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The Phillies never got it figured out in 2012, losing their final game yesterday in fitting fashion as the Nats topped them 5-1. Lee made a quality start and took the loss. The pen gave up a pair of runs in the eighth inning and Utley, Howard and Rollins combined to go 0-for-4 in the game with Rollins and Howard sidelined with injuries.

They end 2012 having won 21 fewer regular season games than they won in 2011.

Jimmy Rollins seems unfazed, coming up with this gem after the game that suggests the Nats would have finished second had the Phils been healthy: “It’s all come together for them. So that’s great for them. But with us being healthy, you know, they’re still second place. But we weren’t [healthy].”

Huh?

I’m having a lot of trouble understanding how the Phillies being healthy would have helped the Braves finish ahead of the Nationals.

I’m not even sure that’s what he meant.

Just so we’re all on the same page: The Phillies played baseball for about three hours on 162 different occasions in 2012. That’s a lot of baseball. It showed that they weren’t especially good relative to the teams they were playing against.

They weren’t especially good at scoring runs or preventing them.

They finished 17 games behind the best team in their division.

They paid Halladay, Howard, Utley and Rollins about $66 million to hit a combined 245/324/427 and throw to a 4.49 ERA over 25 starts.

Most fans would agree they have one young impact player in the organization, at least in terms of hitters. He hit .235 for the year and finished the season with numbers very similar to his disappointing 2011 season.

There are some problems here. The expensive core is getting old and looking older than they are. The Phils have close to no chance or replacing them or coming close to replacing them with players currently in the organization. Getting healthy would help, but if you think that’s the only thing the Phillies need, I think you might want to look again.

The Phillies have finished the 2012 season at 81-81, losing 5-1 to the Washington Nationals in yesterday’s final game of the year. The Phils end the year in third place, 17 games out of first and seven games out for the Wild Card. The Nats take the series two games to one.

Lee got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. Six of the hits went for extra-bases — three doubles, a triple and two home runs.

He set the Nationals down in order in the bottom of the first. Pierre made a fantastic play for the second out on a ball hit by Mark DeRosa, reaching up and over the fence to take away a home run.

Michael Morse doubled to left to start the second, but Lee set the Nats down in order behind him to leave Morse at second.

Jayson Werth tripled to center with two outs in the third. Lee got DeRosa on a fly ball to center to leave Werth stranded.

He started the fourth up 1-0. Ryan Zimmerman led off and hit a 1-2 pitch out to right. 1-1. Morse and Tyler Moore doubled back-to-back. 2-1 with nobody out and Moore at second. Lee got Ian Desmond on a foul out to Ruiz for the first out, then struck out Danny Espinosa and Jesus Flores back-to-back to leave Moore stranded.

Ugly start to the frame as the Nats go home run, double, double with their first three hitters.

Through four innings, Lee had allowed three doubles, a triple and a home run and given up just two runs.

Werth singled with one out in the fifth, but Lee got DeRosa and Zimmerman behind him.

Lee struck Morse out to start the sixth before Moore homered 3-2, extending the Washington lead to 3-1. Desmond followed with a single, but Lee struck Espinosa and Flores out back-to-back behind him at first.

De Fratus threw a 1-2-3 seventh. Switch-hitter Steve Lombardozzi hit for pitcher Christian Garcia and flew to right for the first out. Werth popped to third for the second and DeRosa grounded to second for the third.

Three up, three down for De Fratus. He allows five runs on the year over 10 2/3 innings in 13 appearances. Three of the five runs he allowed came in a single outing. He ends the year with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.12 ratio. Righties hit just 130/231/130 against him in 26 plate appearances.

Papelbon started the eighth. Zimmerman led off and walked. Bryce Harper ran for him at first. Morse was next and Papelbon got ahead of him 0-2 before Morse fouled off five pitches, then hit a 1-2 offering out to right-center for a two-run homer. 5-1. Papelbon struck Moore out swinging for the first out and righty Tyson Brummett came on to face Desmond. Desmond singled to left and moved up to second when Espinosa singled to right. It put men on first and second with one out for Flores. Brummett struck him out swinging for the second out. Lefty Chad Tracy hit for the pitcher Sean Burnett and Brummett struck him out swinging 2-2 to end the frame.

Papelbon faces three hitters and they go walk, homer strikeout. He was fantastic this year, ending with a 2.44 ERA and a 1.06 ratio. He came into yesterday’s appearance with an 0.59 ERA and an 0.88 ratio in 30 2/3 innings over his last 31 appearances.

28-year-old Tyson Brummett faces four batters in his debut, allowing singles to the first two before registering back-to-back strikeouts to leave the runners stranded.

Overall the pen goes two innings in the game, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out three.

Everyone should be well-rested of their next appearance.

The Phillies lineup against righty Edwin Jackson went (1) Pierre (2) Frandsen (3) Utley (4) Ruiz (5) Brown (6) Ruf (7) Schierholtz (8) Martinez. Mayberry on the bench with Schierholtz in center. Pierre plays left with Ruf at first for the sidelined Howard. Martinez starts at short for the sidelined Rollins.

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

Ruf walked with two outs in the second and moved to third on a ground-rule double down the left field line by Schierholtz. Martinez grounded to short to leave the runners at second and third.

Frandsen singled with two outs in the third. Utley grounded to second to set the Phillies down.

Ruiz started the fourth with a double and moved up to third when Brown grounded out for the first out. Ruf was next and he flew to center, deep enough for Ruiz to tag and score, putting the Phillies up 1-0. Schierholtz singled to center before Martinez flew to left to end the frame.

The Phillies were down 2-1 when they hit in the fifth. Lee and Pierre struck out back-to-back to start the inning before Frandsen doubled to left. Utley was next and hit the ball well, but Moore handled the line drive at first to leave Frandsen stranded.

Jackson set Ruiz, Brown and Ruf down in order in the sixth.

Schierholtz lined a double to right, his second double of the day, to start the seventh. Martinez flew to left for the first out. Nix hit for Lee and struck out swinging for the second. Righty Christian Garcia came in to face Pierre and got Pierre on a fly ball to center to leave Schierholtz stranded.

Lefty Sean Burnett set the Phillies down in order in the eighth.

Lefty Gio Gonzalez pitched the ninth with Washington up 5-1. Brown fouled out to third for the first out. Ruf struck out swinging 1-2 for the second out. Wigginton hit for Schierholtz and drew a walk. Martinez flew to left and the season was over.

Pierre was 0-for-4 and struck out twice yesterday in his only action of the series. Made a great catch in the first to take a homer away from DeRosa. He finishes the year at 307/351/371.

Frandsen 2-for-4 with a double. 6-for-13 with three doubles in the series. 338/383/451 in 210 plate appearances for the season.

Utley 0-for-4. 0-for-11 with a walk in the series. 256/365/429 for the year. Hit 215/324/355.

Ruiz 1-for-4 with a double. 1-for-8 with a double and a walk in the series. He was hitting 353/413/596 for the year at the end of the day on July 16. 250/345/390 in 116 plate appearances after July 16. Still ends the year at 325/394/540, which is the best year of his career with the bat by a wide margin.

