As New York Mets fans know being in first place in the National League East in September is not the most secure place in recent years.  The mighty Mets fell out of the top spot and eventually relinquished the title to our Fightins each of the last two seasons.  The FIghtins presently hold that leadership perch this season and one would think that with a 5 and 1/2 game lead and a magic number of 16 as of the time of this writing that such lead would be relatively safe………. as the New Yorker’s would tell you, don’t count on it till the fat lady sings!

The Phillies have not played well in September this season, they were swept in a four game series in Houston by the Astros and albeit came back to win two of three against the Nationals in Washington struggled to do so.   Everyone knows that the team offense is predicated on the long ball but recent times have seen that reliance to become somewhat alarming.  The Fightins run production recently has been delivered 60% of the time on home runs !  Too often they have been unable to produce runs with runners in scoring position and less than two outs.   If the team holds on and wins their third straight division title, which I expect them to by the way, the playoff run will be short if they do not figure out how to get back to offense 101 and move runners to score the small ball way also.  Home Runs usually don’t fly against the pitchers you see in the playoffs.

On top of the offensive woes the bullpen has been a real worry, Brad Lidge blew another game in Houston and struggled so mightingly in a game in Washington that skipper Charlie Manuel had to go get him in the ninth in favor of Ryan Madson who eventually closed the win.   Madson, though is not a closer just yet as he displayed against the Mets in yesterday’s game by blowing his sixth save of the season.   Brett Myers also pitched poorly against the Mets yesterday giving up a two run blast himself in the eighth inning set up roll.   Bottom line is this, anyone who does not realize that the Phillies must get Lidge right in the closer roll is blind as a baseball fan, the skipper knows it and will attempt to take the last few weeks of the season to try and get him right. 

In today’s game against the Mets Kyle Kendrick stepped up in a spot start opportunity and threw very well leaving with a 5 to 2 lead.  Matt Stairs doubled in the home eighth and was plated by Andy Tracy with a single to score that fifth run in what may become one of the more important RBI’s of the season.   The skipper brought in Mr. Lidge to attempt to get the game done and he needed every one of those three runs to do so as he converted a save for the 5-4 win.   I truly think that even though he struggled once again with hanging sliders that were hit hard by two Met hitters the fact that he was able to convert with two strike outs may indeed finally be the bridge back to where we need him to be.

I repeat, this team needs Brad Lidge to close, he is the best option we have and the success of the season will hinge on his ability to recover. 

Chatter

Kudo’s to Phillie fans who gave Lidge a very nice ovation when he came into the game today, it was a show of class for a class act, Lidge has never ducked his responsibility this season and does not deserve any boo birds wrath for that, he has not performed on the field but as we saw last season the Phillies home crowd can be a great attribute to the home team if we are behind them, this is a very good team we have, no room to be negative now fellow Phillie Phans, not if we want another title which is indeed in reach!

Pedro Martinez goes tonight against his old teammates in the night portion of the day-night twin bill.  Pedro has been excellent thus far so let’s hope that streak continues.  Has anyone noticed that Jamie Moyer could actually have 15 wins this season if not for the last two games where he left with a lead and the bullpen collapsed, not bad for a spot starter eh!   J.A. Happ is still struggling with a strained obligue and may miss another start, good thing we have Moyer ready to take the ball.   Clay Condrey threw in Reading in a rehab assignment but no word if he is ready to resume big league service, the injury to his obligue has cost the valuable right hander a big chunk of the season, J.C. Romero is still struggling with elbow woes as is fellow lefty Scott Eyre.   If those two guys can’t get back in time to finish the season don’t be suprised to see Mr. Happ in the bullpen as the team has only inexperienced Sergio Escolona and Jack Taschner in the pen presently from the left side.

Magic number is at 16 and Marlins are losing right now to Nats 7-1 in the eighth so there is a possibility that can go to 14 if they lose and the Fightins win behind Pedro tonight.   Good time to be a Phillie Phan folks!

Note :  The Fighins have four guys with 30 or more home runs this season, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley……..  those four guys have more than many entire teams including those lowly Mets, indeed a great time to be a Phillies Phan !

