Philliesflow.com

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.

The Phillies got Roy Halladay back last night, but it was Hunter Pence and the bullpen that stole the show as the Phils topped LA 3-2 for their fourth straight win.

A Jimmy Rollins double in the game’s first at-bat helped get the Phils an early 1-0 lead. Halladay gave up a pair of runs in the second and left after five innings with the Phils still down 2-1. The pen didn’t budge after he left, though, and Hunter Pence delivered a two-out, two-run single in the top of the eighth to put the Phillies on top to stay.

Five relievers combined to throw four scoreless innings after Halladay left the game. The bullpen came into the game having thrown to a 7.00 ERA over its last 15 games and a 5.33 ERA over its last 77 games.

The Phillies are 41-51 on the year after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 last night. They have won four in a row and remain in last place in the NL East, 13 games behind the first place Nats. They have allowed four runs in their last two games, winning two one-run games in a row despite scoring three runs in each of the two games.

Halladay got the start for the Phils and went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a double. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.

Up 1-0, Halladay threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, but it took 18 pitches. Six to get unlikely leadoff hitter Bobby Abreu looking, five more to get Mark Ellis looking and seven to get Matt Kemp to fly to left.

Andre Ethier singled to right to start the second and moved to third on a double by Adam Kennedy. James Loney was next and the lefty lined a single into left field, scoring Ethier to tie the game at 1-1 and moving Kennedy up to third. Luis Cruz followed that with a single into center. Kennedy scored and LA led 2-1 with men on first and second and nobody out. AJ Ellis was next and lined to Utley for the first out with Utley throwing to first to double off Cruz. With pitcher Stephen Fife at the plate for his first career plate appearance, a wild pitch by Halladay allowed Loney to take third before Halladay got Fife looking to leave him stranded.

Another long inning for Halladay. Twenty pitches in the frame had him at 38 for the game after just two innings. The Dodgers hit him well in the frame. Three singles and a double. He struck out the pitcher in the first plate appearance of his career for one of them and got another on a bad base-running play by Cruz. The Ellis line drive was a soft liner — Cruz was way too far off of base and was doubled off easily.

Ellis singled with one out in the second, but Kemp grounded into a double-play behind him.

Kemp is a good guy to get out if you want to beat the Dodgers. So far in the series he’s 1-for-8 with a single and has grounded into two double-plays in the series.

Just ten pitches in the frame for Halladay.

He struck out Ethier and Kennedy in a 1-2-3 fourth.

With two outs in the fifth, the pitcher Fife hit a ball that Halladay handled, but Halladay’s throw to first was bad and Fife was safe on the error. Abreu grounded to first to leave Fife stranded.

Fife’s ball was chopped to the third base side of the mound. Halladay didn’t handle it cleanly then picked it up and threw in the dirt to first.

Schwimer started the sixth. He got the righties Ellis and Kemp for the first two outs. The lefty Horst came in to pitch to the lefty Ethier and hit him with a pitch. Kennedy flew to right for the third out.

I think there’s a lot to like there in a one-run game. Schwimer gets Kemp out. Then Manuel brings in the lefty to pitch to Ethier.

First outing for Schwimer after being charged with three runs while getting two outs against the Rockies. Horst was pitching for the first time since July 8. He has allowed one hit and two walks over 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his six appearances with the Phillies this year. Manuel doesn’t seem so impressed — see his first appearance since July 8.

Kendrick pitched the seventh. Ellis singled with two outs, but Kendrick got Gwynn to pop to Polanco to set LA down.

The bullpen needs all the help they can get and that’s a huge inning from Kendrick. Kendrick to the bullpen isn’t enough to fix what’s wrong, but it’s a start.

Kendrick was back to start the eighth with the Phils up 3-2. He got the first two hitters before Kemp singled to right. Bastardo came in to pitch to the lefty Ethier and struck him out looking 3-2 to leave Kemp stranded.

Again, great job by the pen. Righties on righties and a big strikeout for Bastardo against the lefty Ethier.

Fantastic job out of the pen for Kendrick in the game. He got five huge outs in a one-run game and allowed two singles. Between one start and two reliefs appearances, he’s throw ten scoreless innings in July with an 0.70 ratio. He has a 6.23 ERA as a reliever this year with most of the ugly coming on May 9 against the Mets when he was charged with five runs in an inning. He has a 1.17 ERA as a reliever over 7 2/3 innings in his other six appearances.

Bastardo struck out the only batter he faced in the game. 5.10 ERA for the year and 8.22 ERA over his last 16 appearances since the end of May. Four lefties in the pen (Horst, Diekman, Savery and Bastardo) and Bastardo is still the guy facing lefties in a one-run game in the eighth.

With the Phils still up a run, Papelbon set the Dodgers down in order in the ninth. Righty Juan Rivera hit for pitcher Kenley Jansen and struck out looking 1-2 to end the game.

Papelbon was pitching for the second day in a row. He’s struck out six in 4 2/3 scoreless innings over his last four appearances.

Just a fantastic game for the bullpen. Halladay leaves after five and the relievers combine to throw four shutout innings in which they allow two singles and don’t walk a batter.

The Phillies lineup against righty Stephen Fife, making his major league debut, went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Ruiz (6) Pence (7) Pierre (8) Polanco. Polanco again against the righty with Fontenot on base. Pierre in left.

Rollins doubled to right to start the game and Victorino bunted him to third with the first out. Utley grounded to first for the second out with Rollins scoring to put the Phillies up 1-0. Howard grounded to Ellis for the third out.