Brown 0-for-4 in the game and 3-for-12 with a double in the series. He plans to have an MRI on his right knee today — let’s hope it reveals 120 ground outs to second that can be removed with a simple and safe surgical procedure. Ends the year at 235/316/396. 196/288/333 against lefties for the season.

Ruf 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts. 3-for-8 with two walks, a triple, two home runs and five RBI in the three-game set. He also struck out five times. 333/351/727 for the year in 37 plate appearances.

Schierholtz 3-for-3 with two doubles. He finishes at 257/321/407 for the year. 273/319/379 with the Phillies in 73 plate appearances. He came into the game hitting 238/290/317 for the year with the Phillies over 70 plate appearances.

Martinez 0-for-4 and left five men on base. 2-for-11 with a strikeout in the series. 174/208/252 for the year.

No game today.

Stadium Journey recently published a new review of Citizens Bank Park.

Coming off of a miserable series in Houston, the Phils got right back in the swing of things last night, winning behind brilliant starting pitching as they topped the Mets 3-1.

Cliff Lee was fantastic, holding New York to a run over eight innings. Some shaky defense from the Mets helped the Phils score a run in the first without a hit or a walk. Rollins hit a ball just out in the fifth and Brown hit another just out in the seventh. New York scored their run in the bottom of the fifth on a bunt single, a sacrifice and a bloop single to left.

Lee continued what has been a tremendous run for him late in the season. He has a 1.63 ERA and an 0.97 ratio over his last seven starts and has struck out 54 in 49 2/3 innings in those outings. The Phillies have won the last five games he has started.

The Phillies are 74-74 on the year after beating the New York Mets 3-1 last night. They’re in third place in the NL East, 16 games behind the first-place Nationals, and 3 1/2 games out in the Wild Card hunt. The Playoff Odds report has them at 0.6%.

Lee got the start for the Phillies and went eight innings, allowing a run on seven hits and one walk. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a double. He struck out ten.

He started the bottom of the first up 1-0. Ruben Tejada led off and singled to left. Lee struck out Daniel Murphy for the first out before David Wright singled to left, putting runners on first and second for Scott Hairston. Hairston grounded to third with Frandsen making a nice play to charge and field, then throwing to second to force Wright for the second out. Lee struck Lucas Duda out swinging 3-2 to leave the runners on the corners.

Lee struck out Jason Bay for the first out in the second before Andres Torres singled to left. Lee struck out Mike Nickeas and the pitcher RA Dickey to leave Torres at first.

Lee’s strikeout of Bay was the 1,500th of his career.

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

Duda doubled to right with one out in the fourth. Bay flew to right for the second out and Torres flew to center for the third.

The Phils led 2-0 when Lee started the fifth. Nickeas led off with a bunt singled and Duda bunted him to second with the first out. Tejada was next and grounded to second for the second out with Nickeas moving up to third. It brought Murphy to the plate and he blooped a single to left, scoring Nickeas to cut the lead to 2-1. Wright struck out looking to leave Murphy at first.

Lee struck out Hairston and Bay in a 1-2-3 sixth.

He started the seventh up 3-1. Torres grounded to third for the first out. Righty Ronny Cedeno hit for Nickeas and popped to Rollins for the second out. Righty Kelly Shoppach hit for the pitcher Dickey and singled to center. Tejada moved Shoppach up to second with a walk, but Lee got Murphy to line to Utley to leave both runners stranded.

Lee set Wright, Hairston and Duda down in order in the eighth.

Papelbon started the ninth, pitching for the first time since September 12. Lefty Jordany Valdespin hit for Bay and fouled out to Frandsen for the first out. Lefty Mike Baxter hit for Torres and flew to left for the second. Ike Davis hit for the pitcher Ramon Ramirez and struck out swinging 0-2 to end the game.

Nothing like Jordany Valdespin facing Papelbon to bring back ugly memories. On May 7, Valdespin hit a three-run homer off of Papelbon in the top of the ninth to break a 2-2 tie.

One scoreless inning for the pen in the game. Papelbon has an 0.73 ERA and an 0.81 ratio in 24 2/3 innings over his last 25 appearances. He’s allowed five runs in that period, three of which were unearned. He’s struck out 33.

He threw 12 pitches in the game. Looked great.

Again, Papelbon did not pitch in the four-game set with the Astros as the bullpen collapsed.

The Phillies lineup against righty RA Dickey went (1) Rollins (2) Mayberry (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Ruiz (6) Schierholtz (7) Brown (8) Frandsen. Pierre on the bench with Schierholtz in right and Brown in left. Mayberry moves up to second in the order, which is really high given that he can’t hit right-handed pitching. Frandsen plays third.

Rollins led off and struck out swinging on a ball not handled by Nickeas, allowing Rollins to take first. He moved up to second on a bad pickoff throw by Dickey that went for an error. Mayberry grounded softly to Dickey for the first out and Rollins moved up to third. Utley hit a ball to shallow center that was taken by Torres took for the second out. Rollins tagged and came home. Torres’s throw was terrible, Rollins was safe and the Phils led 1-0. Howard went down on a ball handled by Dickey to end the frame.

Bad defense in the inning helps the Phils score a run without a hit or a walk. Rollins reaches on passed ball, takes second on the error by Dickey and scores on a miserable throw from Torres in center.

Ruiz started the second with a single. Schierholtz struck out swinging for the first out before Ruiz took second on a balk. Brown struck out swinging for the second out. Dickey walked Frandsen intentionally to get to Lee. Lee grounded to first to set the Phillies down.

Nutty to walk Frandsen intentionally there. The Phils get another free base on the balk.

Rollins and Mayberry struck out to start the third before Utley singled to right. Howard flew to left to leave Utley at first.

Brown tripled to center with two outs in the fourth. Frandsen grounded to short to leave him at third.

First triple of the year for Brown and the second of his career.

With one out in the fifth, Rollins hit an 0-1 pitch to right center that was ruled a home run after review, putting the Phils up 2-0. Mayberry and Utley went down behind him.

Rollins’s home run was originally ruled a triple. Replays show the ball went off the roof of the New York pen and back onto the field and not off the top of the wall.

The lead was cut to 2-1 when the Phillies hit in the sixth. Howard and Ruiz struck out as the Phils went in order.

Brown led off the seventh and hit an 0-1 pitch off the top of the wall in right and just out for a home run. 3-1. Frandsen and Lee went down before Rollins drew a walk. Mayberry flew to left to leave Rollins at first.

Fourth home run of the year for Brown and his second extra-base hit in two at-bats. Tejada made a nice sliding play to take a hit away from Frandsen for the first out.

Lefty Robert Carson pitched the eighth for the Mets. Utley led off with a single, but Howard grounded into a double-play behind him. Ruiz grounded to third to set the Phillies down.

Lefty Josh Edgin struck out Schierholtz and Brown to start the ninth. Righty Ramon Ramirez came in to pitch to Frandsen. Frandsen popped to the catcher for the third out.

