Cole Hamels pitched magnficently in his second chance at the playoffs unlike last season when nerves got the best of him.  Hamels pitches eight shutout innings striking out nine brewers.  The Phillies gave Hamels a lead in the third inning as Carlos Ruiz led off with a singleand advanced to second on a sacrfice bunt by Hamels.  Hamels reached first base himself as Milwaukee second baseman Ricky Weeks erred by dropping the throw from third baseman Bill Hall while covering first base.  Chase Utley then smoked a double over the head of Brewer center fielder Mike Cameron to score both Ruiz and Hamels.  Consecutive walks were then issued to Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell and Shane Victorino to score a third run.

Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo did not pitch bad and kept the Brewers in the game thru four.  The Milwaukee bullpen did an excellent job after Gallardo as they did not allow the Phillies to score another run. 

Brad Lidge came on to pitch the ninth inning and struck out the side albeit he struggled. Ryan Braun knocked in Ray Durham with a double with one out.  Lidge then struck out Prince Fielder and walked J.J. Hardy, both Braun and Hardy advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch.  Lidge then struck out Corey Hart to close the game.  Lidge ended up striking out the side.  42 saves in 42 tries!  80 and 0 when leading after eight!

Chatter

Skipper Charlie Manuel most surely will be second guessed for taking Hamels out after eight as Lidge struggled with the ninth.  Hamels had thrown less than 100 pitches and was dominating the Brewers.  Lidge needed over 30 pitches to get thru the ninth.  Ryan Howard was walked three times and would have been four but he got impatient and swung at a high pitch.  It seems the Brewers have decided that he will not be the man to beat them in this series.  Getting the first win is key as in the previous 26 NL series that were five game sets the team winning the first one has prevailed in the series 23 times.  Brett Myers goes at it tommorrow against C.C. Sabbathia,  I feel a very good outing coming on from Mr. Myers, we just need to get him some runs to work with!  

Phillies kept lefty J.A. Happ on the playoff roster along with both left hand hitting outfielders Geoff Jenkins and Matt Stairs.  Pitcher Rudy Seanez was kept off the roster, the Fightins are going with 11 pitchers and 14 position players at least for this series.   The win was the first post season victory for the Phillies since 1993 when they won game five of the World Series.   Cole Hamels was working on six days rest, if he can pitch like this with that type of rest maybe the team should invest in a six man rotation next season!

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!

Rookie J.A. Happ took the starting assignment on the hilll for the Fightins and his teammates staked him to a four run lead before he even threw a pitch!  Ryan Howard continued his torrid hitting as he singled to knock in a run, Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz also singled to collect RBI’s, Ruiz had a key two out two run stroke.

Happ pitched six solid shutout innings for the Fightins allowing only three hits.  Geoff Jenkins pinch hit for him in the seventh.  Happ’s performance was much more than expected as the young lefty came up big to fill the fifth starter’s hole, it most likely will earn him another shot next week!

The Phillies added a run in the eighth as Braves second basemen Kelly Johnson had a brain cramp on a dead double play ball with runners on first and third as he forgot the outs, looked home and was then forced to go to first.  He was obviously very embarrassed afterwards! 

Chad Durbin pitched a scoreless seventh with little trouble but after getting two outs in the eighth ran into some trouble as two runners reached base.  Skipper Manuel went to the pen once more bringing lefty J.C. Romero in and he got Brian McCann on a pop out to end the inning with no damage done.    Matt Stairs hit a pinch hit home run in the ninth inning, his first as a Phillie, to lead off the inning.   Clay Condrey pitched the ninth to close out the game and gave up a run.  Final count: Phillies 6, Braves 1

 Chatter

Right, wrong or indifferent it is undeniable that skipper Charlie Manuel has been the calm throughout all occassions this season.  When the Fightins were down by four earlier in August Charlie remained confident that his team would prevail, in fact was almost “chatty” during his after game press conference which is a task he does not seem to enjoy.  He displays the kind of confidence that makes guys want to play for him,  talk shows and fans can question all they want in game moves but this guy is a proven winner and in my mind is a keeper.  He is very much like Coach Andy Reid of the Eagles in his calm and somewhat “in your face” media nature of display that it is his way or the highway!   If the Phillies make the playoffs he deserves alot of credit and it is not despite of him as some might say!   Bobby Cox has managed forever in Atlanta with that positive attitude approach and as we know has been very successful.

