Burrell struck out to end the frame.
Jenkins started the second with a single, but Feliz and Ruiz struck out behind him. Moyer singled into left, moving Jenkins to second. Victorino grounded back to the pitch to leave both runners stranded.
In the third, Utley doubled with one out and Howard followed with a walk. Burrell struck out for the second out but Jenkins followed with a single into center. Utley scored to put the Phillies up 2-1. With Feliz at the plate a wild pitch moved Howard to third before Feliz smoked a ball at the feet of Drew at short. It bounced once and went off his glove for an error. Howard scored to put the Phillies up 3-1. Jenkins went to second, but he came around to score when Ruiz followed with a single up the middle. 4-1 with first and second and two down for Moyer. Moyer sliced a double down the left field line scoring Feliz to make it 5-1 and moving Ruiz to third. Victorino popped to short for the third out.
Utley walked with one out in the fourth, but Howard and Burrell went down behind him.
Feliz singled with one out in the fifth, but Ruiz popped to the catcher and Moyer flew to left.
Victorino and Bruntlett put runners on first and second with nobody out in the sixth when they started the inning with back-to-back singles. Utley flew to center, Howard flew to left and Burrell grounded to third.
Jenkins started the seventh with a single before Feliz flew out for the first out. Ruiz moved Jenkins to third with a single and Moyer hit for himself and bunted Ruiz to second for the second out. Righty Edgar Gonzalez walked Victorino intentionally to pitch to the righty Bruntlett. Bruntlett lined a ball into right-center and Upton dove for it and missed. It rolled for a while and Bruntlett had a three-run triple that put the Phils up 8-1. Utley walked to put men on first and third before Howard singled, scoring Bruntlett to make it 9-1. Burrell grounded to short to end the inning.
Feliz doubled with one out in the eighth and moved to third when Ruiz followed with an infield single. Dobbs hit for Moyer and hit a ball to center for the second out, deep enough to score Feliz and put the Phils up 10-2. Victorino fouled out to third to end the frame.
Utley doubled with one out in the ninth and moved to third on a ground out to second by Howard. Taguchi hit a ball to third that Reynolds couldn’t handle, Utley scored on the error to extend the lead to 11-2. Jenkins grounded to second for the third out.
Victorino was 2-for-5 with a double and a walk.
Bruntlett 2-for-5 with a triple and three RBI. Great day for Bruntlett, but he doesn’t belong hitting second. Even after the big day he’s hitting 231/333/308 as a number two hitter.
Utley 2-for-4 with two doubles and two walks.
Howard 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBI.
Burrell 0-for-5, struck out twice and left eight men on base.
Jenkins 3-for-6 with an RBI and two errors.
Feliz 2-for-5 with a double.
Ruiz 3-for-5 with an RBI.
Adam Eaton (0-0, 4.72) faces lefty Randy Johnson (1-1, 4.79) tonight. Johnson had a 2.70 ERA in his first three starts before he allowed six runs in four innings against the Astros on Wednesday. Lefties have one hit against him on the season, they’re hitting .083. Righties are hitting .286. Johnson only made ten starts in 2007, but two of them game against the Phils. In the two starts, which came on May 9 and May 30, Johnson went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA. Eaton is still looking for his first decision on the year. He hasn’t allowed more than four runs in any of his six starts. His home runs are way down compared to last season, he’s allowed just three in 34 1/3 innings. Lefites are hitting .292 against him, righties .236. He made one start against Arizona last year and allowed three runs over seven innings on May 8.
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Phils struggle to earn runs, but Eugenio struggles to field as Velez other second basemen
By egrissom | May 5, 2008
Carlos Ruiz picked a nice time for his first home run of the year, it was a good moment in an ugly win for the Phils yesterday afternoon. With one out in the eighth he muscled one out to left to tie the game at 5-5 — it was the only earned run the Phils would score in the game. In the bottom of the ninth Ryan Howard scored the winning run for the Phils, he came around to score on a ground ball to second that went under Eugenio Velez’s glove for the Giants’ third error of the day.
Ugly or not, a win is a win and this one kept the Phils atop the NL East for at least another day. Charlie Manuel’s use of his bullpen in the series with San Francisco was curious to say the least. Brad Lidge was the latest Phillie reliever to pitch for the fourth straight day with several pitchers in the pen who pitch rarely if ever. Whether this is by choice or necessity it could signal bad times ahead for the bullpen, cause if you think the Phils need Lidge and Romero pitching well in the beginning of May just wait till you see how much they need them pitching well in the beginning of September.
The Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants yesterday afternoon, winning 6-5 to improve to 18-14 on the season. The Phils take the series two games to one.
Hamels got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. Four of the hits went for extra-bases, three doubles and a home run. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.
He threw a 1-2-3 first.
With two outs in the second Rich Aurillia doubled high off the wall in right. Hamels struck Dan Ortmeier out on a 2-2 pitch that was low and outside for a called strike three to end the frame.
Hamels struck out Steve Holm, Tim Lincecum and Eugenio Velez is a 1-2-3 third.
Emmanuel Burriss singled to start the fourth with the Phils up 2-0. He moved to second when Winn followed with a ground out. Rowand struck out for the second out before Jose Castillo singled into center. Victorino came home and his throw was on the first base side of home. Burriss really hammered Ruiz, who held the ball, but Burriss was safe anyway. Odd looking play because Burriss had already crossed home when he collided with Ruiz. Aurillia followed with a double to left-center that scored Castillo and tied the game at 2-2. Ortmeier flew to right to end the frame.
Holm started the fifth with a double and Lincecum bunted him to third. Velez popped up to third and Burriss grounded to short on a nice play by Bruntlett behind second for the third out.
