The first round of the playoffs starts tommorrow so I thought it would be a good time to review the matchup and predict the outcome.   Cole Hamels will face off in the first game against a relative unknown Yovani Gallardo.  Gallardo only threw 24 big league innings this year but my son tells me that Gallardo has a live arm and is one to watch in the future.  He had knee surgery only four months ago but worked very hard to push himself back to the show.  The Phillies historically struggle against pitchers they have not seen so not sure what to expect with facing Gallardo.  Hopefully they will figure him out early and get to the Brewer Pen which I think is a weak spot.

The  regular season series went to the Phillies by a count of 5 to 1 in the six games played, included in that tally was a four game series sweep in September that set the stage for the Fightins drive to the N.L. east division title.   It is acknowledged that the Phillies have yet to face Brewer superman C.C. Sabbathia as his turn was not included in the September series and that may have indeed put a different slant on the outcome. 

The Phillies will open the playoff series with young ace Cole Hamels who battled nerves in last years playoff round against Colorado.  Hamels has outstanding stuff and when he is on is very tough to beat, the Phillies have not given him much in offensive support this season else the 14 wins he did get may have been more like 18 to 20.   Sabbathia was forced to throw on Sunday so the Brewers will not have their ace to match up with Hamels in the opener but rather will pitch him in game two on three days rest once again.  No one else in the Brewer starting rotation puts much fear in me at this point, Ben Sheets would but he is hurting physically.  The Phillies will follow Hamels with  righthander Brett Myers, his first playoff start, and then the staff’s best starter Jamie Moyer (16 wins)  in games two and three.  Philadelphia’s bullpen is amongst the best in the game anchored by Brad Lidge who had 41 saves in 41 tries, the team is perfect when leading after eight innings going 79 and 0 when that happens.   Key to the team success will continue to be the relief firm of Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero, Scott Eyre and Ryan Madson as they most assuredly will be counted on for innings 7 and 8 and potentially as early as the sixth.  The eighth inning has been the achilles heel this season so these boys gotta step up for the Fightins to have continued success.

Philadelphia’s offense is keyed by National League Home Run and RBI champion Ryan Howard who had a torrid September to carry the team on his back, in my opinion he is the National League MVP.  Other keys to the series will be the spark ignited both defensively and offensively by Jimmy Rollins, as he goes so do the Phillies.  Shane Victorino has been the most consistent Phillie offensively and will have to continue to do so and second sacker Chase Utley will need to continue his steady “best in the game” form at second base.  Jayson Werth and Pat Burrell had big hits down the stretch along with Greg Dobbs who led the National League with over 20 pinch hits this season.  The Phillies led the league in homeruns this season collectively, in short they are a very good offensive ballclub.

The Brewers counter with Ryan Braun and Prince Feilder in the power department and Mike Cameron is one of the games best defensively in the outfield as well as at the plate with 25 bombs this season. Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy are very good players as well and will be a challenge to the Phillies.  Milwaukee did struggle in September,(11-16), and are not as strong in the pen where Solomon Torres,( 7 blown saves), is the closer.  Eric Gagne imploded many times down the stretch so I feel if we can get to their bullpen early we can do some damage with our offense. 

Overall I think that the Brewers  really scuffled in September resulting in the firing of Ned Yost as the  manager and rode Sabbathia heavily to get to the playoffs. I’m hoping that they may be spent by doing so, they also come into the playoffs relatively inexperienced.  Sabbathia pitched on short rest for most of September and albeit he is a true stud should be running on a low tank.  I think that the Phillies are deeper in pitching, are overall better on offense and are at least a match as a defensive team.  It is my opinion that they will win the series in four games, hope that I am right!

With the division won yesterday the final game of the regular season became one that allowed skipper Charlie Manuel to rest his core players and play callups and reserves.  Kyle Kendrick was given the start and he pitched four innings but had similiar struggles as he displayed during the stretch drive.  Kendrick gave up three runs on four hits while walking one.

