Carlos Zambrano was scheduled to pitch the series finale for Chicago against the Phillies Jamie Moyer but he was scratched due to a “dead arm”.   Zambrano will wait till the next series against Houston to take his next turn.    In his place lefthander Sean Marshall toook the mound for the Cubbies.  The Phillies jumped on Marshall early as they scored three runs in the very first inning.  Chase Utley singled and scored on a base knock by Ryan Howard.  Shane Victorino followed Howard with a single and then Jayson Werth continued his hot hitting as he belted a hanging curve ball for a double down the left field line to plate both Howard and Victorino!

The Cubs scored two on Moyer in the second inning as some loose defense helped Chicago along.  No errors were attributed but both Victorino and Howard misplayed balls that could have gotten the Phillies out of the inning unscathed.  Howard botched a throw to second base on a ground ball that would have yielded a double play and instead placed runners on first and third.  Victorino lost a fly ball to center field hit by Ronny Cedeno which hit him in the leg and allowed a run to score.  Marshall then helped his own cause with a single to center to plate the second run.

Jayson Werth hammered his 21st home run of the season in the fifth, a solo shot to the left field seats.   In the sixth Carlos Ruiz led off with a double over center fielder Reed Johnson’s head after which Moyer bunted him over to third.  The Cubs went to their pen at that point and brought in Jeff Samardzija and Jimmy Rollins was able to hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score the run.

The Cubs got two runners on with one out in the sixth and Charlie Manuel came and got Moyer in favor of Chad Durbin.  A rested Durbin did the job in the sixth as he recorded a strike out and a pop up to end the inning and also worked a perfect seventh inning striking out two.  Durbin started the eighth inning and recorded one out before yielding a single.  Charlie came and got him at that point and brought in J.C. Romero.  Romero threw a wild pitch that allowed the runner to move up to second, he then got Fukodome to ground out to second but pinch hitter Henry Blanco singled to left to plate a run.  Ryan Madson was then brought into the game and immediately gave up a hit to pinch hitter Darryl Ward.  Madson, to his credit, did strike out Alfonso Soriano to end the inning and escape the eighth inning minefield! 

Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth inning striking out Aramis Ramirez to end the game!  It was Lidge’s 33rd save in as many attempts.  The Phillies upped that perfect record when leading after eight to 62 and 0!  Jamie Moyer earned his 12th win of the season and leads the staff in that category….. not bad at all for a 45 year old!

Chatter

Pat Gillick was interviewed on the TV pregame show and stated that the team has a couple things in the works to add to the roster before the end of the day however that nothing was imminent.  He stated there was about an 80% chance of getting something done and inferred it might involve a player who cleared waivers at the end of July.  The Tigers Kyle Farnsworth is one such player who indeed cleared waivers at that time.   The Mets defeated the Marlins today 6 to 2 and now travel to Milwaukee to face a very good Brewers team for three.  That is a pivotal series in the East Division race for New York as it leads into the home series with the Fightins. The Mets will throw Johan Santana in the first one at Milwaukee which means the Phillies will also see him against them in the series in New York.   Phillies are in Washington next and cannott get beat by the last place club that is playing loose and pretty well right now, in fact they have won six in a row!  Keep fightin boys!

Third game of the series in Chicago was a day game carried as a regional telecast by Fox Sports.  Brett Myers took the hill for the Fightins against Ted Lilly of the Cubs.  Chicago jumped out to the initial lead as cub catcher Geovany Soto scored Mark Derosa with a single in the second inning.  Lilly wiggled out of first inning trouble then proceeded to retire twelve straight hitters till Jayson Werth led off the Phillies fifth inning with his 19th home run to tie the game at one.

