Joe Blanton is a very unassuming young man. He stepped into a very assuming role however as he took the ball for game four of the 2008 World Series. Blanton stepped up big time by pitching six plus strong innings only allowing two runs and even belting a home run to earn his first world series win!

Jimmy Rollins got things started offensively for the Fightins as he usually does when they succeed with a lead off double in the first inning. Rollins advanced to third on a ground out and was actually out in a run down on a ball hit back to the mound by Ryan Howard but was called safe by the ump! Rollins scored on a bases loaded walk by Pat Burrell. The Phillies went up two to zero as Pedro Feliz stroked a two out single to plate a run. The Rays scored their first run on a Carl Crawford solo home run in the third inning.

Ryan Howard put the Phillies up by four with a three run home run in the fourth inning. The big man took a curve ball out to the left field seats! Pinch hitter Eric Hinske took a Blanton fastball out to center field in the fifth to make the score 5-2 but Joe Blanton the hitter got it back by turning a Edwin Jackson 95 mph fast ball into a left field tater in the Phillies fifth ! It was Blanton’s first ever major league home run!

The Rays threatened in the seventh putting two runners on but skipper Charlie Manuel played bullpen shuffle bringing in Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre and Ryan Madson in to get out of the inning with no damage. Madson pitched a perfect eighth striking out both Carlos Pena and Evan (Eva) Longoria in the midst.

Jimmy Rollins got his third hit of the game in the eighth as he doubled off the wall. He could have been credited with four but the official scorer gave the Rays second sacker an error on a ground ball in the hole earlier in the game. Pretty simple equation for the Fightins, J-Roll gets on they win!! Jayson Werth belted a home run to score Rollins and put the Fightins up by six! Ryan Howard belted another bomb after teammate Chase Utley reached to make it 10-2 Fightins. Howard ended up with five RBI’s in the game! J.C. Romero pitched the ninth to finish the game.

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Cole Hamels goes in game five in a rematch of game one as Scott Kazmir throws for the Rays. Jamie Moyer’s performance in game three was even more remarkable considering he was battling a three day stomach virus that had kept him up most of the prior night! The man is a real pro! One win away boys from being known as the best of 2008 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, kudos to the Phillies advance scouts in supplying the team with a great advance plan on these young Ray hitters. The game plan has been perfect thus far……….one more big one to go !

Jimmy Rollins started game three in a different way, he stroked a single to center! Rollins advanced to second on a walk to Jayson Werth, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out by Chase Utley to put the Fightins up by one. The Rays tied the score in the top of the second as Carl Crawford scored.

Carlos Ruiz hit a solo home run in the Phillies second to put the home team back ahead. That score held till the bottom of the sixth when Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hit back to back home runs to make the count 4 to 1.

The Rays scored two in the seventh to chase Phililes starter Jamie Moyer. Moyer was outstanding and gave the young Rays a schooling by hitting spots consistently. He actually made a great play on a bunt by Carl Crawford in the seventh but the first base umpire blew the call. Crawford would score one of the runs.

Ryan Madson was touched for one run in the eighth as the speed of B.J. Upton scored the tieing run. Upton beat out an infield hit, stole second and third and scored on a errant throw to third by Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz.

The Phillies won the game in the bottom of the ninth as Eric Bruntlett was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Shane Victorino was attempting to bunt Bruntlett to second but a wild pitch did it for him as Bruntlett went to second and even advanced to third as the Rays catcher threw the ball into center field! Rays skipper Joe Maddon then elected to walk both Victorino and pinch hitter Greg Dobbs to load the bases. He brought his right fielder in behind second base and dared hitter Carlos Ruiz to be able to hit a fly ball! Ruiz hit a squibber down the third base line and Bruntlett scored the winning run!

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Jamie Moyer was outstanding in this game and showed how a true professional plays the game. The game did not start till after 10 pm EDT due to heavy rains in the Philadelphia area all day and early evening Saturday. The game concluded around 1:30 AM!! Philly fans stayed thru the whole thing though and showed their faith in the Fightins! Joe Blanton will go for the Fightins on the mound Sunday night. Give the Rays credit, they are a very good team and have alot of fight in them………sounds like our Phililes! All three games thus far could have went either way, these two teams are matched very well!

