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Alternate headline, “Ben dominated the Phillies last night (if anyone out there still gives a Sheets)” scrapped in an effort to stay family-friendly.

The Phillies’ streak of 257 consecutive home sellouts came to an end last night against the Braves. It’s amazing the streak lasted that long, because the Phillies aren’t very good these days and haven’t been for a while. They looked awful in the game as Ben Sheets baffled them for the second time in two weeks and the Phils fell 6-1.

Sheets has faced the Phils in two of his last three starts, allowing two runs in 13 1/3 innings.

Worley lasted just 3 2/3 innings for the Phils in the game, allowing four runs on six hits. All of the runs the Phillies scored in the game came on a single swing, a homer by Mayberry to start the fourth.

Worley, at least, was sick.

The Phillies are 49-60 on the year after losing to the Braves 6-1 last night. They are 17 games out of first place in the NL East, which is the furthest they have been out this season. They are 2-8 against the Braves this season.

Worley got the start for the Phillies and went 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, both doubles. He struck out two.

Over his last seven starts, Worley has thrown to a 5.51 ERA and opponents have hit .335 against him.

He set the Braves down in order in the top of the first.

Brian McCann singled with one out in the second. Dan Uggla was next and hit a ball to right that Schierholtz handled for the second out. Worley walked Juan Francisco, but got Paul Janish to pop to Utley to leave both runners stranded.

Michael Bourn walked with one out in the third and Martin Prado moved him to second with a single to right. Jayson Heyward flew to left for the second out, but Freddie Freeman was next and hit a ball past a diving Howard and into the right field corner. Bourn scored easily and Prado slid in just safe as Schneider tried to block the plate. Manuel came out to argue, but to no avail. The Braves led 2-0. Freeman took third on the play at the plate, which allowed him to score when Worley delivered a wild pitch off the glove of Schneider with McCann at the plate. 3-0. McCann went on to walk and moved to third when Uggla followed with a single to center. Francisco was next and went down on a grounder handled by Worley to leave both runners stranded.

Freeman’s ball was very close fair/foul. Definitely landed foul, harder question is where it went over the bag. Looked foulish. Play at the plate was close, but Prado was safe.

Janish doubled to left to start the fourth and Sheets bunted him to third with the first out. Bourn was next and he singled to left, scoring Janish to put the Braves up 4-0. Valdes took over to pitch to the lefty Heyward. With the count 2-2 on Heyward, Valdes threw to first and Bourn was caught in-between first and second. He should have been out by a whole lot, but Howard made perhaps the worst throw I’ve ever seen, throwing the ball about to where the shortstop would usually be and into left field. Bourn was safe at second. Valdes struck out Heyward to leave him there.

With the lead cut to 4-1, Valdes came back to set the Braves down in order in the fifth.

Valdes goes 1 1/3 scoreless innings and strikes out three in his first appearance with the Phils since July 8.

Rosenberg started the sixth. Francisco led off and doubled to left. Rosenberg struck Janish out for the first out before Sheets bunted Francisco to third with the second. Bourn lined to Rollins to leave Francisco at third.

Rosenberg got Prado to ground to first for the first out in the seventh. Horst came in to pitch to Heyward and Heyward singled to right. Freeman was next and popped out to Schneider in foul territory. It brought McCann to the plate and he lined a ball in to right-center. Schierholtz looked like he had it, but the ball went off the tip of his glove. Heyward scored all the way from first to put Atlanta up 5-1. Uggla moved McCann to third with a double to left, but Horst got Francisco on a ground ball to Howard to leave both runners stranded.

Second good outing in two tries for Rosenberg since rejoining the Phils. Two outings in which he has thrown 3 1/3 scoreless frames, allowing one hit and striking out four.

Horst didn’t fare as well. He faced five hitters, allowing a double and two singles in his worst outing of the year with the Phils. He was charged with a run in the game, just the second he has allowed this season.

Schwimer struck out Janish and Sheets in a 1-2-3 eighth.

He was back for the ninth, allowing a one-out home run to Heyward to make it 6-1 before getting the next two hitters behind him.

Schwimer allows a run over two innings. He came into the game having not been charged with a run in any of his last eight outings.

Overall the pen goes 5 1/3 innings in the game, allowing two runs on five hits without walking a batter. Rosenberg threw 22 pitches, Schwimer and Valdes 20 each. Horst threw 14 pitches.

The Phillies lineup against righty Ben Sheets went (1) Rollins (2) Brown (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Mayberry (6) Schierholtz (7) Frandsen (8) Schneider. Brown hits second and plays left. The lefty Schneider catches with the righty Kratz on the bench. Phils put a Schierholtz and a Schneider in the same lineup, which should count for something.

Brown singled with one out in the bottom of the first, but was doubled off of first when Utley followed and lined to first.

Schierholtz doubled with two outs in the second and Frandsen walked behind him. Schneider flew to right on a nice running catch by Heyward in the gap to leave both runners stranded.

Down 3-0, Worley and Rollins went down to start the third. Brown was next and was hit on the hand by a 2-2 pitch. Utley was next and squibbed a ball down the third base line for a double to opposite way. It brought Howard to the plate with runners on second and third and two down. Howard flew to center 2-2 to leave both men stranded.

The Phillies were down 4-0 when Mayberry led off the fourth with a home run. 4-1. Frandsen singled with one out, but Schneider grounded into a double-play behind him.

The Phils went in order in the fifth. Pierre hit for Valdes and flew to left for the first out.

Sheets set them down in order again in the sixth.

Frandsen singled with one out in the seventh and the Phillies down 5-1. He moved up to second when Schneider followed with a ground out to first. With the righty Sheets still pitching for the Braves, Wigginton hit for Horst and grounded to third to end the inning.

Manuel uses the righty Wigginton instead of the switch-hitter Martinez or the left Nix against the righty. I assume it’s cause he thought it was too early to use Nix.

Rollins singled to start the eighth and moved up to second when Brown grounded to first for the first out. Lefty Eric O’Flaherty took over for Sheets and got Utley to pop to short for the second out. Howard grounded to Uggla to end the inning.

The Phillies were down 6-1 when righty Cristhian Martinez set Mayberry, Schierholtz and Frandsen down in order in the ninth.

Rollins was 1-for-4. That’s the first time he’s gotten a hit that was not a home run since July 27. 4-for-his-last-33 (.121) with three home runs.