On Sunday I witnessed, along with many other fans, a true rarity in Major League Baseball.  Eric Bruntlett pulled off an unassisted triple play to end the game and give the FIghtin’s a 9 to 7 win over the Mets in New York !  It was only the 15th time in major league history that an unassisted triple play has occured and the second time in history that it has occured to end a ballgame!  The last and only other time in major league history that an unassisted triple play occured to end a game was May of 1927!   The feat is so extraordinary that the Baseball Hall of Fame asked Bruntlett to provide a piece of memorabilia to be added as part of the Hall of Fame collection,  Eric the Great donated his jersey to the hall as a momento.

Prior to the trip the New York the Fightins completed a three game sweep of Arizona as Joe Blanton tossed eight innings in a 12 to 3 win.  Blanton could have went nine but Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel chose to give Chad Durbin an inning of work to close the game.  Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard each homered in the game as the Fightins pounded 12 hits.

The four game series in New York began on Friday night with a loss as the Metropolitans beat the Phillies 4 to 2 behind Mike Pelfrey.  Cole Hamels continued to struggle as he was able to only go five innings giving up ten hits, Chan Ho Park and Ryan Madson pitched scoreless relief behind Hamels.  The Phillies had ten hits in the game but left 11 runners on base.  Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard had six of the hits, each with two hits apiece.

On Saturday the Phillies bounced back with a 4 to 1 win over the Mets as J.A. Happ went seven innings to earn his 10th win of the season.   Madson earned hold number 21 on the season and Brad Lidge tossed a perfect ninth to earn save number 24.  Chase Utley belted a two run home run to provide the game winner in the sixth inning.  Old nemesis Tim Redding started for the Mets and once again held the Fightins at bay by only giving up one hit thru five frames, Redding was on a pitch count and was taken out after five else this may have been a loss!

On Sunday Pedro Martinez made his Citi Field debut and was given a six run cushion before he even took the hill as Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz each belted three run home runs in the first inning to chase Mets starter Oliver Perez.  Perez was so bad that his own manager showed him up by pulling him with a 3-0 count to batter Martinez rather than let him finish out the at bat!   Martinez earned his second Phillies win of the season as he tossed six frames and was relieved by Durbin and Madson before Lidge closed to earn his 25th save on the Bruntlett triple play!  It must be noted that if Bruntlett had not committed two errors prior to the Triple play it would not have been needed!  Strange game is baseball sometimes.

In the series Finale on Monday staff ace Cliff Lee tossed seven strong innings and Ryan Howard belted two home runs to lead the Phillies to a 6 to 2 win.  Chan Ho Park earned his 8th hold in relief of Lee who is 5 and 0 as a Phillie and 12-9 overall as he won his ninth consecutive start!  Sweet!

Chatter

Greg Dobbs was put on the disabled list on monday and  Miguel Cairo was brought back up from Triple A.  Clay Condrey and J.C. Romero made rehab appearances in Clearwater and may rejoin the team in early September.  Brett Myers made a rehab start at single A Lakewood and is also on target to join the team in September.  It will be interesting to see whom the team recalls when rosters expand on September 1, e.g. will folks like Michael Taylor and Kyle Drabek be given major league service time ?  It may depend on how close or far the race is at that time.    With the win on Monday and prior to other results the team heads to Pittsburgh with a seven game lead in the division and two games in hand.  Great time to be a Phillies Fan!

With Howard’s homers on Monday he once again eclipsed 100 RBI in a season, the big guy has hit at least 30 bombs and driven in 100 or more for four consecutive seasons ! 

For he first time since 1984 the Phillies went into Chicago and swept a series away from the hometown Cubbies.  After winning the first game in extra innings on Tuesday  the Fightins came out of their recent offensive slumber to score 12 runs Wednesday evening enroute to claiming a victory behind starter Pedro Martinez and then rode ace Cliff Lee on Thursday afternoon to the winners circle.

Martinez tossed a very effective five innings and was clocked as high as 93 on the radar to earn career win number 215.  Chan Ho Park tossed three perfect innings behind Martinez and Chad Durbin finished out the game.  Home runs were clubbed by Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino.  All tolled the Fightins pounded 14 hits in the game.  An idiot fan tossed a full cup of beer on Victorino as he made a catch in centerfield on the warning track.  Originally security ejected the wrong guy but then came back and tossed the entire row as the dumbass fan didn’t fess up to his stupidity.  Some fans actually cheered the idiot as he left which makes one wonder……… maybe there is a reason for the curse on the cubbies, stupid fans like these!  I am sure that there are plenty of good fans in Chicago also but this dumbass sure is not one of them!  Charges have been filed by both Victorino and the Chicago Cubs, let’s see how proud the dummy is going to be about that!

