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In yesterday’s post I pointed out that the number of bases the Phillies have been stealing has dropped off in recent years. In 2011, for the fourth straight year, the Phillies stole fewer bases than they had in the previous season. In three of those four years, their safe rate also went down from the previous year.

In 2007, the Phils were second in the NL in stolen bases with 138. In 2008 they were third with 136. Last year they stole 96, which was eleventh in the league.

So where did all the stolen bases go? Here’s who stole the bases for the Phils in 2007, 2008 and 2011:

It sure seems like getting older should be the answer, and it probably is. Notably, though, Chase Utley’s stolen bases haven’t slowed since ’07 and ’08. Utley got 159 fewer plate appearances in 2011 than he got in either of 2007 or 2008, but still managed to steal 14 bags, as many as he swiped in ’08 and more than ’07.

The guys that are dramatically down are Rollins and Victorino. In 2007, they combined to steal 78 bases and in 2008 they combined to steal 83. In 2011, they combined to steal 49. In 2001, when the Phils led the NL with 153 stolen bases, they combined to steal 46 with Victorino not on the team. He was busy hitting 283/344/400 (and stealing 47 bases) for the Wilmington Waves in the Dodger organization.

Finally, during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, the Phillies also benefited significantly from the stolen base efforts of Michael Bourn and Jayson Werth. Bourn stole 18 bases for the Phils in 2007 and was caught just once. Between 2007 and 2008, Jayson Werth stole 27 bases and was caught twice.

Overall in 2011, the Phillies finished a disappointing seventh in the NL in runs scored. Things picked up a lot towards the end of the year, though — from the start of July to the end of the regular season, the Phils led the NL in runs score.

When you think about how things went month-to-month for the Phils in 2011, it’s important to remember that the offense had two terrible months early in the year that dragged the numbers down for the season. After a solid start to the year in April, the offense dropped like a stone for the Phils in May as the team finished twelfth in the NL in runs scored for the month. They followed that up with a June in which they were eleventh in the NL in runs scored. After the first three full months of the season, the Phils were eighth in the league in runs scored. But things got better in a hurry.

The table below shows, for each month of the 2011 season, the Phillies rank in run scored for the league for that month, their rank in runs scored from the beginning of the season through the end of that month and their rank in runs scored in the league from the end of that month to the end of the regular season.

So, for example, in May of 2011, the Phils were twelfth in the NL in runs scored. From the start of the season through the end of May, they were eighth in the NL in runs scored and from the end of May to the end of the regular season they were fourth.

Again, two bad months. Start of the season through June they were eighth in the NL in runs scored. Start of July to the end of the season they were first. In May and June combined they were twelfth. In all of the months except May and June combined they were second.

Here’s a look back at some of the monthly performances that helped contribute to the numbers above:

The offense was solid in April, fourth in the NL in runs scored.

Howard led the team in home runs (six) and RBI (27), hitting 291/351/560. Polanco was a monster, too, hitting 398/447/524 in the only month of the season in which he would put up an OPS of .700 or better. After going 2-for-3 with a double against the Mets on April 30, Polanco would hit 243/304/287 in 409 plate appearances for the rest of the season.

Ibanez was atrocious for the Phils in April, posting a 161/247/218 line over 97 plate appearances. Valdez started 19 games and hit 239/282/284.

It wouldn’t last, but Francisco put up solid numbers for April, hitting 266/347/447 for the month and starting 24 games. Things were already looking a little less than fabulous for Francisco, though. After hitting 308/386/513 over 44 plate appearances to start the season, Francisco hit 236/317/400 over the last 16 games of the month.

In May the offense tanked. Eleven NL teams scored more runs than the Phillies in May.

The good news for May was that Ibanez bounced back dramatically, hitting a team-high seven homers and also leading the team in RBI with 19 as he posted a 315/339/602 line.

The bad news was pretty much everything else. Howard hit .208. Rollins on-based .306. Polanco on-based .289 with three extra-base hits in 27 starts. Utley was back at the end of the month, but not helping much. He hit 222/364/370 in 33 May plate appearances.

Francisco couldn’t hit enough to keep the right field job and was out of the lineup regularly during the second half of the month after hitting .103 (really! .103) in his first 50 plate appearances in May (4-for-39 with four singles). It created some openings in the outfield. Mayberry couldn’t capitalize, hitting 194/275/319 in his 80 May plate appearances, but Brown looked a little better. Brown appeared in just ten games in May (seven starts), but hit 333/378/545 in limited action (37 PA).