Brown 1-for-3 with a single and a hit by pitch. 286/375/333 in 24 plate appearances so far.

Utley 1-for-4 with a double. 381/500/762 in the first six games in August.

Howard 0-for-4 with three men left on base and an awful throw into left field after Valdes picked off Bourn. He’s hitting .198 for the year after going 4-for-his-last-32 with 15 strikeouts.

Mayberry 1-for-4 with his ninth home run. He has now started six games in a row, hitting 308/357/538 in 28 plate appearances in those games.

Schierholtz 1-for-4 and had McCann’s ball go off the tip of his glove in the seventh. He’s 3-for-his-last-14.

Frandsen 2-for-3 with a walk. 310/355/414 in 31 plate appearances for the year.

Schneider 0-for-3 and left four men on base. Heyward made a nice play in the gap in right-center to take a hit away from him with two men on base. Schneider is 1-for-20 with a single since the end of May.

Hamels (11-6, 3.34) faces lefty Mike Minor (6-7, 5.01) tonight. The Phillies have lost six of the last seven games that Hamels has started. He has a 4.21 ERA over his last 12 outings and has allowed 14 home runs in 83 1/3 innings. That’s a rate of 1.512 homers per nine. In 2011, Hamels allowed 0.792 homers per nine. Minor gives the new, all-lefty Phils another chance to hit against a left-handed pitcher. So far they’ve faced two. Detwiler perplexed them and the righty Kratz drove in both of the runs they scored charged to Saunders. Minor has allowed a run in 11 2/3 innings over his last two starts, one of which was shortened by rain after 3 2/3 innings.

The Phillies weren’t very good against lefties before they traded away Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence. They’re worse now and had no answer to lefty Ross Detwiler and the Nats last night. Detwiler and two relievers stymied the Phils, holding them to three singles as the Nats topped the Phillies 3-0.

Adam LaRoche hit a long home run off of Hamels in the second to give the Nats an early 1-0 lead. The Phillie defense was terrible in the third and the Nats scored two more times thanks to a trio of misplays, none of which was called an error. The Phillies had three hits in the game, all singles. They didn’t get a hit after the third inning.

The Phillies simply don’t have a lot of firepower to put in their lineup against left-handed pitching these days. Last night they started Ruiz, a right-handed hitter who has been great this year. Beyond that, though, things get ugly. Switch-hitter Jimmy Rollins led off — he’s on-basing .261 against lefties for the year. Kevin Frandsen hit second, he has a career on-base percentage against lefties of .281. Wigginton and his 200/317/388 line against lefties for the year hit fifth. Another righty who should hit lefties was next in Mayberry. He’s shown a lot of power against lefties this season and hit for average, but on-based just .274 against them. Michael Martinez curiously played center and hit eighth — his career line against lefties is 167/175/179. The other two spots in the lineup were filled by lefties Utley and Domonic Brown.

The Phillies are 47-58 on the year after losing to the Washington Nationals 3-0 last night. The Phillies take two of three in the series, but remain in last place in the NL East, 15 1/2 games out of first.

Hamels got the start for the Phillies and went seven innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, a double and a home run. He struck out nine. All three runs were earned, but Hamels was victimized by terrible defense in the third that led to two earned runs.

The Phillies have lost six of the last seven games that Hamels has started. Over those seven outings he has thrown to a 3.51 ERA with a 1.29 ratio and struck out 48 in 48 2/3 innings.

He walked Zimmerman with two outs in the first, but struck Michael Morse out swinging to leave Zimmerman at first.

Coming off an outing where he walked six, Hamels walks another in the first. Looked worrisome at the time, but Hamels wouldn’t walk another hitter in the game.

Adam LaRoche hit Hamels’s first pitch of the second way out to right. 1-0. Jayson Werth and Sandy Leon followed with back-to-back singles, putting men on first and second for Steve Lombardozzi. Hamels struck Lombardozzi out for the second out, struck the pitcher Ross Detwiler out trying to bunt for the second and Danny Espinosa swinging to leave both runners stranded.

With one out in the third, Zimmerman hit a grounder to second that bounced high off the mound and to Utley. Utley tried to glove it but didn’t handle the ball cleanly. Zimmerman was safe and given a hit, but Utley should have made the play. Morse was next and he hit a ball hard to short, off the glove of Rollins for another single. Again the play should have been made and Rollins could have been charged with an error. Instead of the double-play, the Nats had men on first and second with one out. LaRoche was the next hitter and he lined a single into center. Zimmerman scored (2-0) and, for reasons unknown, Martinez threw the ball to third where he had no chance to get Morse. This allowed LaRoche to move up to second and meant there was no double-play when Werth followed with a ground ball to second. Instead, Morse scored to make it 3-0 and LaRoche moved up to third as Utley went to first for the second out. Hamels struck Leon out to leave LaRoche at third.

Utley’s mishandle should have been an error. The Rollins play was harder, but would have been an inning-ending double-play if he handled it cleanly. Martinez made a big mental mistake and took away the double-play on Werth’s ball.

Both runs charged to Hamels in the inning were earned.

Hamels struck out Detwiler and Espinosa in a 1-2-3 fourth.

He got Zimmerman in a 1-2-3 fifth.

LaRoche singled to center to start the sixth. Werth popped to Rollins before Leon doubled to left, moving LaRoche to third. Lombardozzi was next and lined a ball to right. Mayberry handled it for the second out. LaRoche tagged and tried to score, but Mayberry made a fantastic throw to the plate. Ruiz took it on one hop and applied the tag as LaRoche slid in to end the inning.

Nice throw. Mayberry’s defense has been really good.

Hamels set the Nationals down in order in the seventh. Righty Tyler Moore hit for Detwiler and struck out swinging for the first out.

Schwimer started the eighth and walked the leadoff man Zimmerman. He got the next two before walking Werth, putting two men on for Leon. Schwimer struck the switch-hitter Leon out swinging 2-2 to leave both runners stranded.

Frandsen made a nice diving play to snare a line drive hit by Morse for the first out.

Schwimer has walked 15 in 27 1/3 innings for the season, which is too many. He got away with it last night, though, and has a 2.14 ERA over his last 23 appearances after throwing to an 8.10 ERA in his first six outings. Over his last nine appearances he has walked seven in 7 2/3 innings.

He threw 28 pitches in the game.

