16
Apr/13

Stubborn refusal to start pinch-hitting for people in the third costs the Phils dearly

by under Game recap

Cliff Lee gave the Phillies his third strong start in three tries last night, but again the Phillies struggled to score in a 4-2 loss to the Reds. The only runs the Phils plated in the game came on a pinch-hit, two-run homer by Utley in the top of the eighth.

Over the last three games, the Phillies have scored five runs. Three of the runs have come on pinch-hit home runs. They haven’t scored a run before the sixth inning in any of their last four games.

Ben Revere was spectacular defensively in the game in center, making a very good catch for the first out of the third and starting a double play in the second inning with an outstanding diving play on the warning track. He’s been a whole less successful offensively at the top of the lineup, though. After an 0-for-4 last night he’s hitting .222 for the year with a .276 on-basing percentage and no extra-base hits.

Rollins has gone cold after a strong start. Howard and Brown aren’t providing the offense the middle of the order needs despite the hot-hitting of Young from the five-hole. Erik Kratz has had a miserable start to the year both offensively and defensively — he’s on-basing .167 for the season.

The Phillies are 6-7 on the year after losing 4-2 to the Cincinnati Reds last night. The Phils have won four of their last six and lost two of their last three.

Lee got the start for the Phillies and went seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a double. He struck out four.

He’s made three starts on the and all three have been very good. 1.52 ERA and a silly 0.68 ratio. In 23 2/3 innings he’s struck out 18 and walked one. In two of his three starts the Phillies have scored two runs in the game.

He gave up a two-out single to Joey Votto in the bottom of the first. Brandon Phillips was next and grounded to third to end the inning.

Jay Bruce led off the second with a single. Todd Frazier was next, but Revere made a great diving catch to take a hit away from him. Revere threw to first to double Bruce off. Chris Heisey popped to Galvis to end the inning.

Amazing catch for Revere. The ball was lined to center and he looked like he initially took the wrong angle, but recovered and made a fantastic catch diving towards the wall on the warning track. He immediately got to his feet to double off Bruce.

Shin-Soo Choo singled to center with two outs in the third. Zach Cozart flew to center for the third out.

Revere made another very good play to record the first out of the third. Choo hit the ball very well to right center, but Revere caught it running into the wall to record the out.

Lee set the Reds down in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth.

Votto led off the seventh and singled to right. Phillips was next and moved Votto up to third with a double to left. It brought Bruce to the plate with nobody out and men on second and third. Lee uncorked a wild pitch through the legs of Kratz and everyone moved up a base with Votto scoring (1-0) before Bruce drew a walk. With men on first and third and one down, Frazier flew to right for the first out. Phillips tagged and scored from third to make it 2-0. Chris Heisey was next and hit a ball out in front of the plate. Lee fielded and threw to second, but his throw was bad an unhandled there for an error. Ryan Hannigan grounded into a double-play to end the inning.

The wild pitch that scored Votto costs the Phils a run. The ball just went under Kratz, which was unfortunate.

It was 2-2 when Horst started the eighth. Switch-hitter Derrick Robinson hit for the pitcher Arroyo and reached on a softly hit infield single. Choo bunted Robinson up to second with the first out, bringing Cozart to the plate with a man on second. Cozart blooped a ball into shallow right-center that alluded a sliding Nix for a double, sending Robinson to third. Horst walked the lefty Votto intentionally, loading the bases and setting up the double-play. Adams came in to pitch to the righty Phillips and Phillips hit a ball past a diving Galvis at second and in to right field. Robinson and Cozart both scored and it was 4-2 with men on first and second with one down for Bruce. Bruce singled into right and everyone moved up a base. Adams struck Frazier out looking for the second out and got Heisey to pop to Galvis to end the inning.

Horst faced four batters in the game, allowing a single, a bloop double and intentionally walking another hitter. He got one out, which came on a bunt. His ERA is at 9.53 after being charged with two runs in a third of an inning on two hits and a walk.

He was pitching on six days rest and threw nine pitches in the game. For the season he’s now allowed nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. Neither of the hits he allowed last night were exactly blasted. Robinson’s single was chopped down the third base line and Cozart’s double was blooped to right-center and could have been caught.

Adams faced four hitters in the game, allowing two singles and getting the other two out. He actually drops his ERA to 1.50 with both runs charged to Horst. He’s now struck out ten in six innings over seven appearances. He was pitching on one day’s rest and threw 15 pitches in the game.

Overall the pen goes one inning, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk. Horst and Adams should both be available tonight.

Last night was the first time that the bullpen had been charged with more than one run in a game since the fourth game of the season.

The Phillie lineup against righty Bronson Arroyo went (1) Revere (2) Galvis (3) Rollins (4) Howard (5) Young (6) Brown (7) Nix (8) Kratz. Galvis starts for the third straight day at another position, playing second with Utley on the bench. Revere continues to lead off for the Phils despite a 240/296/240 line for the year coming into the game (12-for-50 with 12 singles and four walks).

Galvis singled with one out in the top of the first. He moved up to second on a ground out by Rollins, but Howard flew to center for the third out.

The Phillies went in order in the second, third and fourth.

Young singled into center to start the fifth. Brown was next and grounded to third with Young forced at second for the second out. Nix singled into left, moving Brown up to second, but Kratz hit into a double-play to set the Phillies down.

