Cliff Lee - Photo credit: Steve Trapani

After watching the Philadelphia Eagles blow their game on Sunday afternoon, I for one was hoping the Phillies game would be less frustrating and have a better outcome.  *sigh*

The game began with Rafeal Furcal leading off the with a triple.  And right away I was thinking, “here we go again” BUT Cliff Lee and the Phillies kept Furcal stranded and went on to dominate the bottom of the first by scoring three runs off of Chris Carpenter.  And that all started with a lead-off double by Jimmy Rollins, who in my opinion has really stepped it up.  Chase Utley then walked, then Hunter Pence did as well.  With bases loaded and no outs, Ryan Howard hit a 2 RBI-single.  Raul Ibanez brought Pence home with a single and the Phillies reversed roles with the Cardinals from Saturday night, by having a 3-run lead in the first.

And in the second, Rollins hit his second double of the game and ended up stealing third before Utley was walked.  Pence came up and hit Rollins home.  Phillies were up 4-0.

At that point, Lee had been doing well.  Even with an occasional hit or walk, he had struck out five and kept the Cards scoreless.  That is until the fourth inning when Lee uncharacteristically imploded.  A lead-off walk to Lance Berkman then a single by Yadier Molina, was capped off by a Ryan Theriot double, scoring Berkman.  Then John Jay and Furcal each had an RBI-single, giving the Cards three runs.  The Phillies were still up but by only one.

St. Louis reliever Fernando Salas replaced Carpenter in the fourth and retired all three Phillies batters. Lee had a quick fifth with two strikeouts and a pop out.  But Salas had the same result in the bottom of the fourth.

With two outs in the sixth, Theriot struck again with his second double then Jay hit him home.  The score was tied 4-4.

Octavio Dotel relieved Salas in the sixth and he too retired the Phillies in order.

Lee continued to be un-Lee like when Allen Craig tripled in the seventh, then Albert Pujols hit an RBI-single.  The Cards went up 5-4 and Lee’s outing was done!  In six innings of work, Lee gave up five runs on 12 hits, walked two, and struck out nine.  Relievers Brad Lidge, Antonio Bastardo, and Vance Worley collectively held the Cards hitless and scoreless.  Ryan Madson allowed just one hit, but though it helped defensively, the Phillies offense neglected to even it up.  Therefore, they lost 5-4 to the Cards and the series is now tied at 1-1.

When asked after the game what happened, Lee stated that he had a four run lead and should have done better.  “I take full responsibility,” Lee said.

Complete Box Score Phillies/Cardinals – Game 2 NLDS

The series now shifts to St. Louis for Game 3 on Tuesday night.

Photo courtesy of Steve Trapani – Flickr Follow him on twitter: @Trap_33

Roy Halladay - MyPHL17.com

With my family over to celebrate my son’s birthday, we all gathered in the family room, excited and ready to cheer on the Phillies.  Our party buzz was quickly killed the moment Lance Berkman slammed a 3-run shot off of Roy Halladay in the first inning.  And we knew it was gonna be one of THOSE games.

But with Doc at the helm, even if he’s given up a couple runs, you always get the feeling that the moment he settles down and gets into his groove, good things will happen.  And that they did.  After allowing a single by Skip Schumaker, Halladay went on to retire the next 21 batters.

St. Louis’ Kyle Lohse kept the Phillies bats quiet and scoreless until the fourth inning, when Chase Utley doubled and Ryan Howard walked.  Shane Victorino then stepped up to the plate and hit an RBI-single, putting the Phillies on the board with one run.

But it would be the sixth inning that Phillies turned it on and then some.  Jimmy Rollins and Hunter Pence both singled then Lohse threw a sweet pitch that Howard just crushed.  Hitting his first homer of the post season and giving the Phillies a 4-3 lead in the process.  But the Phillies weren’t done with Lohse yet, after Victorino singled, Raul Ibanez homered to right field.  The Phillies were then up 6-3.

St. Louis reliever Marc Rzepczynski took over the seventh, and the Phillies tacked on three more runs.  Then in the eighth Pence hit a 2 RBI-single, adding two more runs.  The Phillies ended up with a total 14 hits in the game.

With an 11-3 lead in the top of the ninth, Charlie Manuel decided to give Halladay a rest and bring in reliever Michael Stutes.  The lead was substantial, so no harm letting the young guy get a little postseason experience.  Well, Stutes probably didn’t have the experience he was hoping for when he gave up three runs on three hits.  So Ryan Madson was called upon to hopefully end the game without giving up anymore hits/runs.  And though Madson gave a up a hit which scored a run (charged to Stutes) he was able to finish the Cardinals off by striking out both John Jay and pinch hitter Matt Holliday. 

Final score was 11-6 and the Phillies are 1-0 in the best-of-five series.

Complete Box Score Phillies/Cardinals – Game 1 NLDS

For the Aerys Sports St. Louis Cardinals perspective, please check out Aaron Miles Fastball

Image Source:  MyPHL17.com

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies for clinching their 5th consecutive National League East Title!

And let me start by saying what a great job Roy Oswalt did tonight. He threw seven innings, allowed five hits, no runs, no walks, and struck out seven.  And that seventh one was Oswalt’s 1,751 career strikeout.  Kudos to Roy!

Jimmy Rollins lead off the game with a single in the first and scored after Hunter Pence hit an RBI-double.  Phillies were up 1-0.

In the fourth, St. Louis’ righty Jake Westbrook had bases loaded and ended up walking in a run.  Shane Victorino received the RBI on that, then added another RBI in the sixth, when he hit a solo shot to center field.  That was Victorino’s 17th home run of the season.  The Phillies were up 3-0.

Rookie Michael Stutes took over for Oswalt in the eighth and quickly worked two outs.  But then gave up hits to both Jon Jay and Albert Pujols.  Next up was Lance Berkman who hit an RBI-single and put the Cardinals on the board.  And then David Freese hit an RBI-single, pulling the Cards within one.

Stutes was yanked and Brad Lidge was brought in to clean up the mess Stutes had gotten the Phillies into.  And thankfully Lidge did his job and got the third out.  The Phillies were still leading but the score was now 3-2.

Carlos Ruiz started the bottom of the eighth with a lead off double.  Rollins then singled, and Victorino got his third RBI of the night with a single.  Phillies were up 4-2 when Chase Utley was hit by a pitch.  The bases were then loaded with one out.  After Ryan Howard struck out, Pence hit an infield RBI-single to shortstop Rafael Furcal, but thanks to Pence’s quick running and Utley’s hauling ass to second, Furcal had no play there and didn’t make the throw to first in time. The Phillies were up 5-2, but it was the next batter that pretty much solidified the Phillies victory.

Raul Ibanez hit a grand slam….SWEET!  Phillies were up 9-2 heading into the top of the ninth.  Ryan Madson closed it out.  GAME OVER!!!

 Complete Box Score Phillies/Cardinals – 9/17/11 Game