The Mets lost my favorite hot dog Fernando Tatis for the season when he dislocated his shoulder diving for a ball in the outfield.  I do not wish injury or hurt to anyone so hope that he recovers quickly and is back to “skipping” on the plate when he scores next season!

Shane Victorino must truly love playing in Atlanta.  He had three hits last night and followed that up with another three hits tonight.  In the previous six games at Atlanta Victorino has had multi hit games in four of them!  He gave us a scare in his third at bat when the ball hit his thumb while attempting to bunt, he did not come out of the game but did seem to favor it in his swing in the fourth at bat.

The Phillies marched into Atlanta tied for the wild card lead and only 1/2 game behind the division leading Mets, they also entered the contest with a perfect 6 and 0 record in Atlanta thus far this season.  That being said you knew it wasn’t going to be easy in this one as nothing has this season.

Veteran Jamie Moyer started for the Fightins in this one and albeit he struggled with command did manage to go 5 and 2/3 innings.  Moyer was tagged for six hits and six runs and left the game trailing.  Ryan Howard provided the big offensive push for the Fightins as he had four hits in the game including a triple in the seventh and a home run in the eighth.  Howard had three RBI’S in the game.  Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz also homered in the contest.  Ryan Madson was huge in this one as pitched perfect seventh and eighth innings to shut down the Braves who had erupted for four to take the lead in the sixth inning.  Jimmy Rollins had two hits in the game and Shane Victorino had a three hit game.  Howard’s home run came in the top of the eighth and  gave the Phils a one run lead to protect.

Brad Lidge earned his 37th save in 37 tries albeit it was not an easy one as he walked the bases loaded before striking out the last hitter!  Phillies took over first place with the win!

Chatter

The Mets were shutout in Washington and lost 1 to 0.  At least they can’t blame that one on the bullpen!  J.A. Happ will start tommorrow night in the fifth starters spot.  He was given the nod over veteran Adam Eaton and struggling Kyle Kendrick.   Scott Eyre has voiced a wish to resign with the Phils next season, Eyre is a free agent at end of season, he has been very effective since coming over from the Cubs and in my opinion should be welcomed back.  Moyer did not have location in this one but remember that he threw on three days rest last start and on four days in this one, during the summer the team has tried to give him extra rest if possible.  He is a pro though and will not turn away the assignment !  

If Phillies win the division Ryan Howard  is gonna be the MVP again !  He can’t be denied if he keeps up this pace !

Jimmy Rollins started this one off hot as he doubled in his first at bat, advanced to third on a single by Jayson Werth and scored on a double play ground out by Chase Utley.   The Phillies scored three more in the second as starting pitcher Brett Myers came thru with a two out single to score Pat Burrell who had led off the inning with a walk.  J-Roll stayed hot in his second at bat as after Chris Coste, ( on with an intentional walk), and Myers had advanced on a wild pitch Rollins singled to center field to plate both runners.   Pat Burrell smoked a long solo home run to the upper deck in  left field in the fourth to make it  5-0.  Shane Victorino doubled and then a HBP to Coste and walks to Rollins and Jayson Werth forced in another run and Brewer starter Jeff Suppan was done for the evening after only going 3 and 2/3 innings!  The score at the end of four was 6 -0 Phillies.

The Brewers scored a run in the seventh on a Prince Fielder solo home run.  It was only the second hit allowed by Brett Myers in the game !  Myers was outstanding and on three days rest!  He pitched a complete game two hitter !  The man is full of energy and propelled the team to win in this one!

Big offensive game for J-Roll as he was on base all five plate appearances with two hits and three walks.  Shane Victorino also had a big game as he had three hits in the contest. 

Chatter

The Phillies will definitely need a fifth starter on either Tuesday or Wednesday.  With the rainout this past Friday forcing Joe Blanton to throw on Sunday the only pitchers amongst the first four capable of throwing Tuesday and Wednesday are  Jamie Moyer and  Cole Hamels, both would have to go on three days rest…………. while possible it is not likely they will ask Hamels to throw on that short a rest.  J.A. Happ or Adam Eaton will likely get a start in one of the two initial games of the Braves series.

Shout out to Catherine Hildwine who won the $100 McDonalds giveaway for the game when Pat the Bat smoked a home run in the fourth……….. good job Cath bringing the team good luck in this one!  There was a major league game in Milwaukee tonight even though the Brewers were in Philly!  In a rarity the Houston Astros “hosted”  the Chicago Cubs at Miller Park as Houston is still in recovery from the hit of Hurricane Isaac.