The Phils went in order in the sixth. Revere tried to bunt for a hit, but was retired for the second out.

Young struck out as the Phils went in order in the seventh.

They trailed 2-0 when they hit in the eighth. Brown led off and singled into center. Nix was next and hit a ball softly that Arroyo handled for the first out as Brown moved up to second. Kratz flew to center for the second out and Utley hit for Lee. Utley lined a 2-1 pitch out to center, tying the game at 2-2. Revere grounded to second to set the Phillies down.

Third home run of the year for Utley. He’s slugging .722 against right-handed pitching. Second time in two games the Phils got a big pinch-hit home run late in the game.

Aroldis Chapman started the ninth for the Reds with the Phillies trailing 4-2. He struck out Rollins and Howard while setting the Phililes down in order.

Revere was 0-for-4 with two very good defensive plays, one of which was amazing and got the Phils two outs. He’s 5-for-his-last-27 (.185) and hitting .222 for the year without an extra-base hit. He can’t lead off for much longer.

Galvis 1-for-4. He’s started three days in a row, going 4-for-10 with two walks.

Rollins 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He’s 0-for-his-last-12.

Howard 0-for-4 and struck out against a lefty to end the game. 1-for-15 against lefties on the year with eight strikeouts.

Young 1-for-3 and struck out twice. 438/471/656 over his last 34 plate appearances.

Brown 1-for-3 with a single to up his average to .250. He’s hitting .250 against lefties and .250 against righties. Second on the team in RBI behind Utley with six. Six RBI in 13 games put him on pace to drive in 75 over 162 games.

Nix 1-for-3. 3-for-his-last-7 with a home run.

Kratz 0-for-3. Wild pitch in the seventh charged to Lee that looked like it could have been handled. He’s 0-for-his-last-8.

Kyle Kendrick (1-1, 5.40) faces righty Homer Bailey (1-1, 5.73) tonight in good-day-to-be-a-left-handed-hitter-night in Cincinnati. Kendrick has been a little better than his numbers over his first two starts. He was good his last time out, holding the Mets to two runs over six innings. In his first start he was charged with five runs over 5 2/3 innings, but three of the runs scored after he left with two outs and the bases loaded. Lefites are hitting 480/519/720 (12-for-25 with four extra-base hits) against him for the year and 295/364/491 against him for his career. Bailey threw six shutout innings against the Nats in his first start of the year, but was pounded by the Cards in his other start as he allowed seven runs over five innings. Lefties have hit him pretty hard this year as well — 333/417/762 (7-for-21 with three homers).

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15
Apr/13

Nix sticks it to the Marlins

by under Game recap, Uncategorized

The Philies got a fantastic start from Roy Halladay and a ninth inning home run from Laynce Nix yesterday as they topped the Marlins 2-1.

With the win the Phils take the series two games to one. Each of the three games were tied at 1-1 after eight innings. The Phils won the opener with the help of a two-run tenth inning that featured an RBI-triple from Utley. They lost the middle game after Phillippe Aumont walked the leadoff hitter for the Marlins in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game. Yesterday they won behind Halladay’s excellent start and the late pinch-hit blast from Nix.

After two atrocious starts to begin the season, Halladay allowed a run over eight innings yesterday. He came into the game having thrown to a 5.83 ERA over his last 22 starts. He faced a Miami lineup that featured Placido Polanco hitting third and Greg Dobbs batting cleanup.

The Phillies have offensive problems of their own as they take the series despite scoring just six runs in three games. They have been notably miserable against left-handed pitching, posting a 141/193/205 against lefties for the season. Howard and Utley have led the way in that department by going a combined 2-for-26. Revere has contributed an 0-for-8 against lefties to start the year. Rollins and Young are a combined 4-for-22 (both 2-for-11).

The Phillies are 6-6 on the year after beating the Miami Marlins 2-1 yesterday afternoon. The Phils take the series two games to one and have won four of their last five.

Halladay got the start for the Phillies and went eight innings, allowing a run on five hits and one walk. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a double. He struck out two. The win was the 200th for his career.

That’s probably the best start for Halladay since August 10, 2012, when he held the Cardinals to a run on two hits over eight innings. 7.63 ERA and a 1.57 ratio for the year.

Halladay set the Marlins down in order in the bottom of the first.

Greg Dobbs doubled to right to start the second. Justin Ruggiano bunted him to third with the first out, but Halladay got Rob Brantly to pop to Galvis at short for the second out and Chris Valaika on a fly ball to center to leave Dobbs at third.

No run for Miami after putting a runner on third with one out.

Adeiny Hechavarria started the third with a single to right and the pitcher Kevin Slowey bunted him to second with the first out. Juan Pierre went down on a foul ball handled by Quintero for the second out. Chris Coghlan hit a ball in the hole between first and second, but Utley made a nice sliding play to field the ball and throw to first in time to end the inning.

One of two nice defensive plays by Utley in the game. He made a similar play to end the eighth.

Placido Polanco started the fourth with a single, but Halladay got the next three Fish in order to keep them off the board.

He set the bottom of the order down 1-2-3 in the fifth.

Up 1-0, he set the Marlins down in order in the sixth.

Ruggiano singled with one out in the seventh and Brantly walked behind him. Valaika was next and singled to left with Ruggiano scoring just ahead of the throw from Brown to tie the game at 1-1 with men on first and second for Hechavarria. Hechavarria flew to center and Revere doubled Brantly off of second to end the inning.

