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Prior to the beginning of the game the Fightins already knew that the “streakin” Mets had won their game played earlier in the day and had swept the Brewers series so once again the importance of winning the game at hand was magnified.   Ryan Howard got the team started on the right track as he blasted a two run home run to center field in the first inning.  Chase Utley scored in front of Howard, Utley was drilled by a pitch in his at bat which prompted plate umpire Brian Gorman to immediately issue a warning to Nats pitcher Odalis Perez and both benches.  Inferred was that the HBP was for the play at the plate the night before where Utley slammed into the Nats catcher. 

Phils starter Joe Blanton gave the lead right back though in the bottom of the first as Washington scored two runs of their own.   In the Phillies third Jimmy Rollins singled and was plated by a triple to center field by Chase Utley to put the Phillies back ahead by one.  That lead held up till the Nationals fifth……… when

Blanton continued to show us nothing in regards to proving he can step up as a winner when he walked the bases loaded to start the fifth and a very angry  Charlie Manuel came and got him in favor of Ryan Madson.  A  ”lack of guts” was shown by two of our starters in this series and Charlie’s body language clearly showed his displeasure with the approach taken by the big right hander in this one!   The Nationals then took the lead on fielding blunders by the Phils; first a ground ball hit to first baseman Howard where he double clutched on the throw and instead of coming home immediately to cut off the tieing run he soft tossed the ball to second base which also took away any chance of a double play !  Elijah Dukes then hit a sure fire double play to third base but  Chase Utley took the throw in front of the bag and was taken out of the DP turn by the sliding Lastings Milledge.  The Nationals scored two runs on just one base hit!  Sorry, sorry,sorry  half inning of play by the good guys!

Jayson Werth led off the Fightin’s sixth inning with a single and scored ahead of Ryan Howard’s 39th home run of the season as Howard blasted the ball over the right center field wall.  Howard, like the Mets 1st sacker Carlos Delgado, can be a butcher in the field but can erase mistakes with the way he swings the bat!  Washington changed pitchers and the Phillies allowed reliever Jesus Colome to get out of the inning on three pitches, one each to the next three batters!   Ryan Madson showed some moxy by striking out the side in the Nationals sixth inning. 

Ryan Zimmerman tied the game in the Nats seventh with a solo home run hit off of Chad Durbin.  Durbin got hammered in the eighth inning as he gave up three hard singles, the key blow delivered by pinch hitter Ronnie Belliard that put the Nationals ahead.  J.C. Romero came in and walked the first hitter he faced, the immortal Emilio Bonifacio, to load the bases.  Christian Guzman then belted a bases clearing double to put the game away.  Washington batted around in the inning.   The Phillies scored two in the ninth but it was not enough……..FInal count 9 to 7 Washington.

The loss left the Phillies on the outside looking in regards to the playoff chase as they now trail the New York Mets by three full games in the division race and are four and 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the Wild Card chase.  This series loss was a major blow and puts the team in a corner that they will either battle out of or go down for the count from.  They head to New York with their tail between their legs, time to see what the boys are made of.

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Shane Victorino was given the start off as Jayson Werth started in center field and Eric Bruntlett got the start in right field.  VIctorino has been scuffling a bit lately so Charlie gave him a rest at the beginning albeit Victorino did get in later as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement.  Cole Hamels will start Sunday in the series finale against the Mets as Kyle Kendrick will be skipped this turn in the rotation.    The Phillies must take it to the Mets this weekend in New York, winnng the series is an absolute and a series loss would be devasting in regards to any playoff hopes.  I personally do not think the Mets are that good a ballclub but somehow they continue to win games and show no signs of letting up, if the Fightins are to make the playoffs they must take care of business themselves in these last three head to head contests.  It is make or break time !  Just a note of comparison…….. last year in September  the Mets were coming off a sweep and an offday when they faced the Phillies in a series at Shea and were swept by the Fightins!  As Yogi would say I sure hope it is “dejavu all over again”  this go round.

Question

How many of you value watching the opening day game for the Eagles on Sunday higher than the Mets Phillies contest ? 

With 24 games remaining on the schedule and trailing by two games in the Division race one could surmise that every game is a “must win”!   That being said the Fightins sent their ace Cole Hamels to the hill to attempt halting the Nationals seven game winning streak and win this one for the Phils.