When the Tampa Bay Rays recorded the last out against the Boston Red Sox to claim the ALCS title one could argue it set up a “Home and Home” world series for the Phillies! The Phillies train in Clearwater, Florida in the spring which is only a short distance from St. Petersburg and the home of the Rays. If they want the Fightins can use thier own facilities to work out for the games hosted by the Rays.

Lets take a look at how I think this series breaks out and who has the ultimate edge. The Rays starting pitchers Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, James Shields and Andy Sonnnastine are all young as is most of their team. Kazmir is the only lefty amongst the group. I believe this plays into the strength of the Phillies from the perspective that they are heavy on left handed bats and are a very good fastball hitting team. Kazmir and Garza are primary fastball pitchers. The Rays bullpen has been worked alot in the playoffs, folks like Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, Chad Bradford, Dan Wheeler and David Price have logged many innings. I think that the Phillies offense can do damage against that crew. Look for Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard to have big series, in fact I predict one of those two will emerge as series MVP.

The Phillies starters will be Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton. I think the inexperience of the young Ray hitters will play into the hands of both Hamels and Moyer. I also think that Myers is a big game guy and on the biggest baseball stage there is will excel. The Phillies bullpen has proven itself over the stretch run and the playoffs to be this years best. Ryan Madson, Scott Eyre, J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin have all excelled in setting up premier closer Brad Lidge. Any lead the offense turns over to that crew should be safe!

Defensively I think the Phillies are much better than the Rays, in fact the Rays defense has hurt them in the playoffs thus far. Offensively I think the Phillies are much more balanced but Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino must set the table for core sluggers Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Chase Utley and Pat Burrell. With the DH in play in Tampa look for Matt Stairs, Greg Dobbs and perhaps Chris Coste to have impact as well.

The managers are equals in my opinion. Charlie Manuel provides the calm stablility that has enabled the Phillies to get this far while Joe Maddon has built into the young Rays the confidence they needed to excel.

This series matches two franchises that have had minimal success in thier history, the Fightins are the losingest team in history while the Rays first winning season ever was this year! Someone has to succeed in 2008!

When the Rays beat the Red Sox for the AL title I get a sense that they feel they have succeeded already and that anything beyond is gravy. I saw that in thier eyes as they celebrated thier victory. I do not think the Phillies have that same feeling, I think they are the hungrier crew and have more urgency to win it all! With that in mind I think that the Phillies will prevail in this series by winning in five games, six max. I think a parade is in the midst for Philadelphia and that the 2008 Fightins will join the ranks of the 1980 world series champs forever in Philly baseball lore! Just a feeling.

What a great comeback by the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night! Trailing 5-3 heading into the eighth inning, things did not look good for the Phillies. However, Shane Victorino stepped up bigtime and hit a two-run home run to tie the game at 5-5. It was then pitch hitter Matt Stairs turn to go yard as he delivered the game winning moonshot off of Jonathan Broxton and the Phillies beat the Dodgers 7-5.

Besides the four runs in the eighth inning, the Phillies jumped on the scoreboard in the first inning with two runs. Chase Utley had a rbi double while Jason Werth scored on a rbi ground out by Ryan Howard. Howard would end up scoring the Phillies third run in the fifth inning on a wild pitch as well.

Starting pitcher Joe Blanton tossed five innings as he gave up three runs on seven hits. He did strike out four batters but also walked four batters. It would have nice to see him pitch a little deeper into the game but luckily for the Phillies their bullpen pitched well enough to get the victory.

Chad Durbin was the only relief pitcher to give up any runs as he allowed two in the sixth inning and was quickly pulled. Ryan Madson threw 1 2/3 innings to get the victory in the game. Brad Lidge threw 1 1/3 innings to get the save. Scott Eyre also got into the game as he recorded one out.

Now the Phillies are up 3-1 in the series and will be looking to close things out in L.A. on Wednesday. They will be sending Cole Hamels to the mound and he will be facing off against Chad Billingsley of the Dodgers. I like the Phillies chances of closing out the series with Hamels on the mound that is for sure!