Brantly’s walk was the only one issued by Halladay in the game.

Halladay set the Marlins down in order in the eighth. Utley made a nice sliding play on a ball hit by Coghlan for the third out.

Papelbon started the ninth with a 2-1 lead. Polanco led off and Papelbon walked him on four pitches. Dobbs lined to center on a nice running catch by Revere for the first out. Ruggiano flew to right for the second. Righty Donovan Solano hit for the pitcher Jon Rauch and fouled out to Kratz to end the game.

Nice running catch by Revere after the leadoff walk to Polanco changes the inning.

Fifth appearance of the year for Papelbon. He allowed two runs in an inning in his first outing of the season. Since then he’s allowed one hit and one walk over four scoreless innings in four appearances. He threw 22 pitches in the game.

The Phillie lineup against righty Kevin Slowey went (1) Revere (2) Galvis (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Young (6) Brown (7) Mayberry (8) Quintero. Galvis starts at short with Rollins on the bench. Quintero again catches Halladay, but this time it’s a day game after a night game. Galvis can’t hit second. Revere and Galvis at the top of the order isn’t the way to go.

Galvis singled to left with one out in the top of the first and moved up to third on a two-out single by Howard. Young flew to right to leave both runners stranded.

Mayberry singled with one out in the second, but was caught stealing as Quintero struck out to set the Phillies down.

Revere and Galvis singled back-to-back with one out in the third. It put runners on the corners for Utley, but Utley grounded into a double-play to turn the Phils away.

The Phillies went in order in the fourth.

Quintero doubled to center with one out in the fifth. Halladay struck out behind him for the second out before Revere reached on an infield single that moved Quintero up to third. Revere stole second before Galvis walked, loading the bases for Utley. Utley grounded to second to leave them loaded.

Utley grounds into a double-play with runners on the corners to end the third, then grounds out to second with the bases loaded to end the fifth.

Howard doubled to left to start the sixth. Young was next and hit a ball back up the middle, off the glove of Hechavarria and into center for a single. Howard scored and the Phils led 1-0 with Young taking second as the throw came home. Brown lined softly to second for the first out before Mayberry walked. Righty Chad Qualls came in to pitch to Quintero and Quintero grounded into a double-play to end the inning.

Halladay, Revere and Galvis went in order in the seventh.

It was 1-1 when Utley and Howard singled back-to-back to start the eighth. It put runners on first and second with nobody out for Young and Young grounded into a double-play that left Utley at third with two down. The righty Qualls walked Brown intentionally, putting runners on the corners for Mayberry. Rollins hit for Mayberry and righty Jon Rauch came in to pitch to him. Rollins flew to left to set the Phillies down.

Kratz hit for Quintero to start the ninth and Rauch got him on a fly ball to center for the first out. Nix hit for Halladay and blasted a 1-1 pitch way out to right, putting the Phils up 2-1. Revere grounded to short for the second out. Galvis was next and Rauch threw a 1-2 pitch at his head. Galvis managed to get out of the way, but the ball hit him in his right hand up near his head. Galvis stayed in the game and Utley fouled out to third to set the Phillies down.

Rollins was already out of the game, having pinch-hit for Mayberry in the eighth, so it would have been a big problem if Galvis had been unable to play defense in the bottom of the ninth.

Revere was 2-for-5 with a stolen base in the game. 4-for-12 with a walk and a steal in the series. 240/296/240 on the season. The Phillies’s team OPS of .536 out of the #1 spot in the order is 28th of the 30 MLB teams.

Galvis 2-for-3 with a walk in the game and 3-for-6 with two walks in the series. He started at third in game two of the series and at short in game three. 3-for-9 with two walks so far. Rollins was 0-for-1 yesterday and 0-for-8 with two walks in the series. He’s hitting 261/320/435 for the season.

Utley 1-for-5 yesterday and left seven men on base. Made two nice defensive plays at second to end the inning, once in the third and again in the eighth. 2-for-14 with a triple and an RBI in the series — the triple in the top of the tenth in game one put the Phils on top to stay. 277/327/532 for the year. 1-for-12 against lefties.

Howard 3-for-4 with a double. 6-for-12 with a walk and four doubles in the set. 277/314/426 for the season. 1-for-14 against lefties.

Young 1-for-4 with an RBI in the game and 3-for-10 with two RBI in the series. He didn’t start on game two due to illness. 419/486/645 against right-handed pitching in 35 plate appearances.

Brown 0-for-3 with a walk, which was intentional. 3-for-12 with a walk and a double in the series. 244/292/400 for the year. 6-for-his-last-30. He has three walks on the season, two of which have been intentional.

Mayberry 1-for-2 with a walk in the game and in the series. 286/423/571 for the year.

Quintero 1-for-3 with a double in the game and in the series. He’s 2-for-9 with a double on the season. Kratz is hitting 184/179/316 for the year after going 1-for-9 in the set.

Cliff Lee (2-0, 1.86) faces righty Bronson Arroyo (1-1, 5.25) tonight in Cincinnati. Lee has gone at least eight innings in each of his fantastic starts. Opponents are hitting .167 against him for the year and he hasn’t walked a batter in 16 2/3 innings. Arroyo has gone six innings in both of his starts. Lefties are 10-for-25 (.400) against him in the early going.

