Vance Worley - Photo credit: myPHL17.com

Sunday afternoon the Phillies were looking to win their seventh game in a row and sweep the Milwaukee Brewers. But it didn’t happen.  The Brewers had lost five games in a row including two to their division rivals St. Louis Cardinals, so they desperately needed a win. The Cards are six games back from the Brewers in the NL Central Division, but the Cards are surging after sweeping the Atlanta Braves and are hot on the Brewers’ trail.

So the Brewers were determined to win yesterday and they did.  Starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo only allowed the Phillies three hits, which two came off of solo home runs by Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard, respectively in the sixth inning.  Up until that point he had held them to just a single hit.  On the other hand, Vance Worley gave up eight hits and three runs.

Worley went 6.2 innings and struck out seven.  Fellow rookie Michael Schwimer took over for Worley in the seventh and managed to get Prince Fielder to strikeout. David Herndon pitched the eighth.

But the Phillies who were down 3-2 heading into the ninth, couldn’t muster up a rally to at least tie it.  Jimmy Rollins pinched for the second game in a row, and sadly he struck out both times.  But with Pete Orr and Michael Martinez both on base, pinch hitter John Bowker was given the chance to bring a run home.  Obviously that didn’t happen and I must gripe because Bowker is turning out to be a complete bust.  He’s been used as a pinch hitter in four games so far as a Phillie and has yet to log a hit.  Not one of the Phillies better pick-up moves, that’s for sure.

Complete Box Score Phillies/Brewers – 9/11/11 Game

Phillies Notes:

Wilson Valdez sat out in Sunday’s game because he pulled a hamstring in Saturday’s game.

Valdez said he could play if needed, but he doesn’t want to blow out the hamstring and miss a significant period of time. Michael Martinez got the start at shortstop Sunday.  Valdez said he has no plans to get a MRI. – Phillies.com

On Sunday evening, the Reading Phillies were eliminated in the Eastern League Eastern Division Championship series.  The New Hampshire Fisher Cats won 4-2 and took Game Four to win the best-of-five.  Box Score can be found here.

Tonight, the Phillies begin a 3-game series in Houston against the Astros.  This will be former Astro Hunter Pence‘s first trip back to the stadium he used to call home. The Phillies will be versing two of their former pitchers, Brett Myers and J.A. Happ, while the Astros face their former teammate, Roy Oswalt.

Check out Monday’s game preview after the jump…

» Continue reading “Vanimal Denied, No Sweep For Phillies”

Hunter Pence - Photo credit: Steve Trapani

It took 10 innings on Saturday night for the Phillies to come out victorious against the Brewers.  And the Phillies are now only 7-games away from clinching their fifth straight National League East Division title.

Was it an easy game to win?  Nope.  The Phillies/Brewers were tied at 2-2 by the fifth inning and it stayed that way until the 10th when Raul Ibanez hit a double then Carlos Ruiz hit an RBI-single, on a bunt no less.  Game over Phils won 3-2.  Which made it six victories in a row for the Fightins’.

Cliff Lee saw his 30 and 2/3 scoreless innings streak come to an end when Yuniesky Betancourt hit an RBI-single in the second.  And in the fourth Ryan Braun singled, Prince Fielder doubled then Casey McGehee grounded out, but Braun scored, putting the Brewers up 2-1.  Lee pitched seven innings, allowed six hits, two runs, walked two, and struck out seven.

Reliever Brad Lidge pitched the eighth and Michael Stutes pitched the ninth, neither gave up a run.  Closer Ryan Madson took over the 10th.  Though he walked two, he kept them from scoring and got his 30th save of the season.

Hunter Pence hit his 19th homer in the first inning and Placido Polanco hit his fifth in the fifth inning.

Jimmy Rollins didn’t start the game but pinched for Wilson Valdez in the tenth, then remained in the game at shortstop.

Complete Box Score Phillies/Brewers – 9/10/11 Game

Phillies Notes:

Chase Utley got good news in regards to his concussion.  However, his return is unlikely to happen in the next week.