June was almost as bad as May. The Phils were eleventh in runs scored in the league in June. The team hit .229 for the month and slugged .317 — both would be lows for the season.

Howard was solid enough, leading the team with five homers and 22 RBI. He walked 18 times, putting up a .397 on-base percentage despite hitting just .269. Victorino pounded the ball to the tune of 297/383/505. So did Utley, who would hit 295/378/511 from the start of June to the end of July over 218 plate appearances. In June he posted a 297/387/473 line.

There was more than enough bad news to make up for it, though. Brown became nearly an everyday player in June, starting 22 games and hitting a meager 165/258/354 for the month. Mayberry went 0-for-3 in his four plate appearances for the month. Rollins on-based .314. Ruiz hit .221 and Polanco .213 — that duo combined for five extra-base hits in 194 June plate appearances. Ibanez’s May magic was gone as he hit a paltry 211/258/311 in his second atrocious month with the bat on the year.

The Phillies had their best offense month of the year in July, plating an NL-best 138 runs.

Ibanez was back, hitting seven home runs and driving in 25 with a 284/320/558 line. The 25 RBI he would post in July was the most of any Phillie for any month in 2011 other than Howard’s 27 in April.

Rollins found his power stroke as well, socking six home runs of his own with a 312/375/523 line. Utley had his best month of the year: 293/369/545 with five bombs. Victorino missed a lot of the month with a thumb injury, but was awesome when he played to the tune of 364/462/600 in 66 plate appearances for the month.

Victorino’s injury opened up a lot of time for Mayberry in center and Mayberry delivered with the bat. He came into July having hit 231/316/365 in 117 plate appearances for the year, but blasted a pair of home runs against the Fish on July 6 and hit 300/327/640 for the month in 52 plate appearances. Brown, meanwhile, continued to get chances, starting 20 games. He bounced back from a miserable June in which he hit .165, hitting 296/398/366, but without a home run in 83 plate appearances. Pence would arrive at the end of the month, securing right field for the rest of the season as he hit and hit and hit.

Ruiz, who would hit 317/391/425 in 251 plate appearances from the start of July to the end of the year, started his tear with what would be his best month of the season, hitting 324/432/485 in July.

Howard didn’t join the July party for the Phils, hitting .250 with a .306 on-base percentage, walking just eight times, which was his lowest mark for any month of the season. Martinez started 17 games for the Phils in July, primarily at third, and put up what were by far his best numbers for any month with a 247/300/384 line in 81 plate appearances. Those numbers for Martinez don’t sound great, but it’s important to remember that the Phils primary third baseman, Polanco, on-based .335 and slugged just .339 for the season.

In August the Phils were still hitting, if off the July pace a little. They were third in the NL in runs scored in August.

It was Pence’s first full month with the Phils and he was hitting everything. He hit seven home runs in August, posting a 340/413/596 line over 109 plate appearances.

Victorino was back, playing regularly and still hitting. 316/393/600 in August. Between June 17 and September 2, Victorino got 233 plate appearances in which he posted a stupid 325/409/611 line.

Ruiz continued to hit, too, 329/365/429 in August.

Valdez started 15 games, filling in primarily for Rollins and Polanco, and put up an unexpected 278/322/481 line over 59 plate appearances.

Off were Utley, 245/315/347, and Ibanez, 225/254/323. Mayberry started to see some more time in left — he got just 59 plate appearances in August, but made them memorable by homering six times as he put up a 296/356/685 line. Howard blasted eight homers and drove in 22 runs, but hit just .225 while doing so.

The Phillies were sixth in the NL in runs scored in September.

Pence continued to pound the ball, hitting 317/385/548 and leading the team with 18 RBI for the month. Howard hit 290/417/522. Mayberry got 13 more starts and hit 305/382/508 for the month. In his last 177 plate appearances on the year, Mayberry had hit 302/356/611. Polanco was back and at least got on base, hitting 280/349/344 in September. He ended the season having slugged .287 over his last 477 plate appearances.

Victorino and Utley both ended the year on a downswing. Victorino hit 186/258/319 in 125 plate appearances in September. Utley hit just 205/295/337. Martinez started 13 games and hit .136. After on-basing .368 in July and August combined, Rollins on-based just .308 in September.