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The NLCS kicks off tommorrow with Cole Hamels taking the hill for the Fightins against the Dodgers Derek Lowe. The NLCS is a seven game series and the format is 2-3-2 in regards to home field advantage. If the series goes seven games the Phillies will have four games in their home ball park. The way the schedule lays out it would appear that Hamels would only be enabled to pitch two games since doing otherwise would require pitching on three days rest and he has never done that before. That being the case the depth of the Phillies staff will come into play.

The two teams split this season in the eight games played but Dodger shortstop and leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal did not play in any of the games. Furcal brings added punch to the Dodger offense as he is the ignitor much in the manner Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino are for the Phillies. I doubt that either team will allow either Manny Ramirez or Ryan Howard to beat them, that is, it is highly doubtful either slugger will be given any pitches within the zone therefore both must be very patient and hit the mistakes!

I like the auxiliary bats to the core slugger in the Phillies lineup more than those of the Dodger blue. Rollins, Victorino, Greg Dobbs, and Chase Utley all will swing left handed against a predominantly right handed Dodger staff, L.A. has only two lefties in the bullpen so left on left matchups against Howard and the like will be very limited by Joe Torre. Right handed hitters Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth have had big roles this season and must also come thru. Offense from Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz is a bonus as they provide most impact by defensive play. Geoff Jenkins and Matt Stairs could have big impacts as left handed pinch hitters since the Dodgers are limited from the southpaw side on the mound.

 The Dodgers counter with Casey Blake, Matt Kemp, Jeff Kent, Furcal, Russell Martin and Nomar all swinging right handed and are lighter on lefthanded hitters with first baseman James Loney and Andre Ethier being the lone core starters swinging from the left side. Juan Pierre is available as well.
like the depth of the Phillies starting pitching when compared to the Dodgers. Brett Myers is a key to the series as he needs to pitch late into games for the team to succeed. Joe Blanton will get a start in the series and must pitch like he did in the NLDS. Jamie Moyer and Hamels will need to continue to excel. The bullpen is an advantage to the Phillies, the Dodgers have a good pen but the Phils have a closer who is perfect thus far in Brad Lidge and he shows no account of not continuing that streak.

 Dodger Manager Joe Torre has many rings to his credit and is an advantage to the Dodgers but Phils skipper Charlie Manuel knows his personnel very well and was very good in strategic moves against the Brewers in the NLDS.

 Overall my heart tells me Phillies in Four! My baseball mind tells me a slightly different story with the key to the series not being any player on the field. I truly feel that Phillie fans in the home park can sway ballgames with their perception and reactions to the game. That being said I see this series going at least six games, more likely seven but a win for the Fightins on the home turf and the fans having an impact on the deciding game.

Unfortunately I will not be able to see most of the series as I have a work assignment in China for the week! I will check as much as I can on the internet and be pulling for the Fightins from afar, sure hope my prediction comes true and we advance to the big show, the 2008 World Series!

Big games require players to step up into the limelight and shine.  Joe Blanton did just that as he gave the Phillies six and 1/3 innings of great pitching limiting the Brewers to just a solo home run by Prince Fielder.  Jimmy Rollins shined by leading off the game with a solo home run to give the Phillies the early lead.  Pat Burrell shined by belting a three run home run in the third inning to put the Fightins up by four, he stepped up again in the eighth and belted another home run, this one a solo blast.  Jayson Werth shined as he also belted a solo home run.   The Phillies led the majors in home runs and displayed that skill predominantly in this one! 

On defense the big man Ryan Howard made a spectacular stop on a ground ball to record a 3-1 out in the eighth inning.  Howard did not hit the ball in this one but found another way to contribute.  Brad Lidge pitched the ninth to end the game and make the Fightins a perfect 80 and 0 when leading after eight innings.

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“Beat L.A., Beat L.A.”  will be the chant beginning thursday in the NLCS.  Cole Hamels will get the ball and will have had seven days rest so lets hope our young ace performs as well as he did in the first game of the NLDS.  The Phillies hold home field advantage for the series so Philly fans can and will have an impact on the series, positive approach on and off the field can take us to the Series……….time to shine folks, lets get it done ! 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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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!