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

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

Chatter

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chatter

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

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

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.

Chatter

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.

To be a playoff team games against opponents who are struggling must be won.  The Washington Nationals came into this game with an eleven game losing streak.  Phillies starting pitcher Brett Myers needed to take the mound going for the jugular to make it twelve and he did just that by tossing a complete game shut-out against the Nats!  He was dominant in the contest by pitching ahead on nearly every batter, establishing his fast ball early in the count and then closing out the at-bats with as masterful curve ball.  Myers struck out nine batters in the contest.   It was the seventh complete game of his career.

Myers was given a lead in the third inning as Nats shortstop Anderson Hernandez threw the ball away on a taylor made double play allowing Chris Coste to score.  Coste had reached base by being hit by a pitch.  The Fightins added three more in the fifth as Greg Dobbs spanked a home run that scored Shane Victorino in front of him.  Coste followed that with a  single, went to third on a single by Jimmy Rollins and scored on a bloop double down the right field line by Jayson Werth.

The bottom half of the order came thru big in this game as all four runs were scored by the six thru eight spots in the lineup and five of the team’s nine hits came from the men in those spots,  Victorino and Coste had two hits each while Dobbs reached on a walk and had the two run bomb.  Chase Utley also had a two hit game and did so by driving the outside pitch to left field twice, a good sign as teams have been able to get him out with those pitches as he has habitually been pulling the ball on every swing.

Despite the outcome the Phillies made a few blunders in the game.  Greg Dobbs and Pat Burrell both had fielding errors and Rollins was caught attempting to steal second with runners at first and third and one out.  Chris Coste also ran into an out on a failed sacrifice bunt attempt by Myers in the seventh inning.  Against teams like the Nats these things can be overcome but perhaps not against the Dodgers and Mets who are in next.

Chatter

Phillies G.M. Pat Gillick stated on a pre-game TV show that even though the Phillies had made an offer to free agent catcher  David Ross that Ross had decided to sign instead with another club.  Gillick speculated that it was an American League team but was not specific as to who.  When querried about potentially picking up a bat off the bench Gillick stated that the team had a few feelers out but nothing seemed imminent.  Pedro Feliz did come off the D.L. before the game however Greg Dobbs still started the game at third base.  To make room for Feliz pitcher Les Walrond was optioned back to Triple A. 

As good as Kyle Kendrick was in his last start he was equally as bad in this one.  A sinker ball pitcher lives and dies with location, if down in the zone ground balls are the theme and success can be had.  However, if up in the zone hard hit flys usually occur and runs for the opponents are many!

Kendrick got torched for seven runs on nine hits in only 3 and 1/3 innings including six in the second inning.   Casey Blake took him out to deep center field.   Les Walrond followed Kendrick and had his best stint as a Phillie as he went 2 and 2/3rds innings allowing only two hits and no runs.  Clay Condrey threw the final two frames for the FIghtins and gave up one run on five hits.

Despite being down by six early the Phillies battled back in typical Fightin fashion as they scored six runs to make it a contest.  Ryan Howard knocked in two runs to reach the 100 RBI count once again! Chase Utley appears to be heating up again as he had three hits in the game while Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins had two hits each.  Rollins had another triple in this one, his third in four games.

Chatter

Both the Mets and Marlins also lost so the two game lead in the division stands for one more day.  Manny was Manny again as he delayed the start of one inning and finally took the field with a different color glove than what he had started the game with, guess he had to go hunt for it!  Some of his antics do not make any sense whatsover.

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.  

Jamie Moyer came into his starting assignment against the Florida Marlins with a perfect 10 and 0 record against the Fish, odds were that things would change.  Moyer struggled with his command in this one from the beginning and the young Marlin hitters showed more patience in their approach against the crafty veteran. The home plate umpire also did not give him the close pitches he normally gets called as strikes.

The Marlins scored first on a bases loaded walk issued by Moyer to Jeremy Hermida in the second inning.   They added a second run in the fourth inning as Hermida scored on a ground out by Josh Willingham.  Moyer’s night was complete after five innings as he left trailing by the 2-0 score, a credit to his persistence that it was not more, he stranded nine Marlin runners on base.

Florida right hander Josh Johnson shut out the Phillies thru six innings yielding only five hits, the hardest a sixth inning double off the top of the left field wall by Pat Burrell.   The Marlins scored two more runs in the top of the seventh as Alfredo Amezaga singled to knock in Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla. 

The Phillies got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh as Shane Victorino was credited with a two run home run off the left field foul pole that the TV replay actually showed was a foul ball that never indeed hit the pole!  Marlins third basemen Jorge Cantu argued the call and the umpires conferred but third base umpire Dale Scott’s call was allowed to stand.  

J.A. Happ made his relief debut for the Fightins in the eighth inning and gave up a run as Jeremy Hermida drove in Hanley Ramirez with a single, Ramirez had walked and advanced to second on a passed ball.  He was lit up for three more in the ninth as the Marlins busted the game open.  Happ threw close to 50 pitches in his two innings of work.  

Chatter

Les Walrond made his Phillies debut in the seventh inning and struck out the first batter he faced before yielding two walks and the Amezaga hit that plated two runs.  Mike Cervenak made his second pinch hitting appearance in the fifth and flied out to deep left field.  The game could have been more lopsided earlier if the Marlins had not continually run into outs on the bases.  The achilles heel for the young Fish would appear to be their defense and baserunning abilities, they certainly hit the ball well enough!   It seemed as if the Phillies were never destined to win this one as they hit into three line drive double plays in key spots.   Need to come back tommorrow strong and put this one behind.  The home game marked the 35th sellout of the season.