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12
Apr/13

Fore!

by under offense, pitching

The Phillies are 4-5 through their first nine games of 2013. Relative to the rest of the league, they’ve scored runs at about the same rate they did over the past two years while allowing a lot more so far this season.

Year Record RS/G (NL Rank) RA/G (NL Rank)
2013 4-5 4.67 (7) 6.00 (15)
2012 81-81 4.22 (8) 4.20 (8)
2011 102-60 4.40 (7) 3.26 (1)
2010 97-65 4.77 (2) 3.95 (4)
2009 93-69 5.06 (1) 4.38 (6)
2008 92-70 4.93 (3) 4.20 (3)

The team ERA for the year is 6.04, which is the worst mark for any team across either league. The Brewers are second-worst in the NL at 5.47. Phillie pitchers have been bad against righties, but they’ve been absolutely decimated by lefties. Lefties are 45-for-118 against them for the season with a 381/434/636 line.

The Phillies are on pace to allow 972 runs this year. The good news is there’s no chance that will happen. If it did, it would be the most runs allowed by an NL team since the Rockies allowed 1,028 in 1999. No NL team has allowed 900 runs since 2004 (Colorado (923) and the Reds (907) both did it that season).

Lannan (0-0, 3.86) faces righty Ricky Nolasco (0-1, 3.97) tonight in Florida. Lannan has made one start on the year and it was good as he held the Royals to three runs on five hits and no walks over seven innings. He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning in that game. The Phillies play 17 games in 17 days starting tonight, so let’s hope we see their starters at least in the sixth and seventh over the next few days against the Fish. Nolasco has made two starts on the year, allowing five runs over 11 1/3 innings while walking five.

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11
Apr/13

Bottom feeders

by under Game recap

The Phillies scored five runs in the bottom of the first last night on their way to a 7-3 win. Their first six hitters of the game combined to go 4-for-6 with a single, a double, two home runs and two walks off of Mets starter Jeremy Hefner.

It was the second straight miserable start for Hefner against the Phillies going back to last season. In his last two starts against the Phils, Hefner has allowed 12 earned runs on 12 hits and four walks over three innings.

The Phils feasted on the bottom of the Mets rotation in the series, scoring 12 runs in the six innings pitched by Dillon Gee and Hefner as they won the last two games.

The Phillies scored all seven of their runs last night on home runs. Utley hit a two-run shot in the first, which was followed soon after by a three-run bomb by Brown. Nix hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the sixth.

Michael Young continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-3 with a double. He’s 9-for-his-last-16 with four extra-base hits. 455/538/773 against right-handed pitching in the early going, coming off of a 2012 season in which he hit 257/291/352 against righties.

The Phillies are 4-5 on the year after beating the New York Mets 7-3 last night. They take the series two games to one. First series win of the year for the Phils in three tries. First time they have won two games in a row on the season. They are 0-4 when Hamels or Halladay start and 4-1 when somebody else starts.

Kendrick got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits and two walks. Four of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and two home runs. He struck out six.

5.40 ERA and a 1.71 ratio after two starts. Lefties are hitting .480 against him — 12-for-25 with two walks, three doubles, a home run and 480/519/720 line.

Jordany Valdespin was the first hitter of the game and reached on a softly hit infield single. Daniel Murphy flew to right for the first out, bringing David Wright to the plate with Valdespin still on first. Kendrick struck Wright out swinging as Valdespin took off for second. Kratz threw him out from his knees on a bounce to end the inning.

Impressive throw by Kratz.

Kendrick started the second with a 5-0 lead. John Buck homered to left-center with one out. 5-1. Lucas Duda followed with a double to right and Mike Baxter walked behind Duda, putting men on first and second with one down for Ruben Tejada. Tejada singled softly to right, loading the bases for the pitcher Jeremy Hefner. Kendrick struck Hefner out looking for the second out and Valdespin out looking to end the frame.

Valdespin struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch that looked like a ball to me, but whatever. Still a great job by Kendrick to get out of the inning after the Mets load the bases with one out.

Tired of John Buck. He was 4-for-12 in the series with three home runs and drove in six of the 13 runs New York scored. Duda was pretty impressive as well — 3-for-4 with a double and two home runs last night. 5-for-9 with a double, two home runs and a walk in the series.

Kendrick set the Mets down in order in the third.

Duda homered to right with one out in the fourth. 5-2. Baxter followed with a double, but Kendrick got Tejada on a ground ball to Utley that moved Duda up to third for the second out. Righty Justin Turner hit for the pitcher Hefner, but Kendrick got him on a ground ball to Utley as well to set the Mets down.

The game was delayed by rain for 27 minutes in the bottom of the fourth. Kendrick returned after the delay to start the fifth. Valdespin led off and bunted for a single. Murphy was the next batter and Kendrick walked him, putting two men on for Wright. Wright struck out swinging for the first out. Ike Davis was next and he hit a blooper into left-center. Revere made a nice running catch for the second out. Murphy was way off of second and Revere threw there to double him off and end the inning.

Very nice play by Revere, both to get to the ball and to make the throw. His momentum was taking him away from second base, but he managed to get off a pretty reasonable throw to get Murphy. Not sure exactly what Murphy was thinking — best guess would be he thought Revere was going to throw home or couldn’t throw at all. Either way it was bad base-running and a nice play by Revere.

Baxter singled to right with two outs in the six. Tejada flew to Revere for the third out.