The Phillies lineup against lefty Ross Detwiler went (1) Rollins (2) Frandsen (3) Utley (4) Ruiz (5) Wigginton (6) Mayberry (7) Brown (8) Martinez. Martinez in center, Mayberry in right, Brown in left and lefties Schierholtz, Pierre and Nix on the bench. Ruiz returns to the lineup to catch. Howard gets the day off against the lefty with Wigginton at first. Detwiler has ugly left-right splits and has been tough on lefties, but you don’t want to see Martinez starting too often against anyone.

Utley singled with two outs in the first, but Ruiz grounded to second behind him to set the Phillies down.

Wigginton started the top of the second with a ground ball to third. Zimmerman bobbled twice and didn’t throw to first — Wigginton was safe on the error. Mayberry was next and grounded to third with Zimmerman going to second to force Wigginton for the first out. Brown was next and walked on five pitches, putting two men on for Martinez. Martinez singled into right and Mayberry tried to score from second, but Harper’s throw from right was good and beat Mayberry by a lot. Leon applied the tag for the second out. Hamels struck out looking to leave the runners on first and second.

Harper made a good throw, but Mayberry was out by a lot. Have to wonder how big a factor the fact that Hamels was due to hit next was in sending Mayberry.

The Phillies were down 1-0 when they hit in the third. Frandsen reached on an infield single on a ball deflected by Detwiler with one out. Utley walked behind him, putting two men on for Ruiz. Ruiz flew to right and Wigginton grounded to third to turn the Phillies away.

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

Detwiler set them down in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh.

Lefty Sean Burnett threw a 1-2-3 eighth. Kratz hit for Hamels and grounded to short for the first out.

Kratz was the only righty on the bench for the Phils at the start of the game. They also had five lefties in Nix, Pierre, Howard, Schneider and Schierholtz. One isn’t an ideal number of righties to have on the bench.

Righty Tyler Clippard started the ninth with a three-run lead and walked Utley. Ruiz flew to center for the first out. Nix hit for Wigginton and popped out to Zimmerman for the second out. Schierholtz hit for Mayberry and walked as well, bringing Brown to the plate as the tying run. Howard hit for Brown. Clippard threw an 0-1 fastball past Howard and then struck him out looking at an 0-2 fastball on the inside of the plate.

Rollins was 0-for-4 in the game. 3-for-13 in the series with a walk and three home runs. 250/308/413 for the season. 211/261/361 against left-handed pitchers for the year.

Frandsen 1-for-4. He played all three games of the set at third for the Phils, going 2-for-12 with a home run. 4-for-15 on the year.

Utley was 1-for-2 with two walks. 4-for-10 with four walks and a double in the series. 253/357/463 for the year. 276/417/517 over his last 76 plate appearances.

Ruiz was 0-for-4 and left four men on base. 1-for-9 with a double in the series. 335/399/559 on the year. 269/324/484 over his last 102 plate appearances.

Wigginton 0-for-3 to drop his average to .230. 1-for-4 in the series. 230/299/364 for the year. 162/222/263 over his last 108 plate appearances. We shouldn’t be counting on him to save the day against lefties — he’s hitting 200/317/388 against them for the year.

Mayberry was 0-for-3 with a pretty throw from the outfield. Started all three games of the series and went 3-for-11 with a double and a walk. 232/272/384 for the season.

Brown was 0-for-2 with a walk in the game and 1-for-7 in the series. So far he’s played 17 disaster-free innings in the outfield.

Not so much for Martinez, who was 1-for-3 with an unusual decision about where to throw the ball from center in the third inning. He’s hitting .146 in 51 plate appearances for the year. He’s not exactly a monster bat to add to your lineup against a left-handed pitcher given his career .175 on-base percentage against lefties with one extra-base hit (a double) and one walk in 81 plate appearances.

Blanton (8-9, 4.59) faces righty Ian Kennedy (9-8, 4.20) tonight in Philadelphia. Blanton has thrown to a 3.61 ERA over his last six starts. Kennedy has a 2.42 ERA over his last three outings. He’s seventh in the NL in fewest walks per nine innings at 1.733. Blanton leads the league in that category with 1.215.

The Phillies ushered in a new era last night, hammering Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals 8-0 on the day they traded away Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence.

Cliff Lee was very good in the game, throwing seven shutout innings and getting his second win of the year. Rollins and Frandsen both hit homers and Pierre had three hits. John Mayberry, miserable against righties this year but about to receive an extended second chance, twice reached base against right-handed pitchers.

The Phillies are 46-57 on the year after beating the Washington Nationals 8-0 last night. They are in last place in the NL East, 15 1/2 games behind the first place Nats.

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

Four of Lee’s last five starts have been good. In the other he allowed six runs on 12 hits over seven innings.

Steve Lombardozzi walked to start the bottom of the first, but Lee got three ground balls behind him to keep the Nats off the board.

The Phils were up 2-0 when he started the second. He got the first two before Jesus Flores doubled to center. Lee struck Roger Bernadina out looking to end the inning.

Lee started the third with a 3-0 lead. The pitcher Stephen Strasburg led off with a single and Lombardozzi moved him up to second with another single. Lee struck out Bryce Harper for the first out before Danny Espinosa flew to left for the second out. Michael Morse was next and he singled to left, loading the bases for Tyler Moore. Moore grounded to third to leave them loaded.

No runs for the Nationals on three singles in the frame.

Bernadina singled with two outs in the fourth and the Phillies up 6-0. Strasburg grounded out on a ball handled by Lee for the third out.

Lee set the Nats down in order in the fifth, sixth and again in the seventh. Lefty Chad Tracy hit for the pitcher Tom Gorzelanny and flew to right for the third out in the seventh.

Frandsen made a nice play for the first out in the fifth, diving to his right to field a ball hit by Lombardozzi and throwing to first in time to get the out.

Bastardo got the first two hitters to start the eighth. Kendrick took over to strike switch-hitter Espinosa out swinging for the third out.

Bastardo drops his ERA under five to 4.98 with the two outs. He threw to a 9.72 ERA in July.

Kendrick doesn’t allow a run in July, throwing 15 scoreless innings. Opponents hit .154 against him in July and he struck out 13.

Schwimer struck out Moore, Morse and Mark DeRosa in a 1-2-3 ninth with the Phillies up 8-0.