The Phillies loaded the bases in the sixth on singles by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and a hit by pitch by Shane Victorino.  Jayson Werth then came thru with a huge two out hit as he singled to right field to score both Utley and Howard!   Howard made a beautiful slide at home to avoid the tag on a very close play!   Myers threw shutdown innings in both the sixth and seventh and Ryan Howard gave him an additional run as he smoked a solo home run to center field in the Phillies eighth.  Jayson Werth had an even bigger day in the eighth as he blasted his 20th home run to left field to put the Phils up 5 to 1!  Werth’s homer gave him four RBI’s in the game.

The Cubbies do not quit though and jumped on Myers in the home eighth with three consecutive singles scoring one and knocking Brett out of the game.  J.C. Romero came on to strike out the side and shut down the threat!  Huge effort by the lefty!  Did not like the chest thumping he did afterwards but the latin players do show their emotions!  I have criticized “hot dogging” many many times in regards to Met players like Tatis and Reyes so can’t be blind to our guys doing it. 

Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth inning including two strikeouts to close the game.  Lidge earned save number 32 in 32 tries!  The Phillies improved to 61 and 0 when leading after eight innings.

Chatter

Matt Stairs officially joined the Phillies and will wear number 12.   The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Todd Zolecki reported that Kyle Farnsworth of the Tigers may be a target for the Fightins to acquire as bullpen help for the eighth inning.  Farnsworth has peformed the setup and closer role in his career and would indeed be a great pickup for the team’s bullpen.  My youngest son made a very profound statement regarding management’s approach, does the team want to linger around a playoff spot season after season and hope to get in, if so they should not trade away prospects, go after select free agents in the winter and hope the pre built roster catches fire,  ……..  or do they want to really make a run for it like the Marlins do periodically by building a formidable roster for a season, adding to it accordingly by trade during the season and then dismantling it in a rebuild afterwards via trades for other teams prospects before the rostered players get too old. Florida has a formulated  and budgeted plan to to regroup for targeted runs and albeit there is a lack of consistency in that regards there is indeed a higher reward.   The FIsh approach has been more successful winning two world series within the past ten years, we have one some 28 years ago!  I prefer that the Fightins pull the trigger now on deals and go for it!  We consistently watch our pro football team take that “linger at the top” approach and yes they win plenty of games but we have no titles!

Talk shows and fans jumped all over Skipper Charlie Manuel for pulling Cole Hamels after seven innings on Thursday night.   As it turns out Hamels had told pitching coach Rich Dubee he was gassed and could not go in the eighth!  So much for the geniuses that criticize before getting the entire story!  Brett Myers would never volunteer to come out of a game and that is much more admirable to me than what Hamels did even though in this one Myers was obviously gassed !

In a somewhat surprising move the Philles released Kris Benson from Triple A Lehigh Valley today, Benson was signed in the offseason and was coming back from major injury.  He had been making slow progress but had advanced to Triple A.  Not sure why the sudden release.

After seeing the Chicago Cubs in action the first two games of this series I am more than convinced that they are indeed the best team in baseball this season.  The Cubs have all areas covered, pitching, defense, and the ability to score in multiple ways and all of those pursuits were on display in game two of the series.

Joe Blanton took the starting assignment for the Phillies and did not pitch badly as he went five and 2/3 innings giving up two earned runs on two hits.  Blanton’s problem was control as he walked five batters including the bases loaded in the sixth inning.  The Phillies had spotted Blanton an early lead as Chase Utley scored in the first inning on an RBI single by Pat Burrell.  The Phillies went up 2-0 in the top of the fifth as Utley scored on a throwing error by Cubs right fielder Fukodome.  Ryan Howard had singled to right field and Fukodome hit him in the back rounding first on his throw to the plate.  Utley had actually stopped at third and advanced home on the errant throw.

The Cubs got a gift run back in the home fifth as Mark DeRosa scored on pinch hitter Darryl Ward’s ground ball that was scored as a fielders choice.  In truth Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins blew a sure fire double play as he tossed the relay throw over Howard’s head at first base.  Rollins throw was made errant by the slide of Henry Blanco going into second base.  Blanco slid late and rather than put the throw between his eyes Rollins tried to avoid him with it and tossed it high to first.  Old school shortstops would have put Blanco in the hospital!