The Phillies bats though stayed hot as rookie catcher Lou Marson, the Phillies minor league player of the year,  collected his first big league hit in his first at bat in the game and later belted his first major league home run.  It is expected that Marson will make a strong push to make the ballclub next spring.  So Taguchi had a good game out of the leadoff spot as he had three hits.  Eric Bruntlett and Tadahito Iguchi also had two hit game.  The Phillies prevailed by an 8 to 3 count capped off by a pinch home run by Matt Stairs.  Les Walrond got the win in relief.  The Fighins finished the season with a record of 92 wins and 70 losses.

Chatter

Kendrick will be sent to Clearwater, Florida to work at the spring training complex.  He will not be on the initial playoff roster but as needs arise may be added later.  Management must decide who they are going to place on the playoff roster as the NLDS will start on Wednesday.  The Milwaukee Brewers will be in town Wednesday to kick off the best of five series, their ace C.C. Sabbathia threw today in the clincher so he will not be available till at the earliest the second game.  Cole Hamels will take the ball for the Phillies, lets hope he does not psyche himself out like he did last year. 

Great time to be a Phillies fan!  Sure hope our team stays fired up and approaches the playoffs to win, team members admit that last year they were pretty happy to just make it, this year there is an urgency to do some damage!

Veteran Jamie Moyer took the ball for the Fightins and he started out by retiring the Nats in order in their first at bat but unlike last night the Phillies also went down in order in the first.  The game remained scoreless till the bottom of the fourth when Chase Utley scored on a sacrifice fly out by Pat Burrell.  Ryan Howard also scored in the inning on a sacrifice fly by  Carlos Ruiz.  Utley and Howard had led off the inning with consecutive singles, Shane Victorino also singled in the inning.  The Phillies scored two but left the bases loaded to end the inning.

Washington scored in the top of the fifth to make the count 2 to 1.   Jayson Werth had a play on a hard hit liner that would have been the third out of the inning but he dropped the ball when he crashed into the right field fence.  Werth made ammends in the bottom of the fifth when he blasted his 24th home run of the season to put the Phillies back up by two. 

Jamie Moyer pitched another good ball game as he went a very professional six innings.  Moyer only yielded one run on six hits.  He was pulled in the home sixth for pinch hitter Matt Stairs.  Chad Durbin was first relief in the seventh and he faced the minimum of three batters to end the inning.  Ryan Madson was called upon to pitch the eighth and although he gave up one run held the lead at 3 to 2 ! 

Shane Victorino got his third hit of the game in the bottom of the eighth, a two out single.  Pedro Feliz then delivered a clutch double to score Victorino to give the Fightins an insurance run for the closer!  

Brad Lidge came on in the ninth and needed that insurance run as the Nats scored one and loaded the bases with one out !  He then coaxed Ryan Zimmerman to hit a ground ball that Jimmy Rollins made a diving back hand stop on, flipped to second baseman Chase Utley who then completed the double play with the toss to first!   Great great great play by J-Roll!!!!!

Lidge earned his 41st save in 41 tries!  The Phillies went 78 and 0 when leading after eight!  We are the Champions of the East once again!  Tip of the cap to the Mets! Great race, hope you boys get in also!

The Celebration

Many fans stayed in the park and similiar to last year players came back out of the clubhouse to circle the field and acknowledge the fan support.  Chris Coste and Pedro Feliz borrowed bikes from Philly’s finest police officers and circled the field, Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard rode the grounds crew cart around, Pat Burrell had his dog Elvis on the field,  Jimmy Rollins danced with his mom behind the plate, the legend Harry Kalas sang “High Hopes”……………….. it was just a mass celebration and a great ending to the regular season!   Nothing brings a city and area together like a sports franchise that wins!   If these boys can rattle off a few more and somehow get to the World Series our area would explode!   Time to celebrate a division but far from done this go round!  Lets have three more champagne parties !

Chatter

SI.com reports that GM Pat Gillick may be leaning to returning next year to the Phillies rather than retiring.  Gillick is widely recognized as one of the best GM’s in the game, he has a pretty sweet deal with the Phillies as he is able to place heavy reliance on Assistant GM’s Ruben Amaro and Mike Arbuckle and serves in more of a governance role rather than having to deal with day to day operations.  I think it would be great to have him come back.