On an unusually hot day in September, ( heat index over 100!), things started lethargic for the FIghtins.  Starting pitcher Joe Blanton was tagged for a two run home run in the Brewers first at bat by Ray Durham to put the Phils immediately in a hole.  Blanton’s woes with the Phillies have been caused by his lack of demand on his pitches and he hung a curve ball to Durham that the hitter actually seemed to double clutch on before swinging!    The Phillies got one back in the fourth inning as Chase Utley doubled, went to third on a single by Ryan Howard and scored on a double play ground out by Pat Burrell.   Milwaukee made it a two run game again in the top of the fifth as Mike Cameron smoked a Blanton changeup into the rarified air of the left field upper deck!

Ryan Howard tied the game in the home sixth by belting his 44th home run of the season over the left field wall to score Chase Utley in front of him.   Dave Bush did a nice job for Milwaukee as he went six innings and only gave up five hits.  Bush is a local Philly boy as he grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs,  likewise Joe Blanton pitched effectively for the Fightins as he was pulled in the offensive seventh in favor of pinch hitter Matt Stairs.  

Ryan Madson got the first two outs in the eighth before skipper Charlie Manuel went to lefty Scott Eyre to turn switch hitter Ray Durham into a right hander.  Eyre did the job by striking out Durham who was left in for the at bat despite only hittiing .219 against lefthanders this season.  Milwaukee had Ricky Weeks and Bill Hall available on the bench, not our worry though!

Jayson Werth led off the eighth with a single off of righthander Guiellermo Mota  which prompted a pitching change by Milwaukee, they brought lefthander Brian Shouse in to presumably face Utley and Howard……… but in a surprise move our three hole hitter Chase Utley sacrificed Werth to second with a bunt!   Ryan Howard was then intentionally walked with first base open  but the Brewers still  kept Shouse in to face right hand hitter  Pat Burrell rather than go to righty Eric Gagne.   Burrell singled to left field to score Werth with the go ahead run on a very close play at the plate!  Shane Victorino then belted a three run home run to put the Phils up by four !   Pedro Feliz then singled.   All of this happened against Shouse, he did not retire a hitter as finally Brewer skipper Ned Yost came and got him…………. if Milwaukee sports talk shows are anything like Philly’s  then Mr. Yost’s ears will be burning off as the second guessers will be out in full force!

Brad Lidge recorded the final two outs in the ninth after Scott Eyre got the first one.  Charlie is taking no chances down the stretch and is using Lidge even in four run lead non save closeouts.  The Phillies increased thier record to 67 and 0 when leading after eight.  Lidge should be fine for tonight’s game as he only threw seven pitches to get the last two outs!

Chatter

The team seemed flat once again at the start, perhaps due to the weather or the lack of a capacity crowd.  J-Roll struck out to begin the game and as he goes so does this crew.  Blanton had to be considered a disappointment thus far in the way he had pitched, he too often was getting behind hitters and then was hit hard, even the outs he got seemed to be struggles.  By pitching seven in this one he did his job and saved burning the pen for the game tonight, alot of between game work with pitching coach Rich Dubee has been going on to help the big fella find a consistent release point on his pitches.    Corey Hart lost a ball in the sun in the bottom of the fifth but stayed with it and made a last minute dive to record the catch.   The game tonight has tremendous importance as it will swing the wild card race in a distinctive path forward.  Tuesday offers another challenge for the starting pitching staff as it is a situation for the fifth spot in the rotation, if that spot is skipped Jamie Moyer would have to pitch on three days rest again.  Who do you give the chance to ?  J.A. Happ who got hit around behind Kyle Kendrick last week, Kendrick who is in a deep slump or do you ask veteran Adam Eaton to earn that big paycheck ?    I don’t believe I am saying this but Eaton may be the best option if Moyer cannott go !  Stay tuned.

Chase Utley broke his own team record for getting hit by a pitch in the sixth inning when he took one in the shoulder.  It marked the 26th time Chase has taken one for the team this season!

Eighteen games left in the season and more than one behind in the playoff race means little if any wriggle room for failure.  The Phillies needed a big effort from starter Kyle Kendrick against the Marlins in this one with that in mind.   Kendrick could not deliver as he was belted around and only lasted one and one third innings giving up 7 runs on six hits and also issued two walks.   Jorge Cantu blasted a three run home run in the second inning to seal Kendrick’s fate.  Sinker ball pitchers who cannott locate get blasted and Kendrick is in a major funk……….. not good for a team hoping to reach the playoffs! 