Phils manufacture a run with a double, a bunt and a ground out to give them the early lead. I’d rather see Victorino try to get a hit, but if they were looking for one run they sure got it.

Pence walked with one out in the second and moved up to second when Pierre followed with a single to right. Polanco flew to right for the second out and Halladay grounded to second to leave both runners stranded.

Nothing for the Phils after putting two men on with one out.

Down 2-1, the Phillies went in order on three ground outs in the third.

Howard walked to start the fourth and took second on a wild pitch by Fife, but was left there when Ruiz and Pence both grounded out and Pierre flew to right.

Polanco singled softly to right to start the fifth and Halladay bunted him to second with the first out. Rollins struck out swinging and Victorino grounded out to leave him there.

Howard walked with one out in the sixth and again took second on a wild pitch with Ruiz at the plate. Ruiz flew to second for the second out. Pence was next and he singled into center, a little to the left field side of Kemp. Howard tried to score from second, but he’s really slow. Kemp’s throw was a little up the third base side of the plate and the play at the plate was very close, but Ellis dove back to apply the tag Howard was called out for the third out.

Very close play at the plate. Looked safe to me at the time. Howard is still very slow either way. Should be able to score on a single to center with two outs.

That was it for Fife in the game. He held the Phillies to a run on four hits and three walks over six innings.

Righty Josh Lindbloom set the Phillies down in order in the seventh. Pridie hit for with two outs and flew to center.

Pridie is 3-for-8 on the year and 1-for-4 as a pinch-hitter.

Righty Ronald Belisario started the eighth with the Dodgers still up a run. He came into the game with a 1.67 ERA and an 0.90 ratio for the year. He was pitching for the second straight day after needing just 11 pitches to strike out Ruiz, Pence and Mayberry in a 1-2-3 ninth in the first game of the set. Rollins and Victorino went down on a pair of ground balls to start the inning before Utley walked on four pitches. Belisario hit Howard in the foot 1-2 to put runners on first and second. Mayberry ran for Howard at first. Belisario hit Ruiz 3-2 to load the bases for Pence and righty Kenley Jansen came on to pitch to Pence. Pence hit a ball up the middle for a single. Utley and Mayberry both scored, putting the Phils up 3-2. Kemp threw Ruiz out going to third for the third out.

Pinch-running for Howard turns out to be a great idea. Second outfield assist of the game for Kemp. The Dodgers leave Belisario in to face the lefties Utley and Howard with two outs and neither of them on. He doesn’t get either of them out and both of them end up scoring (Howard in the person of Mayberry). Scott Elbert is the lefty in the pen for LA. He had thrown 21 pitches in game one of the set.

Ruiz was hit by a pitch for the 14th time this season in the inning. There’s only one player in either league other than Ruiz who has been hit by a pitch more than nine times this season — Josh Willingham has been hit 11 times for the Twins.

Jansen set the Phillies down in order in the ninth. Wigginton hit for Bastardo and flew to left for the third out.

Rollins was 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout in the game. He’s 7-for-his-last-19 with five extra-base hits.

Victorino 0-for-3. He bunted Rollins over to third with the first out of the second inning, which allowed Rollins to score on Utley’s ground out. 6-for-his-last-15. Still hitting just 228/289/322 against right-handed pitching for the season.

Utley 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. 6-for-his-last-36 with one walk. 7-for-34 against righties (.207).

Howard 0-for-1 with two walks and a hit by pitch. 3-for-21 at the plate (.138) with a .308 on-base percentage.

Ruiz 0-for-3 with a hit by pitch. He’s hitting .349 for the year and on-basing .411. All the hit by pitches (14) are helping to hide the fact that he’s not drawing nearly as many walks this year as he has in previous seasons. He’s only got 17 walks for the year — he’s walked just three more times than he’s been hit by pitch. With zero hit by pitches instead of 14, he’d been hitting .349 and on-basing .383 instead of hitting .349 and on-basing .411. He has .062 points of on-base percentage — .034 from walks and .028 from being hit by pitches. From 2009-2011, he hit .281 for the Phils and on-based .376. Of those .095 points of on-base percentage, about .010 came from being hit by pitches 20 times in 1,284 plate appearances and about .083 came from walking 150 times in those PA.

Pence 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI. He came into the game 1-for-his-last-18.

Pierre 1-for-4 with a strikeout. 343/382/424 against right-handed pitchers for the season. 171/190/171 (7-for-41 with seven singles) against lefties.

Polanco 1-for-4 with a single. 4-for-his-last-36 (.111) with a walk and four singles.

Lee (1-6, 3.92) faces lefty Clayton Kershaw (7-5, 2.84) this afternoon. The Phillies have lost six of the last seven games that Lee has started and are 4-11 in his starts for the year. Both of his starts in July have been good — he’s 1-1 with a 2.57 for the month. Kershaw has allowed two earned runs or less in four of his last five starts. He’s allowed one home run in 32 1/3 innings over his last five outings.

First, a disclaimer. Today’s post is about Game Score. I understand Game Score isn’t a great stat for a whole lot of reasons. That said, I think we can use Game Score to help illustrate part of what’s wrong with the Phillies so far in 2012.

One day, maybe not too long from now, people are going to remember back fondly to the 2008 Phillies and how Halladay and Lee and the starting rotation led the Phils to World Series glory. That will be wrong, of course. Halladay and Lee weren’t on the 2008 Phillies and the rotation wasn’t very good at all. Myers, Kendrick and Eaton combined to make 79 starts for the Phillies in which they threw to a 5.14 ERA with a 1.51 ratio.