On Thursday afternoon Cliff Lee continued to prove he was worth trading for as he led the Phillies to a 6 to 1 victory.   Ryan Howard belted a three run home run to give Lee all the runs he would need and Pedro Feliz also belted a dinger.   Both Howard and Feliz had three hit games.   Cliff Lee tossed eight innings in the contest and is now 3 and 0 as a Phillie, he even belted a double as a hitter !

Chatter

Depending on the outcome of tonight’s games involving the Braves and Marlins the Phillies will head to Atlanta with either a 4 and 1/2 game lead in the division or one game more.   Last season the Phillies were perfect in Atlanta but this year has been a struggle.  Big Joe Blanton will take the hill in the opener followed by Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ.   

Word is that Brett Myers had another very effective simulated game session and  is on track to be back pitching at month end or early September.  Clay Condrey and J.C. Romero are not close to returning though as both have had setbacks in the injury recovery process. 

Sources tell me that my boy Ryan Freel was released by the Royals, have always liked him as a player so hope the Phillies give him a shot.   How bout that Milwaukee Brewer housecleaning of late, I think that Bill Hall is still a player and was surprised the Brew Crew designated him for assignment.  He is another guy I would like to see in Phillies red pinstripes.

The Fightin’s embark on a seven game road trip to points west, namely Phoenix and San Francisco, with a six and one half game lead in N.L. East in tow.    West coast trips for east coast teams are historically challenging as is watching the games live on TV for  us fans and now is not the time for the team or us fans to start feeling our oats in regards to being comfortable with the present lead.   The Braves have won seven of the last ten games themselves, almost matching the Phillies string of 8 of 10.  One bad string of losses coupled with an offsetting win run by either the Braves or Marlins and this is a race again!  Don’t forget those pesky Mets either.

The offense continues to excel for the team as different hitters step up when others are in slow spells.  Jimmy Rollins has gotten into a groove again and Shane Victorino is on pace to collect 200 hits this season, as long as those offensive catalysts continue to set the table this team will score runs.  Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez each have hit over 20 home runs already this season giving the team a real chance at four guys with 30 or more.  Pedro Feliz has had a very consistent season and has made the bottom of the order a tough task to face as well.

Bottom line is the pitching will make or break the team, the starters have been very good during the last month and the bullpen albeit banged up with recurring injuries, Clay Condrey, J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin are all presently on the disabled list has more than held their own thus far inclusive of being TV stars of their own  shown on MLB TV…….. “The Bullpen”.   We can use reinforcements on the pitching staff and Roy Halladay would be a sweet addition to say the least.   I think that Pedro Martinez will be a surprise as well and be more help than some may think, perhaps even out of the Pen!

Chatter

Pennants are won or lost in the last months of the season and as August and September rapidly approach we will see what this year’s version is made of, personally I would like to see a closer race for the N.L. East as I think that teams that win big have tougher times ramping up in the playoffs, witness last season and the Chicago Cubs for example.   As we go thru this week and a trade is either realized or not for another pitcher the end goal is the same, another “freakin title”!   I am a bit concerned that our second baseman may have tweaked that hip injury, our announcers noticed some doubtful movements this past weekend during his play…….. hope not but the man is tough as nails so he will play thru it one way or another it would seem.

The Phillies pounded the Cincinatti Reds for 22 runs on Monday night as the offensive flood gates opened!  They pounded 21 hits including four home runs while setting a team record with a ten run first inning!  Reminds one of the big explosion they had in St. Louis last year.  Cole Hamels was the recipient of the great run support and got the mound win.   In the second game of the series Brad Lidge took the loss as he was tagged for the go ahead run in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss.  On Wednesday Shane Victorino knocked in the game winner in the ninth for the Phillies making a winner out of Ryan Madson in a 3-2 win.