The Phillies drew first blood as consecutive singles by Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley plated two runs in the third inning.  The inning ended however on a sad note as National catcher Jesus Flores was carted off the field on a stretcher after a bang bang play resulted in a collision between him and Utley. Utley had broken for the plate on a pickoff attempt at first base and was attempting to jar the ball loose from Flores as Nat first basemen Ron Belliard’s throw beat him by plenty at the plate.  It appeared Flores suffered an injury to his ankle.

Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz led off the Phillie seventh with singles, both were sacrificed to scoring position by Cole Hamels.   Jimmy Rollins plated Feliz with a single to right field and Ruiz scored on a groundout by Chase Utley to make the score 4 to 0. 

Cole Hamels pitched 7 and 1/3 innings, once again a quality start.  He ran out of gas in the eighth inning as Washington put two runners on with a walk and a single.  Charlie went to his pen and brought in J.C. Romero.  Romero struck out left handed hitter Willie Harris and then Manuel called in Chad Durbin.  Durbin did his job in the inning as well as he got Ryan ZImmerman to ground out to short and end the inning.  Brad Lidge pitched the ninth inning to close the game.

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Three additional roster additions were made as Mike Cervenak, Andy Tracy and Les Walrond were all recalled from Triple A Lehigh Valley.  All three have been on the roster for various stints this season.  Jason Donald from Double A Reading is also likely to be recalled as well as soon as the Reading season concludes.   The extra players give skipper Manuel more flexibility with his bench and bullpen.   Chase Utley was visibly upset when Flores was carted off, Utley plays as hard as any player in the bigs but he is not dirty nor does he want to hurt anyone.  His only play to be safe at the plate was to jar the ball loose and he made the right play…………. hope that Flores is ok.  National fans booed Utley in his plate appearances after the play, no class, no clue.

Question

How big do you believe it is that Cole Hamels takes the ball Sunday against New York rather than get an extra day off between starts and face Florida on Monday ?   Pitching on Sunday would give Hamels four days rest and would be his regular rest, Kyle Kendrick would get skipped over to accomplish this.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TIm Redding of the Washington Nationals came into this contest already having shut out the Phillies twice this season.  Redding is a right handed replicate of Jamie Moyer in that he changes speeds, sinks the ball and generally frustrates hitters into getting themselves out.  Phillies starter Moyer and Redding matched craftiness thru five frames as both veterans limited thier opponents to one hit and no runs.

The Nationals broke thru the scoreless tie in the sixth inning as Anderson Hernandez and Christian Guzman led off the inning with singles.  Moyer then struck out Ryan Zimmerman looking and coaxed Lastings Milledge to hit a ground ball to third that appeared to be a perfect double play.  Chase Utley however threw away the relay throw from second to first allowing Hernandez to score.   The Phillies bounced back in the bottom of the sixth as Jayson Werth doubled to right center field with two outs and was plated by Chase Utley who singled to left center. 

The Nationals re-took the lead in the seventh as Anderson Hernandez hit a two out infield single to plate Austin Kearns.  The hit ended Moyer’s evening as the crafty left hander once again gave the team a very good effort yielding only five hits and one earned run thru six and two thirds innings.  Chad Durbin came on to get the last out as Christian Guzman’s bat exploded on a ground out to first, the barrell went into the stands along the first base side and hit a fan, baseball needs to act on these bats else someone is going to get seriously hurt!  Fortunately this time it did not appear to be serious.

Shane Victorino was in the middle of stirring up the offense once again in the home seventh as he dribbled a ball behind the pitcher that the Nats third sacker tried to throw him out on and tossed errantly down the right field line.  Victorino ended up on third with a single as Ryan Zimmerman was credited with the two base throwing error.  Pinch hitter  extraordinaire Greg Dobbs then knocked in Victorino with a ground out to second base.   On the very next pitch  Carlos Ruiz belted a home run to left center field to put the FIghtins in the lead for the first time.  It was only Ruiz’s third bomb of the year. 

Ryan Madson came in to pitch the eighth and gave up broken bat singles to Zimmerman and Milledge as the first two hitters he faced.  Ron Belliard bunted both runners up with a sacrifice.  Jesus Flores then hit an infield single up the middle to tie the game and Austin Kearns then followed with a single to put the Nats ahead.  The Phillies bullpen has been great this year but Madson is one that still causes me concern when he is called on.  It appears to me that often his pitches are flat and on those occasions he gets hit.  J.C. Romero came in to strike out two hitters and end the inning.

