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Can I call you, Joe (if I need someone to pitch us into the NLCS)?
By egrissom | October 5, 2008
The Phillies needed three fantastic performances from their starting pitchers to get past the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS. After Hamels and Myers dazzled in games one and two, game four it was up to Blanton to pitch the Phillies into the NLCS and he delivered. Blanton took a 5-0 lead into the seventh inning before he gave up a solo home run to Prince Fielder this afternoon. It was the only extra-base hit he allowed. He didn’t walk a hitter and struck out seven.
Fielder’s home run was the only extra-base hit for the Brewers in the last two games of the series.
If Joe Blanton pitched the Phils into the NLCS, there’s little question who hit them into it. Pat Burrell sprung out of a mini-slump today, delivering a huge three-run homer in the top of the third inning that put the Phils up to stay at 4-0. He added a solo shot in the top of the eighth.
Burrell’s blasts were much-needed for a Phillies offense that largely had to get it done without Utley and Howard. The dynamic duo of lefties that makes up the three-four punch of the Phillies order combined to go just 4-for-26 in the series. Compounding the problem for the Phils, at the bottom of the order, Feliz and Ruiz combined to go 4-for-27. Between them, that’s half the lineup. The Phillies had to make do, and they did. Burrell had two big blasts in game four, Werth put together some timely contributions and Victorino gave them a grand slam in game two.
Thanks to Blanton and his cohorts in the rotation, that was enough.
The Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon, winning 6-2. With the win they take the best-of-five series three games to one. They will play the Dodgers in the NLCS. Game one is Thursday.
Joe Blanton got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing a run on five hits. One of the hits he allowed went for extra-bases, a home run. He struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter.
He faced a Milwaukee lineup that went (1) Cameron (CF/R) (2) Durham (2B/S) (3) Braun (LF/R) (4) Fielder (1B/L) (5) Hardy (SS/R) (6) Hart (RF/R) (7) Counsell (3B/L) (8) Kendall (C/R). That is the same lineup that Milwaukee used against Myers in game two.
There were five position players on the bench for Milwaukee to start the game: Mike Rivera (R), Tony Gwynn, Jr (L), Brad Nelson (L), Alcides Escobar (R) and Bill Hall (R). Escobar is a 21-year-old infielder with four career at-bats who took Weeks’ spot on the roster after Weeks sprained his knee trying to beat out a base hit in game three.
Blanton started the first up 1-0. He struck Cameron out looking at 2-2 fastball at the knees. Durham popped to Dobbs at third on a 3-2 pitch for the second out. He got ahead of Braun 0-2, but Braun laced a 2-2 pitch into left field for a single. Fielder worked the count full before he hit a fly ball well to the opposite field, but Burrell took it a couple of steps in front of the warning track for the third out.
Long inning for Blanton. He threw 29 pitches, which would be the most he would throw in an inning on the day.
He threw a 1-2-3 second, getting Hardy to pop a 1-1 pitch to Dobbs, Hardy to ground his first pitch to short and Counsell to pop a 2-0 pitch up to short. Seven more pitches had him at 36.
He threw a 1-2-3 third with the Phils up 5-0. Kendall worked the count full and flew to right. Sabathia hit for the pitcher Suppan and went down swinging on three pitches. Cameron flew to center on an 0-1 pitch.
Nice, quick inning against the bottom of the order for Blanton after the Phils gave him a big lead. Eleven pitches. 47 for the game.
He got two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 fourth. Durham struck out swinging at a 1-2 pitch in the dirt. Braun struck of swinging 2-2. Fielder flew to right. Sixteen pitches had him at 63.
Hardy led off the fifth and lined a single into left on a 1-1 pitch. First base-runner that Blanton had allowed since Braun’s single in the first. Blanton struck out the next two, getting Hart swinging after Hart got ahead 0-2 and Counsell on four pitches. Kendall grounded a 2-2 pitch to short for the third out. Eighteen pitches. 81.