The Phillies didn’t use a pinch-hitter or a defensive substitution in the game — the only change for the game was Papelbon replacing Lee to pitch the ninth. Don’t know how often that happens. Not very.

Rollins was 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run. The Phillies scored three runs in the game. Rollins hit a home run to account for one of them. He scored another in the first as the Phillies scored without a hit or a walk. He’s 11-for-his-last-27 with six walks and four home runs (407/500/889). He has hit 19 home runs since June 6 (256/324/493 over 407 plate appearances).

Mayberry 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He’s 2-for-his-last-11. He now has the same number of plate appearances on the year as a Phillie that Victorino does. Mayberry 258/313/422 in 413 plate appearances, Victorino 261/324/401. Victorino was a lot better defensively in center. Neither of them hit right-handed pitching at all, but Mayberry was a little worse awful. Victorino on-based .375 against lefties while Mayberry on-based .327, but with enormous power (although Victorino had very good power numbers against lefties as well).

Utley 2-for-3 with an RBI. 414/548/483 over his last 42 plate appearances with nine walks.

Howard 0-for-4 with a strikeout and grounded into a double-play. 180/261/246 so far in September.

Ruiz 1-for-4. He’s 1-for-his-last-13.

Schierholtz 0-for-4. 3-for-19 since returning from the DL.

Brown 2-for-4 with a triple, a home run and two strikeouts. 286/405/657 over his last 42 plate appearances. He suggests in this article that his success last night might have had something to do with letting it eat.

Frandsen 0-for-3 with a walk. He’s hitting .341 over his last 47 plate appearances.

Tyler Cloyd (1-1, 4.95) faces righty Matt Harvey (3-5, 2.92) tonight. Cloyd has struggled in two straight starts, allowing seven runs on 12 hits over seven innings. In each of his last two starts he has allowed a three-run homer. Lefties are hitting 379/455/621 against him so far. Harvey struck out ten Nationals in five innings in his most recent start. Cloyd and Harvey faced each other on August 29, which was Cloyd’s first start of the season. The Mets won that game 3-2.

The Phillies continued to roll this weekend, sweeping the Rockies in a three-game set to get within two games of .500.

They won Friday’s opener 3-2 on a walkoff single by Schierholtz in the bottom of the ninth. Lee pitched into the seventh and a pinch-hit double by Nix in the bottom of that inning tied the game at 2-2. Schierholtz singled Rollins home with one out in the bottom of the ninth to get the Phillies the win.

Saturday’s game was rained out and played as part of a double-header yesterday.

The Phillies won the day game of the double-header 3-2. Hamels allowed a pair of runs on four hits in the top of the second to put the Phils in an early 2-0 hole. A two-run double by Howard in the bottom of the fourth tied the game at 2-2. Mayberry singled to left with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, plating Schierholtz to give the Phils a 3-2 win.

The Phillies flipped their recent script in the night game of yesterday’s double-header as they won without good starting pitching, scoring a ton of runs in the game with the help of five errors from the Rockies. An RBI-single by Martinez in the second gave the Phillies an early 1-0 lead, but Cloyd struggled in his third career start. He lasted just four innings, allowing four runs in a top of the fourth that featured a three-run homer by Chris Nelson. The Phils roared back with the help of some miserable defense by the Rockies, though. Howard drove in two unearned runs with a long single in the fifth, cutting the lead to 4-3. They pulled ahead with two more in the sixth, getting a home run from Wigginton to start the inning and another unearned run that came home on an infield single by Frandsen. 5-4. More bad defensive play from Colorado in the seventh kept the inning alive long enough for Ruiz and Schierholtz to deliver RBI-singles as the Phils plated two more unearned runs.

The bullpen was outstanding for the Phillies in the series, throwing 9 2/3 scoreless innings as the Phils came out on top in a pair of one-run games. In the night game of yesterday’s double-header, they threw five scoreless innings in which they allowed one hit and two walks after Cloyd departed after just four innings.

The Phillies are 69-71 on the year after beating the Colorado Rockies 7-4 in the second game of a double-header last night. The Phils sweep the series and are 8-2 over their last ten games. They are in third place in the NL East, 17 games behind the first-place Nationals. 24-14 since trading away Victorino and Pence. The Nationals are the only team in the NL with a better record since the end of the day on July 29 (the Nats are 25-14).

Cloyd got the start for the Phillies and went four innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, a double and a three-run homer. He struck out two.

After three starts, Cloyd has thrown to a 4.24 ERA with a 1.29 ratio. He’s walked just three batters in 17 innings, but opponents are hitting .279 against him. He has struck out 16.

Dexter Fowler was the first hitter of the game and he doubled to right. Cloyd got the next three to leave him at second, though, getting Charlie Blackmon on a fly ball to center for the first out, Jordan Pacheco on a fly ball to left for the second and Tyler Colvin on a popup to Utley for the third.

Chris Nelson singled off of Cloyd with one out in the second. DJ LeMahieu flew to right for the second out before Jonathan Herrera moved Nelson to second with a single to left. Cloyd struck the pitcher Drew Pomeranz out looking to leave the runners stranded.

The Phils led 1-0 when Cloyd started the third. Fowler led off with another hit, a single this time. Blackmon was next and grounded back to Cloyd. Cloyd went to Rollins to start a double-play that cleared the bases. Pacheco and Colvin followed that with back-to-back singles, putting runners on first and third for Ramon Hernandez. Hernandez singled to center, scoring Pacheco to tie the game at 1-1 with men on first and second for Nelson. Nelson hit the first pitch from Cloyd out to left, putting Colorado ahead 4-1. LeMahieu lined to Utley for the third out.

Third home run Cloyd had allowed in 15 2/3 innings. That one didn’t come at a good time. He allows four hits, three singles and a home run, in a row with two outs.

Cloyd walked Fowler with two outs in the fourth. Blackmon flew to left to leave Fowler at first.

De Fratus took over for Cloyd in the fifth and set the Rockies down in order.

Solid inning for De Fratus. He has now made three appearances for the Phillies on the year in which he has allowed no hits and two walks over 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

It was 4-3 when BJ Rosenberg struck Nelson and Herrera in a 1-2-3 sixth.

Rosenberg drops his ERA on the year to 11.37 with his 16th appearance. Lefties are on-basing .579 against him for the year, which should go near the top of his list of stuff to work on.

Lindblom started the seventh with the Phillies up 5-4. Righty Matt McBride hit for the pitcher Edgmer Escalona and flew to center for the first out. Lindblom walked Fowler and Fowler took second on a wild pitch before Lindblom walked Blackmon on four pitches. Lindblom got Pacheco to fly to center for the second out and Diekman came on to face the lefty Colvin. Righty Josh Rutledge hit for Colvin and grounded to short to end the frame.

Lindblom faces four batters and walks two of them before Diekman comes and has to get the righty Rutledge to get the Phils out of the jam.

Opponents are hitting just .167 against Lindblom in his 15 1/3 innings since he joined the Phils, but he has walked 13.