Schwimer has a 1.96 ERA over his last 18 appearances and has struck out 21 in 18 1/3 innings.

Two perfect innings for the pen in which they strike out five without allowing a hit or a walk. Schwimer threw 14 pitches, Bastardo five and Kendrick four.

The Phillies lineup against righty Stephen Strasburg went (1) Rollins (2) Pierre (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Ruiz (6) Nix (7) Mayberry (8) Frandsen. Lefties Pierre and Nix in left and right. Mayberry in center in the first game since the Victorino trade. Victorino on-based .299 and slugged .346 against righties this year. Seems like the Phillies would be able to improve on that, but Mayberry comes into the game on-basing .262 and slugging .256 against righties. Mayberry’s got a lot of work to do as a righty on a team will soon include lefties Pierre, Brown, Schierholtz and Nix in the outfield. I think it’s safe to say that lefty Mike Fontenot is not a favorite of Manuel’s as Frandsen starts against the righty.

Pierre and Utley singled back-to-back with one out in the top of the first. Howard was next and Lombardozzi made a fantastic play to field the ball and shovel to second to start the double-play that set the Phillies down.

Ruiz doubled to right to start the second. Nix and Mayberry both struck out behind him, but Frandsen hit the first pitch he saw from Strasburg out to center, putting the Phils up 2-0. Lee flew to left for the third out.

Pierre singled with one out in the third and stole second. With Utley at the plate, Pierre took off for third. Flores’s throw to third was on the shortstop side of the bag and into left field for an error. Pierre scored and the Phils were up 3-0. Utley flew to center before Howard walked. Ruiz grounded to second to leave Howard stranded.

Mayberry doubled to left with one out in the fourth. Frandsen was next and grounded to short for the second out. Lee was next and singled into right, scoring Mayberry to put the Phils up 4-0. Lee stole second with Rollins at the plate. Rollins hammered a ball to right on a 2-0 pitch. It hit high off the wall as Harper smashed into the wall. Harper stayed on the ground, either because he was dazed or thought the ball was out, and Rollins tore around the bases, making it all the way home for an inside-the-park two-run homer that put the Phils up 6-0. Pierre flew to left for the third out.

Mayberry doubles off the righty to help get the Phillies their first run of the frame.

Howard singled on a ball deflected by the new pitcher, lefty Tom Gorzelanny, with one out in the fifth. Ruiz flew to right for the second out and Nix struck out for the third.

Mayberry singled to start the sixth, but the Phillies went in order behind him.

Howard struck out swinging at a wild pitch by Gorzelanny with two outs in the seventh and made it to first. Ruiz fouled out to Espinosa to leave him at first.

Mayberry walked off of righty Henry Rodriguez with one out in the eighth. Frandsen flew to left for the second out. The lefty Brown hit for Lee and singled to center, moving Mayberry up to third. Rollins grounded to second to leave both runners stranded.

Again Mayberry reaches base against a righty, this time walking against Rodriguez.

Brown delivers a single in his first plate appearance of the year.

Pierre singled off of Rodriguez to start the ninth and moved to second when Utley followed with a walk. Howard was next and again Lombardozzi made a nice play to take a hit away from him, this time diving to his right and throwing to first for the first out as the runners moved up to second and third. Righty Drew Storen came in to pitch to Ruiz. Ruiz grounded to second with Utley moving up to third and Pierre scoring. 7-0. Nix followed that with a single into center. Utley scored and it was 8-0. Mayberry grounded to second for the third out.

Second time in the game Lombardozzi took a hit away from Howard.

Rollins was 1-for-5 in the game with his tenth homer of the season. He hit 208/276/375 in July.

Pierre was 3-for-5, stole two bases and scored two runs. He has 25 stolen bases for the year with four caught stealings and has been picked off just once. He’s 7-for-his-last-17 (.412).

Utley 1-for-4 with a walk. 2-for-his-last-15.

Howard 1-for-4 with a walk and twice victimized by nice plays from Lombardozzi. 2-for-his-last-15 with nine strikeouts.

Ruiz 1-for-5 with a double. 5-for-his-last-21 (.238). July was his worst month of the season and he hit 288/348/513.

Nix was 1-for-5 and struck out three times. 2-for-12 with seven strikeouts since returning from the DL.

Mayberry 2-for-4 with a walk and a double. The walk and the double both come against righties. 271/327/438 in July.

Frandsen 1-for-4 with a two-run homer. First home run for Frandsen since September 30, 2007 when he was with the Giants. 3-for-7 with the Phils so far.

Worley (5-6, 3.88) faces righty Edwin Jackson (6-6, 3.52) tonight. Worley started July with a 2.92 ERA for the year. In July he made five starts in which he threw to a 6.43 ERA and opponents hit .353 against him. Jackson has allowed one run in 14 innings over his last two starts.

The Phillies dropped two of three against the Giants this weekend, losing the first two games before getting a walkoff win on a Rollins single in the tenth yesterday afternoon.

In the series opener, Worley started the sixth with the score tied 1-1. Brandon Crawford hit a grand slam off of him in a five-run frame and the Giants went on to win 7-2. Hamels took a 5-4 lead into the eighth in game two, but San Francisco tied things up on a solo shot by Melky Cabrera and won it 5-4 in the tenth when Cabrera scored on Gregor Blanco’s bunt.

Yesterday Blanton pitched well, Mayberry homered twice and the Phils won 4-3 on walkoff single by Rollins.

After going 4-1 in their first five games to start the second half, the Phils are 1-3 over their last four.

The Phils lost the first two games in the set due mostly to shaky starting pitching. Hamels and Worley combined to allow 11 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings. Blanton was good yesterday, though, and the Phils got an outstanding performance from their wretched bullpen as their relievers combined to throw four scoreless innings in the game.

The Phillies are 42-54 on the year after beating the San Francisco Giants 4-3 in 12 innings yesterday. The Giants take the series two games to one. The Phillies are in last place in the NL East, 14 games out of first place.

Blanton got the start for the Phillies and went eight innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk. Five of the hits went for extra-bases, three doubles and a walk. He struck out six.

Second good outing in a row for Blanton. He has allowed five runs over 16 innings his last two times out and gone eight innings in each start.

Nate Schierholtz was the first batter of the game and he hit a 2-0 pitch from Blanton out to right, putting the Giants up 1-0. Blanton struck out Ryan Theriot before Melky Cabrera doubled to left. Buster Posey grounded to third and Pablo Sandoval flew to center to leave Cabrera stranded.