Lefty Tony Gwynn hit for pitcher Yovani Gallardo to start the sixth and hit a 2-2 pitch into right for a single. Again Blaton got the next three men he faced. Cameron popped to second. Durham flew to right. Braun stuck out looking at a low 1-2 fastball. Eighteen more pitches put him at 99 for the game.
He still had a 5-0 lead when he started the seventh. Fielder led off and worked the count full and then blasted a monster shot way, way out to right-center. 5-1. Hardy was next and he lined an 0-1 pitch into right for a single. That was it for Blanton after 107 pitches. Manuel called on Madson to pitch to Hart. Hart grounded a 1-1 pitch to second, but not hard enough for the Phils to get two. Hart was out at first for the first out with Hardy moving to second. Counsell was next and he chopped a 1-1 pitch between first and second. Howard made a diving play to stab the ball and threw to Madson covering first for the second out as Hardy went to third. Kendall flew to right on an 0-1 pitch for the third out.
Very surprised, and pleased, to see Manuel bring in Madson and not Durbin in the seventh. Both had pitched on Saturday, with Madson throwing 13 pitches to get four outs and Durbin throwing 20 pitches to get two. But under normal circumstances I think Manuel would tend to go to Durbin in that situation. Durbin has really struggled lately, so I was thrilled to see Manuel change things up and go with Madson for more than an inning. Worked great for the Phils.
Madson returned to start the eighth with the Phils now up 6-1 and got Bill Hall, who had entered in the top of the inning as part of a double-switch, to ground an 0-2 pitch to short for the first out. Cameron was next and he singled up the middle on the first pitch of his at-bat. Cameron took second on defensive indifference before Durham grounded a 1-2 pitch to second for the second out with Cameron going to third. Braun lined a 2-2 pitch into left field for another single and Cameron scored, cutting the Phillies lead to 6-2. It brought up Fielder with two outs and a man on first and Fielder crushed a 1-1 pitch, hitting a line drive that would have been a single into right except the shift had Utley playing in shallow right. Utley speared the ball to end the inning.
I do not understand at all why Romero did not come on to pitch to Fielder. Does not make any sense to me if he is healthy. Especially after Fielder had hit it to the moon an inning earlier. Fielder got a good pitch to hit (and hit it good), so if they were pitching around him to get to the righty Hardy they didn’t do a good job of it.
Lidge started the ninth up 6-2. Hardy led of and grounded to Feliz at third for the first out. Hart was next and hit a 2-2 pitch hard to third and under the glove of Feliz and into left for a single. Lefty Brad Nelson hit for the pitcher Guillermo Mota and Lidge struck the rookie out on a 2-2 slider away for the second out. Kendall grounded a 1-2 pitch to short and the series was over.
Very muted celebration for the Phils, which was nice to see. They have accomplished a lot, but they don’t look like they think they’re done.
Madson and Lidge combined to go three innings, allowing a run on three singles. Madson threw 24 pitches, Lidge 16. They have a long time to rest before Thursday. As a group, the Phillies pen threw ten innings in the series, allowing four runs, all of them earned (3.60 ERA), on 13 hits and three walks.
The Milwaukee pen had to throw six innings in the game and was charged with one run, the homer by Burrell off of Mota. As a group they allowed one run in 17 2/3 innings in the series, clearly outpitching the Phillies pen. Notably, the Brewers used several starting pitchers in relief in the set (Gallardo, Villanueva, McClung, Parra), while the Phils stuck to their relief corps.
The Phillies lineup against righty Jeff Suppan went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Burrell (6) Werth (7) Dobbs (8) Ruiz. Dobbs gets his first playoff start against the righty with Feliz on the bench. Ruiz continues to catch, he started all four games of the series. Ruiz was behind the plate for about 66% of the hitters that Blanton faced while with the Phillies this season.