Huge out for Diekman to get the righty after the Rockies hit for Colvin. Like Lindblom, he’s walked way too many hitters in his time with the Phillies in 2012. He’s allowed 16 walks in 22 innings.

Up 7-4, Aumont threw a 1-2-3 eighth. He struck Nelson out swinging for the second out.

Aumont pitched in both games of the double-header, going 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the games combined to drop his ERA to 1.42 after seven appearances. He’s the guy whose walks we should really be worried about, but he hasn’t walked a batter in 4 1/3 innings over his last five appearances.

Papelbon was on for the ninth. He struck out the first two batters he faced before Fowler doubled to left. Lefty Jason Giambi hit for the lefty Blackmon and Papelbon got him on a fly ball to left to end the game.

Papelbon also pitched in both games of the double-header, getting the win in the afternoon and the save in the night game. Two scoreless innings on the day combined drops his ERA to 2.52 for the season. He’s allowed two earned runs in 21 2/3 innings over his last 22 outings.

Overall the pen went five scoreless innings in the game, allowing one hit (Fowler’s double off of Papelbon) and two walks while striking out six.

Aumont and Papelbon both pitched in two games yesterday. Papelbon threw 12 pitches in game two and Aumont threw nine. De Fratus threw 17 pitches in the game. Lindblom and Rosenberg each threw 16. Diekman threw eight.

The Phillies lineup against lefty Drew Pomeranz went (1) Rollins (2) Mayberry (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Wigginton (6) Brown (7) Martinez (8) Lerud. Martinez at third with Frandsen sidelined with a stress fracture in his leg. Mayberry moves up to second in the order. Lerud catches the second game of the double-header with a lefty on the mound for Colorado.

Utley singled with two outs in the bottom of the first, but Howard struck out to leave him at first.

Wigginton doubled to left to start the bottom of the second. Brown struck out for the first out before Martinez singled to center, scoring Wigginton to put the Phils up 1-0. Lerud grounded into a double-play to set the Phillies down.

The Phils were down 4-1 when they hit in the third. Mayberry walked with two outs and moved up to second on a single by Utley. Howard flew to the left fielder Blackmon in foul territory to leave them both stranded.

With two outs in the fourth, Martinez reached on an error by Nelson at third. Lerud grounded to first behind him.

Righty Josh Roenicke started the fifth for Colorado. Pierre hit for De Fratus and grounded to short for the first out. Rollins fouled out to Nelson for the second. Mayberry was next and hit a ball to third that Nelson didn’t handle for an error. He moved up to second when Utley followed and blooped a single to left. Mayberry probably would have been picked off at second if Roenicke’s pickoff throw was handled. It wasn’t. It went into center and the runners moved up to second and third before Howard hit a ball off the wall in right. Both runners scored, cutting the lead to 4-3, but Howard was thrown out trying to stretch his single into a double.

Two-out error by Nelson opens the door to a pair of runs for the Phils on back-to-back singles. Mayberry was picked off at second, the Rockies just didn’t the ball and it kept the inning alive.

Wigginton homered off of Roenicke to start the sixth. 4-4. Brown flew to center for the first out before Martinez singled to center. Ruiz hit for Lerud and moved Martinez up to third with a single to left. Nix hit for Rosenberg and the lefty Matt Reynolds came in to pitch for him. Frandsen hit for Nix and reached on a dribbler towards third that went as an infield single. Martinez scored (5-4) and Ruiz moved up to second. Rollins loaded the bases with a single to left. Righty Edgmer Escalona came in to pitch for Mayberry. Lee ran for Frandsen at second and Mayberry struck out swinging for the second out. Utley grounded to third to leave the bases loaded.

Phils can’t get more after loading the bases with one out. Mayberry strikes out swinging 2-2 for the second out.

Righty Will Harris got Howard and Wigginton to start the seventh before Brown doubled to right. Martinez hit a ground ball to short that Herrera didn’t handle for an error that left men on first and third for Ruiz. Ruiz singled to right, scoring Brown (6-4) and moving Martinez to third. Schierholtz hit for Diekman and singled to right, scoring Martinez (7-4) and moving Ruiz to second. Rollins hit a ball to first that Pacheco didn’t handle for another error, loading the bases for Mayberry. Mayberry grounded to the pitcher to end the inning.

Two more errors from Colorado with two outs lead to two more unearned runs.

Righty Rafael Betancourt set the Phillies down in order in the eighth. Orr hit for Aumont and struck out swinging for the third out.

Rollins was 1-for-5 in the game and 3-for-14 with a walk in the series. He’s hitting 245/304/411 for the year. 5-for-his-last-26.

Mayberry was 0-for-4 with a walk. 2-for-9 in the series with five walks. He had the game-winning hit in game two of the set. 255/308/427 for the year. 302/378/508 in 143 plate appearances since Victorino and Pence were traded. He’s walked 15 times in those 143 plate appearances. Prior to the trades of Victorino and Pence he had walked 12 times in 253 plate appearances with a .269 on-base percentage.

Utley 3-for-5 in the game and 4-for-12 in the series with three walks and four singles. 247/350/445 on the year. He came into yesterday’s game 6-for-his-last-38 (.158).

Howard 1-for-5 with two RBI. 2-for-11 with a walk and a double in the series. 236/320/436 on the year.

Wigginton 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. 2-for-8 with a double, a home run and four strikeouts in the series. 235/308/381 on the year. 189/264/326 in 148 plate appearances since June 8.

Brown 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout. 3-for-11 with a walk and a double in the series. 243/320/339 for the year. 179/281/250 in 32 plate appearances against lefties.

Martinez 2-for-4 with an RBI. He started all three games of the series and went 4-for-9 with an RBI. 149/196/218 for the season in 93 plate appearances. 182/240/264 in 327 puzzling career plate appearances, all with the Phillies.

Lerud 0-for-2 in the game and 2-for-10 on the season.

Kendrick (8-10, 3.96) faces lefty Wade LeBlanc (2-3, 2.72) tonight as the Phils play the Marlins. Kendrick has a 2.18 ERA in his 15 appearances since the start of July. His last seven appearances have been starts and he has gone 4-2 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.03 ratio. LeBlanc spent much of the year at Triple-A and joined the Marlins early July. He pitched out of the pen at first, throwing to a 1.15 ERA in 11 appearances before joining the rotation. He’s made six starts on the year, throwing to a 3.51 ERA with a 1.35 ratio. In his 14 relief appearances for the year he’s thrown to a 1.37 ERA with an 0.97 ratio.

The Phillies came up short last night as the old guard folded late and the Reds beat them 5-4 to even the series at a game apiece.

The Phils went into the top of the seventh with a 1-0 lead, but Lee allowed three runs in a top of the seventh that included errors by Howard and Utley. Bastardo allowed a solo homer in the eighth and Papelbon allowed a solo homer in the ninth.

The Phillies allowed five runs after the start of the seventh inning.