Bastardo started the seventh with a 7-2 lead. Valdespin reached on an infield single with one out, but Bastardo got the next two.

Three scoreless innings over three appearances for Bastardo. He’s allowed a single and two walks.

Adams started the eighth. He struck Buck out for the first out and Davis out for the second before Duda hit a 2-1 pitch out to right. 7-3. Lefty Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit for the pitcher Scott Rice and Adams struck him out looking to end the frame.

Adams was pitching for the second day in a row. He’s now allowed a run on two hits in 3 1/3 innings over four appearances. He has struck out seven. I assume if there was no off-day today, Manuel would have called on Aumont rather than Adams to pitch the eighth with a five-run lead. Aumont has made one appearance since April 1 and two on the year.

Papelbon threw the ninth in heavy rain. Tejada led off with a single, but Marlon Byrd was next and Papelbon got him to ground into a double-play. Valdespin struck out looking to end the game.

Glad to see Papelbon used in a non-save situation there. After allowing two runs in an inning in his first appearance of the year, he’s allowed one single in two scoreless frames his last two times out.

Overall the pen goes three innings, allowing a run on the Duda homer off of Adams. Three hits, no walks and four strikeouts. Adams has pitched two days in a row, but will surely be available Friday in Miami given the off-day today.

The Phillie lineup against righty Jeremy Hefner went (1) Revere (2) Rollins (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Young (6) Brown (7) Mayberry (8) Kratz. Mayberry in right again against the righty after a big day against righty starter Dillon Gee in game two of the set.

Revere led off the bottom of the first and walked on five pitches. With Rollins at the plate he stole second, but slid through the base and was tagged out for the first out. It cost the Phils a run, cause Rollins doubled to right and Utley followed that with a home run to center. 2-0. Howard singled and Young walked before Brown blasted a 2-1 pitch down the right field line and well out for another homer. 5-0. Mayberry struck out looking for the second out and Kratz flew to center.

Really not a fan of the Revere stolen base, even if it works and it doesn’t cost the Phillies a run. If the only batter the pitcher has faced in the game is Ben Revere and he walked him on five pitches, it’s a good sign he hasn’t settled in yet. Make him get an out first.

The lead was cut to 5-1 when the Phils went in order in the second.

Howard singled to right with one out in the third on a ball that hit the wall after a bounce or two. Young was next and ripped a line drive in to left-center for a double, sending Howard to third. Hefner got behind Brown 3-0 after Brown had hit a moon shot in his previous at-bat, then put him on intentionally to lead the bases for Mayberry. Mayberry popped to short with the runners holding for the second out. Kratz was next and blooped a ball into right-center, but Valdespin made a nice shoestring catch after a long run to retire the side.

Big play by Valdespin takes runs away from the Phillies.

Howard can’t run. Young can, at least a lot better than I thought he could. I had no idea. The hustle double was the third time in two games he made an aggressive play on the bases and was safe.

Mayberry can’t bring the runner home from the third with one out, popping out to short with the bases loaded and one down. He also struck out in the bottom of the first as the first batter retired by Hefner.

The lead was cut to 5-2 when lefty Josh Edgin struck out Kendrick, Revere and Rollins in the fourth.

Young singled to center with two outs in the fifth. Brown flew to center on a sliding catch by Valdespin to end the inning.

Second nice play of the game by Valdespin in center after he took a hit away from Kratz with the bases loaded to end the third.

Kratz singled off of righty Latroy Hawkins with one out in the sixth. Nix hit for Kendrick and hit a 3-1 pitch out to right-center, extending the Phillie lead to 7-2. Revere grounded to third for the second out before Rollins singled to left. Lefty Scott Rice came in to pitch to Utley and retired him on a fly ball to center for the third out.

Rice set Howard, Young and Brown down in order in the seventh.

Righty Bobby Parnell threw a 1-2-3 eighth with the lead cut to 7-3. Galvis hit for Adams and flew to left for the third out.

Revere was 0-for-3 with a walk and a caught stealing in the game. 1-for-11 with two walk in the series drops his line to 211/268/211 after 41 plate appearances. Made a nice play to double Murphy off of second base. The Phillies are averaging about 4.67 runs per game, which is remarkable given that their leadoff man is on-basing .268. Revere is 0-for-8 against lefties on the year.

Rollins 2-for-4 with a double. 4-for-12 with three doubles in the game. 316/350/526 for the year. 357/400/607 against right-handed pitching. I think Rollins will lead off and Revere will be dropped to seven or eight soon if Revere does not start hitting.

Utley 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in the game. 2-for-10 with two walks and a home run in the series. 333/395/636 for the year.

Howard 2-for-4 with two singles. 3-for-11 with a home run in the series. 200/237/286 for the year. If you’re team is scoring 4.67 runs per game, your leadoff man is on-basing .268 and your cleanup hitter is on-basing .237 and slugging .286, something is going pretty well somewhere else.

Michael Young is one of the things going very right offensively. 2-for-3 with a double and a walk in the game. 5-for-11 with a walk, a double, a triple and a home run in the series. He seemed to run the bases unusually well in the series, aggressively successful in taking an extra-base on three occasions. 375/459/594 on the year.

Brown 1-for-3 with a walk and a three-run homer. 2-for-11 with a walk and a homer in the set. 242/286/424 for the year. Hitting .231 against right-handed pitching.