The Phillies signed righty Dave Bush and lefty David Purcey to minor league deals and invited them to spring training. Bush is still just 32 and had pretty good years with the Brewers as a starter in 2006 and again in 2008. The lefty Purcey was good for the Blue Jays in a relief role in 2010, throwing to a 3.71 ERA with a 1.21 ratio, before getting hit hard with three teams in 2011.

Rafael Furcal agreed to a deal with the Cardinals, meaning Jimmy Rollins is running out of teams other than the Phils to play for.

Update: The Phillies have traded Ben Francisco to the Blue Jays for left-handed pitcher Frank Gailey. Gailey turned 26 last month and has never appeared in the majors. In 304 1/3 innings in the minors he has thrown to a 2.45 ERA with a 1.03 ratio. He has never pitched above Double-A.

The Start Log for 2011 is done and you can view it here.

Two of my favorites from the Start Log:

• In 2011, the Phillies went 90-23 in games in which they scored more than two runs.
• In 2011, the Phils allowed 529 runs.

90-23 is a .796 winning percentage for the Phils in games where they scored more than two runs. They went 18-10 (.643) in games where they scored three runs. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, the Phillies went to the World Series twice and never were .500 in games in which they scored three runs. Overall in those three seasons they went 24-43 (.358) in the games in which they plated exactly three runs. They actually had a better record in the 18 games in 2011 in which they scored three runs than the 19 games in which they scored four. The Phils went 11-8 when they scored four runs in 2011.

NL teams other than the Phillies went 1069-576 (.650) in games in which they scored more than two runs. In the games in which they scored exactly three runs, the NL teams other than the Phils went 150-219 (.407) in 2011.

In 2011, the Phillies allowed 529 runs. That’s not a lot.

The last team to play 162 or more games in a regular season and allow 529 runs or less was the 1969 Baltimore Orioles– they allowed 517 runs in 162 games. Righty Jim Palmer (16-4 with a 2.34 ERA, a 1.08 ratio and a 154 ERA+) and lefty Mike Cuellar (23-11 with a 2.38 ERA, a 1.01 ratio and a 151 ERA+) led that rotation. Cuellar won the Cy Young award in the AL that year. Lefty Dave McNally won 20 games for Baltimore as well, going 20-7 with a 3.22 ERA, a 1.18 ratio, but with an ERA+ of just 112.

Notably, Halladay and Lee were almost inarguably better than Cuellar and whoever you think the second-best starter for Baltimore that year was. And ’11 Hamels was better than ’69 McNally.

Baltimore, however, had a fantastic bullpen that threw to a league-best 2.32 ERA and a league-best 1.09 ratio in a year when the average AL-pen pitched to a 3.50 ERA and a 1.39 ratio. The Phillies bullpen this year, as you may remember, was far from league-best (7th in the NL in ERA and tenth in ratio).

Several teams were on pace to allow less than 529 runs over 162 games in a season where they didn’t play 162 games. In 1981, the Astos allowed 331 runs in 110 games, which put them on pace to allow 487 over 162 games. The Yankees were on pace to allow 519 runs that year and the Dodgers on pace to allow 524.

In 1972, the Orioles allowed 430 runs in a 154 games, which put them on a pace to allow 452 runs. Oakland’s pace would have had them allowing 478 runs over 162 games.

Back in June I looked at the pace at which the Phils were allowing runs. You can read that post here.

In this article, Manuel points out that the Phillies offense was really good in the second half of the year, saying, “From the second half of the season on, we were either No. 1 or No. 2 in offense.” No argument here. From the start of the season to the end of June, the Phils were eighth in the NL in runs scored. From the start of July to the end of the regular season, they led the league in runs scored. From the start of June to the end of the regular season they were fourth in the NL in runs scored. Second in the league in runs scored after the All-Star break. More on that later.

Manuel says he likes the chances of Rollins returning in this article.

In this article Manuel says he thinks Thome can still play first base and suggests that Utley will hit third when healthy.

These articles about the Brewers, Phillies, Jimmy Rollins and Aramis Ramirez seem similar to me.

This article lists the Phils among the suitors for Gio Gonzalez. Sounds good to me, but I would advise against holding one’s breath. Gio Gonzalez and Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia in December, 2006, wasn’t a shining moment for the Phils.

This says the Phils are out on Ramirez.

This suggests that the Phils would be willing to include Domonic Brown in a Gio Gonzalez deal.

Cause I really don’t know what Plan B is if the starting rotation isn’t going to be good. I have this sinking feeling it might involve Michael Martinez, though.