Injury Updates

Raul Ibanez is in Triple A Lehigh Valley on his rehab assignment, he hopes to be activated this weekend for the Pittsbugh series prior to making his first All Star start in the game on Tuesday.  Clay Condrey is also close to going on a rehab assignment himself and should be activated a week or so after the all star game.  Rodrigo Lopez strained his shoulder in his start on Wednesday but reportedly was ok on Thursday, the Phillies wont need a fifth starter till 7/20.

All Stars

Shane Victorino was voted in as the fan’s reserve to the All Star game, the Fightin’s faithful did a great job of putting the flying Hawaiiin in the game… speaking of Hawaii the Governor there and our PA Governor made a friendly wager on which state would generate the most votes for Shane, not sure which one won!  Victorino joins Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley along with skipper Charlie Manuel in St. Louis for the game.   Howard will also participate in the home run derby contest.

Chatter

Pedro Martinez anyone ?  According to reports he will be signing with the Phillies and added to the starting rotation after the All Star break.  Martinez apparently threw consistently in low 90’s in a private workout for the Fightins.   Roy Halladay is apparently also on the team’s radar as Toronto has announced it is willing to listen on trade offers, will take a boat load of talent to pry him loose from the Jays but the Phillies may have it to do so, minor leagues are steep with talent for the Fightins and the Jays were scouting the big club this week, perhaps J.A. Happ and Jayson Werth may be part of the asking price.  Halladay is 32 but is perhaps the best right handed pitcher in baseball and sure would make the Phillies a tough crew to beat in a playoff series when coupled with Cole Hamels!  I know that we gotta get there first and that everyone loves offense but it has long been proven that pitching is what wins in the playoffs and world series.  Just look at what potential staffs the Fightins may face in the playoffs and series, the Sox roll out studs as do the Yanks….. if the Phillies can put up Hamels/Halladay at top of rotation I will take my chances against anyone!

In western North Carolina and am listening to games on Fox Ohio, interesting perspective hearing the Reds announcers talking about how dangerous the Phillies lineup is throughout, that being said we could pry a bat loose to get another stud pitcher!

As June  has closed and July has begun the Fightins keep us fans on an up and down ride thru the 2009 season.   The team looked like it had righted the ship with two straight wins against Toronto to end interleague play for the year but then they go to Hotlanta where they did not lose at all last season and get swept in a three game series!    After the Atlanta sweep the Phillies were in a NL Eastern Division first place tie with the Florida Marlins and were staring at a three game stint with the not so Amazin 2009 version of the Mets………guess what, they sweeped the Mets and now have a one game lead over Florida.

Mets Series

The Mets are banged up, have been for awhile so it is to thier credit that they have stayed in the race.  In this series we saw Joe Blanton outduel the game’s best pitcher Johan Santana for a 2-0 win, the return of Brad Lidge to saving form and Jimmy Rollins starting to hit like J-Roll!   All good things which the optimist in me says is great but the pessimist in me says what comes next, a downward slope of the roller coaster!   Here is hoping that we are on the incline for awhile.

All Stars

Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez got voted into the All Star game as starters and Ryan Howard has been named by skipper Charlie Manuel as a reserve.  Shane Victorino is up for vote as the fan’s choice as reserve, knowing the Philly faithful I think Shane is headed to St. Lous also!

Starting Pitching

Rodrigo Lopez made his Phillies debut as he was recalled from Triple A to replace an ailing Antonio Bastardo in the rotation.  Lopez at one time was a coveted trade prospect of the Fightins when he was a member of the Orioles, I remember rumblings that Pat Burrell was dangled in exchange for Lopez a few years ago.  Lopez beat the Mets in his debut and showed a Greg Maddux like pitching savvy,  he will apparently be given every chance to prove he belongs.

Rumors

Carlos Carrasco, Kyle Kendrick, Drew Carpenter and Sergio Escalona are all names that the Phillies consider to be either big league ready or close to it.  Add folks like Kyle Drabek, Joe Savery and others and the Fightin’s have some surplus to offer up in trade, rumors are they are still looking for a big name starter and have interest in Roy Oswalt and Erik Bedard still………. as the July 31 deadline gets closer we will see what shakes loose.