The game was tied at 1-1 when Blanton set San Francisco down in order in the second. He struck out Angel Pagan, got Brandon Crawford on a ground ball to first and Brandon Belt on a fly ball to right.

Blanton got pitcher Barry Zito and Schierholtz and Theriot behind him in a 1-2-3 third.

Posey singled with one out in the fourth and scored when Sandoval followed with a double to center, putting the Giants up 2-1. Pagan and Crawford both grounded out to leave Sandoval stranded.

It was 2-2 when Blanton set San Francisco down in order in the fifth and again in the sixth.

Pagan singled with one out in the seventh, but was caught stealing before Crawford flew to center for the third out.

Blanton got the first two hitters in the eighth with the Phils up 3-2 — Gregor Blanco hit for Zito and struck out swinging for the second out after Belt grounded to short for the first out. Schierholtz was next, though, and he homered again, hitting a 2-1 pitch out to left to put the Giants back up at 3-2. Theriot followed that with a double and Blanton walked Theriot intentionally. Posey flew to right on a running basket catch by Pence on the warning track to leave both runners stranded.

Bastardo stuck out the side in a 1-2-3 ninth.

Bastardo was pitching for the second day in a row after getting one out in game two of the set. He’s allowed one hit while striking out six in three scoreless innings over his last five appearances, dropping his ERA on the year from 5.34 to 4.83.

Horst struck out the lefty Belt for the first out in the tenth. Righty Justin Christian hit for the pitcher Sergio Romo and singled to center. The lefty Schierholtz flew to Pence for the second out and Kendrick took over to face the righty Theriot. Christian stole second before Theriot fouled out to Ruiz to end the frame.

Horst has a 1.12 ERA and a 1.00 ratio after nine appearances.

Kendrick walked Sandoval with two outs in the eleventh. Pagan flew to left to leave him stranded.

Crawford doubled to center off of Kendrick to start the twelfth. Kendrick struck out Belt on a bunch of pitches off the plate for the first out. Switch-hitter Emmanuel Burriss hit for the pitcher Clay Hensley and Kendrick struck him out on a bunch of pitches off the plate for the second. Kendrick walked the lefty home run machine Schierholtz intentionally to put two men on for Theriot. Theriot flew to left to leave them both stranded.

Another outstanding bullpen performance from Kendrick. His last start was on July 6. Since then he has appeared four times in relief and thrown 5 2/3 scoreless innings. That’s an enormous boost for a terrible bullpen.

Overall the pen went four scoreless innings in the game, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out six. Kendrick threw 40 pitches, so don’t expect to see him anytime soon. Bastardo threw 13 pitches in the game and has thrown two days in a row. Horst threw 12 pitches.

The Phillies lineup against lefty Barry Zito went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Pence (6) Polanco (7) Mayberry (8) Kratz. Utley and Howard both in the lineup against the lefty. Mayberry in lefty and Kratz catching the day game for Ruiz.

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Victorino walked with one out and scored on a triple to right center from Utley. 1-1. Howard was hit by a pitch, but Pence grounded into a double-play to end the inning.

Both lefties reach base against Zito in the frame. Phils don’t score again after putting a man on third with one out.

The Phils went in order in the second.

Blanton and Rollins singled back-to-back to start the third, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Victorino flew to center for the first out. Utley grounded to first with Rollins forced at second for the second. Utley stole second before Howard struck out swinging to leave the runners on second and third.

No run for the Phils after putting two men on with nobody out to start the inning.

Down 2-1, Pence and Polanco went down to start the fourth before Mayberry hit a 3-2 pitch out to left. 2-2. Kratz flew to left to set the Phillies down.

The Phils went in order in the fifth.

Pence reached on a throwing error by Sandoval with two outs in the sixth. Polanco grounded to third for the third out.

Mayberry hit the first pitch he saw in the seventh inning out to left for his second home run of the day, putting the Phillies up 3-2. The Phils went in order behind him.

Second multi-homer game of Mayberry’s career. The other was July 6, 2011.

Lefty Javier Lopez started the bottom of the eighth with the game tied at 3-3. Victorino led off with a single, but Utley hit into a double-play behind him. Howard struck out swinging for the third out.

Polanco singled off of righty Sergio Romo with one out in the ninth. Mayberry struck out for the second out. Ruiz hit for Kratz and flew to right for the third.

Lefty Jeremy Affeldt set the Phillies down in order in the tenth. Nix, double-switched into the game in the top of the inning, struck out swinging for the first out.

First at-bat for Nix since May 9. His injury hurt the Phillies, forcing Mayberry and Wigginton to get way more at-bats against righties than they should have. Mayberry is hitting 208/272/272 against righties for the year in 136 plate appearances. Wigginton 247/293/361 in 181. That’s really not what you’re looking for from first basemen or corner outfielders.

Pence singled off of Affeldt with two outs in the eleventh. Righty Clay Hensley came in to pitch to Polanco and got him on a ground ball to third for the third out.

Righty Brad Penny started the twelfth for the Giants. Wigginton hit for Kendrick and hammered a ball to right, but Schierholtz took it running into the wall in right for the first out. Ruiz followed that with a walk and moved to third when Nix singled into right. Rollins was next and lined a single into center, scoring Ruiz to give the Phils a 4-3 win.

Rollins was 2-for-6 with an RBI in the game. 3-for-14 with a walk and three singles in the series. 256/313/409 for the year. Hitters batting #1 in the lineup for the Phillies have on-based .318 for the season, which is ninth-best in the NL.

Victorino 1-for-4 with a walk. 3-for-12 with a walk in the series. 253/317/387 for the season.

Utley 1-for-5 with a triple and an RBI. 3-for-12 with a triple and a home run in the set. On-basing .231 so far against lefties (in 26 plate appearances). 231/292/400 in 72 plate appearances for the year.

Howard 0-for-4 and struck out three times. 2-for-11 with a walk and two home runs in the series. 182/325/485 in 40 plate appearances.

Pence 1-for-5 with a strikeout. 1-for-12 with a walk in the series. 5-for-his-last-39 (.128). 271/338/457 for the season.

Polanco 1-for-5 to drop his average to .255 on the year. 2-for-9 with a walk and a double in the series. 255/300/328 for the season. 6-for-his-last-49 (.122) with three walks and a double. 211/265/322 against lefties for the season.