Concussion specialist Rob Franks examined Utley at Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, where he administered an ImPACT test. The results showed Utley near his baseline test, which he took in Spring Training. That has allowed Utley to begin exercising to see how he responds to exertion. Utley will have a follow up ImPACT test Monday, when Franks will reevaluate him. – Phillies.com

Congratulations to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs! Last night they advanced to the Governors’ Cup Finals by sweeping the Pawtucket Red Sox in a three games.  You can read the recap here: Laugh Cheer Oink IronPigs Top Paw-Sox

The Reading Phillies lost last night to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats by a score of 1-0.  The Fisher Cats took a 2-1 lead in the best of five series.  Box score can be found here.  Game four is tonight at 6:05 pm EDT.

Check out this afternoon’s game preview after the jump….

» Continue reading “Phillies Cool the Once Hot Brewers”

Photo credit: Guestofaguest.com

The Phillies went into Milwaukee with the possibility of not having Chase Utley in the series and possibly longer (though I hope that doesn’t happen) and Ryan Howard took the night off because of bursitis in his left Achilles bursae, though Howard was available if needed. Utley stayed back in Philadelphia to be evaluated for a possible concussion. Utley took a fastball off his helmet in Wednesday night’s game against the Braves and left the game due to a headache.

Milwaukee’s pitcher Chris Narveson retired the first nine Phillies he faced until he issued a walk to Cole Hamels.  And the only Phillies’ hit up until the sixth had been a John Mayberry, Jr. single.

In the fifth, the Brewers got on the board first, thanks to a solo shot by Yuniesky Betancourt.

But even with a one run lead, the Brewers fell apart in the top of the sixth. After getting two quick strike outs, Narveson gave up a double to Shane Victorino then immediately gave up another double to Wilson Valdez.  Victorino scored and the Phillies tied it 1-1.  Next up was Placido Polanco who walked and then Hunter Pence who looked nothing like the guy I saw batting the previous night….THANK goodness!!!!  Pence hit a 2-RBI triple, bringing the lead up to 3-1.

But the Phillies offense wasn’t done.  Mayberry Jr, hit an RBI-single, Carlos Ruiz hit a RBI ground rule double, then Ben Francisco hit an RBI-single.  The Phillies were then up 6-1.

Hamels did give up another home run in the bottom of the sixth, to Corey Hart, his 24th of the season.  But that would be it for the Brew Crew.  The Phillies would tack on one more run before the end of the game, courtesy of Pence hitting his 34th double which allowed Valdez to score. Hamels would go on to pitch a complete game and that would be the Phillies pitching staff’s 17th complete game of the season.

Hamels only allowed four hits total and two earned runs.  Though he only struck out two, he looked very sharp. And the Phillies offense had 12 hits on the night, another good thing to see.  The Phillies magic number to claim the National League East title is 11.  And their number to clinch a playoff berth is four!!!

 Complete Box Score Phillies/Brewers – 9/8/11 Game

Phillies Notes:

Yesterday (9/8/11) shortstop Jimmy Rollins was activated off the 15-day disabled list but didn’t play in the game against the Brewers. He was only available if absolutely needed.

Congratulations to lefty Cliff Lee who was voted Pitcher of the Month for August!

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs won their first playoff game against the Pawtucket Red Sox by a score of 4-2.  Next game is tonight at 7:05 pm EDT.  Box score can be found here.

Phillies prospect Zach Collier who was the Phillies 1st round pick in 2008 and just turned 21 years of age on September 8th, has been suspended by MLB for 50 games.  And the reason for his suspension, he tested positive for amphetamines.

Collier is a left-handed-hitting outfielder who missed all of 2010 with injuries and spent this season at low Single-A, batting just .255 with a .328 on-base percentage and .349 slugging percentage in 112 games. He did swipe 35 bases, but was thrown out 13 times and managed just one homer while striking out 99 times. – NBCsports.com

My opinion on Collier…dumb ass!!!  But add him to the list, because according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Collier is the sixth Phillies prospect this season to be suspended for using a performance-enhancing drug, the most in baseball.  Ummm…not exactly a feat to be proud of.

Check out tonight’s game preview after the jump…

» Continue reading “Phillies Tap Brew Crew”

Chase Utley - Photo credit: Steve Trapani

For those who don’t know, my track record for Phillies games this season has been abysmal and they have lost just about every time I’ve attended a game. Thankfully for the Phillies and the fans, I haven’t made it to many.

But that being said, on Wednesday night they WON while I was there.  Although I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was sweating it for most of the game.