The hitters on the bench to start the game for the Phils were Taguchi (R), Coste (R), Bruntlett (R), Feliz (R), Jenkins (L) and Stairs (L).
Rollins got ahead 3-1 to start the first. He checked his swing 3-1 on a pitch that looked inside, but Suppan got the called strike to run the count full. Rollins hit a laser out to right on the next pitch to put the Phils up 1-0. Victorino popped to short for the first out before Utley drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch low. Howard hit the first pitch of his at-bat to short, where third baseman Counsell was playing thanks to the shift, and the Brewers turned the double-play to end the frame.
Burrell got behind 1-2 to start the second before he singled down the right field line. Werth had a long at-bat, but struck out swinging at a 3-2 pitch that was outside for the first out. Dobbs followed and hit an 0-1 pitch into right-center for a single, with Burrell going to third. Dobbs took second on a wild pitch before Ruiz went down looking at a 1-2 pitch on the outside corner. Blanton struck out swinging on three pitches to end the inning.
Phils get nothing out of second and third with one out. Bad at-bat for Ruiz, who swung at bad 1-1 pitch low and away before going down looking.
Rollins flew to right on a 1-2 pitch to start the third. Victorino was next and hit a flair down the left field line that dropped. Victorino had a double. Utley grounded to second on a 1-1 pitch for the second out and Victorino went to third. Howard was walked intentionally, bringing up Burrell with two down and men on first and third. The first four pitches of Burrell’s at-bat went ball-strike-ball-strike, evening the count at 2-2. Both of the strikes were called, low and on the outside part of the plate. Burrell simply cannot hit that pitch. Don’t know if it was the single down the right field line in the first that got in his head or it was just a mistake, but Suppan threw a 2-2 pitch on the inside part of the plate and Burrell just hammered it out to left. Terrible idea (or just missed his spot) for Suppan. Burrell’s three-run shot put the Phils up 4-0. Werth was next and he hit a 1-1 pitch out to left-center. 5-0. Dobbs flew to center for the third out.
Burrell came into the game 9-for-21 (429/571/952) with three home runs in his career against Suppan. I think you have to question the intentional walk to Howard. Second time in the series that the intentional walk to Howard hurt Milwaukee. In game one it was followed by back-to-back walks that forced in a run.
Yovani Gallardo came in to pitch the fourth and set the Phils down in order. Ruiz grounded to third, Blanton struck out and Rollins grounded to second.
Gallardo threw a 1-2-3 fifth as well. Victorino grounded to first, Utley grounded to second and Howard flew to left.
Burrell flew to right on an 0-2 pitch to start the sixth. Werth was next and hit a towering popup to left on a 3-2 pitch. The ball hit a cable at the top of the stadium and was redirected back to the infield, where Counsell made an amazing diving play to record the second out. Dobbs blooped a single down the left-field line before Ruiz popped to third to set the Phillies down.
Blanton hit for himself to start the seventh with the Phillies up 5-0. He had thrown 99 pitches. He struck out swinging 2-2 for the first out. Rollins followed with a single to left, but Victorino followed and swung at the first pitch of his at-bat and hit into a double-play to end the frame.
Lefty Manny Parra struck out Utley and Howard to start the eighth. Guillermo Mota came in to pitch to Burrell with the Phils up 5-1. Mota hung an 0-2 slider to Burrell and Burrell popped that one out to left too, putting the Phils up 6-1. Werth followed and chopped an 0-2 pitch back up the middle, Hardy’s throw just nipped him at first (looked safe to me).
Feliz, who had entered to play third in the sixth, led off the ninth with a hundred-hopper into right for a single. Ruiz tried to bunt and popped it up to Fielder for the first out. Stairs hit for Madson and grounded into a double-play on a 2-1 pitch to end the frame. Again Manuel chooses Stairs over Jenkins in a hitting situation where it looks like he’s only going to get to use one of them in the game.