In the home sixth the Cubs tied the game as after Blanton had loaded the bases Scott Eyre came on in relief and promptly walked in the tying run before recording the final out.  The Cubs are very patient at the plate and make pitchers work to get them out.  On numerous occassions they worked the count deep and actually collected seven walks in the game. 

Chicago took the lead in the seventh as Alfonso Soriano belted a Clay Condrey fastball deep into the left center field seats.  The Wrigley wind was blowing in so Soriano truly smoked this pitch to cut thru the teeth of the wind!  Carlos Marmol pitched in both the eighth and ninth innings to close out the game for Chicago and encounted no problems whatsoever as he sat down every batter he faced.  He has a nasty slider and is a strike thrower, Cubbies did not use Kerry Wood at all as he was given the day off, Marmol is an all-star himself so there was no need.

Examples of Chicago’s complete game efforts were the exempliary play of first basemen Derrick Lee who dug various balls out of the dirt at first base, made an over the shoulder running play on a pop up down the right field line in the ninth and on every occassion where he had to throw made perfect tosses to the receiver!  Chicago pitching was dominant in all areas, starting, middle relief and closing. The offense was patient, worked the count and played to situations, hitting the ball to the left side to move runners, waiting for pitches that allowed them to do so and then jumping on pitches when afforded the opportunity.   This team is the real deal and should indeed break that Chicago curse!

Chatter

The umpiring in this ballgame left alot to be desired for both sides.  The home plate umpire was brutal on balls and strikes and showed no consistency whatsover.  He caught grief from both sides all day long!  The first base umpire blew two consecutive calls, on the first he called Utley safe on a double play where the ball clearly beat him but on the very next play he called Howard out on a play where Howard did beat the throw!  At second base on a steal play a Chicago runner was called safe on a tag omission when the replay showed that Rollins indeed tagged him.  It was the first game this season where I actually noticed the officiating, I know my Mets counterpart writer on metshomeplate.com  has stated she has seen differently this year but for the most part I have thought officiating has been good this season, not in this one though!   Buster Olney of ESPN reports that Matt Stairs will be coming to the Phillies from Toronto and that recently recalled Fabio Castro is the player being sent to the Jays by the Phillies.  Castro warmed up in the game in the ninth but did not get in.   If the Mets win tonight at Florida they will go two up on the Fightins.  I have a hard time seeing the Phillies beating the Cubbies in the next two so that Division title may be slipping away again!  They proved me wrong against the Dodgers so maybe they will again here……………… the Dodgers are not the Cubs though as after they left Philly they went to Washington and got smoked by the Nats!  We will see…………stay tuned.

The Phillies search for a left handed bat off the bench has apparently ended as Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that the team has acquired 40 year old first basemen/outfielder Matt Stairs from Toronto for a player to be named later.  Stairs has 11 homers and 44 RBI’s thus far this season.  He is a good hitter that should help fill the bench void.  Stairs is a native of Canada and had hoped to end his career as a Blue Jay.  Hopefully he can help his new team, the Phillies, reach the playoffs!  Now all we need is a set up man,  Brian Fuentes anyone ?

Visiting teams in Chicago have not had much success so far this season and with the next four including this game being played there the Phillies have a tall order indeed.  In game one the Fightins sent their ace Cole Hamels to the hill versus the Cubs Ryan Dempster.   The Phillies scored the games first run in their very first at bat as Chase Utley doubled down the right field line and was plated by a  Shane Victorino single up the middle.

 The Cubs tied the game in the fifth inning as Mark Derosa tripled down the right field line to bring home Kosuke Fukodome who had singled.   The Fightins bounced right back though in the  top of the sixth as Jayson Werth lined his second double of the game off the ivy in right center.  Pedro Feliz then drew a walk and Carlos Ruiz followed with a single to left field to score Werth.  Cole Hamels laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up to scoring position.  Jimmy Rollins lofted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Feliz and Ruiz also smartly moved up on the play to third base.  Chase Utley  then grounded a single to left field to score Ruiz.  What was huge about this inning was the Phillies ability to come thru with “situational hitting” along with smart base running to manufacture runs against a very good pitcher and team!  Hamels then came out and shut down the Cubs in the bottom of the inning to make the count after six 4 to 1 Phils.