Kevin Frandsen was outstanding in the game and his effort is hard to ignore as the Phils think about 2013 and their never-ending gaping hole at third. He had three hits, including a triple with two outs in the eighth inning that tied the game at 4-4 and upped his average on the year to .350 after 80 at-bats. He also made two spectacular diving plays at third base, one of which came in the sixth as the Phils held a one-run lead with the bases loaded, following them up with throws from his knees in time to get the runner.

Kratz was merely 1-for-4 with a double last night, but he’s slugging .723 in his 65 at-bats with the Phils this year.

Less spectacular was Antonio Bastardo, who allowed yet another home run in the top of the eighth to put the Phils behind 4-3. Since the end of May, Bastardo has thrown to a 7.71 ERA and allowed seven home runs in 23 1/3 innings. The Phils are apparently willing to go the extra mile to make Bastardo their eighth inning guy, but that’s really not working in dramatic fashion and hasn’t been for a long time.

The Phillies are 57-66 on the year after losing to the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 last night. The teams have split the first two games of the series. They are still tied for third place in the NL East, 20 games behind the first-place Nats. If they went 39-0 in their remaining games, the Phils would finish with six fewer wins than they had in 2011.

Lee got the start for the Phillies and went 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and a walk. Only two of the runs were earned. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, all doubles. He struck out nine.

The Phillies have lost three games in a row that Lee has started and are 7-15 in his starts for the year.

He struck out Zack Cozart and Drew Stubbs for the first two outs in the top of the first before Brandon Phillips doubled to center. Ryan Ludwick flew to Brown in right for the third out.

The Phillies were up 1-0 when Lee started the second. He struck Jay Bruce out for the first out and got Scott Rolen on a fly ball to right for the second before Todd Frazier doubled. Ryan Hanigan lined to Rollins to leave Frazier at second.

Lee struck out the pitcher Homer Bailey and Stubbs in a 1-2-3 third.

He struck out Phillips and Bruce as he set the Reds down in order in the fourth.

Hanigan singled with two outs in the fifth. Lee got Bailey looking behind Hanigan to leave Hanigan at first.

Singles by Cozart, Stubbs and Phillips loaded the bases to start the sixth. Ludwick hit a ball hard to third, but Frandsen made a fantastic play, diving to his left to make the play and then throwing strong to home from his knees to force Cozart for the first out. Bruce was next and Lee got him to ground into a double-play to keep the Reds off the board and the Phils still ahead 1-0.

Huge play by Frandsen.

Lee didn’t have as much luck getting out of his jam in the seventh. Rolen led off with a double and Frazier walked behind him. Hanigan was next and twice tried to bunt and fouled it off. Swinging away 1-2, he singled into center. Rolen scored from second, tying the game at 1-1. Howard didn’t handle the throw in from center and the ball got away around the mound, allowing the runners to move up to second and third with nobody out. Lee struck out Bailey for the first out before Cozart hit a fly ball to center deep enough for Frazier to tag and score, putting the Reds up 2-1. Stubbs was next and lined a single to left, scoring Hanigan from second. 3-1. Rosenberg came in to pitch to the righty Phillips. Phillips hit a ground ball to second that Utley didn’t handle for another error, putting runners on first and second. Rosenberg struck out Ludwick to leave them there.

Two errors for the Phillies in the frame. Whether you think it cost them a run or not depends on whether you think anyone could take a base on the Cozart fly out for the second out if the runners were on first and second rather than second and third and how many runs you think would have scored on the Stubbs single. I don’t think it’s likely that Frazier goes from second to third on Cozart’s ball had he been on second.

Rosenberg was pitching for the second straight day for the first time in his career. Big strikeout of Ludwick with two men on for the final out of the inning. Actually faced two man in the frame and handled both, but one was safe on the Utley error.

Bastardo started the eighth with the score tied at 3-3. He got the first two before Frazier hit an 0-1 pitch out to left. 4-3. Hanigan walked and righty Miguel Cairo hit for the pitcher Sean Marshall. Cairo struck out looking to leave Hanigan at first.

Bastardo was also pitching for the second straight day. 7.71 ERA since the end of May.

Papelbon started the ninth with the game tied again, this time at 4-4. Cozart was the first batter he faced and Cozart hit his first pitch out to left. 5-4. Papelbon got the next three. Frandsen made another outstanding defensive play to get the second out on a grounder by Phillips, diving to make the play and again throwing from his knees in time to nip the runner.

Almost saw Phillippe Aumont make his debut in the ninth. He was warming in the eighth before the Phillies tied things up.

Papelbon was charged with his first run since July 21 when he gave up a run in his second inning of work to the Giants. He came into the game having thrown 10 1/3 scoreless innings.

The bullpen goes 2 1/3 innings in the game for the Phillies, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out four. They are out-bullpened by the Reds, who allow a run in 2 2/3 innings on four hits and two walks.

Rosenberg has pitched two days in a row, but threw six pitches last night and two in the first game. Bastardo has also thrown two days in a row. He threw 17 pitches yesterday and ten in game one.

The Phillies lineup against righty Homer Bailey went (1) Rollins (2) Pierre (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Mayberry (6) Brown (7) Frandsen (8) Kratz. Again, Mayberry can’t really hit fifth against a righty and break up four lefties 2-4 and another lefty in the six-hole.

Rollins led off the bottom of the first and hit a ball that Phillips didn’t handle at second for an error. Pierre flew to center for the first out before Utley moved Rollins to third with a single. Howard was next and hit a ball off the base of the wall in right. Rollins scored to put the Phils up 1-0, but the ball rolled right to Bruce in the outfield and Utley had to hold third. It brought Mayberry to the plate with runners on the corners. He roped a ball just foul down the left field line before striking out for the second out. Brown got ahead 3-1 and then struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch on a ball that looked real low.

Howard smoked the ball, but it goes right back to Bruce and costs the Phils a run. Mayberry strikes out with one out and a man on third to keep the Phillies from getting more.

Kratz and Lee struck out as the Phils went in order in the second.

Utley singled to right with two outs in the third, but Howard struck out swinging to leave him at first.

Frandsen singled with two outs in the fourth, but Kratz grounded to short to end the inning.

Rollins singled to right with one out in the fifth. Pierre popped to Cozart before Rollins was caught stealing for the third out.

Utley was hit by a pitch to start the sixth. Howard lined to left and Mayberry hit into a double-play.

The Phillies were down 3-1 when they hit in the seventh. Frandsen singled with one out and moved to third on a double by Kratz. Nix hit for Rosenberg and lefty Sean Marshall came in to pitch to him. Wigginton hit for Nix and walked, loading the bases for Rollins. Rollins doubled to left, scoring Frandsen and Kratz to tie the game at 3-3 with men on second and third and one out. Pierre bunted on a safety squeeze and Marshall made a fantastic play, getting to the play and throwing across his body in time for Hanigan to apply the tag and avoid Wigginton’s attempt to separate him into two distinct entities. Utley lined to second to leave the runners at first and third.

Righty Jonathan Broxton started the eighth for the Reds with the Phils down 4-3. He walked Howard and Martinez ran for Howard at first, but Mayberry grounded into another double-play, his second in two at-bats, to clear the bases. Brown was next and hit a hard ground ball to second that went through Phillips and was called a single. It put a man on for Frandsen and Frandsen tied the game with a triple to right that scored Brown. 4-4. Kratz grounded to third to leave Frandsen stranded.