Marlins starter Chris Volstad was lifted after three innings not because of how he pitched but strictly due to being hit by a line drive off the bat of Carlos Ruiz in the third inning.  Volstad only gave up one run on two hits.  J.A. Happ relieved Kendrick and threw two shutout innings before getting lit up by Mike Jacobs in the fourth for a two run home run to make the count 9 to 1!

Eulogio Dela Cruz came on to pitch for the Marlins in the fourth and the Fightins greeted him by scoring three runs including a two run home run by Ryan Howard and a triple by Pat Burrell.  Just when you thought we might come back Happ gets blasted in the fifth for another bomb by Cody Ross to make it 10-4 !  One thing I know about this team though is that quit is not in the vocabulary.  That being said the Fightins scored four in the home sixth to make the count 10-8 !   Key hits were delivered by Shane Victorino, Matt Stairs and Greg Dobbs.

The Marlins held on though as too much lead was given by Kendrick and the Fightins could not overcome the early deficit.  With the Phillies loss and Mets win they now fall 3 back in the loss column, hole gets deeper.

Chatter

The appearance of J.A. Happ in this one means that Jamie Moyer will start on Thursday against the Brewers on three days rest.  Moyer gets the importance of these games so I am sure he eagerly stepped up to the request.  If the Phillies can win every series remaining they would go 11 and 6 meaning to tie the Mets they must go no better than 9 and 9.  At a minimum I think that is what the Fightins must accomplish to earn the division albeit the Mets are unlikely to lose 9 of the next 18.  Can’t have your starter get whooped early if you are trying to win at that pace !

My good buddy Ray was caught on the TV screen in the fourth inning as he caught a foul ball off the bat of Dan Uggla.  Where the ball was hit was more significant than the catch, it was in the upper upper deck!  Gotta get better seats than that Ray my boy !

Sometimes you just gotta let the ball fly as a pitcher and not worry so much about “spotting” the pitch.  When Kyle Kendrick struggles he does so trying to “aim” instead of throw and looks as if he is “pitching scared”.  He is really a one trick pony relying almost exclusively on his sinker and getting hitters to put the ball in play on the ground, he gives up plenty of hits but has been able to get key outs when needed as his ball moves really well. If he doesn’t let it fly though mentally he gets behind batters and either walks them or puts himself in spots where the pitch is predictable and targeted to get smoked!   In this one Kyle did not pitch so well and indeed looked as if he was “pitching scared”.

The Nationals took advantage and  jumped on Kendrick early as they plated two first inning runs. He gave up a leadoff single to Willie Harris and walked Ryan ZImmerman and then advanced both runners to scoring position by tossing a wild pitch.  Lastings Milledge singled to center to plate both runners.  In the Nationals fourth Willie Harris smoked a triple to right field to plate another run and Cristian Guzman then doubled him home, Ryan Zimmerman followed by blasting a home run to deep center field to make the National total count six………all runs scored with two outs!   It could have been more if not for some poor base running by Washington where they helped Kendrick out.  Kendrick was gone after four innings being lit for nine hits, three walks and two hit batters.  Certainly not a start to remember and may call for a change in the rotation as the team cannott afford meltdowns like this to occur at this point of the season.

 Meanwhile  Phillie killer Tim Redding, ( he has shutout the Phillies twice already this year),  started on the hill for the Nationals and held them scoreless and hitless thru five frames!  Shane Victorino got the first hit in the sixth as he singled to left, stole second and went to third on an errant throw by the catcher.  Ryan Howard then ripped a double down the right field line to score Victorino and Jayson Werth drew a walk that ended Redding’s day as Washington went to the pen.  Washington relievers walked the next two Phillie hitters and then hit a batter, first to load the bases and then to plate two runs to make the score 6-3 before they were able to work out of the jam.

The Nationals tacked on another run in the seventh off of Clay Condrey.  Their bullpen closed out the contest albeit Jimmy Rollins belted a solo home run in the ninth as Washington won it seventh consecutive game.  The Phillies were totally outplayed in this one and with the loss fell to two games behind the Mets who beat the Brewers in the first game of that series.