The relievers were the part of the 2008 team that dominated. The offense was very good, but the bullpen was great. Phillie relievers threw to a 3.22 ERA in 2008, the best mark in the league.

In 2012, the Phillies have played 81 games and won 36 of them. Looking at those 81 games, though, and using Game Score as the measure, in 46 of them the combination of the Phillies starting pitcher and the Phillies offense was better than the combination of the other team’s starting pitcher and their offense.

The Start Log tracks the Game Score of the starting pitcher for the Phillies for each game as well as the Game Score for the Phillies’s opponent. It also tracks, for each game, whether the Game Score for the Phillies starting pitcher was better or worse than the Game Score for the starting pitcher of their opponent. Here’s the team’s actual record in 2008 and in 2012 and the number of games the Game Score for their starting pitcher was better or worse than the Game Score of their opponent.

So, in 2008, the Phillies actually went 92-70. In those 162 games, though, the Game Score of their starting pitcher was better than the game score of their opponent just 77 times.

So far in 2012, the Game Score of the starting pitcher for the Phillies have been better than the Game Score of the opponent’s starting pitcher in 46 of 81 games.

The Phillies haven’t won 46 games this year or even come close. In 2008, they won 15 games more (92 for the year) than the number of games in which the Game Score for their starting pitcher was better than the Game Score for the other team’s starting pitcher. In 2012, they have won ten fewer games than the number of games in which the Game Score of their starting pitcher was better than the Game Score of the other team’s starting pitcher.

So if the Phillies had just won the game in which their offense and starting pitcher combined to be better than the other team’s offense and starting pitcher (at least according to Game Score), they would be 46-35 right now instead of 36-45.

They didn’t.

There have been three games this season that the Phillies won when the Game Score of their starting pitcher was better than the Game Score of the other team’s starting pitcher. There have been 13 games in which the Game Score of the Phillies starting pitcher was better than the Game Score of the other team’s pitcher and the Phillies lost.

Here are the three games that they won despite a worse game score:

• May 1: Phillies 4, Atlanta 2. Hamels Game Score 56, Brandon Beachy’s Game Score 61. The Phils go in to the top of the eighth tied 2-2 and score two runs off of Jonny Venters.
• May 24: Phillies 10, St Louis 9. Blanton 19, Westbrook 21. Blanton and Westbrook were both terrible in the game, but Blanton a little worse according to Game Score. The Phils scored four runs charged to the St Louis bullpen after Westbrook left while the Cardinals scored just two runs in 4 2/3 innings off of the Phillies pen after Blanton left.
• May 30: Phillies 10, Mets 6. Lee 51, Dillon Gee 56. Lee allows three runs over six innings while Gee allows two runs over 6 2/3. Both pens are terrible in the game, but the Phillies outscore the Mets 7-3 after the end of the seventh inning.

That’s the complete list of games so far in 2012 when the Game Score of the other teams starting pitcher has been better than the Game Score of the pitcher for the Phillies and the Phillies have won the game anyway.

Here’s the list of the games the Phillies have lost despite a better Game Score from their starter. This one’s longer (13). For one thing it happened in two of the first three games of the season:

• April 7: Pittsburgh 2, Phillies 1 (ten innings). Lee 66, Jeff Karstens 59. Lee and Karstens both pitch well. The game goes to extra-innings and the Pirates win it with a run off of Blanton on a double, a hit batter and a single.
• April 8: Pittsburgh 5, Phillies 4. Worley 62, James McDonald 57. Worley and McDonald both pitch well with Worley a little better. Both starters are gone after six innings with the Phils up 2-1. The Phillies score two off of the Pirate pen in the seventh to go up 4-1, but two runs off of Stutes in the bottom of the inning cut the lead to 4-3. Kendrick and Bastardo combine to allow a run in the bottom of the eighth, with Matt Hague singling off of Bastardo to drive in Andrew McCutchen and tie the game at 4-4. Herndon allows a leadoff double to Casey McGehee to start the bottom of the ninth and the Pirates win the game on a walkoff single by McCutchen off of Herndon.

After dropping two in a row over the first three games of the season, it didn’t happen again until early May.