The game actually started off pretty good, minus a few walks, Roy Oswalt had a no-hitter working into the sixth.  And in the bottom of the second, with Raul Ibanez‘s 18th homer of the season, I felt it was a going to be a good night.  That was of course until Ibanez’s home run was pretty much all they got until the eighth inning, so that nagging feeling of being a jinx reared its ugly head.  My own kid calls me a jinx!!!  Can’t argue the facts.

And matters weren’t helped when I watched Ryan Howard strikeout with bases loaded.  Boy did he hear the boos.  I didn’t personally boo him, but he’s got to stop swinging for the fence and/or be a little more patient.  But he wasn’t the only guilty party on that, a couple times it looked like Hunter Pence was just hacking or not fully committing to his swings.  I wanted to shout either swing the damn bat or don’t swing at all.  It was frustrating to watch.  Pence went 0-for-4 and I take full blame because the last time I attended a game, he struck out three times.  Sorry Hunter, its all my fault.

But even with the anemic offense barely on the radar last night, the worst thing that occurred came in the bottom of the sixth.  Atlanta reliever Eric O’Flaherty beaned Chase Utley with a 90 mph fast ball.  That ball hit Utley’s helmet so hard, you probably could have heard it miles away.  Utley was awarded first base and from my advantage it looked like he was unscathed.  But by the eighth inning, Utley was absent from the game.*

Right before O’Flaherty hit Utley, there was an incident where Placido Polanco singled to right field.  Atlanta’s Jason Heyward slid to catch it but in reality he just trapped it on the ground.  Shane Victorino had gotten to third and Polanco was safe at first.  Or so we thought.  The ump called Polanco out and the inning was over.  Well Polanco argued that Heyward DIDN’T catch it, that it hit the ground first.  Charlie Manuel emerged from the dugout and argued as well.  And in a RARE moment, after the umpiring crew talked it over, the call was reversed and Polanco was safe as was Victorino.  If I hadn’t seen it in person I might not have believed the Phillies actually had a call go their way.

Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez then argued but was ejected. A few moments later O’Flaherty hit Utley with the first pitch.  Sadly the Phillies couldn’t capitalize on the bases loaded and reversed call, that’s when Howard struck out.

» Continue reading “Gotta Love a Sweep!”

Here’s the scoop on Saturday night’s Phillies/Marlins game.

The game was delayed for almost two hours due to rain, which has become old hat for the Phillies. But luckily the game didn’t even try to begin on-time, so Cole Hamels was still able to make his start. However, not making excuses for Cole but it took him awhile to get warmed up again and ended up making a couple poor pitching choices.

Hamels left a changeup over the plate for Mike Cameron, who smacked it over the fence for a two-run homer in the second. An inning later, Mike Stanton crushed a solo homer deep into the left-field seats. – Phillies.com

But by the fourth inning the Phillies had a 4-3 lead, thanks to 2-RBI’s each by both Wilson Valdez and Hamels.

David Herndon - Photo credit: Steve Trapani

Hamels went on to pitch seven innings and struck out seven.  He also held the Marlins to three runs.

Then the implosion took place.  Antonio Bastardo, who for the most part had been very reliable, replaced Hamels in the eighth and immediately walked both Omar Infante and Logan Morrison.  So Charlie Manuel yanked Bastardo and brought in David Herndon.  And yes I’ve ripped Herndon before but then gave him props on a couple rare occasions, well today I’m back to ripping him.

After a sacrifice bunt by Jose Lopez, the Marlins had one out but still two men on.  And that’s when the game turned UGLY!

Gaby Sanchez slammed a 3-run shot to left field, putting the Marlins up 6-4.  Okay not great but not awful.  Well, in the words of View From Section 116‘s writer Karilee Jeantet, Herndon decided to throw batting practice DURING THE GAME!  Because the very next batter, Mike Cameron hit his second homer of the game.  And then after managing to get Bryan Peterson out, Phillies killer and former Phillie Greg Dobbs, got in on the action and homered himself.

The Marlins won 8-4!

Bad games and losses are bound to happen.  But when the bullpen trots in to hold a lead then ultimately ends up blowing it, not much more to say than…UGH!!!!!!!

Complete Box Score Phillies/Marlins – 9/3/11 Game

Check out Sunday afternoon’s game preview after the jump…

» Continue reading “Bullpen Blows Game for Phillies”