Chatter

Sorry for the infrequent posts, my day job got in the way a bit!  I am on vacation now traveling the east coast of the U.S. , presently in the Outer Banks.   Still keeping up with my Fightin Phillies though and will post comments when I have them…….. Scott Eyre is back from the D.L. and perhaps Clay Condrey is soon to follow.   Looks like Chris Coste has been designated solely a pinch hitter by Charlie lately as Paul Bako has logged all the backup catcher innings, with Carlos Ruiz mired in another slump Bako has caught very often in the latest stretch of games.

A matchup of the world champions of baseball vs a last place club with said champions being on the home turf would seem to equate to a series sweep correct ?   Well indeed it was a series sweep but it was the Baltimore Orioles who did the sweeping of the defending champion Phillies and not vice versa.   The Phillies closed the most recent homestand with a not so stellar record of 1 and 9 and headed off for a three city road tour with a losing streak in tow of six games.   Rather than detail the agony of the three losses to the Orioles I chose to focus on where the team is at this stage of the season.  This is inclusive of the first game of the team’s newest road journey which was a 10 to 1 clubbing of the Tampa Rays…….. road life indeed has been the key to the season thus far !

Standing

Despite a record of 13-22 at home the Fightins are still in first place in National League East leading the Mets by two and one half games.  That is due to a stellar road record of 24-9 and the fact that no one else in the division has played well enough to overtake them.  The Mets are tremendously banged up, three key position players, Reyes, Beltran and Delgado are out……. to the New Yorkers’ credit they have remained above .500 with a patchwork lineup and rebuilt and reengineered pitching staff but even the most optimistic Mets fan cannott expect that to continue.    Florida is riding a current three game winning streak and does indeed have very good young starting pitching but they cannott catch a cold in the field and I do not see them overcoming that achilles heel, they do have chips to play for trade so watch the young Fish!   Atlanta can’t hit thier way out of a paper bag so no one should really worry about them at this point, they went out and got a really good young center fielder in Nate Mclouth but there are still major holes in the lineup.  Washington just flat out sucks so nothing more to say.   

Wounded

The Phillies also have thier share of injuries, Raul Ibanez carried the team early and is presently on the disabled list,  key pitchers Brad Lidge, Brett Myers and Clay Condrey are all presently on the same DL.   Starting pitching has been erratic all season and I do believe that GM Ruben Amaro is actively looking at trades but most clubs still feel that they are still in the playoff hunt so deals are not readily available unless you are interested in Zach Duke ?

Home Woes

I cannott believe that the team will continue to struggle with winning at home.  CBP is constantly sold out and the fans have been very patient, only recently did they bring out the boo chorus!  I think the team is more focused on the road, perhaps too many personal appearances are scheduled when they are at home ?   In any regards they are too talented to not find a way to begin winning at home  consistently soon.

J-Roll

Jimmy Rollins is the catalyst for this crew,  has been for the past few years and nothing has changed, folks gripe that Charlie should move him out of the lead off hole, the same folks who said to move Lidge out of the closer role I suspect…………. just plain stupid to think that way.   J-Roll will find it, Charlie is very patient, we fans have to get behind our lead off hitter rather than get negative.  This team will go the way he does, plain and simple.   He has had spurts where he has shown evidence of getting on a roll, I think that perhaps that daggone extended spring training due to that silly little tournament has had more impact on Mr. Rollins than we know, that is my suspicion at least…..never know what nagging little injuries these guys play with.

Chatter

Rumblings were that the Fightins were actually close to a deal with Colorado that would have brought Jason Marquis here along with Ryan Spillbourgh.   The cost would have been J.A. Happ and minor league prospects, apparently Colorado backed off when they started to win games after ditching skipper Clint Hurdle.   While Marquis is not a number two starter he does win games and eat innings and Spillbourgh would have been a right hand bat off the bench so let’s see if perhaps the deal might resurface before the July 31 trade deadline.    Don’t be shocked to see Ruben make a play for a combo of Cliff Lee and Mark DeRosa out of Cleveland either, I have nothing to go on with that statement, only a fan’s view of what could help our club and who might be available.   Watch that young Kyle Drabek’s progress in Double A Reading also, the answer to starting pitching may indeed be in house!