• May 7: Mets 5, Phillies 2. Halladay 65, Niese 52. Halladay pitches way better than Niese, allowing two runs over seven innings while Niese allows two runs over five. The teams go into the ninth inning with the score tied at 2-2 and Papelbon allows a three-run homer to Jordany Valdespin.
• May 8: Very next day. Mets 7, Phillies 4. Blanton 52, Batista 39. Blanton leaves in the seventh with the Phils up 4-2, one out and runners on first and second. Qualls allows a two-run single with both runs charged to Blanton (4-4) and Bastardo allows another RBI-single, which puts the Mets up 5-4. Schwimer is charged with two runs in the top of the ninth.
• May 9: Third day in a row. Mets 10, Phillies 6. Lee 59, Gee 37. Lee outpitches Gee and leaves up 4-2 after six innings. Kendrick allows three runs in the seventh (down 5-4) and comes back to start the eighth for reasons unknown. He’s charged with two more in the eighth, one of which scores on a two-run shot by Ike Davis off of Contreras. Contreras is charged with two more runs in the seventh and Sanches allows a solo homer in the ninth.
• May 12: Padres 2, Phillies 1. Halladay 64, Edinson Volquez 59. Bullpen didn’t blow anything in this one. Halladay allowed two runs over seven innings while striking out ten, giving him a better Game Score than Volquez, who allowed a run over six innings.
• June 5: Dodgers 2, Phillies 1. Lee 70, Chad Billingsley 63. Blame this one on Manuel, not Game Score or the pen. Lee and Billingsley are both very good. Lee starts the eighth with a 1-0 and allows hits to four of the first five men he faces, the last of which is a two-run double to Elian Herrera on his 122nd pitch of the game.
• June 7: Dodgers 8, Phillies 3. Hamels 51, Aaron Harang 46. Dodgers lead 4-3 after six. Phillies don’t score in the last three innings. Qualls faces six men in the ninth. One reaches on an error and the other five get hits as he is charged with four runs in a third of an inning.
• June 9: Baltimore 6, Phillies 4. Worley 62, Tommy Hunter 51. All three runs Worley allows over six innings are unearned. Thome singles home Pierre in the top of the eighth to tie the game at 4-4. BJ Rosenberg makes his major league debut in the bottom of the twelfth and faces two batters, walking Chris Davis before giving up a walkoff homer to Adam Jones.
• June 10: Baltimore 5, Phillies 4. Lee 48, Hammel 43. Hammel and Lee both allow four runs over six innings. Savery starts the bottom of the tenth. Jones reaches on an error by Wigginton with one out before Matt Wieters’s walkoff double wins the game for Baltimore.
• June 15: Toronto 3, Phillies 0. Worley 62, Drew Hutchison 52. Toronto starter Hutchison has to leave after two-thirds of an inning (Game Score is virtually worthless in games where a starter leaves very early due to injury). Worley goes seven innings and allows three runs, all three of which are unearned. The Toronto bullpen throws 8 1/3 scoreless innings.
• June 21: Colorado 4, Phillies 1. Worley 61, Jeff Francis 54. Worley starts the seventh with a 1-0 lead and allows a two-run homer to Chris Nelson with two outs. Schwimer allows a two-run homer to Wilin Rosario in the ninth.
• June 24: Tampa Bay 3, Phillies 2. Hamels 75, Price 70. Hamels throws seven shutout innings and Bastardo starts the eighth up 1-0. Bastardo walks two of the first three men he faces before giving up a three-run homer to Carlos Pena. The Phils score a run on three hits in the bottom of the eighth but lose by a run.

For nine of those 13 I would say the pen at least a major contributor to the loss if not the primary cause (4/7, 4/8, 5/7, 5/8, 5/9, 6/7, 6/9, 6/10 and 6/24).

More generally, whether it is a failure by their offense or a failure by their bullpen, the Phillies are not winning when they get solid starting pitching.

Here are the records the Phillies have put up in games where their starter recorded a Game Score of 51-70 over the last six years:

Year	Record	Winning PCT	% of games
2012	22-19	.537	50.6
2011	45-25	.643	43.2
2010	47-20	.701	41.4
2009	42-21	.667	38.9
2008	47-19	.712	40.7
2007	41-18	.695	36.4

A higher percentage of the games in that 51-70 window for the Phillies this year with worse results. The Phils are 22-19 (.537) in 2012 in games in that window. Coming into the 2012 season they were 222-103 (.683) in games where their starter had a Game Score in that range.

The next update to Philliesflow won’t be until Thursday.

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The problem for the Phillies isn’t that they fail to grasp the seriousness of their situation or elevate their level of play. The problem is that they do and that they have and they keep losing anyway. The Phils have battled for just about every at-bat over the last handful of games, but Rays and the Pirates haven’t seemed that impressed. After losing 5-4 yesterday afternoon, the Phils are 2-4 over their last six games.

They’ve still got plenty of time to get it going, but they didn’t start yesterday. Kendrick had a hide-your-eyes ugly first inning that saw the Pirates score five runs by the time they sent their seventh batter of the game to the plate. The pitching was great after that, Kendrick tossed six scoreless frames and new additions Sanches and Horst combined to throw two more, but the Phils couldn’t quite climb all the way back as their rally fell a run short.

So somebody needs to get in there an kick the flux capacitor or something. Cause right now all I can picture is a rather exasperated-looking Charlie Manuel firing off an “I’m giving her all she’s got, Captain!” and the only response to this point has been a diverse group of opposing players hitting the ball all manner of hard and far against an equally diverse group of Phillie pitchers.

The Phillies are 36-42 on the year after losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 yesterday afternoon. The teams split the four-game series. The Phils are in fifth place in the NL East, nine games behind the first place Nationals.

Kendrick got the start for the Phillies and went seven innings, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks. Two of the hits went for first inning home runs, a three-run blast and a solo shot.

Kendrick has a 7.67 ERA over his last five starts. Opponents have hit .294 against him and he’s allowed five home runs and 15 walks over 27 innings.

Drew Sutton was the first batter of the game and reached on an infield single on a ball deflected by Kendrick. Neil Walker followed that with a walk, putting runners on first and second for Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen flew to right for the first out with Sutton tagging and moving up to third. With men on the corners, Garrett Jones singled to right, scoring Sutton to put the Pirates up 1-0 with men on first and second for Casey McGehee. McGehee hit a 1-2 pitch from Kendrick out to left-center. 4-0. Alvarez was next and homered to right. 5-0. Kendrick struck out Clint Barmes for the second out and got Michael McKenry on a fly ball to left for the third.

Kendrick got the first two batters to start the second before Walker singled to left. McCutchen went down swinging to leave Walker stranded.

He set the Pirates down in order in the third, fourth and the fifth.

He walked McGehee with one out in the sixth, but got Alvarez and Barmes behind him.

McKenry reached on an infield single to start the seventh. Burnett tried to bunt him to second, but Kratz fielded, threw to second for the first out and Rollins went to Fontenot at first to complete the double-play. Kendrick walked Sutton and Alex Presley ran for Sutton at first. Kendrick got Walker to line to left to leave Presley at first.