If game one looked bad early for the Phils and got better as it went along, game two was just the opposite. After three innings, the Phils had a 4-0 lead with Cliff Lee on the mound and Chris Carpenter on the ropes. After nine innings, the Phils had lost 5-4 and the series was tied up.

The Phils jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first as five of their first six hitters for the game reached based. They extended the lead to 4-0 in the second when Rollins doubled with two outs and was knocked in by Pence. St Louis got back in the game with three runs charged to Lee on a leadoff walk and four hits in the fourth. The Cards tied things up at 4-4 in the top of the sixth when Ryan Theriot doubled off of Lee with two outs and came to score on a Jon Jay single. Allen Craig led off the seventh with a triple off the glove of Victorino and Pujols singled off of Lee right behind him to put St Louis up to stay at 5-4.

The St Louis bullpen was fantastic in the game. After allowing five runs in 2 2/3 innings in the series opener, Cardinals relievers had to pitch six innings in relief of Carpenter in game two. They allowed one single and didn’t walk a batter in six shutout frames.

The Phillies lost to the St Louis Cardinals 5-4 last night. With the loss the best-of-five NLDS is tied up a one game apiece.

Lee got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing five runs on 12 hits and two walks. Five of the hits went for extra-bases, three doubles and two triples. The five runs he allowed in last night’s start were more than he allowed in his ten starts in June and August combined. In June and August, Lee threw 81 2/3 innings and allowed three runs.

Over his last three post-season starts, Lee has a 7.13 ERA and a 1.64 ratio. He has been charged with 26 hits and three walks in 17 2/3 innings.

He faced a St Louis lineup that went (1) Rafael Furcal (SS/S) (2) Allen Craig (RF/R) (3) Albert Pujols (1B/R) (4) Lance Berkman (LF/S) (5) David Freese (3B/R) (6) Yadier Molina (C/R) (7) Ryan Theriot (2B/R) (8) Jon Jay (CF/L). That’s the same lineup the Cards used in game one with Theriot replacing the lefty Skip Schumaker at second with the lefty Lee pitching for the Phils.

St Louis had six hitters on the bench to start the game, righties Matt Holliday and Gerald Laird, lefties Adron Chambers, Skip Schumaker and Daniel Descalso and switch-hitter Nick Punto.

Furcal hit the first pitch of the game off the wall in right. The ball rolled away from Pence and Furcal was safe at third with a triple. Lee struck Craig out swinging 1-2 for the first out. Pujols swung at the first pitch and popped to Utley in shallow right-center for the second out with Furcal holding. Berkman got ahead in the count and smashed a 2-0 pitch down the third-base line, but Polanco back-handed and threw to first to get him for the third out.

No run for St Louis after the leadoff triple. No contact for Craig and Pujols pops up to Utley. Berkman smashed the ball.

Lee threw nine pitches in the first.

He started the second up 3-0. Freese doubled to right on his first pitch of the inning. Molina struck out looking 1-2 for the first out and Theriot out looking 0-2 (on the seventh pitch of his at-bat) for the second. Neither Molina or Theriot liked the calls, but they looked like good pitches to me. Jay went down on a ball handled by Lee for the third out to leave Freese stranded.

Second time in two innings that St Louis can’t score after an extra-base hit to start the inning.

Lee was at 23 pitches.

The Phils were up 4-0 when Lee started the third. Carpenter led off and flew to right on a 3-2 pitch for the first out. Furcal hit a ball up the middle, but Utley made a nice play moving to his right and threw Furcal out on a close play at first for the second out. Lee walked Craig on a 3-2 pitch, but struck Pujols out waving at an 0-2 curve ball to leave Craig at first.

Odd deep count on Carpenter in the inning plus the walk of Craig, but Lee keeps St Louis off the board. You want to avoid walking guys ahead of Pujols.

Lee was at 43 pitches through three innings.

He got ahead of Berkman 0-2 to start the fourth, but couldn’t put him away as Berkman drew a walk. Lee struck Freese out looking at a 1-2 fastball for the first out. Molina hit a 3-2 pitch back up the middle, just missed by Lee and off the glove of a diving Rollins, putting men on first and second for Theriot. Theriot hit the first pitch from Lee the opposite way, past Howard and down the right field line for a double. Berkman scored to cut the lead to 4-1 with men on second and third. Jay hit a 1-0 pitch into right, scoring Molina (4-2). Pence came home with the throw, but Theriot held third. Jay took second as the throw came home, sliding in safely to second just ahead of the return throw from Ruiz. With one down and men on second and third, switch-hitter Nick Punto hit for Carpenter. Lee struck Punto out swinging 1-2 for the second out. Furcal singled into left on a 1-0 pitch. Theriot scored to make it 4-3. Jay tried to score from second, arriving at the plate at the same time as Ibanez’s lollipop throw from left. Jay buried Ruiz, but Ruiz held on to the ball for the third out.