Ryan Madson relieved Hamels in the eighth inning and was greeted by a solo home run by pinch hitter Mike Fontenot.  He then gave up a double to Alfonso Soriano and a single to Ryan Theriot before Charlie finally came and got him and brought in Chad Durbin.  I have zero confidence in Mr. Madson in critical spots of the game !  The game blew up for the Phillies when Aramis Ramirez blasted a grand slam to put the Cubs up 6 to 4.  J.C. Romero became the third pitcher used in the inning and got out of it with no further damage.  

Kerry Wood closed out the game for the Cubs.  The Phillies squandered a major chance for a win and another great effort by Cole Hamels.  As good as the bullpen has been this year the absence of Tom Gordon in the eighth inning has been the achilles heel as Madson is not suited for the role and both Romero and Durbin are needed too often in “situational pitching” to be delegated to the setup spot.  Disapointing at best is the way to describe this one! 

Chatter

Jason Stark of ESPN stated in his most recent online article that the Phillies do indeed have interest in Mike Lamb of the Minnesota Twins.  Lamb has been designated for assignment by the Twins and Stark suggests that a trade may be in the works so that Lamb could be on the roster before the end of the month thus eligible for post season play.  The Phillies sent Andrew Carpenter back to Reading after last nights game and promoted left hander Fabio Castro to the big league roster.  Castro has been with the big club before as he was a rule 5 selection a few years back, he is only 23 years old, has a live arm and needs to find a niche as to whether he is a starter or reliever.  Not sure how long he will stick this time as once again the Phillies have 13 pitchers on the roster, may be just a safeguard for the Wrigley field confines where often teams use alot of pitchers on the hill.  With September looming on the horizon the rosters can expand so it really only applies thru the weekend.

Johan Santana vs Kyle Kendrick certainly seems like a mismatch but someone forgot to tell Kendrick!  Ryan Howard spotted Kendrick an early lead in the very first inning as he belted a Santana fastball over the left field wall to score Jimmy Rollins in front of him.  Rollins had led off the game with a single.  The Mets had taken the first lead in the top half of the inning as Jose Reyes scored on a Carlos Delgado single.   In the Phillies second Jayson Werth took Santana deep with a solo home run to left field to make the count 3 to 1. 

Carlos Delgado took Kendrick deep to right field in the top of the sixth to make the count 3 to 2.  After Carlos Beltran got an infield single Charlie Manuel went to his bullpen to bring in Scott Eyre. Eyre got out of the inning with no further scoring setting up Kendrick as the potential game winner.  Eyre also pitched the seventh and did a great job as he got every batter he faced out.  Huge effort by him with the bullpen lean for the game.  Rudy Seanez attempted to hold the lead in the eighth and got two outs but Carlos Delgado took him out to left field to knot the game at three.   When Carlos Beltran squibbed an infield single Charlie came and got Seanez and brought closer Brad Lidge into the eighth inning for the first time this season.  Beltran stole second base which then prompted an intentional walk to Ryan Church to set up a confrontation with rookie Dan Murphy who lined a Lidge slider to right field for a double  to score Beltran that put the Mets in the lead.  Brian Schneider then blooped a single over third base to put the Mets up by three as both Church and Murphy scored.

Twenty three year old Andrew Carpenter, just recalled specifically for this game,  made his big league debut for the Phillies in the ninth as the bullpen was completely spent the night before.  Carpenter pitched a scoreless inning in his first outing, probably will be optioned back to Reading after the game as the team needs to bring back the extra bat!