Mayberry 0-for-4 and struck out twice. 2-for-8 with a double and a home run in the series. 263/391/579 for the year.

Kratz 1-for-4 in the game and made a nice throw to nail Valdespin in the top of the first. 3-for-9 with a double in the series. 207/200/379 for the year. Hasn’t drawn a walk in 30 plate appearances.

The Phillies are off today and play the Marlins in Florida tomorrow night.

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10
Apr/13

Just what the doctor ordered

by under Game recap

Their season is only eight games old, but twice already the Phillies have needed a big start from Cliff Lee and twice he has delivered. Last night he gave the overworked middle relievers a break as he went 8 2/3 innings in an 8-3 win over the Mets.

After two starts, Lee is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA and an 0.60 ratio. He has thrown 16 2/3 innings, striking out 14 and walking none. Righties are hitting .133 against him.

The offense delivered seven early runs, scoring four in the second before Howard, Young and Mayberry all hit solo home runs in the third. Mayberry started in right against a right-handed pitcher and had a big day, going 2-for-4 with three RBI. He’s 4-for-12 with three doubles, a home run and three walks against righties in the early going (333/467/833). Young tripled and homered, going 3-for-4 in the game and driving in a pair of runs.

The Phillies are 3-5 on the year after beating the New York Mets 8-3 last night. The teams have split the first two games of the three-game series.

Lee got the start for the Phillies and went 8 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. Only two of the runs were earned. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, a double, a triple and a home run. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.

Daniel Murphy and John Buck both singled in the top of the first, but Lee got Marlon Byrd on a fly ball to center to leave two men stranded.

Lucas Duda singled to start the second, but Lee got Justin Turner to ground into a double-play behind him. Ruben Tejada flew to right for the third out.

Lee started the third up 4-0 and set the Mets down in order.

It was 7-0 when he started the fourth. David Wright led off and reached on a throwing error by Rollins, putting a man on for Buck. Buck hit the first pitch he saw from Lee out to right, cutting the lead to 7-2. Lee got the next three.

Second home run the opposite way for Buck in two games in the set. The error by Rollins ahead of the home run costs the Phils a run.

It was 8-2 when Jordany Valdespin tripled to center with one out in the fifth. Valdespin scored on a passed ball (8-3) before Lee struck out Collin Cowgill for the second out. Murphy doubled to right, but was left at second when Wright grounded to short.

Second miscue by the Phils on the passed ball by Kratz, although Valdespin would have scored from third on Murphy’s double anyway.

Lee set the Mets down in order in the sixth. Lefty Mike Baxter hit for the pitcher and struck out looking for the third out.

Lee needed seven pitches to set New York down in order in the seventh.

He struck out Murphy in a 1-2-3 eighth.

Byrd singled to right with one out in the ninth. Righty Anthony Recker hit for the pitcher Brandon Lyon and Lee struck him out looking for the second out. Turner was next and moved Byrd up to second with a single. Lee had thrown 106 pitches in the game and Manuel called on Adams to pitch to the righty Ruben Tejada. Tejada struck out looking 0-2 to end the game.

I thought it was a very good decision by Manuel to pull Lee when he did. The middle of the pen has been overused, but the guys at the back, Adams, Papelbon, Aumont and Bastardo, haven’t had a ton to do.

It was the third appearance of the year for Adams. He has struck out four in 2 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing one hit.

The Phillie lineup against righty Dillon Gee went (1) Revere (2) Rollins (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Young (6) Brown (7) Mayberry (8) Kratz. Kratz behind the plate after Quintero caught Halladay in game one of the set. Revere continues to lead off despite his slow start in combination with Rollins hitting well. Mayberry starts in right against the righty with Nix on the bench.

The Phillies went in order in the bottom of the first.

Young and Brown singled back-to-back with one out in the second. Brown’s ball was hit softly to left. The throw went to third and hit Young, allowing Brown to move up to second. Mayberry cleared the bases with a double down the third base line. 2-0. Kratz grounded to third for the second out before Lee singled into center, scoring Mayberry to put the Phils up 3-0. Revere moved Lee up to second with a single before Rollins doubled into the right field corner. Lee scored (4-0) and Revere moved up to third. Utley flew to left to leave the runners at second and third.

Very nice hustle on the bases by both Young and Brown on Brown’s single. Young took third on the single and Brown ran hard to take the extra-base when Duda’s throw hit Young.

Revere doesn’t score from first on the two-out double by Rollins.

Howard led off the third and hit a 1-1 pitch out to left-center. 5-0. Young was next and hit the first pitch he saw out the opposite way. 6-0. Brown flew to left for the first out before Mayberry lined a 1-0 pitch out to left. 7-0. Kratz singled, but Lee and Revere went down to leave him stranded.

Quite an inning as Howard, Young and Mayberry all put home run number one for the season on the board. All three go after Gee early in the count. Howard and Young hit the ball out the opposite way and Mayberry pulls his down the line.

Righty Glen Burke was on the mound for the Mets when the Phils hit in the fourth with their lead cut to 7-1. Utley walked with one out. Howard lined to Tejada for the second out before Utley stole second. It brought Young to the plate and he tripled to center, scoring Utley to make it 8-1. Brown grounded to short for the third out.

Young was again aggressive on the bases as he went for three. The Mets probably would have had him with a good relay to third. They didn’t get one.

It was 8-3 when Burke set the Phillies down in order in the fifth.