Mayberry 2-for-4 with two solo home runs. 2-for-5 in the series. 237/274/397 on the year. Seven of his eight home runs have come against lefties and about 43% of his plate appearances. 208/272/272 against righties and 273/277/556 against lefties. Among the 95 NL players with 75 plate appearances against lefties for the season, Mayberry’s isolated power of .283 is ninth-best and tops among the Phillies.

Kratz was 0-for-3 and struck out twice. 2-for-10 on the year with two home runs.

Halladay (4-5, 3.96) faces lefty Randy Wolf (3-6, 5.60) tonight. Halladay allowed two runs in five innings against the Dodgers in his first start since returning from the DL. Righties are hitting 330/379/533 against Wolf for the season.

One step up and two steps back.

After winning the opening game of the series with the Rays on a walkoff homer by Thome, the Phils lost both games of a double-header yesterday to drop back to six games under .500 for the season.

The series got off to a hopeful start. Bastardo and Papelbon combined to allow three innings in the eighth and ninth as the Phils blew a 6-3 lead, but Thome delivered a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Phils a 7-6 win.

Yesterday they lost the day game of the double-header 3-2 in a heart-breaker. Rollins homered in the bottom of the sixth to give the Phils a 1-0 lead. Hamels threw seven shutout innings, but after 111 pitches he was due to hit third in the bottom of the seventh. With Luna playing third for the Phils, Manuel had Polanco hit for Hamels with two outs and nobody on base. Bastardo started the eighth and walked two of the first three men he faced before allowing a three-run homer to Carlos Pena that put the Rays up 3-1. In the bottom of the eighth, the Phillies put runners on the corners with the score 3-2 and one out. Mayberry struck out for the second out. With a righty on the mound, Thome hit for Qualls and was walked intentionally. The Rays brought on lefty Jake McGee, Martinez hit for himself and flew to right to end the inning. The Phils went quietly in the ninth and lost by a run.

Big questions for Manuel in the game. Among them are why Hamels didn’t start the eighth and why Bastardo did. Bastardo had thrown 29 less than impressive pitches in game one of the set. Others found fault with sending Martinez to the plate to face McGee with two outs and the bases loaded. The biggest issue of all, though, was sending Thome to the plate to face a righty with a base empty in a situation where he was sure to be walked, leaving the Phillies without a legitimate pinch-hitting option against a lefty like McGee.

Cliff Lee was awful as the Phils lost the night game 7-3, allowing five runs over seven innings. He has a 5.10 ERA over his last seven starts and the Phils have lost five of those games. The bullpen was terrible in that game as well. BJ Rosenberg got two outs in the eighth and walked four with the fourth walk forcing in a run. Diekman took over for him with two outs and the bases loaded and walked in another run.

The Phillies are 34-40 on the season after dropping both games of a double-header with the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday. They are in last place in the NL East, nine games behind the first-place Nationals.

They lost the day game 3-2.

Hamels got the start for the Phillies and went seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out seven. He didn’t allow an extra-base hit in the game.

He didn’t allow a runner in the first three innings.

BJ Upton walked to start the fourth, but was picked off of first with Wigginton throwing to Rollins for the first out. Jeff Keppinger and Hideki Matsui singled back-to-back with two outs, putting runners on first and second for Ben Zobrist. Zobrist walked to load the bases, but Hamels got Sean Rodriguez on a fly ball to left to leave them loaded.

He walked Elliot Johnson with one out in the fifth and Johnson stole second with two men down, but Hamels got Upton on a ground ball to short to leave Johnson at second.

After a 1-2-3 sixth, Hamels led 1-0 when he started the seventh. Rodriguez singled with one out, but Hamels got Jose Molina to ground into a double-play to end the frame.

Bastardo started the eighth with a one-run lead. Hamels had thrown 111 pitches in the game. Bastardo walked two of the first three men he faced, putting runners on first and second for the lefty Carlos Pena. Pena hit the first pitch he saw from Bastardo out to right, putting the Rays up 3-1. Qualls took over for Bastardo and got out of the frame on a line out, a walk and a caught stealing.

Bastardo started the inning having thrown 29 pitches the day before. He faced two switch-hitters in Johnson and Conrad, walking Johnson before walking the righty Upton ahead of Pena. I don’t think you can bring in Qualls to pitch to two switch-hitters to start the inning. If you were only picking between Qualls and Bastardo I think it has to be Bastardo, despite the 29 pitches. There are other guys out there, though.

Over his last four appearances, Bastardo has allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings. He has been charged with at least one run in three of the four outings.

Schwimer threw a 1-2-3 ninth.

The Phillies lineup against lefty David Price went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Pence (4) Ruiz (5) Wigginton (6) Mayberry (7) Luna (8) Martinez. Luna at third, Mayberry in left and Wigginton at first. Luna starts a game at third for the first time since 2010 and makes his first ever appearance there with the Phillies.

Rollins led off the bottom of the first with a single, but was caught stealing second before Pence doubled to center. Ruiz struck out looking to leave Pence at second.

The Phillies didn’t have another base-runner till the fifth. With one out, Mayberry was hit by a pitch and moved up to second on a single by Luna. Martinez and Hamels both grounded out to keep the Phils off the board.

Rollins put the Phils up 1-0 when he started the sixth with a home run to left. Victorino followed with a walk and stole second before Pence struck out for the first out. Ruiz was walked intentionally to put men on first and second, but Wigginton and Mayberry both flew to center to leave the runners stranded.

Down 3-1, Polanco hit for Hamels with two outs in the seventh and walked. Rollins grounded to third for the third out.

Manuel uses the right-handed pinch-hitter he will need later with two outs and nobody on, taking Hamels out of the game after 111 pitches. Presumably he did it at least partly so that Polanco could take over for third at Luna with a 1-0 lead.

Down 3-1, Pence doubled to right with one out in the eighth. Ruiz moved him to third with a single and Wigginton singled after that, scoring Pence (3-2) and moving Ruiz to third. With one out and men on the corners, righty Burke Badenhop struck Mayberry out looking 0-2 for the second out. Thome hit for Qualls and was walked intentionally, loading the bases. Lefty Jake McGee came on to pitch to Martinez and Pierre ran for Thome at first. Martinez flew to shallow right for the third out.