Joe Blanton made start number 13 for the Phillies in the opening game of the last series of the regular season in drizzly and cool weather conditions, Blanton came out and shut the Nats down in order to start the game.   Ryan Howard then gave Blanton an early lead by belting his 48th home run of the season in the first inning scoring Chase Utley and Jayson Werth in front of him.   Howard smoked the ball to dead center field and cut it thru a super strong wind to get it out of the park!

Washington scored one in the second on an RBI single by rookie catcher Luke Montz.  It iwas his first major league run batted in.  The Fightins knocked Nats starter Colin Ballistar out of the game by scoring four times in the second as Chase Utley belted a bases loaded double to score Greg Dobbs, Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth.  Ryan Howard then scored Utley with a double of his own.   

The Nationals scored two unearned runs in the fifth inning as Howard booted a ground ball hit by Pete Orr.  They added yet another in the sixth as Kory Casto apparently hit a home run to right field but it was disputed as a fan leaned over the fence.  It marked the first time in a Phillies game where the umpires chose to review a replay to determine if the call would stand, after review they decided it was a home run.   Joe Blanton was pulled after the sixth, he did a credible job giving up four runs, two earned  on five hits and left with a 7-4 lead.

Scott Eyre pitched a perfect seventh striking out two, J-Roll made a tremendous bare hand pick and throw on a ground ball for the third out of the inning !   The Fightins scored one more in the eighth as Chase Utley scored on a passed ball.   Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero combined to pitch a scoreless eighth inning.    Brad Lidge pitched the ninth inning and threw a perfect inning striking out two batters.

The Phillies came out very focused in this game led by the big fella Ryan Howard, when they are focused like they were in this one they are indeed a tough crew to beat.   With the Phillies win and the Mets loss to Florida in New York the magic number for the division is now one!  At the least the Phillies have now clinched a tie for the division crown, they can win it on the field tommorrow afternoon in the second game of the series against the Nats………… what better pitcher to have that honor this season than one Mr. Jamie Moyer!

Chatter

Ryan Howard set another new team record when he drove in his 32nd run of the month, that is the most in club history for the last month of regular season play.   Another team record was set by the fans, it marked the 48th sellout of the season, close to 3.3 million folks have come thru the turnstiles this season.   At an average modest rate of say $25 per ticket that would generate approximately $80 million in revenue.  I’d say the fans have done their part to justify keeping good players on payroll and going after some others this offseason via free agency !

Charlie Manuel got ejected in the ninth argueing a call on an appeal for what should have been a strike out.  The fans chorused “Charlie, Charlie, Charlie!”……………… good to hear the support for the big fella.

Brett Myers took the hill for the Fightins in the series finale against Atlanta and staggered thru a shaky first inning as the Braves hit him hard and often.  They scored two runs in the first frame on four hits before he was able to coax a ground ball double play ball to end the inning.   The Phillies bounced back in the second to score one as Pat Burrell doubled, went to third on an infield hit by Shane Victorino and scored on a single by Pedro Feliz.

The Braves got the run right back in the third as the key blow was a triple by Brian McCann.  Chase Utley hit his 33rd home run of the year in the home third to make the score 3-2.   Big Ryan Howard tied the game with his 47th home run in the fourth.   Pat Burrell got his second double as he hit an outside pitch perfectly down the right field line which albeit he did not score was a great sign that he is seeing the ball again!  The Braves re-took the lead in the fifth as Brian McCann doubled to score Martin Prado.   That marked the end of Brett Myer’s evening as Charlie Manuel went to Chad Durbin.  Durbin came in and gave up an unearned run on a Ryan Howard error and another on single by Brandon Jones.  Charlie then lifted Durbin for Scott Eyre to face pinch hitter Chipper Jones, remember this is only the fifth inning!    Chipper bombed Eyre with a three run home run……….. Braves took a 9 to 3 lead!

The Braves added a run in the eighth to make it 10-3, included in the mix was a steal of second base up by six…………..old school thought process was to put the next pitch in the batters ear!  J.C. Romero chose not to do that, guess these are not old school times!  There was a bench clearing in the bottom of the eighth though when Julian Taveras chose to physically run over to third base and attempt to “pick off” Shane Victorino.  Victorino took exception with it noting the score to Mr. Taveras!  Both benches cleared shortly thereafter.  No ejections though.  The Phillies did pick up a run to tighten the score to 10-4.