The Phitin Phils home woes continued as they lost a three game series earlier this week to the might Toronto Blue Jays!  Poor pitching, bad defense and inconsistent offense are the bottom lines to the losses, that coupled with a key player once again succumbing to injury are cause for concern for us Phans!   Despite all of that the team still finds itself in first place by three games as the second place Mets also lost thier most recent series, this one to the Orioles.  Here is a recap of the three Phillie-Jays games :

Tuesday, June 16th – Toronto 8 Phillies 3

Young Toronto Lefty Ricky Romero tossed seven stellar innings against the Phillies as he struck out nine.  Cole Hamels gave the Phillies a good outing going six innings and limiting the Jays to 2 runs.  This one turned into a battle of the bullpens as it became yet another extra inning contest as Ryan Madson could not hold the one run lead for Hamels in the ninth and blew his second save of the season.   Toronto exploded for five runs off of Clay Condrey in the top of the tenth to salt the game away, rumblings are that Condrey is nursing an injury of his own and is trying to pitch thru it.   The Phillies could only muster 8 hits in the game, three by Chase Utley and two by Jimmy Rollins.  Jayson Werth hit his tenth home run of the game in the sixth inning.

Wednesday, June 17th – Toronto 7 Phillies 1

Jamie Moyer was hit around a bit again as he gave up six runs on ten hits in six innings of work.  Youngster Scott Richmond tossed eight very effective innings for Toronto limiting the Phillies to only five hits while striking out eleven!   The Phillies only run was a solo home run by Jayson Werth.  Shane Victorino had two hits but the team could only muster six in total. 

Thursday, July 18th – Toronto 8 Phillies 7

Joe Blanton could only go five and one thirds innings before exiting in this one albeit he did leave with a 5-4 lead at the time.   An overused bullpen once again could not hold onto the lead as the two teams went back and forth before Toronto scored the game winner in the top of the ninth off of game loser Ryan Madson.  New Phillie hurler Tyler Walker pitched out of an inherited jam in the eighth inning to keep the game within reach at 7-5, the Phillies tied it at seven but Madson was tagged for a homer by Rod Barajas in the visitor’s ninth.    The Phillies offense was much better in this one as they collected twelve hits, three by Jimmy Rollins, and two each by Shane Victorino and John Mayberry Jr.  Mayberry was recalled from Triple A prior to the game to replace injured Raul Ibanez who was placed on the 15 day disabled list prior to the game with a strained groin.  Mayberry belted a home run in the game.

Chatter

Raul Ibanez was further evaluated with an MRI and diagnosed to have no additional groin damage, with rest it is expected that he will be able to rejoin the active roster for the next Mets series.  Brad Lidge has had two successful bullpen outing and will do a rehab start at Reading over the weekend, he is expected to be activated for next Tuesday’s game if all goes well.   Two of the Phillies hot minor league prospects are on the disabled list, Lou Marson and Jason Donald are both deactivated with injuries.   Speculation of the Phillies dangling either for potential pitching help is thus on the backburner.  Rumors are that the Phillies have scouted Red Sox hurler Brad Penny but it is unclear what it would take to get him, it was thought that Donald was the chip they wanted.   Former top draft choice Lefty Joe Savery was recently promoted to Reading where he joins super prospect Kyle Drabek in the rotation, watch both those boys, one could be in the show before the end of the 2009 season!  

What perhaps could have been a series sweep turned into a series split as the Fightins won 2 of 4 in Tinseltown.  Closer Brad Lidge had his difficulties in finishing two of the games albeit hindered by an error committed by usually reliable third sacker Pedro Feliz in one of them.   The starting pitching continued to excel, both young arms and old which is a positive from early season woes.  Mr. Lidge will come around, have faith Phillie fans, not time to panic just yet!   Did I mention we are in first place in NL East ?  Here is a recap of the Dodger series.

Thursday, June 4 – Phillies 3 Dodgers 0

Cole Hamels was the story as he threw a complete game shutout limiting LA to only five hits while striking out five and issueing zero free passes!   Hamels had excellent command, great velocity and super movement……all those ingredients equate to a shutout!  Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez each had an RBI and Carlos Ruiz and Werth had two hits in the game.  Hamels was the bottom line to the win though.