Rollins was 2-for-4 with a home run in the game. 6-for-16 (.375) with two doubles, a home run and a walk in the series.
Victorino was 1-for-4 with a double in the game. 5-for-14 (.357) with three doubles, three walks and a grand slam in the series. Led the team with five RBI. He also stole three bases.
Utley 0-for-3 with a walk in the game. 2-for-15 (.133) with a double, two walks and two RBI in the series.
Howard 0-for-3 with a walk in the game. 2-for-11 (.182) with a double and five walks in the series. Utley and Howard combine to go 4-for-26 (.154) with two doubles.
Burrell 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in the game. 3-for-12 (.250) with two walks in the series. Was having a miserable series before today’s game, but made up for it in a big way. He struck out just once in the series.
Werth was 1-for-4 with a home run today. 5-for-16 (.313) with three doubles, a triple and a home run in the series. Didn’t draw a walk and struck out six times, which led the team.
Dobbs 2-for-3 in the game and 3-for-5 (.600) in the series. I would guess we might see him get some more starts against righties in the NLCS. Feliz was 1-for-1 today and 3-for-13 (.231) with a double and an RBI in the set.
Ruiz was 0-for-4 and left four men on base. 1-for-14 (.071) in the series. Coste did not play in the series.
Stairs was 0-for-1 today and 0-for-2 in the series. Jenkins 0-for-1 in the series. Bruntlett 1-for-1 with a single.
Topics: Game recap, Playoffs |
October 6th, 2008 at 12:21 am
‘Hundred-hopper’ funny…that ball was rolling like a bocce ball toss.
Blanton…great outing. 5-0 as a Phillie, granted tons of no decisions when they scored a bunch of runs on him, but what they hey…I won’t argue with those numbers and more importantly won’t argue with the outing today. After a day where Moyer was really squeezed in the strike zone, Blanton brought it to them and had good moving stuff.
(Hopefully Jamie gets a more Moyer-esque ump next game)
Jimmy taking charge…nice…I had a good feeling going into that at bat and him leading off also had good feeling when they walked Howard I said (to myself) ‘come on make them pay for that’
Speaking of Jimmy I would think you go with Vic in the #2 spot in teh first two games vs Righty starters. And speaking of line ups…I would think you go Dobbs in #7 hole for game 1 and see how that works for you.
Ruiz man…really be nice to see him get a couple hits…feels like he had a few line outs, but they are just not falling. Really pulling for him here.
So I think this rest helps us more than the Dodgers, granted I know our team bettter and know the work Madsen (recently) and Durbin (all season long) have been put through.
remember when Rockies waited something like 17 days to play the Red Sox then got swept…that can’t help a streaking team and I think Dodgers would be considered streaking. Hopefully this week will cool them off.
Broxton their reliever…I got a chance to see him…wow. yikes… And Billingsly seems to be the real deal.
and Furcal after a season of injuries seems hot…
They didn’t sweep the best team in the NL for nothing I guess.
I don’t know the Dodgers that well, but who doesnt’ know what Manny has done for them. Maybe I will go back and watch the 8 games we played them on mlb.com while waiting for Thursday.
They really put some runs on the board vs Chicago. It think if Chicago played them in a 7 game series a month from now or a month ago it would be a different story.
Romero got one out in the series…yup…and wasn’t it on 1 pitch? He should be fine…but I remember readin a quote from him saying…’the more I pitch the better I am’ let’s hope he was just trying to be tough (and the rest does him well)
Lowe and Billingsly…two righty’s…I feel like we do better vs Righty’s on the season, just a hunch…thoughts on that? (how great would it be for Utley and Howard to have a coming out party vs them!?!)
Ok…happy blogging this week, and Congrats to the Phils.
Finally you are right…especially now with Blanton’s outing you have to feel good about our starting pitching…anything is possible, but you have to feel good.
Let’s go Hamels!!!