Chatter

Some of the loser element of the Fightin’s  faithful tried to start Eagles chants in the eighth…….. give me a break please, either stay with this team to the end or stay home.  

Phillies bats need to wake up this weekend or a possible early winter is at hand, what seemed like a sure playoff berth is now back up for debate.   The Fightins will send Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer and Cole Hamels to the mound but they will need offensive support to succeed.  J-Roll needs to lead the charge and the others must follow!

Don’t know what has happened to Brett Myers the last two games, location was horrible again as too many pitches are middle of the plate, needs to get head back into “pitching” and not “throwing” it would seem.  The Marlins and Braves simply teed off on him these last two contests. Might need him in the bullpen this last weekend and I am sure with his moxy he will make himself available!

 Three left with those pesky “Nats”, a team the Fightins should beat but have historically always played the Phillies tough, expect no different in these three.

This season has been a roller coaster ride so there the fitting end indeed is that it comes down to the last series of the season.  The Mets and Phillies have given their fans agina on many nights but hope on many others, one of the teams is gonna lose out but they have been so close all season what better way than have it decided on the last weekend of the year……..only thing better is if they played head to head to decide it !  Stay tuned Phillie fans, we have felt heartache many times but here is hoping that we are playing next week instead ! 

The Atlanta Braves drew first blood in this one as they scored a first inning run. Martin Prado doubled off Phils starter Cole Hamels and scored on Kelly Johnson’s single. The Phillies tied the game in the home second as Pedro Feliz knocked in Ryan Howard.

Atlanta re-took the lead in the third as Hamels had picked off Kelly Johnson going to third but threw the ball away allowing him to score. Casey Kotchman hit a solo home run in the sixth to put the Braves up 3 to 1. It marked the third time this year that Kotchman has taken Hamels out of the park. The big fella, Ryan Howard led off the home sixth with a triple and scored on an RBI stand up double by Pat Burrell.

Cole Hamels pitched seven effective innings for the Fightins, he struggled early with command but settled in and threw a good game. Hamels gave up 2 earned runs on eight hits and left trailing 3-2. He had seven strikeouts and only issued one walk. Scott Eyre came on in relief and got one out in the eighth before giving the ball to Chad Durbin who got the next two outs. Durbin also recorded the first two outs in the ninth before giving the ball to J.C. Romero who struck out Greg Norton to end the inning.

Mike Gonzalez closed the game for Atlanta as they won 3 to 2.

Chatter

Office talk today was whether Ryan Howard is worth the expected big money he is due to receive. If he goes to arbitration again this year he most likely will be seeking between 15 and 18 million. To sign him to a long term contract the Phillies would most likely have to pay an average rate of 20 million or more. Is the big man worth it? My opinion is yes, I think he is an unique player that only comes along infrequently. We are honored as Philly fans to see his efforts on a daily basis, yes he strikes out alot but hey he is a 50 Home Run 130 + RBI guy, how many of those folks exist ? I say he is worth the money and the Phillies should sign him as the cornerstone to our team. Just my opinion but I do not feel equal value would ever be attainable for the big fella in any trade!

Average attendance at Phillies games this year was close to 43,000 per game with 48 games to date being sold out! As stated in last night’s review this season will establish a new attendance record for the club as the attendance will go close to 3.3 million!

The Fightins need to bounce back and win the series tommorrow night. The Mets won so they gain back the game they lost last evening. As of this writing the Brewers were trailing against Pittsburgh.

Once again Jimmy Rollins started off a ball game with a hit as he stroked a double to lead off the Phillies first frame. Chase Utley followed with a double of his own to score J-Roll with the game’s first run. The Phillies manufactured a run in the second inning as Shane Victorino singled, advanced to second on a ground out, to third on a wild pitch and then scored as Carlos Ruiz singled to knock him in. This gave starter J.A. Happ an early lead to work with in his second big league start of the season against Atlanta.