Jayson Werth led off the Phillies eighth with a walk and advanced to second on a single by Chase Utley.  Ryan Howard then struck out for the third time in the game as he looked thoroughly confused in his at bat.  The opportunity was squandered as Pat Burrell grounded into a double play.  The more I watch, even the optimist I try to be, the more I doubt this offense will ever come out of thier funk, they have not adjusted to the steady diet of breaking balls they get early in counts and when opposing pitchers pop a fastball it often catches them off guard and they are either late or hit weak ground balls.   This team really needs a guy who is a professional hitter in this lineup, one that is steady at the plate, of course all teams need that!

Clay Condrey had the bases loaded against him in the ninth but was able to pitch out of it with no runs setting the stage for last at bat heroics.  Shane Victorino, our steadiest hitter, led off the ninth with a single up the middle off of Joel Hanrahan.  Victorino then stole second base on a very close play.  The Nats thought they had him but the TV replay showed him safe as the throw was taken in front of the bag and Shane got his hand in before the tag.  There was no joy in Phillyville however as Hanrahan retired the next three batters to end the Washington twelve game losing streak.

This was a tough game to lose as the Phillies now face the Dodgers, Mets and Cubs in thier next ten games.  It is make or break time and this loss may have prompted the breaking point, hope not but with the offense struggling the way it is this team may have hit the wall.  The next ten will be key in defining the season as success or failure.

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David Ross signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox and will be the backup there to Jason Veritak who has struggled this season offensively.  The Phillies inquired about Aubrey Huff from the Orioles but he is due big money next season and Baltimore is unwilling to eat any  portion of the contract.  Kevin Millar might be  a bench option as he has also cleared waivers with no claims made.  Ryan Howard looks to be in the same funk he was early on this season as he continually swings over balls that when hitting well he crushes.  Rollins hit into tough luck alot in this series as he smashed a few “at em” balls but I do notice that he is pulling just about everything rather than going with the pitch and hit quite a few ground balls to second base on outside pitches.  Rollins was booed every time he made an out by the Phillie “genius” fans in attendance.

When times get tough leaders emerge and this was the case in the opening game of the Fightin’s three game series against the Padres in San Diego.   Skipper Charlie Manuel challenged his troops to “be men” and push forward else incur the consequences of falling out of the race.  Jamie Moyer seemed to take the challenge personally as he pitched seven brilliant innings shuting out the Padres on only three hits.  He was matched pitch for pitch by fellow veteran Greg Maddux with the exception of one toss.

That errant pitch was hammered by Pat Burrell for his 28th home run of the season and represented the lone score of the game.   The bullpen held the lead for Moyer as Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero each gained Holds and Brad Lidge came on to pitch the ninth and earn his 29th save.  Lidge has been bothered by shoulder stiffness so it was a big plus to see him back out there.

Jimmy Rollins albeit still struggling with the bat showed off his defensive form making a couple brilliant plays at short stop.  He was featured on “Web Gems” on ESPN!  Rollins also took Charlie’s challenge to heart as he is indeed the team leader and as he goes so will the Figthin’s!   Rollins is a multi skilled player and can change the course of the game in many ways, this one he did so with his glove.  

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The Phillies were coming off a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers so needed a win desperately.  The Dodgers won the fourth game of the series by a count of 3 to 1 as another top notch pitching performance by a Phillie starter was wasted.  Brett Myers tossed seven innings against the Dodgers but with the offense only able to muster two hits he took the hit for another loss.

Rudy Seanez is scheduled to come off the disabled list today, it may not seem he has tremendous impact but folks like him and Clay Condrey by taking thier turn of bullpen innings save the arms of the likes of Madson, Romero and Durbin.  They are indeed key and vital for the home stretch.  Most likely Les Waldron will be optioned back to Triple A today.  The Mets continue to win, they defeated the Pirates 2 to 1 to remain one game ahead of the Fightins in National League East. 

Kyle Kendrick toes the rubber tonight in San Diego, lets hope he gets teh sinker down in the zone and not up like he was in L.A.  Here is also hoping that the FIghtin offense resurfaces!

