Phillies v A's Interleague

One of the rare occasions when co-blogger Jacqueline and I got together to watch our favorite teams play. It was a nice duel in the first game between Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton; in the second game Kendrick terrific, shutting out the A's 4-0 and in the final, Harden shut out the Phillies, 5-0. Yesterday, the temps were in the mellow 70's but it was weird to have overcast skies from the fire in Napa.

Vida Throwback Jersey Day

The first 10,000 fans got cool yellow retro jerseys in honor of Vida Blue. He threw out the first pitch, then the A's beat the Fish 7-1, winning the series. Duchscherer was totally in command, even after giving up a solo homer in the first inning. His teammates helped by being aggressive on the bases. The Marlin's pitcher was a tall, willowy fellow by the name of Andrew Miller. He threw a lot of pitches early on and he was soon out of the game. I was looking forward to seeing Uggla, who hit 2 homers yesterday, but his bat wasn't talking today. Weather was bright and temps were in the low 70's. At game time, the UVA rating was 10, extremely high.

oh so taguchi bad

Speaking of So Taguchi, I tuned into today's Phillies game in the bottom of the 9th. Two on, two out, trailing by a run. So Taguchi, the only guy left on the bench, comes to the plate to pinch hit for Brad Lidge. Swinging for some dumfounding reason on a two-ball count, Taguchi popped out in foul territory off third. Game over, Phillies lose five in a row for the first time since May of 2006. What were you thinking, So? You may be nice and hardworking but sayonara.

gopher balls again doom myers

Joe Saunders of the Angels taking warm-up tosses between innings at last night's game in Philadelphia.

If Eric Bruntlett had curbed his aggressive base-running instincts in the 7th, Brett Myers never would have made it out for the fatal eighth. But Bruntlett was thrown out at 2nd and the inning ended. Both starters kept it a fast-paced game through seven, with Myers giving up only three hits. Two of them, alas, were solo homers to Phillies Killer Vlad the Bad, who has homered more times (31? 32?) against the Phillies than any other active player. And he's now in the AL! The Phillies came back to tie the game at 2 in the 7th but Bruntlett, playing for the slumping Utley, ran them out of a potential go-ahead run. With 2 out in the 8th, Myers gave up a single to Chone Figgins (love the name, the player), then a silly 2-run homer that just cleared the right field pole to the light-hitting Erick Aybar, a 2nd-inning replacement for injured shortstop Maicer Izturis. Another error by So Taguchi allowed the Angels to tack on two more in the 9th. Taguchi is turning defensive replacement into an oxymoron. I keep trying to find some words of praise for this guy, but he's been brutal in the field and at the plate.

Of course, if the offense had been anywhere in sight, the sell-out crowd of 45,000+ at Citizens Bank Park would have been a lot happier. Instead, the slump continues and it's salvage time again. Two lanky guys with hair match up today. I'd take Hamels over Weaver, but Hamels has already been burned several times this season by spluttering offensive support. Go, Phillies!

stumbling and bumbling

The foul ball parking zone at the Reading ballpark on a mellow evening not too long ago.

In Philadelphia, the mood is more foul than mellow after last night's 7-1 whacking at the hands of Ervin Santana and the Angels. I guess the Angels really are offensively-challenged: They managed only 7 runs on 17 hits. Meanwhile, the team known for its offense mustered 2 hits and 1 unearned run. No hits after the second inning. Vladimir Guerrero used to kill the Phillies as an Expo. His 2-run homer in the 1st off of stumbling starter Adam Eaton was just the first of three hits. Ervin Santana meanwhile mesmerized the boys in red pinstripes. Despite a sac fly ribbie, Utley's slump continues. No one else is stepping up.

Barry Zippo

That's what the Giants fans are starting to call poor BZ. He only went 2 innings (56 pitches) today against the Tigers and his pitches were so fat it was like batting practice. Bochy went to the mound in the middle of Barry's misery in the second and the fans booed when he decide to keep him on. Fortunately, that inning was the last. The rest of the game was tediously long as the Giants never got close to catching the Tigers.

0 for 12 shut-out

A crisp breeze was blowing last night at Citizens Bank Park. Some people wrapped themselves in blankets. It almost felt like October.

When the heart of the order, Utley, Howard, and Burrell, go 0 for 12, not much is likely to happen. And that's exactly what did happen in a 3-0 shutout at the hands of lefty Jon Lester and the back end of the Sox bullpen. Okajima threw a scoreless 8th and Papelbon came in to blow away Howard, Burrell, and Werth to the delight of the Red Sox fans in attendance. With little command, Jamie Moyer labored mightily for five innings, giving up just 2 runs on 4 hits, but one of those was a 2-run homer to the light-hitting Coco Crisp. The bottom of the Sox order got it done. Both teams had 7 hits, but the Phillies never converted. Utley, now in the worst slump of his career, looks all out of sorts. He now leads both leagues in All-Star votes.

daisuke delivers but cole is king

Dice-K goes into the wind-up last night at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA.