Martinez and not Pierre or Fontenot hitting against McGee is fine. I think the big mistake is calling on Thome to hit against the righty Badenhop with the base open. Thome is sure to be walked. How about Pierre or Fontenot hit for Qualls and not wasting Thome?

Huge strikeout for Mayberry with one out, men on the corners and the Phillies down a run.

Rollins singled with one out in the ninth. Victorino struck out for the second out before Rollins stole second. Righty Fernando Rodney struck out Pence to end the game.

The Phillies lost the night game 7-3.

Lee got the start for the Phillies and went seven innings, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, all doubles. He struck out nine.

He gave up a leadoff single to Desmond Jennings in the top of the first, but got Pena to hit into a double-play behind him.

He allowed three runs in the second, allowing a single and a walk to the first two hitters before Rodriguez and Conrad doubled back-to-back. After Conrad’s double, he got the next three to leave Conrad stranded.

Lee threw a 1-2-3 fourth.

The lead was cut to 3-2 when he started the fifth. He walked Jennings with two outs. Jennings stole second before Lee got Pena swinging for the third out.

Lee got the first two in the seventh before Ben Zobrist single and a Rodriguez walk brought Conrad to the plate with two men on. Conrad smashed a double to center, just missing a home run and plating both runners to extend the lead to 5-2. Rodriguez plowed over Schneider at the plate as the catcher waited for the throw and Schneider would have to leave the game. Lee got Jose Lobaton on a ground ball to third for the third out.

It was 5-3 when Lee struck out the side in the seventh.

BJ Rosenberg started the eighth and walked three of the first five batters he faced, loading the bases for Lobaton with two outs. Manuel left Rosenberg in to pitch to the switch-hitter and walked him as well, forcing in a run to make it 6-3. Diekman came on and walked pitcher Brandon Gomes to force in another run. 7-3. He tried to walk Jennings, too, but Jennings struck out swinging at a 3-2 pitch way up and away to leave the bases loaded.

I think it’s a poor idea to leave Rosenberg in to face someone hitting left-handed in any inning in which he has already walked the bases loaded. Just generally, I think if someone walks the bases loaded you want to get him out of the game.

Diekman threw a 1-2-3 ninth.

The Phillies lineup against lefty Cesar Ramos went (1) Rollins (2) Pierre (3) Victorino (4) Pence (5) Polanco (6) Mayberry (7) Schneider (8) Martinez. Pierre in left against the lefty. Schneider catches. Martinez at second. Polanco hitting fifth is atrocious.

Victorino walked and stole second with two outs in the first. Pence walked behind him to put two men on, but Polanco flew to left to leave them both stranded.

The Phils went in order in the second.

Down 3-0, Rollins walked with one out in the third, but Pierre and Victorino both grounded out behind him.

A walk by Pence, a double by Polanco and a Mayberry single to start the fourth got the Phils on the board and cut the lead to 3-2. After putting Mayberry on second with nobody out, the Phils couldn’t get a third run. Schneider popped out. With righty Wade Davis now pitching for Tampa, Fontenot hit for Martinez and grounded out and Lee struck out.

After going in order in the fifth, the Phillies started the sixth down 5-2. Pence led off with a walk and came in to score on a Polanco double. 5-3. Polanco took third on the throw, but was left there when Mayberry struck out, Ruiz popped to second and Fontenot grounded to second.

The Phils can’t bring home the runners from third with nobody out. Mayberry strikes out and Ruiz pops out with a man on third and less than two outs.

The Phils went in order in the seventh.

Down 7-3, Victorino bunted for a single to start the eighth, but was erased when Pence followed and grounded into a double-play. Polanco walked before Mayberry grounded to third.

The Phils didn’t have a base-runner in the ninth.

Rollins was 0-for-3 with a walk in the second game yesterday. He was 5-for-12 with a walk and two homers in the three-game set. 266/316/404 on the year. 392/436/706 over his last 55 plate appearances.

Pierre was 0-for-4 in the game. 2-for-7 with a homer in the series. 322/361/390 for the year.

Victorino 1-for-3 with a walk in the game and 1-for-7 with two walks in the series. 249/320/393 on the year. He’s 10-for-his-last-47 (.213).

Pence 0-for-1 and walked three times. 2-for-10 with three walks and two doubles in the series. 272/341/462 on the year.

Polanco 2-for-3 with a walk and two doubles. 2-for-8 with two walks and two doubles in the series. 273/313/361 on the season.

Mayberry 1-for-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts. In the day game of the double-header, Mayberry struck out for the second out in the bottom of the eighth with men on first and third. In the night game he struck out with Polanco on third and nobody out in the bottom of the sixth. 1-for-11 with four strikeouts in the series. 239/277/402 on the year. He came into the series 11-for-his-last-28 with four home runs.

Schneider was 0-for-2 in his only action of the series and left the game with a right ankle sprain after being bowled over by Sean Rodriguez. Manuel says he will be out a few days in this article. 232/293/362 on the year.

Martinez was 0-for-1 with a strikeout and 0-for-9 with four strikeouts in the series. He’s hitting 133/188/200 for the year and 185/245/268 for his career. The Phillies should consider not starting him every day.

Blanton (6-6, 5.04) faces righty Jeff Karstens (0-1, 4.50) tonight. Six of Blanton’s last seven starts have been terrible — he has thrown to a 7.44 ERA over those seven outings while allowing 15 home runs in 42 1/3 innings. Karstens has thrown just 12 innings over three starts on the year. He will be making his first start since April 17 after missing time with shoulder and hips problems.

The Phillies are going to need to win and win and win if they’re going to find a way to climb out of the enormous hole they’ve dug for themselves. Last night they took a step in the right direction, pounding the Rockies 7-2 behind a big night from Cole Hamels and big blasts by Mayberry and Ruiz.

The pitching in general and the starting pitching in particular have been a huge part of the recent skid for the Phils. With Halladay out, Hamels and Lee have been unable to stabilize the rotation. Coming into last night’s start, Hamels had thrown to a 6.08 ERA over his last four outings while Lee and Hamels had combined to throw to a 5.72 ERA in their six starts in June.