Luis Ayala got the job done in this one for the Mets and the game was won by New York 6 to 3.  The Phillies concluded the homestand with a 7 and 2 record and take to road trailing the Mets by 1/2 game.

One thing that was pretty evident during the game, these guys don’t dislike each other as much as the fans of each team dislikes the other team!  Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado on numerous occassions were shown talking, joking and smiling with Phillies players on the base paths, seemed like a sunday afternoon recreation game at times!  Phillies announcer Gary Mathews commented that back in the day no one talked to the opponents as games were more intense.  I don’t doubt today’s players intentions to win but it is hard to bill this as a rivalry if the guys are so chummy!

Chatter

The Braves traded Mark Kotsay to the Red Sox for a minor league outfielder, would have been a nice addition for the Phils.  As noted the Phillies did make a roster move to add a pitcher for the game as the bullpen was completely spent last night, righthander Andrew Carpenter was recalled from Double A Reading and Andy Tracy was designated.  This leaves the team with only four bench players.  The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Todd Zolecki reports that the Phils have had informal talks with Jamie Moyer about returning next year.  Moyer has stated he plans on pitching again in 2009 and would like to return to Philly.  The team has also had preliminary discussions with Pat Burrell about returning as Burrell also is a free agent.  Hard to find players who actually want to play in Philly!  Got two there that do and are quality, should sign both!

The Phillies play the next ten games on the road beginning with four in Chicago where the Cubs are 49 and 19 so far this season.  They then have three in Washington and then the final three contests of the season with the Mets in New York.   The Mets take to the road for six as they play three in Florida and then three in Milwaukee.   Another telling stretch for both clubs.

Jose Reyes is a hot dog but he is a very talented player as well.  Reyes led off the game with a triple off of Phillies starter Jamie Moyer and scored on a single by Damien Easley.  Easley scored the second run of the initial Mets at bat as Fernando Tatis singled him in.  The Phillies put two runners on with one out in their half of the first but Mets starter Pedro Martinez struck out Ryan Howard on three pitches and then also k’d Shane Victorino.   Damien Easley extended the New York lead in the second inning as he belted a solo home run to left center field with two outs.

The Mets busted the game open in the third inning as Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado got back to back singles and then Fernando Tatis belted a three run home run.  Tatis skipped across the plate when he crossed it, someone is gonna get this hot dog somewhere down the road, not wise to show up opponents!   The key to the Mets success against Moyer was the approach, they laid off pitches out of the zone and forced Moyer to come in when behind in the count and then pounded him.   Even Pedro Martinez got a hit in his second at bat!  Moyer gave up six earned runs and nine hits in the three innings he worked.  He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the Phillies third at bat.

Damien Easley tripled to lead off the Mets fourth and scored the seventh New York run when David Wright grounded out to second base.  Despite being down six runs the Phillies did not play the infield in and conceded the run.  The Phillies scored a run in the bottom of the fourth as Pedro Feliz hit a sacrifice fly to center field to knock in Victorino.

Relief pitcher Clay Condrey started the Phillies fifth as he doubled down the left field line, it was Condrey’s first career extra base hit and only his third hit ever!  Jimmy Rollins then belted a Martinez hanging curve into the right field seats to plate two for the Fightins.  Chase Utley followed by drawing a walk, Ryan Howard then hit a  bomb to left field to score Utley ahead of him and make the count 7 to 5. 

The Mets loaded the bases in the sixth inning with one out but Scott Eyre was able to get Carlos Delgado to ground into a double play without allowing a score!  The two teams had already played for 2 and 1/2 hours by the middle of the sixth inning!  Pedro was pulled after five as Mets skipper Jerry Manuel went to his bullpen, first call Brian Stokes.  Jimmy Rollins singled with two outs in the sixth inning which marked the ninth consecutive plate appearance where he reached base! 