J.A. Happ made the lead hold up till the top of the sixth when he was tagged for a two run home run by Kelly Johnson. Happ did a nice job by going six and 2/3 innings limiting the Braves to five hits and two runs and left with a runner on second base. Skipper Charlie Manuel went to the bullpen when Atlanta announced pinch hitter Yunel Escober and brought in veteran Rudy Seanez. Atlanta’s skipper Bobby Cox countered by pinch hitting for Escobar with left handed hitter Greg Norton. The Phillies walked Norton intentionally and went after Martin Prado instead. Seanez got Prado to ground out to third………… Prado is the hitter who lit up the Mets in yesterday’s game in a similiar situation.

Seanez got two outs in the eighth including a play at the plate where J-Roll threw out Kelly Johnson on a ground out, Johnson had led off the inning with a three bagger. Scott Eyre came in to get Casey Kotchman for the last out of the inning. Gregg Dobbs led off the eighth inning with his 22nd pinch hit of the season. Greg Golson pinch ran for Dobbs and advanced to third base on an errant throw to first trying to pick him off! Golson’s speed paid off as he then scored on a ground ball to third base where the throw came home but Golson beat it ! Pat Burrell then busted the game open as he nailed a three run home run that scored Jayson Werth and Chase Utley in front of him. Utley had been walked intentionally and Werth had hit the ground ball to third and reached on the fielders choice. Shane Victorino then tripled but was stranded as the inning ended. The score was 6 to 2 Phillies at the end of eight!

Ryan Madson came on to pitch the ninth inning and albeit he gave up two hits was able to close it out for the win. The magic number for a playoff spot is down to three with the win and four for the division !

Chatter

The Marlins loss earlier in the day to the Reds officially put them out of the running for the division crown. The Phillie Phanatic had a shot a catching a foul ball hit into the stands on the fly but dropped it! The obligatory boo was delivered to the Phanatic by the Philly faithful, speaking of the paying crowd, the game was once again sold out and fans were very loud in thier support of our Fightins! The Philadelphia Inquirrer’s Jim Salisbury speculated in his column today that the Phillies payroll next season might indeed approach $120 million and that does not include any potential run at a pitcher like C.C. Sabbathia which he sees as highly unlikely……… I hope he is wrong on the Sabbathia front…………… the team has drawn well over 3 million each of the last two seasons and will set an attendance record this season, all due to a winning team…….. ownership needs to cough up some of the financial benefit of that and give this core nucleas the weapons it needs to stay in the hunt and bring home titles !

Unlike in the first two games of this series Jimmy Rollins started this one by getting a hit. Rollins singled to lead off the game but was stranded in the first, however he led off the top of the third with a double and scored ahead of Chase Utley’s home run to put the Fightins up 2 -0. The Phillies added another run in the fourth as Jimmy Rollins got his third hit of the game to score Carlos Ruiz. Florida’s defense again hurt them as right fielder Cody Ross dropped an easy fly ball hit by pitcher Jamie Moyer that would have been the third out of the inning before Rollins would have come to bat !

The Marlins scored a run in the home sixth as Josh Willingham crossed the plate on a flare single by Alfredo Amezaga. Staff Ace Jamie Moyer gave the Phillies another quality start as he went six innings holding the Marlins to only one run. Moyer baffles the young Marlin hitters with location, change of speed and savvy, I am sure they are happy to not see him again this year!

The relief pitching roulette began once again in the seventh as Chad Durbin started the seventh and got the first out before giving up a double to catcher John Baker and a flare single to Jorge Cantu. Charlie Manuel then tapped the pen again as he brought in lefty J.C. Romero who got the second out but then proceeded to walk the bases loaded and give up a run on an infield hit which could have been much more if not for a very good stop by third baseman Greg Dobbs on the ground ball hit hard down the line. Charlie went to the pen again as he tapped right hander Clay Condrey , Condrey got out of the inning by coaxing Cody Ross to ground out to third base.

Shane Victorino led off the eighth with a single and Pedro Feliz then ripped a two run home run into the left field bleachers to give the Fightins a three run lead again! Ryan Madson pitched a perfect eighth to set up the final inning. Good job Ryan!