Phillips should have made the play on the ball hit by Brown. Calling that a hit instead of an error is a gift. Martinez running for Howard might have mattered a lot — Howard’s spot was on-deck in the bottom of the ninth when Utley struck out swinging to leave Rollins at third.

Lefty Aroldis Chapman started the ninth with the Reds up 5-4. Polanco hit for Papelbon and reached on an infield single. Rollins was next and bunted, but too hard. Chapman fielded and threw to second where Polanco was just out for the first out. Chapman struck out Pierre. Rollins stole second and then third before Utley struck out swinging to end the game.

The Phils have to send the lefty Pierre to the plate with close to no chance of getting a hit against Chapman cause they’re out of righties. The stolen bases by Rollins in the inning could have been key. Chapman overpowered Utley, but had the option to pitch around him with Martinez and not Howard due to hit next for the Phils after Martinez ran for Howard in the eighth.

Rollins was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. He came into the series 1-for-his-last-19, but he’s 3-for-10 in the first two games of this set. He stole two bases that could have been critical in the ninth and was caught stealing in the fifth.

Pierre was 0-for-5 with a strikeout and five men left on base.

Utley 2-for-4 with an error that didn’t hurt the Phils. He’s 6-for-his-last-14.

Howard 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and an error that did hurt the Phillies in the seventh.

Mayberry 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He grounded into two double-plays and left four men on base.

Brown was 1-for-4 with a single on a ball that is often called an error.

Frandsen 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.

Kratz 1-for-4 with a double.

Worley (6-8, 4.11) faces righty Bronson Arroyo (9-7, 3.96) tonight. Opponents have hit .367 against Worley over his last three starts as he’s thrown to a 7.90 ERA. He has a 5.92 ERA in his nine starts since the end of June. Arroyo has walked just 27 in 150 innings this year, which is the best walk rate of his career. He’s been a lot better against righties (238/275/381) than he has against lefties (305/336/480).

The Phillies scored three runs in a game for the third straight time yesterday afternoon and this time the pitching wasn’t good enough to make it stand up. Cliff Lee was fantastic, but the bullpen wasn’t and the Dodgers topped the Phils 5-3 in 12 innings.

Lee allowed a solo homer to Juan Rivera, just one of two hits he would allow over eight innings, in the second. The Phils came back with a run in the fourth to tie things up at 1-1 on a single and a stolen base by Victorino and an RBI-single by Ruiz. Nobody scored again until the tenth, when Pence delivered another clutch two-run single, putting the Phils up 3-1. Papelbon, pitching for the third straight day, couldn’t nail down the save, though, as the Dodgers scored a pair of runs on four hits in the bottom of the tenth to tie things up again at 3-3. Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer off of Diekman in the bottom of the twelfth.

You shouldn’t count on winning too many games when you score three runs, but the bullpen is still the biggest problem for the Phillies. Six relievers for the Phils combined to allow four runs over 3 1/3 innings in the game. Manuel appears to have confidence in just about nobody in the bullpen, doing everything he can to make sure the guys he does have to use get favorable left-right match-ups. It makes for a lot of pitching changes — four of the six guys the Phillies used in relief in the game got one out or no outs. Kendrick, probably the second safest option in the pen after Papelbon, faced one hitter in the game.

And Papelbon looks like he’s wearing down himself. He was pitching for the third straight day in yesterday’s game and threw 32 pitches in the game. He got Sunday off after getting five outs on Saturday. He’s allowed at least one run in five of his last ten appearances, throwing to a 6.97 ERA with a 1.74 ratio in those outings. After hitting .200 against him in his 22 appearances through the end of May, opponents have hit .284 against him in his 15 outings since the start of June.

The Phillies are 41-52 on the year after losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 in 12 innings yesterday afternoon. The Phils take the series two games to one. They’re still in last place in the NL East, 14 games behind the Nationals.

Lee got the start for the Phillies and went eight innings, allowing a run on two hits and one walk. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a home run. He struck out four.

The Phillies have lost seven of the last eight games Lee has started. He’s been very good over his last three starts, allowing two earned runs or fewer in each of the three while throwing to a 2.05 ERA with an 0.95 ratio.

He threw a 1-2-3 first, getting Tony Gwynn and Mark Ellis on ground outs and Matt Kemp swinging.

Juan Rivera led off the second and hit a 1-0 pitch out to left, putting the Dodgers up 1-0. Lee got Jerry Hairston, Juan Uribe and Luis Cruz in order behind Rivera.

LA went in order again in the third. Lee got AJ Ellis to fly to center, pitcher Clayton Kershaw on a grounder to short and Tony Gwynn on a ground ball deflected by Lee to Rollins for the third.

The game was tied 1-1 when Lee threw a 1-2-3 fourth.

LA went in order again in the fifth.

AJ Ellis singled to left to start the sixth and Kershaw bunted him to second with the first out. Gwynn flew to Mayberry for the second out before Lee walked Mark Ellis, putting two Ellisi aboard for Kemp. Lee struck Kemp out swinging 0-2 to leave both runners stranded.

Huge strikeout for Lee to get the righty Kemp with two men on in a tie game.

Rivera, Hairston and Uribe went in order in the seventh.

Lee had thrown 84 pitches through seven innings. He had allowed one hit and one walk since Rivera’s homer to start the bottom of the second.

He threw a 1-2-3 eighth. Lefty Adam Kennedy hit for Kershaw with two outs and grounded to short to end the inning.

Kershaw threw 120 pitches in the game.

Bastardo started the ninth. Mark Ellis singled with one out. Kendrick came in to pitch to Kemp and struck him out for the second out. Lefty Andre Ethier hit for Rivera and Horst came in to pitch to Ethier. Ethier singled to right, moving Ellis up to third. Schwimer came in to pitch to the righty Hairston. Ethier moved up to second on defensive indifference and Schwimer walked Hairston, loading the bases for Uribe. Lefty James Loney hit for Uribe and Schwimer struck him out swinging 2-2 to end the frame.

Huge strikeout for Schwimer to get Loney and keep the game alive. The Phillies use four pitchers in the inning, which is a lot for a game that ended with a righty homering off of a lefty in the twelfth. Kendrick faces just one batter in the game, which hurts a lot (although striking out Kemp in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game with a man on is a good out to get if you’re just going to get one).

Papelbon started the tenth with a 3-1 lead. Cruz led off and lined a double to left. Papelbon struck out AJ Ellis for the first out. Lefty Bobby Abreu hit for the pitcher Scott Elbert. Papelbon got ahead of Abreu 0-2, but Abreu blooped a 2-2 pitch down the third base line and the ball fell in shallow left field for a single. Cruz scored and the lead was cut to 3-2. With Gwynn at the plate, Abreu stole second. Gwynn hit a swinging bunt on a 3-1 pitch that dribbled off the third base side of the mound for another single, moving Abreu up to third. Papelbon struck Mark Ellis out swinging 0-2, which brought Kemp to the plate with two down, men on the corners and the Phils still up a run. Kemp hit Papelbon’s first pitch in the hole between short and third. Rollins made a fantastic effort, backhanding and making a strong throw to first, but Kemp just beat it out for another infield single. Abreu scored to tie the game at 3-3 with men on first and second for Ethier. Ethier flew to left to leave both runners stranded.