Stokes threw two shutout innings for New York and was replaced by Duaner Sanchez in the eighth. Sanchez only got one out before yielding a single to Carlos Ruiz and was lifted in favor of Pedro Feliciano.  Chris Coste greeted Feliciano with a single and Jimmy Rollins then singled to right field to score Ruiz.  Nobody booed Rollins as he reached base for the 10th consecutive time going 5 for 5 in the contest!  Feliciano did strike out Chase Utley with runners on first and third to temporarily keep the Phillies at bay.  Jerry Manuel then brought in Joe Smith to face Pat Burrell.  Smith got Burrell to fly out to left field to end the inning.

Brad Lidge pitched the ninth and buzzed Fernando Tatis with a fastball before striking him out on two low and away sliders.  Message served.  Eric Bruntlett smoked a pinch hit double with two outs in the Phillies ninth and scored Jayson Werth who had singled earlier in the inning to tie the game!  The Mets bullpen once again blew a save opportunity!  Jose Reyes saved a ninth inning loss for the Mets by making a diving stop on a grounder up the middle to throw out Ruiz and send the contest to extra frames.

This was a great game to watch but I thought it would never end!  As the stroke of midnight came and wenth the two teams had played over five hours!  Shane Victorino led off the 13th inning with a triple down the right field line to force the Mets hand.  They walked the next two hitters to load the bases.  Brett Myers was used as a pinch hitter for Rudy Seanez and was obviously told to not swing as he watched six pitches in striking out.  Chris Coste smoked a liner to center, his fourth hit of the game to score Victorino with the game winner !

Chatter

The Phillies offense struggles with pitchers who feature off speed pitches as their primary, Pedro at one point in the game sat down seven consecutive hitters spotting an 84 to 88 mph fastball but mostly working on changeups.  Jimmy Rollins was the only Phillie to solve him early as he had two hits in his first two at bats.  Pedro had five strikouts thru three innings and never broke 90 mph!  They did get to him in the fifth as they forced him to come up in the zone by laying off pitches and putting him in fastball counts.   Both these teams can hit but it sure is a chess match as to how!

The game was once again sold out, the 44th time this season which ties a Phillies club record. Carlos Ruiz made his major league debut at third base in the ninth inning as the Phillies saved Eric Bruntlett to pinch hit in the home ninth, made Charlie look like a genius, Bruntlett then played third base in the extra innings!  The Phillies carry twelve pitchers on the roster and many times are caught short with position players in late innings.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and mlbtraderumors.com both have rumblings of the Phillies being interested in outfielder Mark Kotsay of the Braves.  Atlanta has put Kotsay on waivers and will listen to offers.  Kotsay is a free agent next year so there is no obligation to a contract beyond this season.  He is a very good left handed bat and has been hot lately.  Speculation is that the Phillies could use him to replace injured Geoff Jenkins on the roster.  The Red Sox also are apparently very interested in Kotsay as J.D. Drew may be going on the disabled list soon.

Colorado has placed relief pitcher Brian Fuentes on waivers with the same concept in mind.  Fuentes is a free agent for the 2009 season and the Rockies are willing to deal him now but since he is a Type A free agent they would want value higher than the two first round draft picks they will get in return if they keep him for the balance of the season but then lose him to free agency over the winter.  Some team will most likely claim Fuentes to at a minimum block others from geting him.  The Mets would look awfully tough if they were able to obtain him at this point. 

In order for a player to be eligible for the post season he must be on the roster prior to August 31 so Sunday is another cutoff day if contenders want to add punch to the playoff roster. 

Kotsay might be had for a mid level type prospect but obviously Atlanta will hold out for the best deal, not sure if the Phils would dangle Olympian Jason Donald at the Braves but he might be a fit for them at second base next season as Kelly Johnson has been a disapointment at that position for them this year.

Jimmy Rollins came thru with a clutch two out hit in the Phillies second inning to give the Fightins a early two run lead.  Rollins single to left center scored Jayson Werth who had walked to lead off the inning and Pedro Feliz who had also singled.  What was key was how Rollins went with the pitch rather than trying to pull the ball.  Teams have been throwing Rollins slow, slower and slowest type of pitches and he has been lunging at the ball impatiently, if he can stay back and let his hands drive thru the ball then teams will be forced to adjust and throw fastballs again and we know he can do serious damage with those!