Brad Lidge finished the game and earned his 40th save in 40 tries. He struck out two in the inning. With the win the Phillies now go up 1 and 1/2 games on the Mets in the division race and maintain their three game lead on the wildcard. They now have a magic number of 4 to clinch a playoff spot. The boys came up big in Miami and now just have to finish it at home against the Braves and Nationals ! Jamie Moyer gets the win, his 15th of the season.

Chatter

The Mets bullpen blew another lead at Atlanta as they turned a 4-2 lead into a 7-6 loss. It looks as if J.A. Happ will get another start against the Braves tommorrow else Cole Hamels would have to pitch on three days rest, Hamels will probably be held back till tuesday’s game.

I sure am glad to be done with the Marlins bunch, they do not quit, have really good hitters, and some young arms with nasty stuff, the Mets have them to end the season and our buddies from New York will have a handful to deal with!

Jimmy Rollins in the last few games has not been able to jump start the offense, seems to be lunging again a bit.  In this one he struck out in his first two at bats however the Phillies did manage to score first thanks to the hapless fielding of the Marlins.   In the top of the third Carlos Ruiz reached on a throwing error by  third baseman Jorge Cantu, he advanced all the way to third as Phils starting pitcher Joe Blanton laid down a sacrifice bunt but Florida starter Anibal Sanchez threw the ball away allowing Blanton to reach.  Chase Utley then singled home Ruiz.

Blanton could not hold the lead however as Florida plated two in the bottom of the third as catcher John Baker belted a double to drive in both runs.   Shane Victorino tied the game in the top of the fourth by belting a solo home run, his 14th dinger of the season.   The Phillies re-took the lead in the sixth as Greg Dobbs singled to drive in Ryan Howard who had walked to lead off the inning.  The Phillies proceeded to load the bases and  Tadahito Iguchi pinch hit for Joe Blanton but flew out to right field on the first pitch.  Blanton did a credible job in this one as he struck out nine and only allowed three hits with two walks.  He had much better command than in prior starts and had some real pop on the heater.

The relief firm of Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson came on to pitch scoreless sixth, seventh and eighth frames albeit each was nerve wrecking especially the eighth when the Marlins put two runners on with no outs but Madson wiggled out of it with the help of a couple close calls by home plate umpire C.B. Buckner, one on a play at the plate where Gregg Dobbs threw out the runner, the call could have went either way truly and the other on a pitch that appeared to hit Cody Ross on the hand but Buckner instead ruled it hit the knob of the bat!   To Madson’s credit he did then go on to strike Ross out but the Fightins gotta fix the setup spot over the winter else they are  gonna give fans like me a heart attack !

Greg Dobbs led off the ninth with a double off the right field wall, Carlos Ruiz then sacrfice bunted pinch runner Greg Golson to third but the Phils could not score as Matt Stairs struck out and Jimmy Rollins was out trying to bunt for a hit.  J-Roll took the collar in this one.

Brad Lidge came on for the ninth and struck out the side to earn his 39th save in 39 tries despite walking the leadoff hitter.   HUGE HUGE HUGE win for this team !    Milwaukee, New York and Houston all lost so the Phillies go back into first in the N.L. East but are also now 3 games up on the wild card with seven left to play………….. HUGE HUGE HUGE Win boys !!!!!!!!!

Chatter

Word is that big Joe Blanton has been suffering from biceps tendinitis since a start he made in Los Angeles back in July,  it explains the lack of control and velocity he has had since coming to the Phillies. To his credit he has never refused to take the ball and goes out and battles each time.   In last nights game the Florida manager went to the umpires and required that Brett Myers put on a long sleeve shirt to cover his tatoo stating it was distracting, this after Phils skipper Charlie Manuel made the umpires enforce that the Marlins base coaches stay within the coaching boxes, little bit of tit for tat going on !

Much bigger crowd for this game, there was a concert and fireworks display after the game.  Albeit the crowds are generally small for Marlin home games Phillies Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas  did note during the game broadcast that they are usually very loud and supportive of the home team.