Great play by Ruiz to hold onto the ball. Ibanez’s throw was accurate at least if not strong. Punto can’t put the ball in play with one out and men on second and third. Walking the leadoff guy often doesn’t work that well.

Lee’s pitch count was up to 70 after a 27-pitch inning.

Lee set the Cards down in order in the fifth, getting Craig and Pujols both looking 0-2 before Berkman popped to Rollins for the third out.

Twelve pitches in the inning put him at 82.

He got the first two hitters in the sixth, getting Freese swinging for the first out and Molina on a fly ball to left for the second. Theriot was next and doubled to left on a 1-0 pitch. Jay followed and singled into left on an 0-1 pitch. Theriot scored to tie the game at 4-4 with Jay taking second on the throw. Lefty Skip Schumaker hit for the pitcher Fernando Salas and reached on an infield single, moving Jay up to third. Furcal hit a 1-0 pitch to third with Polanco going to second to leave both runners stranded.

Nineteen more pitches in the game for Lee. He was at 101.

Craig led off the seventh and drove a ball to center the Victorino misplayed before it went off his glove for a leadoff triple. Pujols was next and he lined the first pitch he saw from Lee into left-center for a single. Craig scored and St Louis led 5-4. Berkman was next and he moved Pujols to third with a single. That was it for Lee. Lidge came on to pitch to Freese. Freese hit a ball that Lidge fielded. He threw home where Pujols was out for the first out with Freese taking second on the play and Berkman moving up to third. Lidge walked Molina intentionally to load the bases then got out of the jam by getting Theriot to ground into a double-play to set St Louis down.

Long run for Victorino, but the ball Craig hit would have been a nice one to have. Lidge does a great job, coming in with men on first and third and nobody out and keeping St Louis off the board.

Bastardo started the eighth and walked Jay on six pitches. Descalso, double-switched into the game in the bottom of the seventh, was next and bunted Jay to second with the first out. Bastardo struck Furcal out swinging 2-2 for the second out. Worley came in to pitch to the righty Craig and got him to fly to right 1-1 to leave Jay at second.

Glad to see Bastardo get the big strikeout on Furcal, but walking Jay on six pitches wasn’t a good way to start the inning.

Madson started the ninth. Pujols led off with a single to left. Berkman struck out swinging 3-2 as Pujols was hung up by Ruiz and eventually tagged out for the second. Madson struck out Chambers, double-switched into the game in the eighth, on a 2-2 pitch for the third out.

Three shutout innings for the pen in relief of Lee in which they allowed a hit and two walks. Madson threw 15 pitches, Bastardo 12, Lidge six and Worley three.

Furcal is 3-for-8 with a triple so far in the series. Pujols 3-for-8 with three singles. Berkman 2-for-8 with a big homer in game one.

Jay and Molina are both 2-for-7 with two singles.

Freese and Craig have gone 2-for-14 with seven strikeouts.

Schumaker 3-for-5 with a double and Theriot 2-for-4 with two doubles.

The Phillies lineup against righty Chris Carpenter went (1) Rollins (SS/S) (2) Utley (2B/L) (3) Pence (RF/R) (4) Howard (1B/L) (5) Victorino (CF/S) (6) Ibanez (LF/L) (7) Polanco (3B/R) (8) Ruiz (C/R). That’s the same lineup they used against righty Kyle Lohse in game one.

The Phils started the game with six players on their bench, righties John Mayberry, Wilson Valdez and Ben Francisco, lefties Brian Schneider and Ross Gload and switch-hitter Michael Martinez.

Rollins led off the bottom of the first and hit a 2-0 pitch off the top of the wall in right for a double. Utley and Pence both walked behind, loading the bases for Howard. Howard singled up the middle, scoring Rollins and Utley and moving Pence to third with the Phils up 2-0. Victorino swung at the first pitch from Carpenter and flew to center with Jay moving in. Pence held third. Ibanez was next and he lined a 1-1 pitch to left for a single, scoring Pence (3-0) and moving Howard up to second. Polanco got ahead in the count but grounded into a double-play on a 2-1 pitch to end the inning.