Utley walked off of lefty Scott Rice with two outs in the sixth, stole second and took third on a throwing error. Howard struck out swinging to leave him at third.

Righty Latroy Hawkins set Young, Brown and Mayberry down in order in the seventh.

Brown is 5-for-25 against righties on the season.

Righty Brandon Lyon set Kratz, Lee and Revere down in order in the eighth. Lee hit for himself having thrown 96 pitches in the game.

Revere was 1-for-5 in the game. He’s hitting .229 without an extra-base hit.

Rollins 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. He made a throwing error in front of the Buck home run that cost the Phils a run. 8-for-25 with two walks and four extra-base hits against righties (320/370/560).

Utley 0-for-2 with two walks and two stolen bases.

Howard 1-for-4 with a strikeout and his first home run. 161/206/258 on the year in 34 plate appearances.

Young 3-for-4 with a triple and a home run. 7-for-his-last-13 with three extra-base hits.

Brown 1-for-4 with a bloop single and a strikeout. 2-for-his-last-15 with two singles and no walks.

Mayberry gets the start against the righty Gee and delivers two extra-base hits off of him, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI in the game.

Kratz 1-for-4 with a strikeout and a passed ball. He’s on-basing .192 with eight strikeouts in 26 plate appearances.

Kendrick (0-1, 7.94) faces righty Jeremy Hefner (0-1, 1.50) tonight. Kendrick pitched better than his line against the Royals in his first start, throwing four scoreless innings to start the game before allowing a two-run single in the fifth. With two outs in the fifth and two men on he was asked to walk Billy Butler intentionally and was then pulled from the game. Horst took over and allowed a three-run triple to Alex Gordon with all three runs charged to Kendrick. Hefner allowed a run to the Marlins over six innings in his first outing of the year.

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9
Apr/13

Universe grateful to be able to cross Erik Kratz off the what-the-!@#$%-is-wrong-with-Roy-Halladay list

by under Game recap

I’m not sure what’s wrong with Roy Halladay. I am sure the Phillies have worked hard to try to figure it out, but whatever’s going on behind the scenes, what’s happening on the field isn’t working. What’s happening on the field is that Halladay keeps pitching and keeps getting hammered. Last night they changed up his catcher and Halladay allowed seven runs over four miserable innings, upping his ERA for the year to 14.73 for the year after two starts, as the Mets pounded the Phils 7-2.

The Phillies are 0-4 in games started by Hamels or Halladay and 2-1 in games started by anyone else. That duo has combined to throw to a 12.50 ERA in their four starts and gone an average of about four and a half innings per start.

The Phils have two quality starts in the seven games they’ve played, one by Lee and one by Lannan, and they’ve won both of those games. 0-5 in the games where they didn’t get a quality start and their starters have gone an average of about 4.7 innings in those games and thrown to an 11.57 ERA.

The bullpen, very strong at the back end, lacked a middle man when the season started. The Phillies have tried to use Durbin, Horst and Valdes in the middle innings, but they’ve had to use them a lot and none of the three has pitched well. Horst leads that group with a 6.75 ERA and the trio has combined to throw to an 8.16 ERA. Durbin and Horst are both on pace to make about 93 appearances for the season. Horst is on pace to throw about 123 innings in relief, which would be more than his career high of 31 1/3. Valdes is on pace to throw about 131 innings — he’s 35 and has thrown 107 1/3 innings for his career.

The Phillies are 2-5 on the year after losing 7-2 to the New York Mets last night in game one of a three-game set.

Halladay got the start for the Phillies and went four innings, allowing seven runs on six hits and three walks. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and a three-run homer by John Buck. He struck out three.

After two starts, Halladay has a 14.73 ERA and a 2.45 ratio. Opponents have hit .353 against him. In 7 1/3 innings he’s walked six and allowed three home runs.

He struck out David Wright in a 1-2-3 first.

Marlon Byrd doubled to center with one out in the second. Lucas Duda was next and Halladay hit him 2-2, putting men on first and second for John Buck. Buck got ahead in the count and hit a 2-0 pitch out to right. 3-0 Mets. Ruben Tejada was next and he drew a walk. Pitcher Matt Harvey tried to bunt Tejada to second, but struck out for the second out. Kirk Nieuwenhuis grounded to Halladay to end the frame.

Daniel Murphy walked to start the third and moved up to second on a ground out by Wright. Ike Davis fouled out to Howard for the second out before Byrd walked on a 3-2 pitch Halladay thought caught the outside part of the plate. Duda singled into center, scoring Murphy to make it 4-0. Buck grounded to Young to finally set the Mets down.

Revere really can’t throw. Not that it needs to go near the top of the list of Phillie problems or that someone who could would have gunned down Murphy. It’s just a thing.

Halladay had thrown 78 pitches through three innings.

He struck out Nieuwenhuis in a 1-2-3 fourth.

The New York lead was cut to 4-1 when Murphy doubled to right-center to start the fifth. He moved up to third on a wild pitch. With the infield in, Wright singled to left, scoring Murphy. 5-1. Davis moved Wright up to third with a single and that was it for Halladay. Durbin came in to pitch to the righty Byrd and struck him out swinging for the first out. Duda was next and Durbin walked him, loading the bases for Buck. Buck popped to Utley for the second out, but Tejada lined a single into center, scoring two runners and sending Duda to third with the Mets up 7-1. Harvey went down on a ball handled by Quintero to end the frame.