Friday, June 5 – Dodgers 4 Phillies 3

The Phillies were within one out of the win when Russell Martin hit a ground ball to third basemen Pedro Feliz in what would normally be a routine out but Pedro kicked it allowing Andre Ethier to come to the plate with the bases juiced and the Dodgers trailing by one.  Ethier smoked Brad Lidge’s first offering to him for a double over right fielder Eric Bruntlett’s head to plate two mates and produce the walk off Dodger win.  What was lost in the equation was a tremendous performance by Phillies starter Jamie Moyer who went seven strong innings giving up only four hits and two runs.  J.C. Romero pitched a scoreless eighth to earn his first 2009 hold but in the end Mr. Lidge got blown save number 5 on the season.  Bruntlett, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Chase Utley and Feliz had two hits each to lead the Phillie offense.

Saturday, June 6 – Dodgers 3 Phillies 2

Once again the FIghtins took a one run lead into the ninth with closer Brad Lidge on the hill and once again the Dodgers tagged Mr. Lidge with a blown save.  Rafael Furcal hit a solo pinch hit home run to send the game to extra innings where Andre Ethier would eventually win it with a home run off of Chad Durbin in the 12th inning.   Joe Blanton gave the Phillies another strong start by going five innings limiting the Dodgers to one run on five hits.  Clay Condrey, J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson all earned holds in setting it up for closer Brad Lidge but Mr. Lights Out was lit up instead for his sixth blown save of the year.  The Phillies only had six hits in the whole 12 innings led by Pedro Feliz with two.

Sunday, June 7th – Phillies 7 Dodgers 2

The Fightins exacted revenge in the Sunday Night nationally televised contest on Fox Sports.  Rookie Antonio Bastardo pitched five innings in his second big league start to earn win number 2.  Bastardo struck out four while giving up two runs on seven hits.   Chan Ho Park was booed by the Dodger faithful when he came onto the field in relief of Bastardo but Chan Ho pitched three scoreless innings to earn his first hold of the season, Ryan Madson finished the contest in the ninth.  Home runs were hit by Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino.   Victorino, Ruiz and Jimmy Rollins, ( hitting out of the six hole for first time since 2006), had two hits each to account for two thirds of the Phillies total of nine for the game. 

Chatter

After an off day on Monday J.A. Happ will take the mound in New York against the Mets on Tuesday to kick off a 3 game series and end the 10 game road swing.  The Phillies are 5 and 2 thus far on the trip, the three game series may mean more for the Mets than the Phillies as the New Yorkers are severely banged up but to their credit are still only 3 games out of first place behind the Philies.  A series win by the Phillies could be a demoralizer to the New Yorkers but it is far too early in the season I think.  Should at the least be an entertaining series, usually is when these two teams get it on.

Jamie Moyer was back to form on Sunday as he tossed six innings in leading the Phillies to a 4-2 win over the Nationals and a series sweep.   Moyer had excellent command in this game as he limited the Nationals to only three hits while striking out four thru his stint of work.   Clay Condrey and Ryan Madson earned holds in the game by each pitching one innning of relief and Brad Lidge saved his 12th of the season and 3rd of the series with a perfect ninth inning aided by a spectacular play on a ground ball up the middle corraled by Chase Utley who pivoted and threw a one hopper that Ryan Howard dug out to end the game just before the hitter crossed the bag!

Chris Coste hit his second home run of the season in the game for the Fightins, in fact Coste had two hits in the game.  Chase Utley also had a two hit game, RBI’s were earned by Howard, Coste, Utley and Pedro Feliz.   With the win the Phillies maintain their slim 1/2 game lead over the Metropolitans for first place in the N.L. East.    The Phillies now hit the road for 10 games including a west coast stint to San Diego and LA.

Chatter

As I suspected the Phillies will recall Antonio Bastardo from Triple A Lehigh Valley to take injured Brett Myer’s spot in the starting rotation on Tuesday in San Diego, no big deal in that he will face Jake Peavy in his big league debut!   The month of June is a tough stretch for the Phillies this season, they start with 10 road games thru San Diego, LA and then in New York with the Mets and then are home for 9 interleague games with Boston, Toronto and Baltimore before ending the month on the road with 7 games against Tampa, Toronto and Atlanta.   In the mix of that schedule are off days every monday with the exception of tommorrow in San Diego.   The Fightin’s did not fare so well with interleague play last season as I recall they lost every interleague series, this will be a good stretch to gage how well the boys are gonna do this season!