Again Howard and Ibanez deliver big hits to get the Phils on the board. Again Rollins starts the rally. Victorino can’t bring Pence in from third with the first out.

Carpenter threw 30 pitches in the inning.

Ruiz led off the bottom of the second and grounded to short on a 1-2 pitch for the first out. Lee was next and struck out trying to check his swing 2-2. Rollins was next and he smashed a 3-1 pitch even higher off the wall in right (more right-center this time) for another double. Rollins was running as Carpenter delivered a 3-2 pitch to Utley way out of the zone. Utley had another walk and the Phils had men on first and third. Pence got behind in the count but singled hard to right 0-2. Rollins scored from third to make it 4-0 with Utley moving up to second. Howard hit a 2-0 pitch well to left, but Berkman took it on the track to leave both runners stranded.

Two long doubles for Rollins in two innings. The one in the second was hit the bigger part of the field and very nearly a home run. Not sure that Rollins would have scored from second on the single by Pence. No chance without two outs, but he might have tried with two.

Another long inning for Carpenter, who had thrown 56 through two innings.

Victorino grounded to first to start the third. Ibanez grounded hard to second on a 2-0 pitch for the second out. Polanco struck out swinging 0-2 for the third out.

Polanco 0-for-2 with a strikeout and a grounded into a double-play in the first three innings of the game after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in game one. He went 6-for-33 in the post-season in 2010. In his most recent playoff action prior to 2010, Polanco had gone 0-for-17 for Detroit in the 2006 World Series against St Louis.

Carpenter was at 64 pitches for the game.

Righty Fernando Salas started the fourth for St Louis with the lead cut to 4-3. He set the Phils down in order on three ground balls, getting Ruiz, Lee and Rollins.

He was back for the fifth and threw another 1-2-3 frame, striking out Utley and Pence and getting Howard on a fly ball to center.

Utley struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch they looked like it was outside by a non-trivial amount.

Two huge shutdown innings for Salas after Carpenter leads in which the Cards get back into the game.

Righty Octavio Dotel started the sixth for St Louis with the score tied at 4-4. He was pitching for the second time in the series after two-thirds of an inning and seven pitches in game one. Victorino lined to center for the first out. Ibanez struck out swinging 1-2 for the second. Polanco flew to center for the third.

The Phils were down 5-4 when Dotel started the seventh and struck Ruiz out swinging 1-2 for the first out. Gload hit for Lidge. Lefty Marc Rzepczynski came in to pitch to Gload. Francisco hit for Gload against the lefty and flew to center for the second out. Rollins was next and he singled to left on a 1-0 pitch, but Rzepczynski picked him off of first with Pujols throwing down to second where Rollins was tagged out to end the inning.

Dotel has struck out four in two scoreless innings in the first two games of the series.

Rzepczynski was back to start the eighth and hit Utley with a 1-1 pitch. Boggs came in to face Pence, having thrown 36 pitches in game one, and Pence grounded to short with Utley forced at second for the first out. Lefty Arthur Rhodes came in and struck Howard out swinging 0-2 for the second out. Righty Jason Motte made his first appearance of the series, getting Victorino to fly to center 0-2 to leave Pence at first.

Motte was back for the ninth. He struck Ibanez out swinging 0-2 for the first out. Polanco flew to right for the second. Ruiz swung at the first pitch of his at-bat and grounded to second to end the game.

Six shutout innings from the St Louis bullpen in the game in which they allowed one hit, the single by Rollins against Rzepczynski, and struck out six. Motte, Dotel and Salas all had great days for St Louis.

Rollins was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a stolen base and a caught stealing. He’s 5-for-8 so far in the series.

Utley was 0-for-1 with two walks and was hit by a pitch. 3-for-6 with two walks and two doubles so far.

Pence 1-for-3 with a walk. 3-for-8 in the first two games.

Howard 1-for-4 with two RBI. 2-for-7 with a home run and six RBI in the series.

Victorino 0-for-4 and left three men on base. 3-for-8 with two RBI.

Ibanez 1-for-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts. 3-for-8 with a home run and four RBI in the series.

Polanco 0-for-4 with a strikeout. 0-for-8 with three strikeouts in the series. He hit 243/304/287 in his last 409 plate appearances in the regular season.

Ruiz 0-for-4 with a strikeout. 0-for-8 with two strikeouts so far.

Game three is tomorrow in St Louis.