Very nice play by Kratz to pounce on the ball and throw to second to start the double-play.

Sanches started the eighth. Jones doubled off the railing in right with one out on a play that was still a double after being reviewed. McGehee was next and flew to center for the second out with Jones moving up to third. Sanches walked the lefty Alvarez intentionally to put runners on first and third for Barmes. Sanches got Barmes swinging 3-2 to leave both men stranded.

Fourth appearance for Sanches with the Phillies this season and the first time he hasn’t been charged with at least one run.

It was 5-4 when Horst started the ninth, making his debut with the Phillies. He walked McKenry on five pitches to start the frame. Tabata bunted McKenry to second with the first out. Alex Presley was next and Horst walked him, too, putting runners on first and second. Horst got Walker on a foul ball handled by Wigginton for the second out. McCutchen was next and Horst struck him out swinging 1-2 to leave both men stranded.

Horst facing the righty McCutchen with two men on doesn’t make you feel real comfortable, but the lefty got it done that time. He has thrown to a 2.11 ERA at Triple-A this year, but with a 1.59 ratio. In 38 1/3 innings he’s allowed 43 hits and walked 18.

Sanches and Horst get the job done in the game, throwing two scoreless innings as they allow a hit and two walks. Horst threw 24 pitches and Sanches 22.

The Phillies lineup against righty AJ Burnett went (1) Rollins (2) Pierre (3) Victorino (4) Pence (5) Polanco (6) Wigginton (7) Fontenot (8) Kratz. Pierre in left against the righty with Wigginton at first. Kratz makes his first start of the year catching the day game after a night game. Polanco hits fifth, which is terrible given that he has slugged .375 over his last 2,054 plate appearances coming into the game. Fontenot at second with Utley resting.

Down 5-0, Victorino singled with two outs and took second on an error by Jones in right. Pence grounded to the pitcher to end the inning.

Wigginton singled to center with one out in the second. Fontenot was next and flew to center for the second out, but was next and hit an 0-2 pitch out to center, getting the Phils on the board at 5-2. Kendrick grounded to second for the third out.

Second home run in five at-bats for Kratz on the year.

Pierre singled with one out in the third and stole second. Pierre took third on a ground out, but was left stranded when Burnett struck Pence out looking 1-2 to end the inning.

The Phils went in order in the fourth and again in the fifth.

Victorino and Pence singled back-to-back with one out in the sixth, putting runners on the corners for Polanco. Polanco hit a ground ball to third. Alvarez went to second for the first out, but Polanco beat the relay to first as Victorino scored to make it 5-3. Wigginton walked on four pitches, putting men on first and second for Fontenot. Fontenot took ball one way high and then grounded to first to end the inning.

Kinda looked like Burnett had lost the strike zone there a little.

Kratz struck out to start the seventh. Utley hit for Kendrick and struck out for the second before Rollins walked. Righty Juan Cruz came in to pitch to Pierre and walked him, putting two men on for Victorino. Victorino flew to left for the third out.

Pence started the eighth and lined a 1-1 pitch just out to left off of righty Jason Grilli. 5-4. Polanco was hit by a pitch. Wigginton got ahead 3-1, but struck out swinging for the first out. Fontenot followed and singled on a ball knocked down but not handled by Grilli. It put runners on first and second for Kratz and Thome hit for him. He hammered the first pitch he saw out by foul and then struck out swinging 0-2 for the second out. Ruiz hit for Sanches and fouled out to McGehee as the first baseman went into the stands to make a great catch and end the inning.

Rollins singled off of righty Joel Hanrahan to start the ninth. Pierre bunted him to second with the first out and Victorino struck out swinging for the second. It brought Pence to the plate with two down and Rollins on second. Before Hanrahan threw a pitch to Pence, Rollins stole third, but Pence flew to McCutchen in shallow center to end the game.

Rollins was 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base in the game. 5-for-16 with three walks, a double a triple and a home run in the series. 339/385/645 over his last 130 plate appearances. 268/322/419 for the year. He’s hitting .323 at home and .215 on the road.

Pierre 1-for-3 with a walk and another stolen base, which gives him 18 on the year. He’s been caught just three times. 2-for-11 with a walk in the series. 254/299/365 over his last 69 plate appearances and 315/355/380 for the year.

Victorino 2-for-5 with a strikeout and four men left on base. 5-for-15 in the series with two walks and five singles. 253/324/390 for the year. Doesn’t seem like a great choice to hit third against a righty given his 231/300/319 line against them for the season.

Pence 2-for-5 with a home run. 6-for-17 with two walks, a double, a triple and a home run in the series. He came into the series slugging .329 over his last 90 plate appearances without a home run. 277/345/476 for the season.

Polanco 0-for-3 with an RBI thanks to nice hustle to beat out his double-play ball. 4-for-10 with two walks and four singles in the set. 278/324/363. Polanco hitting fifth against a right-handed pitcher is a pretty good sign there are some issues with your lineup.

Wigginton 1-for-3 with a walk. 3-for-12 with two walks and a home run in the set. 250/317/398 for the year. Playing way too much against righties. 185/228/315 over his last 57 plate appearances. It’s him, Mayberry or Luna at first so far and they’re all right-handed. Mayberry’s hitting 212/246/470 in June. Luna is 1-for-his-last-11 with five strikeouts. If Nix is back in a few weeks, that will help. Till then I really think they should consider giving the lefty Fontenot a try at first against some righties.