Durbin faces five hitters in the frame, allowing a walk and a two-run single with both runs charged to Halladay. Looks like a scoreless inning for Durbin in the box score. Not so much.

Fourth appearance of the year for Durbin. He has an 8.10 ERA and a 2.70 ratio through 3 1/3 innings. He’s pitched two days in a row.

Horst started the sixth. Righty Collin Cowgill hit for the lefty Nieuwenhuis and Horst struck him out swinging for the first out. Muprhy flew to left for the second before Wright doubled to center. Horst struck Davis out to leave Wright at second.

Horst came back and struck Duda out in a 1-2-3 seventh.

Fourth appearance for Horst as well. Two scoreless innings in two of them. In one he allowed a run in an inning and in the other he was charged with three runs in a third of a frame. He faced seven batters over two innings last night, getting six outs and allowing Wright’s double. Like Durbin, he has thrown two days in a row.

Valdes threw a 1-2-3 eighth. Righty Justin Turner hit for the pitcher Harvey and struck out for the second out.

Valdes was back to pitch the ninth with the New York lead cut to 7-2. Murphy led off with a double to right and Valdes walked Wright behind Murphy. Valdes got the next three, though, getting Davis to foul out to Young for the first out, striking Byrd out for the second and getting Duda to ground to second for the third.

Eight batters for Valdes in the game. Six outs, a double and a walk. Three appearances for the year — last night was the first that wasn’t awful. He has a 9.53 ERA and a 2.12 ratio for the season. Opponents have hit .360 against him.

Unlike Durbin and Horst, Valdes hasn’t thrown two days in a row, but he did throw 26 pitches last night. Horst and Durbin both threw 20. The Phillies really need Cliff Lee to go deep into games these days — it’s not reasonable to expect him to go eight innings every start.

Overall the pen threw five shutout innings, in the game, allowing three hits and two walks. They weren’t quite that good, though, cause Durbin allowed a hit in the walk in relief of Halladay in the fifth with the runs charged to the starter.

Phillie relievers have walked 13 in 22 1/3 innings for the season, which is too many.

The Phillie lineup against righty Matt Harvey went (1) Revere (2) Rollins (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Young (6) Brown (7) Nix (8) Quintero. Quintero gets the start behind the plate after Halladay remarked about not being on the same page with Kratz in his first start of the season.

Revere led off the bottom of the first with a walk. He stole second and moved up to third on a ground out by Rollins. Utley was next and the Mets bizarrely brought the infield in. Utley popped to third for the second out. Howard struck out swinging 0-2 to leave Revere at third.

Great job by Revere to get things going with the walk and the steal. Less great job by Utley and Howard as the old guard of the Phils gets set down by Harvey. Utley can’t bring the runner home from third with one out.

Down 3-0, the Phillies went in order in the second.

Quintero led off the third with the Phils down 4-0 and blooped a single into center. Halladay tried to bunt and couldn’t, then struck out looking for the first out. Revere hit into a double-play to set the Phillies down.

Halladay can’t get the bunt down. You probably won’t see Revere ground into a ton of double-plays. He was just nipped at first this time.

Rollins doubled to center to start the fourth and moved up to third on a single by Utley. Howard was next and flew to right for the first out. Rollins tagged and scored to get the Phils on the board at 4-1. Young struck out and Brown flew to center to leave Utley stranded.

Good no strikeout by Howard gets the Phils on the board. Four extra-base hits for Rollins in the early going. Three doubles and a homer in 32 plate appearances with an isolated power of .200.

The Phillies were down 7-1 when they hit in the fifth. Nix led off with a walk. Quintero struck out for the first out. Carrera hit for Durbin and struck out swinging for the second. Revere struck out swinging for the third.

Utley reached on an error by Ike Davis with one out in the sixth. Howard and Young went down behind him.

Harvey set the Phils down in order in the seventh.

Lefty Josh Edgin started the eighth. Kratz, who had entered defensively in the top of the inning, led off with a double down the third base line. Kratz went to third on a ground out by Revere and scored on another by Rollins. 7-2. Utley flew to left for the third out.

Edgin was back for the ninth and got Howard, Young and Brown in order.

Revere 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Did his best to get the Phillies started in the bottom of the first, but they didn’t score with the help of Utley’s popup to third with one out. Revere is 7-for-30 (.233) with seven singles so far.

Rollins 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Utley 1-for-4. No RBI in the first with Revere on third and one out. 3-for-his-last-12 with three singles.

Howard 0-for-3 with an RBI and two strikeouts. 0-for-9 with five strikeouts against lefties for the year. 4-for-27 with four singles overall.

Young was 0-for-4 in the game. He and Mayberry are the unlikely team leaders in walks. They each have four.

Brown 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He is 3-for-his-last-19 after going 3-for-7 to start the season. 4-for-21 (.190) against right-handed pitching.

Nix 0-for-2 with a walk. 3-for-14 with three singles on the year.

Quintero 1-for-3. Failed to spark a return to excellence for Halladay. 1-for-6 on the season.

Cliff Lee (1-0, 0.00) faces righty Dillon Gee (0-1, 1.42) tonight in game two of the set. Lee allowed two singles and struck out eight over eight shutout innings in his first start on the year. Gee was also good in his lone start, allowing a run over 6 1/3 innings against the Padres.

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