October 6th, 2008 at 8:11 am
I hope we see Dobbs starting against righties. I just feel a lot better seeing his bat at the back of the order. Unlike Bruntlett, I’m fine with seeing Feliz come in to play defense in the sixth or whatever if the Phils are up a run or two.
All the rest before Thursday’s game has to help the Phils pen. Romero didn’t do anything on the field that would make you worry about him, but Lidge and Durbin did. Those guys have been amazing all year, it seems like they have to let down at some point.
On the lineup, I think I’d hit Utley second and Werth third against lefties and Victorino second and Werth six against righties. I dont think Manuel will. I was a little surprised that Coste didn’t start game four of the NLDS — I thought Manuel would have tried to put all the bats in the lineup that he could.
October 6th, 2008 at 10:34 am
I’d really love to see Coste get a start or two against LA to at least give the 8-hole a chance or producing. Start Dobbs/Ruiz in game 1 and Feliz/Coste in game 2 or vice versa.
Why is Taguchi even on the roster?
Hopefully the rest will help the pen and not freeze the starters. Cole seemed to do well with the extra rest before game 1 of the NLDS, so hopefully that holds true again. I’d imagine it can’t hurt him much after throwing 227 innings in the regular season.
October 6th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I like Greg’s rotation of Dobbs/Ruiz and Feliz/Coste.
But boy you have to like Feliz’s glove…
October 6th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I’m frustrated about Taguchi, too. I don’t understand the thought process on why he stays on the roster.
I’d like to see the Phils do something with Ruiz/Coste like they do with Dobbs/Feliz, Burrell/Bruntlett where they bring in the better defensive player late in the game (although I think Bruntlett for Burrell is just a bad move). That’s tough with catchers, though, cause anybody can stand in left field if Burrell’s out of the game and Bruntlett gets hurt. It’s not the same with catchers, and I think Manuel wants to keep one on the bench as often as he can. Coste is a bad defensive player and Ruiz is very good.
October 6th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
sticking with the Ruiz thought…and the way the starting pitching has been going, Charlie may not want to mess with something thats workin…Ruiz handling the staff.
October 6th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
That is a good point Leighton. But you need to score runs too. Maybe put Coste in with Moyer for game three since he didn’t exactly light the world on fire against the Brewers. The simple solution is have Marson on the roster and get rid of Taguchi. If you’re going to have a player that isn’t going to get off of the bench (Marson/Taguchi), he may as well be protection for the use of another of your better bats (Coste).
I don’t know that Feliz’s glove is as advertised. I think he may have been above average at one point in his career and may be just living off of his reputation now. That’s not to say he isn’t better than Dobbs, just making a point.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Feliz did make a questionable play yesterday, letting the ball go under his glove, but I think he’s been pretty good defensively overall.
I agree that a third catcher on the roster would help a lot. On the catchers, though, if the pitchers feel more comfortable throwing to Ruiz than to Coste I think that’s huge factor. Not saying that’s the case, but I think it’s telling that Ruiz has started four of four playoff games this year after starting three of three last year. That’s too many games for it not to reflect a strong preference of Manuel
October 6th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Best. Headline. Ever. (Written with a folksy wink at the camera. You betcha.)
October 6th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Thanks, Tom. I heard a rumor that Manny Ramierz pals around with terrorists, don’tcha know. Probably nothing, though.
October 7th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I commented after the White Sox won their tie break game how good Gavin Floyd looked. After last night, it reminded me so much of when Floyd pitched for the Phils. He would have a “OK to good” game then horrible the next time out. With no Phils on last night, it brought memories of when Floyd was in Philly to watch that game.
October 7th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Yeah. Not a good night for Gavin. Upton got him with the long ball twice. Still an amazing year for him. He gave up a lot of home runs (30), but righties hit just 226/279/380 against him. That’s a far cry from the 323/387/589 they hit against him in 2006. Still just 25-years-old and his future is looking good.