Kratz was great. 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and made a great play to start a double-play on the bunt in the seventh. 2-for-7 on the year with two home runs.

Ruiz was 0-for-1 in the game and 8-for-14 with two home runs in the series. 362/429/588 for the year. He’s obviously getting a ton more hits in 2012 than he has over his career, but also hitting for way more power, especially against right-handed pitching. For his career, his isolated power against righties is .133. So far in 2012, his isolated power against righties is .242 (for lefties it is .183 this year compared to .155 for his career).

Cliff Lee (0-4, 3.72) faces righty Josh Johnson (4-5, 3.96) tonight in Florida. Lee has a 5.10 ERA over his last seven starts and the Phillies are 3-9 in his outings for the year. Johnson threw to a 6.61 ERA in his first six starts on the season. Since then he’s made nine starts, throwing to a 2.56 ERA and hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of those outings.

After scoring 26 runs while taking two of three in Minnesota, the Phillies came into their series with the Blue Jays in Toronto having raised hope they had finally turned their miserable skid around.

They hadn’t. The Blue Jays hammered the Phils in the set, winning all three. The Phillies didn’t score in the first game. Cliff Lee took a 5-2 lead into the eighth inning of game two and the Phils lost 6-5. Kyle Kendrick was terrible yesterday.

Over their last 28 games, Phillies starting pitchers have thrown to a 5.36 ERA with a 1.42 ratio. The Phillies are 10-18 in those games.

The Phillies are 31-37 on the year after losing to the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 yesterday afternoon. The Blue Jays sweep the three-game series. The Phillies have lost three in a row and are 3-12 over their last 15 games. They are in last place in the NL East, nine games behind the first place Nationals.

Kendrick got the start for the Phillies and went 6 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and two walks. Only five of the runs were earned. Four of the hits went for extra-bases, three doubles and a home run.

The Phillies have lost the last three games he has started. In those outings, Kendrick has thrown to 9.00 ERA with a 1.81 ratio.

Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus doubled back-to-back to start the bottom of the first. Rasmus’s double scored Lawrie to put Toronto up 1-0. Kendrick got ahead of Jose Bautista 0-2, but walked him to put two men on. Ruiz picked Bautista off of first for the first out before Kendrick struck Encarnacion out for the second. Kelly Johnson was next, though, and he singled into center, scoring Rasmus to make it 2-0. Yunel Escobar flew to center for the third out.

The lead was cut to 2-1 when Kendrick set the Blue Jays down in order in the second.

It was 2-2 when he threw a 1-2-3 third.

Encarnacion reached on an infield single to start the fourth, but Kendrick got Johnson to ground into a double-play behind him. Escobar singled into center and Yan Gomes was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second for Rajai Davis. Davis singled into center, scoring Escobar to make it 3-2. Kendrick got Jeff Mathis swinging to leave runners on first and second.

Kendrick walked Lawrie to start the fifth. Rasmus was next and he hit the first pitch from Kendrick out to center, extending the Toronto lead to 5-2. Kendrick got the next three.

A double, a home run and three RBI for the lefty Rasmus against Kendrick through the first five innings.

Kendrick set Toronto down in order in the sixth.

Mathis led off the seventh with a double to right. Lawrie flew to right for the first out. Diekman came in to pitch to the lefty Rasmus and Rasmus singled to right. Mathis might have held at third, but Pence didn’t handle the ball cleanly in right for another error. Mathis scored to make it 6-2 with one out and Rasmus on first. Diekman picked Rasmus off of first with Luna throwing to Rollins to apply the tag before Bautista flew to center for the third out.

Diekman has been charged with just one earned run over his last 8 2/3 innings, but he has a 1.85 ratio over those 11 appearances.

Papelbon pitched the eighth. He walked the leadoff man Encarnacion, but got the next three, striking out Escobar and Gomes for the second and third out.

Papelbon has a 1.23 ERA and an 0.82 ratio over 14 2/3 innings in his last 15 appearances.

The pen went 1 2/3 scoreless innings in the game, allowing a walk and a hit while striking out two. Papelbon threw 18 pitches and Diekman ten.

The Phillies lineup against lefty Brett Cecil went (1) Rollins (2) Polanco (3) Pence (4) Thome (5) Victorino (6) Ruiz (7) Luna (8) Mayberry (9) Martinez. Thome again at DH against a lefty. Polanco at third, Mayberry in left and Luna at first. Martinez plays second with the lefty Fontenot on the bench.

The Phillies went in order in the first.

Down 2-0, Thome homered to right center on a 3-2 pitch to start the second, cutting the lead to 2-1. The Phils went in order behind him.

Only hit in the set for Thome, who was 1-for-12 in the set.

Mayberry led off the third and homered to left, tying the game at 2-2. Martinez and Rollins went down before Polanco drew a walk. Pence singled to left on a ball deflected by Lawrie at third, moving Polanco up to third. Thome grounded to second to leave both runners stranded.

Victorino singled to start the fourth. Ruiz was next and lined to short on a nice play by Escobar for the first out. Victorino stole second before Luna hit a ball into shallow right-center that was caught by a charging Bautista. Bautista threw to second where Victorino was easily doubled-off to set the Phillies down.

Not good base-runner by Victorino. Bautista didn’t dive for the ball or seem to have much trouble tracking it down.

Mayberry singled to start the fifth with the Phillies down 3-2. Martinez flew to center for the first out and Rollins struck out for the second. Polanco was next and hit a ball that Escobar didn’t handle for an error, putting runners on first and second with two down. Pence flew to left to leave them stranded.