Cole Hamels gave the Fightins another quality start but once again had it go to no avail as the bullpen was not able to hold the lead.  Hamels pitched seven innings and left with a 3-2 advantage.  Chase Utley had given Hamels the lead early as he hit his 30th home run of the season in the first frame. 

Chad Durbin had a shaky eighth inning and allowed the tieing run to score as he worked into a bases loaded no out jam before a sac fly scored the tieing run. He was then being able to coax a double play ground ball to end the inning

J.C. Romero took the loss as the Dodgers scored in thier half of the ninth to win.

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The loss marked the seventh consecutive outing that Hamels has pitched and the team has not been able to win.  In most cases he has been more than deserving of the win but the offense has not come up with the support.  Hamels is one of the least unsupported by offensive backing in the league thus far this season.  It forces him to be close to perfect every time out.   The four game series continues tonight as Joe Blanton takes his turn on the hill.

The offensive woes continued for the Fightins as they made journeyman Pittsburgh starting righthander look like the second coming of Cy Young himself during his stint in the contest!  Davis shut the mighty Phillie offense down on four hits thru six frames limiting them to just two unearned runs.

Jamie Moyer gave his usual professional pitcher performance for the Phils as he went six innings and left trailing by one run, he was touched for three runs on seven hits.  Pittsburgh scored first in the second inning as Doug Mientkiewicz doubled home Brandon Moss.  They scored two more in the sixth as former Phillie Jason Michaels doubled in Nate McClouth and Ryan Doumit who had both singled.

The Phillie initial runs were scored in the third due to inept Pirate defense.  Carlos Ruiz reached on a walk and scored as Moyer laid down a sacrifice bunt but Davis and Doumit collided fielding the ball and Davis threw the ball away down the right field line.  Moyer advanced all the way to third as right fielder Michaels who fielded the first errant throw made one himself trying to get Moyer at second and sailed it to short left field!  Jimmy Rollins then plated Moyer with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Lefty Scott Eyre made his Phillie debut in the seventh in relief of Clay Condrey who got the first two outs but was then tagged for two singles.  Eyre coaxed a pop out from McClouth to get out of the inning without any runs scoring.   Tyler Yates came on to pitch for the Buccos in the home seventh and Carlos Ruiz smoked his first pitch to left center for a double.  Pinch hitter extraordinaire Greg Dobbs then inside outed a ball and doubled down the left field line to score Ruiz and tie the game.  It was Dobbs 21st pinch hit of the season, he leads all of baseball in that category!  It also set a new Phillies single season record for pinch hits.  Yates then uncorked a wild pitch with Jimmy Rollins at bat  allowing Dobbs to go to third but J-Roll and Shane Victorino came up small with a drawn-in infield and could not score the go-ahead run, Rollins grounded to first and Victorino flied out to short left.  Chase Utley bailed them both out with a two run bomb over the right field wall to put the Fightins up two!  It was Utley’s first hit of the entire series.  The hit was huge as it looked as if another opportunity was about to be wasted. 

J.C. Romero pitched a perfect eighth aided by a fine fielding play by J-Roll on the third out.  Jayson Werth reached on a walk in the bottom of the eighth, advanced to second on a ground out, to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball!  Thank you Pittsburgh!  Ryan Madson finished the game to earn his first save as he also had a perfect inning.  Eyre was the pitcher of record and got credited with a win in his first Phillie appearance.

The Marlins beat the Mets so with the win the Phillies division lead extended to two games over the New Yorkers.  I have a feeling that cushion will be needed as our Fightins head out on a key road trip.

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As noted the Phillies head into a crucial part of their schedule as they head to the west coast to take on the Dodgers and Padres for the next seven games.   They begin a four game set with the Dodgers on Monday evening.  Brad Lidge was not available for action for the second consecutive night as he is being rested with right shoulder stiffness.   I almost get the feeling that the Fightins would prefer to be on the road, they seem tighter in front of the home crowd, just an observation but we will see how these next seven go and if the offense hits a hot spell again!  Let;s hope Manny isn’t Manny or the Phillies pitch around him!

The game was delayed close to two hours as severe thunderstorms passed thru the Delaware Valley. In some areas, such as where I live, pellets of hail fell from the sky!  Citizens Bank Park has tremendous drainage as well as a great grounds crew and that combination enabled the game to be played!