Rowand singled to left with one out in the sixth. Castillo was next and flew to Burrell on the warning track right in front of the wall. Aurillia was next and he blasted one out to left, tying the game at 4-4. Ortmeier flew out to center to set the Giants down.
Durbin started the seventh for the Phillies. With one out, John Bowker hit for Lincecum and looped a single into center. Velez hit into a double-play to end the frame.
Durbin returned for the eighth. He got the first two before Rowand singled to left. Castillo was next and he hit a ball down the line in right field and into the corner. Jenkins hit Utley and Utley’s throw arrived home about the same time as Rowand, but Ruiz dropped the ball and Rowand slid under the tag as well. Rowand was safe to put the Giants up 5-4. Fred Lewis hit for Ortmeier and flew to left for the third out.
Lidge started the ninth with the score tied at 5-5, pitching for the fourth straight day and the third straight day in a non-save situation. He threw a 1-2-3 inning. It took five pitches.
Durbin threw 38 pitches, Lidge five.
The Phillies’ lineup against righty Tim Lincecum went (1) Victorino (2) Bruntlett (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Burrell (6) Jenkins (7) Feliz (8) Ruiz. Victorino and Bruntlett at the top of the order. Werth on the bench with Jenkins in right against the righty. Ruiz back behind the plate.
Victorino led off the first with a double into left-center. Bruntlett struck out swinging and Utley looking before Howard flew to left to end the inning.
Burrell lashed a double to left-center to start the second. Jenkins struck out before Feliz singled just over the glove of Castillo at third and into left. Burrell went to third. Ruiz popped to shallow right, Winn took it for the second out and Burrell had to hold third. Lincecum struck Hamels out on three pitches to leave both runners stranded.
Victorino started the third with a ground ball to short and was safe when the throw pulled Aurillia off the bag. Error on Burriss at short, although it looked like Aurillia tagged Victorino and he should have been out. Bruntlett moved him to second with a single into right before Utley flew to shallow center for the first out. Howard moved the runners to second and third with a ground out before Burrell doubled off the wall in left. Both runners scored and the Phils led 2-0. Jenkins struck out for the third out.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the fourth with the game tied at 2-2.
Victorino started the fifth with a single. Bruntlett hit a ground ball to third and Castillo threw low to second where Velez didn’t handle it. The ball went into right and Victorino took third on Castillo’s error, but Velez should have caught the ball. Utley flew to shallow right for the first out and the runners had to hold. Howard drew a walk that loaded the bases. Lincecum’s first pitch to Burrell was in the dirt. Holm blocked it and it dribbled towards third base. Victorino scored from third to put the Phils up 3-2 and the other runners moved up to second and third. Burrell was walked intentionally to load the bases. Jenkins flew to left and Bruntlett scored, extending the lead to 4-2. Another wild pitch, this one way over the head of Holm, moved the runners to second and third before Feliz flew to center to end the inning.
The Phils went 1-2-3 in the sixth. Brad Harman hit for Hamels and grounded to short for the second out.
With one out in the seventh, Utley was hit by a pitch in the middle of the back and stole second. Howard walked and righty Vinnie Chulk struck Burrell out swinging at a 3-2 pitch for the second out. Chulk stayed in to pitch to Jenkins and Jenkins flew to right to end the inning.
Ruiz homered to left with one out in the eighth, tying the game at 5-5. Dobbs, who hit for Durbin, and Victorino went down behind him.
With two outs in the ninth Keiichi Yabu walked Howard and Burrell back-to-back. Jenkins hit a ground ball to second that went under the glove of Velez for an error and Howard stormed home to score the winning run and give the Phils a 6-5 win. Nice jump by Howard with two outs. Holm didn’t catch the throw home, but it wouldn’t have matter if he did.
Victorino was 2-for-5 with a double. 3-for-14 with a double in the series. 231/296/292 on the season.
Bruntlett was 1-for-5. 2-for-11 with two singles in the series and 222/278/267.
Utley 0-for-4 with a strikeout and left five men on base. 4-for-11 with two home runs in the series. 357/432/762.
Howard 0-for-2 with three walks and scored the winning run. 0-for-11 with six strikeouts and three walks in the series. 167/294/351.
Burrell 2-for-3 with two doubles and two walks. 3-for-10 with two doubles, a home run and four walks in the series. 330/459/689.
Jenkins was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, an RBI, four men left on base and a game-winning ground ball to second base. 1-for-9 with a home run in the series. He has one walk in his last 37 at-bats. 250/286/359.
Feliz was 1-for-4. 3-for-8 with a home run in the series. 214/270/379.
Ruiz 1-for-4 with a big home run. 1-for-5 with a home run in the series. 203/272/297.
Dobbs was 0-for-1 in the game and 0-for-5 in the series. 293/356/488.
Werth 1-for-6 in the series. 258/343/506.
Coste was 0-for-6 with a walk in the series. He’s hitting 304/396/522 on the season.
Taguchi did not have an at-bat in the series and is hitting 205/244/256 on the year.
Harman 0-for-1 in the series. 200/333/400 in five at-bats on the year.
Jamie Moyer (1-2, 4.50) faces righty Max Scherzer (0-0, 0.00) tonight for the first of four in Arizona. Superstar to be Scherzer turns 24 in July and has made one appearance with the Diamondbacks. It was memorable. On Tuesday he came on in relief of Edgar Gonzalez against the Astros and went 4 1/3 innings without allowing a hit or a walk while striking out seven. Opponentws are htting .336 against Moyer on the year, although he has yet to allow more than four earned runs in any