Carlos Ruiz played a heady game in this one doing the little things that often go unnoticed.  He picked off a runner at first base in the sixth, blocked the plate on a bang banger in the eighth, put down a perfect sac bunt in the ninth, blocked numerous pitches in the dirt including a nasty skidding fastball in the seventh and generally kept the calm on the field in numerous mound conferences.  The little catcher has taken a beating this year from fans and media as he has struggled most of the year offensively so he should get kudos for when he has a good game like this one !

The Brewers sure are trying to punt that wildcard spot as they lost again today 4 to 3 against the Reds, they looked lifeless on the bench and had their ace going today C.C. Sabbathia……………… maybe the big fella should come to Philly next year for more support eh!   Never too early for Hot Stove talk !!!!

By the way it is ok by me if both the Mets and Phils make the playoffs, don’t like the Mets but do respect them and their fans as they live and die for their team on a daily basis just like most of us Philly folks do for the Fightins, northeast fans are very passionate!  …………… of course I hope they are the wild card and we win the division !

Did I mention this was a HUGE win !!!!! 

The Phillies jumped out early once agan by scoring in their first at bat.  They were helped immensely by the achilles heal of the Marlins, defense!  Mike Jacobs butchered a ground ball hit by Ryan Howard that allowed Chase Utley to score the first run.  Utley had reached on a walk and advanced on Jayson Werth’s single.  Werth scored the second run of the game on a wild pitch by Florida starter Josh Johnson, Werth had went to third on the error by Jacobs. 

Florida bounced right back in the bottom of the first to score five runs as the first five batters all got hits including a two run home run by Dan Uggla.  Greg Dobbs homered to lead off the second inning marking the first dinger that Florida starter  Josh Johnson has given to a lefty hitter all season.   Chris Coste then singled and advanced to second on a sac bunt by Brett Myers.  Florida made yet another fielding mistake as Jimmy Rollins singled to right field and Cody Ross overthrew the cutoff man allowing Rollins to advance to second base.  Coste then scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Chase Utley.   After only one and one half innings of play nine runs had scored as the Marlins led 5 to 4 !

The Big Man Ryan Howard put the Phillies back on top in the fifth inning as he belted a two run home run to right field to score Chase Utley in front of him.  Howard battled in a classic at bat by working the count to 3-2 and fouling off numerous pitches before belting the blast!  Brett Myers struggled again in the home fifth as Florida bounced back to regain the lead.  Myers could not record an out in the inning and left with the bases loaded after allowing two runs to score.  Rudy Seanez came in as first relief and got tagged for a three run home run by Alfredo Amezaga after getting two outs.  Score at the end of five was 11-6 Marlins.  Florida added two more in the sixth off of Les Walrond to add insult to injury.    The Phillies offense though does not understand the word quit and  scored two off Florida reliever Andrew Miller in the seventh and eighth innings including a solo home run by Shane Victorino.   That forced the Marlins to lift Miller in favor of another reliever Logan Kensing who got two outs in the eighth  but allowed two runners and was then pulled in favor of ex Phil Arthur Rhodes who came on to get out of the inning with no further damage.  Kyle Kendrick got an inning of work in the eighth and got lit up by Jorge Cantu for a long solo home run.

Final Score :  Florida 14 Phillies 8   Have to come back and get ‘em tommorrow boys!  The only saving grace was that Milwaukee also got smoked by Cincy and at the time I filed this summary the Mets bullpen was trying their damdest to blow another one in Atlanta ! 

Chatter

The stands were pretty empty in Florida for the game, never quite understood how the Marlins maintain a presence in the Miami area as they usually put a decent product on the field but have historically never really drawn.  Similiar situation in Tampa Bay where the Rays are argueably the most talented young team in baseball but very rarely sell out the park.  With the lack of support the Marlins management is forced to sell off players that reach arbitration simply because they cannott afford to keep them. 

I don’t know if folks notice but Brett Myers starts every game now by standing behind the mound looking at Jimmy Rollins and mimicking the celebration hand signal that Jose Reyes does when he scores for the Mets.  Myers follows the signal with a smirk and  another signal of throwing his hand up in the air as if to say “Yeh Right!” ……….. that is at least what I think it is anyway.  It didn’t bring us any luck tonight though.