Chatter

Pat Burrell was given the start off as he struggled in the month of August and looked apprehensive in the last game against Chicago.  Burrell when struggling seems to take alot of called third strikes as if he is guessing on the pitch, he pinch hit in the sixth and walked but struck out later in the game.  Matt Stairs started in right field and Jayson Werth took Burrell’s starting spot in left field.   With the expansion of the rosters in September the Phillies recalled catcher Lou Marson and outfielder Greg Golson from Double A Reading.  Adam Eaton and J.A. Happ were added to the pitching staff from Triple A Lehigh Valley. 

Office Talk

Often times in my office we get into discussions on the Fightins and baseball in general, thought I would throw out on the blog here questions in hopes of creating some correspondence with those of you that are reading.   Question :  Do you think the new Instant Replay Rule will have an impact on any games going down the stretch and do you agree that the Rule is a good thing or do you think baseball should totally rely on the “human element” and only use the umpires original call ?   Let me know your thoughts.

The offensive woes continued for the Fightins as Pittsburgh right hander Paul Maholm held the team scoreless thru seven frames on five hits.  Maholm mixed his pitches well,  in particular spotting a nasty hook to keep the hitters off balance.  He struck out the side in the sixth in the midst of a streak of five straight k’s!  Maholm matched his career high of ten strikeouts in the contest.  Maholm was lifted in the top of the eighth for a pinch hitter.

Joe Blanton was even more stingy as he limited the Bucs to only one hit thru seven frames while racking up seven punch outs himself.  He pitched down in the zone the whole game and had only one ball hit hard off of him to the outfield, a line out to right by Brandon Moss who came to the Bucs in the three way Manny deal before the deadline from the BoSox.  Big Joe was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh and deserved a much better fate than a no decision.

Super dependable right hander Chad Durbin pitched a perfect eighth for the Fightins setting the game up for late inning heroics.  Pat Burrell came oh so close to delivering in the home eighth as he crushed a ball to left………… Harry the K started the “outta here” call but the wind was swirling in hard from left and knocked the ball down big time to reduce it to just a fly ball caught on the track!

Durbin got the first out in the ninth and then was lifted in favor of left hander J.C. Romero.  Romero kept the bullpen perfection in tact as he ended the inning on two groundouts. The Phillies continued their scoreless drought in the ninth to send the game into extra innings.  Romero got the first two Pirates in the tenth and then  Brad Lidge was called upon to enter the game and promptly  gave up a check swing single to .161 hitting outfielder Steve Pearce.  He then walked Juan Bautista and Luis Rivas to load the bases!  Lidge then got ex-Phil Jason Michaels to pop up to the catcher to end the inning……… not a thrill ride I wanted to take!

Carlos Ruiz led off the Phillies tenth with a five pitch walk.   Ruiz advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jimmy Rollins and went to third on a ground out to first by Victorino.  With no left handers left in his bullpen Bucco skipper John Russell chose to give both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard intentional walks to load the bases.  Pat Burrell, given a second chance at heroism, failed once more as he popped up to first to end the inning!

The Pirates busted through in the 12th as Ryan Doumit doubled to lead off the inning.  He scored on a double down the left field line by Mendoza line breaker Steve Pearce.  Les Walrond gave up the lead run in his second inning of work in the contest.  He was replaced by Clay Condrey with one out in the frame and two men on.  Condrey gave up the second run with two outs on consecutive infield singles before working out of the inning.

The Phillies did not go quietly in the final at bat by putting two runners on but Craig Hansen still earned his first save of the season for Pittsburgh as Brandon Moss robbed Chase Utley on a diving catch in left field and then doubled Shane Victorino off first base as he thought the ball was thru.  The Fightins have not scored now in 23 consecutive innings as they have been shut out twice in a row.   The Mets defeated the Marlins earlier in the evening so the division lead shrinks to a mere one game.

Chatter

It seems as if Tom Gordon may require season ending Tommy John surgery after his consultation with the team physician.  Gordon will seek a second opinion before deciding on the course of action.  He is forty years young and this type of surgery takes most a couple of years to come back from.  Gordon already had Tommy John surgery early on in his career.  I wish Flash all the best as he is a true warrior who has pitched in pain the past two seasons with no complaints enduring the boo birds as well when things did not go well.   J.A. Happ was optioned to Triple A Lehigh Valley to make room for newly acquired Scott Eyre.  Happ was “hugely disappointed” he said but understood the move.  He should be back in September at the least when rosters expand.