Victorino singled off of lefty Luis Perez with one out in the sixth and the Phillies down 5-2. Ruiz flew to center for the second out and Luna popped to second for the third.

Perez set the Phillies down in order in the seventh. He set them down in order in the eighth with Toronto up 6-2.

Luna reached on an infield single off of righty Jason Frasor with two outs in the ninth. Mayberry moved him to second with another single, putting two men on for Martinez. The lefty Fontenot hit for Martinez and grounded to short to end the game.

Rollins was 0-for-4 and struck out twice in the game. 3-for-13 with a walk and two doubles in the series. 255/303/365 for the year.

Polanco was 0-for-3 with a walk yesterday and 2-for-9 with a walk and a double in the series. 3-for-his-last-22 and hitting 278/307/359 for the season.

Pence 1-for-4 with a strikeout and 3-for-12 with a walk and two doubles in the series. 281/347/476 for the year.

Thome was 1-for-4 with a home run and 1-for-12 with a homer in the series. The nine-game stretch of DH games is over for the Phillies — Thome hit 333/415/722 over 41 plate appearances in those games as the Phils went 3-6. He’s hitting 250/344/500 for the year.

Victorino 2-for-4 with a stolen base and doubled off of second yesterday. 3-for-12 in the series. 6-for-his-last-33 (.182). 248/319/402 on the year.

Ruiz was 0-for-4 and struck out twice. 1-for-6 with a walk and three strikeouts in the series. 354/416/566.

Luna 1-for-4 yesterday and in the series. 302/362/488 in 47 plate appearances with the Phils this year.

Mayberry 3-for-4 with his fifth home run of the year yesterday. 4-for-9 with two home runs in the series. 235/269/383 for the year. He came into the series 4-for-30 in June (.135).

Martinez 0-for-3 in the game and 1-for-8 with two walks in the series. 5-for-25 with five singles and three walks for the year (200/286/200).

The Phillies don’t play today and will face the Rockies at home tomorrow night.

Lots of fans hoping the Phils snap out of it these days, but it didn’t happen last night in Minnesota as the weak-hitting Twins hammered away at Phillie pitching for an 11-7 win.

The starting pitching continued to struggle for the Phils. Kyle Kendrick allowed home runs in each of the first two innings on his way to allowing six runs over four frames in the game.

Over the last 23 games, the Phillies have made eight quality starts. In those games the rotation has thrown to a 5.62 ERA with a 1.45 ratio and the Phils are 8-15.

The bullpen was almost as bad as Kendrick last night, allowing five runs on nine hits and two walks over four innings as Savery and Rosenberg were both hit hard.

The Twins had 17 hits in eight innings in the game. The Phillies used five pitchers in the game and the first four of them all allowed two or more hits per inning in their outing.

The loss drops the Phils to five games under .500 for the year. On May 8, 2007, the Phillies lost to Arizona 3-2 to fall to 14-19 on the year. That’s the last time they were five games under .500.

All in all, the Phils picked a queer time to unveil their equally odd “Fake Tough” t-shirts before the game, a reference to Nationals GM Mike Rizzo’s comments after Hamels drilled Bryce Harper on May 6. The Phillies have gone 15-19 since that game while the first place Nats are 19-13.

The Phillies are 29-34 on the year after losing 11-7 to the Minnesota Twins last night. They have lost three in a row and nine of their last ten. They are in last place in the NL East, 9 1/2 games behind Washington.

Kendrick got the start for the Phillies and went four innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and two walks. Four of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and two home runs. He struck out two. Over his last two starts he has allowed 11 runs in 9 2/3 innings.

Denard Span led off the bottom of the first and hit a 1-0 pitch out to right, putting the Twins up 1-0. Kendrick got the next three.

Ryan Doumit singled with one out in the second. Trevor Plouffe was next and hit a ball way out to left. 3-0. Kendrick got Brian Dozier on a fly ball to left before Jamey Carroll singled to right. Span walked behind Carroll, putting runners on first and second for Ben Revere. Revere singled to right, scoring Carroll (4-0) and moving Span to third. Joe Mauer followed that with a single and everyone moved up another base. Span scored and it was 5-0. Josh Willingham popped to second to finally end the inning.

Justin Morneau doubled to left to start the third, but Kendrick got the next three hitters to leave him stranded.

The lead was cut to 5-4 when Kendrick started the fourth. He walked Span with one out, but struck Revere out looking behind him for the second. Mauer was next, though, and he doubled off the wall in center, scoring Span to make it 6-4. Willingham grounded to third for the third out.

Savery started the fifth. Ryan Doumit singled to right with one out and moved up to third when the ball was misplayed by Pence. Plouffe followed with a single into center on a ball deflected by a diving Rollins. Doumit scored to make it 7-4. Savery got Dozier swinging for the second out before Carroll doubled into the left field corner, scoring Plouffe to extend the lead to 8-4. Span fouled out to Ruiz for the third out.

The lead had been cut to 8-7 when Savery started the sixth. Revere led off with a single, but was picked off of first with Wigginton throwing to Rollins to record the out. Savery struck Mauer out swinging for the second out before Willingham blasted a 3-2 pitch out to left center, making it 9-7. Morneau grounded to short for the third out.

Savery goes two innings in the game, allowing three runs on five hits and no walks to raise his ERA to 4.12. He has been charged with four runs in 2 1/3 innings over his last two appearances. Five is the most hits he has ever allowed in an appearance. Six of the last 13 batters he has faced have gotten hits (.462).