Hamels was great last night, though, holding the Rockies to a pair of runs over eight strong innings while the offense produced seven runs. Mayberry and Ruiz both doubled and hit a two-run homer. Ruiz has been fantastic all year long. Mayberry hasn’t though, and his recent production with the bat is most welcomed by the Phils. At the end of the day on June 12, Mayberry was 2-for-his-last-22 and hitting 221/255/317 in 153 plate appearances for the year. Since then he has gone 8-for-21 with two doubles and four home runs.

The Phillies are 32-37 on the year after beating the Colorado Rockies 7-2 last night. They are 4-12 over their last 16 games.

Hamels got the start for the Phillies and went eight innings, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a double. He struck out seven.

Eric Young was the first batter of the game and reached on an infield single. Marco Scutaro flew to center before Young stole second. It put a man on second for Tyler Colvin and Colvin lined a single to right, scoring Young to put Colorado up 1-0. Michael Cuddyer flew to right for the second out before Hamels walked Todd Helton on four pitches, putting two men on for Jordan Pacheco. Pacheco flew to Mayberry to leave both runners stranded.

Hamels retired Chris Nelson on a fly ball to center for the first out in the second before Wilin Rosario lined a single to center. Hamels walked the pitcher Josh Outman on five pitches, putting men on first and second with one out. He struck Young out swinging and Scutaro out looking to leave them both stranded.

Hamels had allowed three hits and two walks through two innings. You want to avoid walking the pitcher on five pitches with men on base whenever possible. It’s always possible.

He struck Colvin, Cuddyer and Helton all out while setting Colorado down in order in the third.

Five strikeouts in a row.

It was 1-1 when Hamels set the Rockies down in order in the fourth.

The Phils led 3-1 when he threw a 1-2-3 fifth.

The Phillies led 4-1 when Hamels started the sixth. He got the first two before walking Helton. Pacheco was next and singled to center, moving Helton up to second. Nelson was next and he singled passed a diving Rollins and into center, scoring Helton to cut the lead to 4-2. Nelson tried to take second and was thrown out by Victorino to end the frame.

Hamels threw a 1-2-3 seventh. Switch-hitter Dexter Fowler hit for the pitcher Guillermo Moscoso and struck out for the second out.

The Phillies led 7-2 when Scutaro doubled to left-center off of Hamels to start the eighth. Colvin flew to center for the first out. Cuddyer flew to right for the second out with Scutaro moving up to third. Helton grounded to short to leave him stranded.

Hamels throws 113 pitches in the game, including nine in the eighth with a five-run lead.

Qualls pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

Qualls dropped his ERA on the year to 4.23 with the appearance. He’s been charged with one or more runs in just one of his ten appearances in June, but allowed four runs in a third of an inning that time out. Over his last six appearances he’s allowed four hits and no walks over 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He threw ten pitches in the game.

The Phillies lineup against lefty Josh Outman went (1) Rollins (2) Polanco (3) Pence (4) Ruiz (5) Victorino (6) Wigginton (7) Mayberry (8) Martinez. Martinez at second with the lefty Fontenot on the bench. Wigginton at first and Mayberry in left. Pierre on the bench against the lefty.

Down 1-0, Rollins doubled to left to start the bottom of the first. Polanco grounded to third for the first out before Pence moved Rollins up to third with a ground out to second. Ruiz grounded to third to leave Rollins stranded.

No run for the Phillies after the leadoff double by Rollins.

Victorino, Wigginton and Mayberry went in order in the second.

Rollins walked with two outs in the third and came around to score when Polanco followed with a double down the third base line, tying the game at 1-1. Pence fouled out to Helton to leave Polanco at second.

Young made a fantastic diving play in center to take away a hit from Hamels ahead of the Rollins walk. It probably cost the Phillies a run.

Victorino reached on an infield single with one out in the fourth on a ball deflected by Pacheco at third. Wigginton struck out for the second out, but Mayberry was next and he homered to left on a 2-0 pitch, putting the Phils up 3-1. Martinez flew to right for the third out.

Rollins singled with one out in the fifth and took second on a wild pitch before Polanco walked. It put men on first and second for Pence. Righty Guillermo Moscoso came into pitch to Pence and struck him out swinging for the second out. Ruiz was next and he doubled to left, scoring Rollins to put the Phils up 4-1 with men on second and third. Victorino struck out swinging to leave them stranded.

Moscoso set the Phillies down in order in the sixth with the lead cut to 4-2.

Hamels hit for himself to start the seventh and singled to right off of righty Adam Ottavino. Rollins followed that with a walk and Polanco bunted the runners up to second and third with the first out. Pence was next and chopped a ball to short. Hamels did a nice job to come home and score 5-2 with Rollins moving up to third. Ruiz was next and hit laced the first pitch he saw out to left. 7-2. Victorino struck out swinging for the third out.

Not a fan of much of that, but it worked out great for the Phillies. Hamels hits from himself to start the eighth despite having thrown 104 pitches in the game. Also don’t like bunting with your two-hitter with nobody out and a runner on second. Worked well.

Mayberry doubled to left off of lefty Matt Reynolds with one out in the ninth. Martinez flew to right for the second out. Luna hit for Hamels and struck out looking for the third.

Rollins was 2-for-2 in the game with a double and two walks. He’s hitting 344/394/590 over his last 66 plate appearances. 320/363/547 in June after hitting 239/294/308 through the end of May.

Polanco 1-for-2 with a walk, a double and an RBI. He’s 4-for-his-last-24. Polanco and Rollins are both on-basing .312 for the season.

Pence was 0-for-4 with an RBI and five men left on base. 200/284/350 against left-handed pitching for the year. He’s a career 289/348/506 hitter against lefties.

Ruiz 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI.

Victorino 1-for-4 and struck out three times. First time that Victorino has struck out three times in a game since September 7, 2011.

Wigginton 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He’s hitting 132/150/237 over his last 40 plate appearances.

Mayberry 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI. He’s 8-for-his-last-21 with four home runs and two doubles.

Martinez was 0-for-4. He’s 1-for-his-last-20. 193/257/269 for his career.

Joe Blanton (6-6, 4.93) faces righty Alex White (2-5, 5.56) tonight. Blanton broke a string of five atrocious outings in a row with a masterful start his last time out, throwing a complete game and holding the Twins to a run on seven hits and no walks. White has been pretty terrible this year, but dropped his ERA from 6.28 to 5.56 by throwing to a 4.32 ERA over his last three starts.

Freddy Galvis has been suspended for 50 games after a positive test for a performance-enhancing substance.