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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.

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 !

Skipper Charlie Manuel stacked the lineup with left handed bats against Florida starter Anibal Sanchez as the young Marlins starter has struggled big time against lefties but has held opposing right hand hitters to a batting average under .200.   The Phillies jumped out early as Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a single, stole second, went to third on an errant throw by the catcher and scored on a single by Chase Utley.  Ryan Howard then plated Utley with a screaming double to the right center field wall.  Phillies starter Joe Blanton gave the lead right back though in the second as he issued two consecutive walks and paid for it as the Marlins used a sacrifice fly and ground out to tie the game!

The Fightins bounced Sanchez from the game in the second as Matt Stairs walked, went to third on a double by Carlos Ruiz and scored on a sacrifice fly by Blanton.  Ruiz scored on a single by Jimmy Rollins.  Sanchez then walked Utley and his night was over!  Ryan Howard greeted lefty reliever Mark Hendrickson with a single up the middle to score Rollins to put the Phillies up by three.  Once again Blanton gave it right back as he walked the leadoff hitter again and Mike Jacobs took him way deep to right field to make the count 5 to 4 after only 2 and 1/2 innings of play.  It only took 1 and 1/4 hours to record the first 15 outs ! 

 That score held thru five frames albeit Blanton struggled with control throughout.  He was replaced by Chad Durbin in the sixth inning.  Durbin pitched two scoreless innings.  In the Phillies seventh Shane Victorino and Chase Utley reached base on a walk and Hit by Pitch after Rollins had grounded out.  Ryan Howard then hit a ground ball to second that could have been an inning ending double play had Utley not went hard into the bag preventing Marlin shortstop Hanley Ramirez from making a throw…………… big little thing that produces wins!  Jayson Werth then blasted a three run home run to center field to put the Phils up by four!  He would not have even batted if not for the all out hustle and slide of Mr. Utley !

J.C. Romero came into the eighth, got one out but then gave two right back as he issued a walk and then saw Cody Ross slam a fast ball into the left field seats.  Charlie then went to Ryan Madson and he got one out before getting slammed for a double by Josh Willingham.  Charlie came out once again and brought in Scott Eyre who threw one pitch to end the inning.  Whatever the cost of getting Kyle Farnsworth from the Tigers was in my opinion would have been worth it as I do not know how long Charlie can piece together the eighth inning hold situations !

Brad Lidge pitched the ninth inning and earned his 35th save in 35 tries despite some heart thumping as Florida put two runners on, Lidge struck out the last two batters to end it.  The Phillies are now 65 and 0 when leading after eight.  Jimmy Rollins scored three runs and had three stolen bases in this one as he collected three hits, another of the key little things, J-Roll set the table and put the pressure on the Fish throughout.

Chatter

The one and two thirds outing was the shortest of the 24 year old Anibal Sanchez’s career.  He is coming off shoulder surgery and obviously is still not right with his mechanics.  Kyle Kendrick gets a shot at redemption tommorrow night as he gets the start against the Fish.  Kendrick usually pitches well at home, his struggles have been all on the road thus far,  I expect the young man to step up as he is an 11 game winner so far this year therefore has the ability……….. just has to keep the sinker down as these Marlins swing from the heels and are definitely all or nothing hitters.   Third base coach Steve Smith was back in the box after serving a two game suspension for being run from a game in Washington last week,  Lehigh Valley triple A manager Dave Humpert had filled in for Smith in New York for the first two games of that series.   Ryan Howard had another mental block on a throwing play in this game in the second inning when he had a play at home but did not make the throw opting instead to let a run score and tag the runner coming to first, don’t know what it is but he has to cut it loose !

The way Pedro Martinez throws the ball nowadays certainly does not strike fear in the heart of any opposing batter.  Martinez relies on savy and location and is far removed from the power pitcher he was some five years ago.   The same can be said of Phillies starter Jamie Moyer so this matchup was going to be won by whichever veteran had the most command of their control.   The Phillies jumped on Martinez in the second inning as Jayson Werth reached base on a walk and then went to third on a double by Greg Dobbs that was badly misplayed by Met right fielder Fernando Tatis.  Guess if you play a hot dog out of position every now and again you will get some mustard on your face!  Matt Stairs then produced a very professional at bat as he waited for a pitch that he could drive and hit a long sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Werth.  Carlos Ruiz then hit a clutch single to drive home Dobbs who had advanced to third on the sac fly. 

In the Phillies fourth Ryan Howard led off with a double to center field followed by Jayson Werth with a single to put runners on first and third.  Greg Dobbs then belted his second big hit of the game as he took a rare Martinez fast ball over the right field wall for a three run home run!  Carlos Ruiz then doubled down the right field line, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Moyer and scored on a misplayed fly ball by Met left fielder Evans, another guy playing out of position,  that fell in for a double for Jimmy Rollins.

Martinez was done after four innings and left trailing the contest 6 to 0.  Meanwhile Jamie Moyer was brilliant in this one as he pitched seven shutout innings limiting the Mets to only two hits, his location was excellent and had the Met hitters lunging and popping up throughout his stint.  He recorded 12 fly outs and 8 ground outs while striking out one and the Mets only had one runner reach scoring position !  Scott Eyre came on to pitch the eighth and gave up three consecutive doubles after recording two outs that plated two Met runs.  Eyre came up big to end the inning as he struck out Carlos Delgado after going 3 and 1 on the count to him!  Ryan Madson got the first out in the ninth as he struck out Tatis but then gave up a baltimore chop single to Damien Easley and Charlie went to J.C. Romero who came in to get a double play ground ball to end the game! 

Chatter

Charlie Manuel played a hunch again at third base as he started Greg Dobbs again instead of Pedro Feliz.  Dobbs came thru big time and even played an excellent defensive game at third which is not his strong suit.   Ryan Howard made a tremendous defensive play at first base on a scorched ground ball by Carlos Delgado in the third inning.  Pat Burrell got the start off as Charlie chose to go with Matt Stairs in his starting outfield, that paid off for the Fightins as well.  All those moves are what makes Charlie a very good manager to me, anyone can second guess game moves but this guy gets his personell and knows how to use it!  Big game still left for the Fightins in the nightcap of the day/night doubleheader but to me a win there is gravy, Santana will be tough, lets see if our young “ace” Hamels learned from Myers and Moyer !  They got into the Mets heads already with these first two games, can really produce some doubts if it becomes a sweep !  Carlos Ruiz deserves some props in this one as he had three hits in the game.

The Mets sure must be counting on Santana tonight as they used relievers Feliciano, Heilmann, Figueroa and Sanchez in this one albeit none for more than an inning.  Will see if that has any effect on the night game.  The Phils used Eyre, Madson and Romero as well so at the least neither team used their closers.

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.

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.

Chatter

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.