BJ Rosenberg started the seventh and got Doumit swinging for the first out before Plouffe doubled to center. Dozier struck out looking for the second out before Carroll singled into center, scoring Plouffe to make it 10-7. Diekman came in to pitch to Span and walked him, putting runners on first and second. Revere singled into right, scoring Carroll (11-7) and moving Span up to third. Mauer walked to load the bases, but Diekman got Willingham looking 0-2 to leave them loaded.

During Revere’s at-bat, Revere popped a foul near the stands. Fontenot was about to make the catch that would have ended the inning, but a young fan in Phillies gear reached out and caught the ball, taking the out that would have ended the inning away from the Phillies.

Rosenberg has now made two appearances with the Phils and both of them have been bad. He has allowed four runs over 1 2/3 innings.

Qualls pitched the eighth. He allowed a one-out double to Doumit. Plouffe grounded out behind Doumit for the second out and Darin Mastroianni ran for Doumit at second. Dozier flew to center to end the inning.

Qualls has thrown three scoreless innings over two appearances since allowing four runs in a third of an inning against the Dodgers on June 7.

Overall the pen went four innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and two walks. Savery threw 37 pitches, Diekman 20 and Qualls 18.

The Phillies lineup against righty Nick Blackburn, who came into the start with a 7.75 ERA through eight outings on the year, went (1) Rollins (2) Pierre (3) Pence (4) Thome (5) Victorino (6) Wigginton (7) Ruiz (8) Fontenot (9) Martinez. Pierre in left against the righty. Thome at DH. Wigginton at first and Fontenot at third. Martinez plays second. Mayberry on the bench against a righty, which is something.

Rollins was the first batter of the game and singled to right. Pierre walked behind him, but Pence was next and grounded into a double-play. Thome grounded to short to leave Rollins at third.

Ruiz doubled to center with two outs in the top of the second and the Phils down 1-0. Fontenot grounded to second to leave him stranded.

The Phillies were down 5-0 when they hit in the third. Rollins doubled with one out and moved to third on a ground out by Pierre. Pence grounded to short to leave him at third.

Thome led off the fourth with a walk and took second on a wild pitch before moving to third on a ground out by Victorino. Wigginton was next and grounded to third for the second out. Thome came home to score to cut the lead to 5-1. Ruiz and Fontenot singled back-to-back, putting runners on first and second for Martinez. Martinez singled to right, scoring Ruiz (5-2) and moving Fontenot up to third for Rollins. Rollins cleared the bases with a bloop double just foul down the left field line. 5-4. Pierre grounded to second to leave Rollins stranded.

Victorino singled with two outs in the fifth and the Phils down 6-4. Wigginton grounded to short for the third out.

Lefty Brian Duensing walked Victorino to start the sixth with the Phillies down 8-4. Fontenot struck out before Martinez moved Victorino up to second with a single. Rollins followed with a single to left that loaded the bases for Pierre. Mayberry hit for Pierre and righty Alex Burnett came in to pitch to him. Mayberry got behind in the count, but grounded to third on a 1-2 pitch. Everyone moved up a base and Rollins scored to cut the lead to 8-5 with two outs and men on second and third. Pence walked to load the bases again, this time for Thome. Thome lined a single to left, scoring Martinez and Rollins and moving Pence to third with the score 8-7. Victorino flew to left to leave the runners on the corners.

Good no-strikeout by Mayberry after he gets behind in the count against the righty. Big hit for Thome.

The Phillies trailed 9-7 when they hit in the seventh with righty Jared Burton was on the mound for the Twins. Fontenot and Martinez singled back-to-back with two outs, putting runners on the corners for Rollins. Rollins popped to short for the third out.

They were down 11-7 when lefty Glen Perkins struck out Mayberry and Pence to start the eighth. Thome singled to left with two outs, but Victorino fouled out to the catcher to end the frame.

Righty Matt Capps set Wigginton, Ruiz and Fontenot down in order in the ninth.

Rollins was 4-for-5 in the game with two doubles and two RBI. That’s his first four-hit game of the year and first since September 17, 2011 against the Cardinals. He’s hitting 339/361/627 over his last 61 plate appearances.

Pierre was 0-for-2 with a walk. He’s 6-for-his-last-29 (.207).

Pence was 0-for-4 with a walk and an error. He came into the game 6-for-his-last-9. He’s hitting .289 over his last 38 at-bats, but without an extra-base hit.

Thome was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI. In the first four games of his nine-game stint as a DH he has gone 8-for-17 with a walk, two doubles and a home run.

Victorino was 1-for-5 and left four men on base. He’s 2-for-his-last-13. 234/308/406 over his last 215 plate appearances. 236/309/338 against right-handed pitching for the year.

Wigginton was 0-for-5 with an RBI. Clever defensive positioning by the Phils helps keep him off the error board. He’s 3-for-his-last-22.

Ruiz 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. He’s 6-for-his-last-30.

Fontenot was 2-for-5 with no errors at third. 261/320/391 over his last 25 plate appearances.

Martinez was 3-for-4 with three singles. He’s 4-for-9 with the Phillies so far this year.

Hamels (8-3, 2.93) faces righty PJ Walters (2-1, 4.42) tonight. Hamels threw to a 2.17 ERA through his first nine starts on the year. He’s allowed at least four runs in each of his last three, throwing to a 5.23 ERA in those outings overall. In each of his last two starts the Phillies lost the game after taking a three-run lead early in the game. Walters has made six starts on the year. He had a 2.96 ERA for the year after the first four but has allowed nine runs in 9 1/3 innings over his last two times out. He has walked way too many lefties this season, about 14.1% of the left-handed batters he has faced. Lefties are hitting .282 against him and on-basing .381.