Four hits in the inning for the Dodgers. Cruz’s double was hit hard. Abreu’s single to left was a bloop, Gwynn reached on a swinging bunt dribbler and Kemp just beat out an infield single.

Big stolen base for the 38-year-old Abreu allows him to move up to third on one infield single and score on another.

Diekman started the eleventh. Cruz doubled to left with two outs and Diekman walked the righty AJ Ellis intentionally to pitch to the pitcher Josh Lindbloom. Righty Matt Treanor hit for the pitcher Lindbloom and grounded to Rollins to end the inning.

Diekman was back to start the twelfth. He walked righty Mark Ellis with one out, bringing Kemp to the plate. The righty hit a 1-0 pitch from Diekman well out to center, giving LA a 5-3 win.

Second time Kemp delivers, tying the game with the infield single in the tenth and winning it in the twelfth.

The pen goes 3 1/3 innings in the game, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks. Four of the six pitchers who pitched for the Phillies after Lee left got one out or no outs.

Papelbon has a 5.52 ERA over his last 14 appearances going back to June 4.

Off day today, so everyone should be available on Friday. Papelbon threw 32 pitches and Diekman 30.

The Phillies lineup against lefty Clayton Kershaw went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Ruiz (5) Pence (6) Wigginton (7) Polanco (8) Mayberry. Utley plays against the lefty with the off-day tomorrow. Howard and Pierre on the bench. Wigginton at first and Mayberry in left. Mayberry is slugging .505 against lefties for the year, so I’d hit him ahead of Polanco (who’s on-basing .283 against left-handed pitching this season).

The Phillies went in order in the first and again in the second.

They started the third down 1-0. Polanco lined softly to second for the first out. Mayberry was next and hit a ball to Uribe at third. Uribe fielded, but his throw to first was bad for an error. Lee bunted Mayberry to second with the second out, but Rollins struck out swinging to leave him there.

Victorino singled to left to start the fourth and stole second after Utley flew to center for the first out. Ruiz was next and singled into center, scoring Victorino to tie the game at 1-1. Pence struck out and Wigginton flew to right to leave Ruiz at first.

Polanco, Mayberry and Lee went in order in the fifth.

Utley and Ruiz singled back-to-back with two outs in the sixth, putting runners on first and second for Pence. Pence grounded to second to leave both men stranded.

Wigginton, Polanco and Mayberry went in order in the seventh.

Kershaw had thrown 101 pitches through seven innings.

Lee hit for himself to start the eighth and struck out. Rollins grounded to short for the second out before Victorino doubled to left. Utley grounded to second to set the Phillies down.

Lee had thrown 84 pitches in the game when he hit for himself to start the eighth.

Righty Kenley Jansen started the ninth and got the first two hitters. Howard hit for Wigginton and singled to right. Polanco walked behind him and Pierre ran for Howard at second. Mayberry walked on five pitches to load the bases and Pridie hit for Lee. Pridie flew to left on a 1-2 pitch to leave them loaded.

Righty Javy Guerra walked Rollins to start the tenth and Victorino bunted Rollins to second with the first out. Guerra walked the lefty Utley intentionally, putting two men on for Ruiz. Ruiz walked and the bases were loaded. Pence chopped a single into left, scoring Rollins and Utley to put the Phils up 3-1. Lefty Scott Elbert came in to pitch to Pierre and got Pierre to hit into a double-play to end the frame.

Second time in two games that Pence comes up with a clutch two-run single. Didn’t win the game this time.

Mayberry singled off of righty Josh Lindbloom with one out in the eleventh and the game tied at 3-3. Fontenot hit for Papelbon and struck out for the second out. Rollins struck out to leave Mayberry stranded.

Victorino singled off of righty Jamey Wright to start the twelfth. Victorino stole second and the righty Wright walked Utley intentionally. Ruiz flew to left for the first out. Pence was next and grounded to third with Utley forced at second for the second. Pierre grounded to second to leave both runners stranded.

Nothing for the Phils after putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Ruiz can’t move anybody up with the first out. Pierre leaves two men on to end the tenth and the twelfth.

Rollins was 0-for-5 with a walk in the game. 2-for-12 with two walks, a double and a home run in the series. 258/314/417 for the year.

Victorino 3-for-5 with a double and two stolen bases in the game. 6-for-12 with a double and a triple in the series. 254/317/392 on the year.

Utley 1-for-4 with two walks. 1-for-11 with three walks in the series. 226/288/340 in 59 plate appearances for the year.

Ruiz 2-for-5 with a walk and an RBI. 3-for-11 with two walks and a double in the set. 350/413/586 on the season.

Pence 1-for-6 with two RBI. 3-for-12 with two walks and four RBI in the series. He’s had huge hits in three of the last four games — two run singles in each of the last two and a three-run homer on Sunday. 277/344/470 for the season.

Wigginton 0-for-3. 0-for-4 in the series. 239/312/387 for the year. 171/241/303 over his last 83 plate appearances. He’s hitting .216 against lefties for the season, but with a lot of walks and power (216/344/432).

Polanco 0-for-4 with a walk. 1-for-11 in the series. 256/300/327 on the year. 4-for-his-last-40.

Mayberry 1-for-4 with a walk. 1-for-5 with a walk in the set. 233/272/370 for the season. The Phillies need him to at least hit lefties and he’s on-basing .265 against them (260/265/490).

The Phillies don’t play today. Giants at home on Friday.

You shouldn’t count on winning when you score three runs, especially when you have just about the worst bullpen in the National League, but the Phillies figured out how to get it done last night and beat the Dodgers 3-2 behind a strong effort from Joe Blanton.

Home runs from Rollins and Howard helped the Phils to an early 3-0 lead. Blanton mowed LA down through the first five innings before the Dodgers got a run in the sixth and another in the seventh. Blanton came back to throw a 1-2-3 eighth and Papelbon kept LA off the board in the ninth.

Third straight win for the Phillies. They have now gotten a quality start in five straight games and the starters have thrown to a 2.60 ERA in those games. Prior to this stretch they had not gotten more than two quality starts in a row since May 18.

The game featured the first home run of the year for Ryan Howard, who’s still just 3-for-20 on the season. Shane Victorino, miserable at the plate this year, delivered with the bat for the third straight day, going 3-for-4 with another triple. He’s 6-for-12 over the last three games and he and Rollins are providing suddenly providing a spark at the top of the lineup for a Phillies team desperate for wins.

The Phillies are 40-51 on the year after beating the LA Dodgers 3-2 last night. They have won three in a row and remain in last place in the NL East, 13 games behind the first place Nationals.