The Phils made franchise history last night, winning their 102nd game of the regular season for the first time ever as they beat Atlanta 4-3 in 13 innings to knock the Braves out of the post-season.

The Phillies end the year at 102-60 and winners of four straight games. They swept Atlanta in the three-game set and the Braves fell short in their Wild Card bid with the combination of last night’s loss and an 8-0 win for the Cardinals against Houston.

Blanton started the game for the Phils and allowed a run on three hits over two innings, dropping his ERA on the year to 5.01.

The Phils went up 1-0 in the top of the first when Pence’s two-out walk was followed by a Howard double. Michael Bourn led off the bottom of the first for Atlanta with a single, stole second, went to third on a ground out and scored on a sac fly to tie the game at 1-1. Dan Uggla hit a two-run homer off of Cole Hamels in the third, putting Atlanta up 3-1.

The Phils still trailed by two runs when they hit in the seventh. With one out and men on first and third, Ruiz smashed a ball to short that would have been a double-play ball if Jack Wilson could have handled it cleanly. He couldn’t. Ruiz reached on an error and Ibanez scored from third to cut the lead to 3-2.

Craig Kimbrel came on in the ninth to try to save the game for Atlanta, but couldn’t get it done. The Phils loaded the bases on a single by Polanco and walks to Francisco and Rollins before Utley delivered a sac fly that tied the game at 3-3. With two outs in the top of the 13th and men on first and third, Pence broke his bat delivering a single into shallow right field with Schneider scoring from third to put the Phillies up a run. Herndon kept the Braves off the board in the bottom of the ninth, walking Uggla with one out but getting Freddie Freeman to hit into a double-play behind him to end the game, to earn his first career save.

Hamels didn’t look strong pitching in relief, allowing two runs on four hits over three innings, and again was hurt by the home run on the two-run shot by Uggla. In 38 innings in September, Hamels allowed nine home runs (2.13 per nine innings). Only one pitcher in either league, Bronson Arroyo, allowed more than nine home runs in September. Three others besides Hamels also allowed nine (Anthony Vazquez managed to allow nine in 20 innings pitching for Seattle). Coming into September, Hamels had allowed ten home runs in 178 innings (.51 per nine innings).

It was a fantastic night for the Phillie bullpen. Blanton and Hamels combined to allow three runs over five innings. After Hamels left, Worley, Lidge, Madson, Stutes, Schwimer, De Fratus and Herndon combined to throw eight shutout innings in which they allowed three hits and four walks.

Madson, Lidge and Stutes combined to go three innings in the game in which they struck out four without allowing a hit or a walk.

Michael Schwimer threw two scoreless innings in the game, allowing just one single. He ends the season having thrown four scoreless innings over his last three appearances.

Rollins was 0-for-6 with a walk in the game. He goes 11-for-25 to end the season.

Utley 2-for-4 with two walks. He goes 4-for-8 in his last two games of the regular season.

Pence 2-for-4 with three walks. He’s 7-for-his-last-16 to end the season. 324/394/560 in 236 plate appearances with the Phils this year.

Howard 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. 6-for-14 over his last four games. Ends the year at 224/286/347 against left-handed pitching.

Mayberry 1-for-5 with a walk and started the game in center with Victorino resting with a (hopefully slightly) sore back. Mayberry is 3-for-his-last-15 with four walks. He slugged .576 in the second-half of the season, which led the Phils and was seventh in the NL among the 117 players with at least 150 plate appearances. . He hit ten home runs in 144 second-half at-bats. He has hit 302/356/611 over his last 177 plate appearances.

Victorino is 6-for-his-last-21 after going 0-for-1 last night, but hit 179/257/321 over his last 149 plate appearances to end the season. After going 2-for-5 with a triple and a home run against the Mets on August 23, Victorino was hitting 314/389/551 for the year. He ends the season at 279/355/491.

Ibanez 1-for-6 with two strikeouts and six men left on base. 5-for-17 to end the year. He walked in just 33 of his 575 plate appearances this year (5.7%), which is his lowest rate since 1998. He ends the year at 211/232/353 against lefties.

Polanco 2-for-4. 4-for-24 with no walks to end the year. 243/304/287 in 409 plate appearances since the end of April. He had ten extra-base hits in those 409 plate appearances.