Jimmy Rollins drilled a hanging curve ball down the right field line in the fifth innning for a double, advanced to third on a Chase Utley single and scored on a double play ground out by Pat Burrell.  The Phillies then loaded the bases as Chad Billingsley walked two hitters around a single by Shane Victorino but could not score any additional runs. 

Rollins again went with the pitch in the sixth and smoked a fastball down the left field line which he legged into a triple.  Rollins was stranded however as the Phillies could not bring him in.  Brett Myers held the Dodgers scoreless thru seven innings stranding ten runners including pitching out of a bases loaded jam in the seventh by striking out Jeff Kent and then getting Manny Ramirez to line out to right field.  He registered 8 strikeouts in what was once again a very effective and outstanding outing.

  The Phillies scored thier fourth run in thier half of the seventh as Ryan Howard led off with a double, advanced to third on a groundout by Victorino and scored on a single by Jayson Werth.  Pedro Feliz then followed with a single and Werth scored from second on a ground out to second base by Chris Coste as both runners took off on the pitch and Werth never stopped running around third base catching the Dodgers off guard !

J.C. Romero pitched a scoreless eighth inning but the Dodgers did put two runners on base.  Clay Condrey pitched the ninth inning to complete the series sweep as he struck out Manny during the inning with two runners aboard.  Buckle up New York, the Fightins are coming your way!

Chatter

The hitter off the bench the Phillies have been seeking may be soon available.  The Minnesota Twins acquired “Everyday” Eddie Guardado from the Texas Rangers to strengthen the bullpen, to make room for him on the roster they are expected to designate Mike Lamb for assignment.  Lamb is a left handed hitting third baseman who has struggled with the Twins.  He had good success as a part time player with Houston from 2004 to 2007 averaging about 13 home runs per year.  He is not due an inordinate amount of money this year or next and could be a fit as a lefty off the bench.

The Mets are in town for two in thier last visit to Philly this year.  Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick take the pill against the Metropolitans squaring off against Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana.  A split is the minimum need but a sweep would be great!

Pedro Feliz did not start the game at third base but he surely had a huge impact on the outcome as he belted a three run walkoff win home run in the 11th inning to give the Fightins a 5-2 victory over the Dodgers.   Joe Blanton started the game on the hill for the Phillies and pitched six innings giving up one run on six hits.  Blanton was scored upon in the very first inning as the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out and James Loney knocked in Andre Ethier with the games first run.  Blanton then pitched out of the trouble without allowing another run to score and went another five holding the Dodgers scoreless.

The Phillies tied the score in the home fifth as Chase Utley singled to knock in Carlos Ruiz.  The Dodgers re-took the lead in the seventh as Jeff Kent singled off of Ryan Madson to score Ethier again.  Pedro Feliz was the tieing hero as well as with two outs in the bottom of the ninth he singled to knock in Shane Victorino and knot the score at two!  That set up the extra inning heroics for Feliz as he belted a Jason Johnson fastball deep into the left center field seats scoring Chris Coste and Victorino in front of him.  Chad Durbin earned his fifth win of the season as pitched the two extra frames of play.

Chatter

With the win the Phillies closed to within 1/2 game of the New York Mets for first place in the NL Eastern Divsion.  Andy Tracy made his Phillies debut with a pinch hit walk in the ninth inning.  Jimmy Rollins continued to struggle going 0 for 5 in the game.  According to Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal the Phillies have been frustrated attempting to add a quality bat off the bench.  Texas just put Frank Catalanotto on waivers and he has cleared the American League but issue with him is monies due for 2009 and 2010.   He is a good left handed hitter but not sure if the club would eat the six million due him for the following two years.   Brett Myers takes the hill tonight for the Fightins looking to return the favor of a four game series sweep to the Dodgers!