Blanton got the start for the Phillies and went eight innings, allowing two runs on six hits, five singles and a double. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven. Three of his last four starts have been pretty good.

He threw a 1-2-3 first.

Up 1-0, he set the Dodgers down in order in the second.

The Phillies were up 2-0 when he started the third. Blanton got Luis Cruz on a ground ball to short for the first out before AJ Ellis singled to left on a ball deflected by Rollins. The pitcher Nathan Eovaldi was next and tried to bunt, but struck out looking at a 1-2 pitch for the second out. Jerry Hairston lined to first to end the inning.

The Phils led 3-0 when Blanton started the fourth. Mark Ellis led off and singled into center. Matt Kemp flew to center for the first out before Andre Ethier moved Ellis up to third with a single to right. Juan Rivera was next and he hit a ground ball to third. Polanco fielded and threw home where Ruiz tagged out Ellis for the second out. With men on first and second and two down, Blanton struck James Loney out looking 2-2 to end the inning.

Blanton keeps LA off the board after they put runners on the corners with one out. Strikes out the lefty Loney with two men on to end the inning.

Blanton set the Dodgers down in order. Righty Juan Uribe hit for the pitcher Eovaldi and flew to center for the third out.

Hairston doubled to center to start the sixth. Ellis was next and hit a ball to Utley. Utley fielded and threw to first, but Howard didn’t handle the throw for an error that left LA with runners on first and third and nobody out. Kemp was next and he grounded into a double-play. Hairston scored from third to cut the lead to 3-1. Blanton got Ethier on a fly ball to right to set LA down.

Very strange error on Howard. The ball was chopped in-between first and second. Utley moved right to get the ball and threw to first in the air, but Howard just didn’t catch it. The ball seemed to hang between his glove and wrist for a split second and fell to the ground.

Rivera and Loney singled back-to-back to start the seventh, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Cruz hit a ball handled by Blanton and Blanton threw to second to force Loney for the first out. With runners on first and third, Blanton struck Ellis out swinging 1-2 for the second out. Lefty Bobby Abreu hit for the pitcher Tolleson and Blanton’s first pitch to Abreu was in the first and through Ruiz’s legs. Rivera scored from third, cutting the lead to 3-2, and Cruz took second. Blanton flew to center to leave Cruz at second.

Second defensive misplay for the Phils in two innings. Howard doesn’t catch the throw from Utley in the sixth and the ball goes through Ruiz with a runner on third. Both runs were earned, but Blanton did a nice job working around both of the miscues.

Blanton threw a 1-2-3 eighth with a one-run lead.

He threw 110 pitches in the game, including 15 in the bottom of the eighth. The bottom of the eighth ended with Blanton striking Kemp out swinging 1-2. If you see Blanton facing Matt Kemp in a one-run game in the eighth inning when he’s already thrown 105 pitches in the game it’s probably a good sign there’s not a whole lot of faith in the bullpen.

Papelbon started the ninth. Rivera singled with one out and Tony Gwynn ran for him at first. Loney grounded to second for the second out with Gwynn moving up to second. The lefty Adam Kennedy hit for the righty Cruz and Gwynn stole third. Kennedy got ahead in the count, but popped a 2-0 pitch up to Utley to end the game.

Third appearance in a row for Papelbon in which he has not been charged with a run coming off a string where he allowed runs in four of five outings. He was also coming off of an outing on Saturday where he went 1 2/3 innings. He threw 18 pitches last night.

The Phillies lineup against righty Nathan Eovaldi went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Ruiz (6) Pence (7) Pierre (8) Polanco. Pierre hits seventh against the righty with Victorino hitting second despite miserable numbers against righties. Polanco at third against the righty with the lefty Fontenot on the bench.

Victorino reached on an error by the shortstop Cruz with one out in the top of the first, but Utley hit into a double-play behind him.

Ruiz doubled to left with one out in the second. Pence struck out for the second out before Pierre singled to right center, scoring Ruiz to put the Phils up 1-0. Polanco grounded to short for the third out.

With one out in the second, Rollins hit a 3-2 pitch out to right. 2-0. Victorino followed with a single and moved up to second when Utley grounded out for the second out. Eovaldi delivered a 2-2 pitch to Howard, which was taken for ball three, but Ellis threw to second where Victorino was way off base between second and third and tagged out to set the Phillies down.

Howard hit the first pitch of the fourth inning out to left, putting the Phils up 3-0. Ruiz and Pence walked back-to-back, putting two men on for Pierre. Pierre flew to Ethier at the wall in right and Polanco hit into a double-play behind him.

Good demo of why you don’t want to get picked off of second base with Howard at the plate. Phils didn’t have a lot of runs to give away in this one.

Victorino tripled to left with two outs in the fifth, but Utley lined out to first behind him.

Third triple for Victorino in three games. He will lead the league in triples if he continues at this pace. Tied for sixth right now. Dexter Fowler leads the NL with nine.

Righty Shawn Tolleson set the Phillies down in order in the sixth. The lead was cut to 3-1 when Tolleson set the Phils down in order in the seventh.

It was 3-2 when lefty Scott Elbert walked Rollins to start the eighth. Victorino moved Rollins up to second with a single. Utley popped to short for the first out and Howard hit into a double-play behind him.

Nothing for the Phils after putting men on first and second with nobody out.

Righty Ronald Belisario struck out Ruiz, Pence and Mayberry in order in the ninth.

Mayberry is hitting 205/265/270 in 132 plate appearances against righties for the year.

Rollins was 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run. 10-for-his-last-30 with four walks and six extra-base hits. 304/357/585 over his last 185 plate appearances, which started on May 29. Coming into the game on May 29, he was hitting 230/286/286 on the year over his first 215 plate appearances.

Victorino 3-for-4 with a triple. 6-for-12 with a walk, a double and three triples over the last three games.

Utley was 0-for-4 and left five men on base. He’s 6-for-his-last-33 (.182) with no walks.

Howard 1-for-4 with a home run and an error. 3-for-20 on the year.

Ruiz 1-for-3 with a walk and a double. 8-for-his-last-19 with three doubles and a home run. He’s on-basing .413 for the year, but his walk rate is way down. Coming into the season he had walked in about 11.1% of his plate appearances for his career. This season he has walked in about 5.6% of them. If he’s going to keep slugging .600 (okay, .596) I think it’s a fine plan.

Pence was 0-for-3 with a walk and struck out three times. He’s 1-for-his-last-18 with nine strikeouts.

Pierre 1-for-3 with an RBI. He also hit a ball to the wall in right in the fourth. He’s 4-for-his-last-6.

Polanco 0-for-3 and left three men on base. He’s 3-for-his-last-32 (.094) with a walk and three singles.

Halladay (4-5, 3.98) returns tonight against a Dodger pitcher TBD. Halladay threw to a 1.95 ERA over his five April starts, then went 1-3 with a 6.11 ERA in May as opponents hit .312 against him. Righty John Ely (NR) is a popular guess for the LA pitcher. Ely made five appearances for the Dodgers in 2011, including one start. 8-6 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.18 ratio in the PCL in 18 starts in 2012.