Ruiz 0-for-5 with two strikeouts and an RBI. He has on-based .376 over 1,284 plate appearances the last three years. His power was down this year — he registered extra-base hits in just 6.1% of his plate appearances. Over the last two seasons he had delivered an extra-base hit in about 9.0% of his plate appearances. He slugged just .337 against lefties for the season despite posting a .265 average against them. He’s 1-for-his-last-13.

Martinez went 0-for-3 in the game and left seven men on base. He ends the year 1-for-his-last-21 with a 196/258/282 line for the season.

Games one and two with St Louis are Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia. Three and four in St Louis Tuesday and Wednesday. Game five would be here on Friday.

The Phils got number 101 last night, tying the ’76 and ’77 teams for wins in a season. They will look to set the franchise record tonight as the Braves try desperately to beat them and get into the playoffs.

With the win, Charlie Manuel also tied Gene Mauch for most wins in franchise history as a manager with 645. Mauch managed the Phillies in parts or all of nine seasons from 1960-68 and the Phillies played to a .486 winning percentage under him. This is Manuel’s seventh year with the Phils. They have gone 645-488 under him (.569).

The Phillies are 101-60 on the year after beating the Atlanta Braves 7-1 last night. The Phils have won the first two games of the series and three in a row. The Braves and Cardinals have the same 89-72 record and are tied the race for the Wild Card with one game left in the regular season for each team.

Oswalt started last night’s game for the Phils and threw six shutout innings, allowing three hits and a walk. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a double. He struck out four and dropped his ERA on the year to 3.69, which is sixth-best among the seven pitchers who have started at least one game for the Phils this season. Oswalt goes into the post-season having allowed six runs in 20 2/3 innings over his last three starts. In two of those starts he threw 13 shutout innings combined in which he allowed eight hits and a walk. In the other he allowed six runs in 7 2/3 innings, but pitched way better than his line, allowing four runs in the eighth inning to ruin what had been a solid start.

Utley gave him a 1-0 lead with a homer off of Derek Lowe in the top of the first. Rollins and Pence both knocked in runs in the third to extend the lead to 3-0. Polanco scored Victorino with a sac fly in the fourth. 4-0. Pence hit a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 6-0 and Rollins hit a solo shot in the seventh. 7-0. Martin Prado led off the ninth with a homer off of Kendrick to cut the lead to 7-1.

Savery threw a scoreless seventh for the Phils. In four appearances for the Phils he has now thrown 2 2/3 scoreless innings in which he has allowed one hit and struck out two.

Bastardo pitched a 1-2-3 eighth with a 7-0 lead, getting Brooks Conrad on a ground ball to short, Matt Diaz on a fly ball to center and Michael Bourn swinging. That’s an outstanding development for the Phils — Bastardo came into the outing having allowed nine runs on nine hits and seven walks over 3 2/3 innings over his last eight appearances. Sixteen of the last 27 batters he had faced had reached based and he had allowed at least one hit or walk in each of the eight outings.

Kendrick pitched the ninth and allowed the solo shot to Prado. Coming off of four straight starts, Kendrick has now appeared in relief his last two times out and neither appearance has gone that well. In those two appearances he has allowed three runs on five hits over 2 1/3 innings.

Rollins was 3-for-5 with a homer in the game. He’s 11-for-his-last-19 with two home runs.

Utley 2-for-4 with a homer. He came into the game 3-for-his-last-25 and hitting 214/292/313 over his last 202 plate appearances.

Pence 1-for-3 with a home run. 5-for-his-last-12 with two home runs.

Top three in the order for the Phils go 6-for-12 with three home runs and six RBI.

Howard was 0-for-4. 4-for-his-last-11.

Victorino 1-for-4. 6-for-his-last-20 with four extra-base hits.

Ibanez 1-for-4. 8-for-his-last-24 with eight singles.

Polanco 0-for-3 with an RBI. He’s 2-for-his-last-20. From August 5 to September 20 he hit 308/390/355 over 123 plate appearances. 2-for-20 since.

Ruiz 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts. 5-for-his-last-12.

Mayberry walked in his only chance last night. 2-for-his-last-10 with three walks. 302/355/590 since the All-Star break. 306/353/595 against lefties for the year. Ibanez has hit 212/234/356 against lefties for the year. I’m going to be surprised if Ibanez doesn’t start in left against lefties in the post-season, but I don’t think it will be the right decision.

Bowker struck out pinch-hitting for Oswalt in the seventh last night. He’s 0-for-13 with seven strikeouts with the Phils.

Blanton (1-2, 5.03) faces righty Tim Hudson (16-10, 3.23) tonight.