Word was that Matsuzaka was on a pitch count of 75. For the first four innings of last night's game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and Lehigh Valley IronPigs a complete game shut-out seemed to be looming. It took Matsuzaka 39 pitches (31 for strikes) to dispatch the first 12 'Pigs he faced. Only in the 5th did the home team, led by an Andy Tracy single, make a small stand to string three hits together for two runs. Matsuzaka, who looked very, very good in his first (maybe only) minor league rehab stint, was finished after five. He threw 65 pitches. The PawSox won the game 9-6.

The announced attendance was 8,803, a sell-out. Despite a two-hour rain delay, most seats were filled when the game finally started at 9:15, largely because of Dice-K. Last night he was definitely worth the wait.

During the delay, the first five innings of the Red Sox-Phillies game in Philadelphia was shown on the big screen at the park. It was all Cole Hamels. Other highlights: Jimmy Rollins' lead-off homer, followed by a 2-run homer by Ryan Howard. The big guy added a solo homer in the 3rd to give the Phils a 4-0 lead. In the 5th, Dustin Pedroia and J.D. Drew had back-to-back homers, but they turned out to be the only Sox runs in an 8-2 loss. Pat Burrell tripled in the 5th but was stranded at 3rd. (Wake up, Geoff Jenkins!) Burrell's gallop round the bases convulsed Hamels in the dugout. Later, Ryan Howard added a triple of his own. (What a week for Howard, lol, a triple and a stolen base!) Sox starter Bartolo Colon's at-bats were priceless. The guys on his bench were falling all over themselves.

A's Sweep Giants

On a beautiful summer's day, the A's completed their sweep of the Giants, 5-3. Dana Eveland pitched well for the A's and Kevin Correia wasn't too bad for the Giants except in the 6th inning where a line of A's got on base with singles and scored 4 times. The Giants tried a similar tack in the 8th, loading up on bases but their 2 runs couldn't make up the difference.

phils hand it to cards

One thing about today's frustrating loss---it made me forget yesterday's. Color me pessimistic. Today the Phillies left 15 men on base, leaving the bases loaded four times, including in the 8th when they scored twice on walks to tie the game 6-6. Utley flied out to end the 9th, again with the bases loaded. Earlier in the inning Eric Bruntlett was called out on a play at home that ended up sending Card catcher Yadier Molina to the hospital on a stretcher. (Initial tests indicated that Molina was OK.) The Phils' bullpen was again outstanding. Until the fatal 10th, that is, when Tom Gordon got two quick outs, then he and Utley played dipsy doodle on a couple of dead-easy plays that handed the Cards the game. The first error, an errant throw by Utley to Gordon covering first, put the winning run on 2nd. The second, this time on Gordon, who flat out missed the throw, was on an almost-identical play. Ball game over. But if you leave the bases loaded 4x, do you deserve to win? Again, color me pessimistic, but this is not the way to head home and into Interleague play with Red Sox and Angels.

Jimmy has got to get his stroke back, his timing back or this team is going nowhere.

Tale of Two Pitchers

Andy Pettitte at the Mac
Barry Zito at the AT&T

First the Yankees at McAfee - Andy Pettitte was in superb form, mowing down the youthful A's. Joe Blanton was doomed by Matsui's happy birthday grand slam especially since, true to the games he's pitched this year, he's had virtually no run support by his teammates. To Blanton's credit, he buckled down and pitched well the rest of the way. Still, no win. Then the Friday the 13th interleague game versus the Giants (weird to see the A's wearing road grays), the A's had Greg Smith going against Barry Z. Smith was wobbly but nothing compared to Barry, who simply couldn't place his pitches. It was really sad to see Zito pitching like that, sad too, to hear all the boos when he left the game after 5-2/3 innings.

20/21 phils clobber cards back-to-back-to-back

For the second time this season, the Phillies pounded out 20 runs, this time on a season-high 21 hits. I was running errands and missed the first inning in St. Louis, when with 2 outs Utley, Howard, and Burrell went deep in succession. I got back in time for the hit parade 4th, with the Phils up 4-0. Pitcher Kyle Kendrick got the hits rolling with a double; his second time up in the inning he singled. By inning end, the Phillies had scored 9 runs. Howard, who likes hitting in front of his hometown crowd, added a 3-run homer in the 6th. Catcher Carlos Ruiz, in a bit of a hitting drought, ended up with 4. Final score: 20-2. Infielder Aaron Miles pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th for the Cards and got a standing ovation from the fans. It was the only inning where the Phils went down in order. Kyle Kendrick went a strong seven and got his 6th win of the season, on the first anniversary of his unexpected call-up to the bigs. The Phillies are 10-1 in Kendrick's starts this year.

But for urgent errands, I would have been at the IronPigs game. The 'Pigs beat the Bisons to take 3 of 4 in the series and climb, at least for a day, out of last place. Something else though was making the 'Pigs announcers giddy: Daisuke Matsuzaka will be rehabbing Monday night at Coca-Cola Park during the PawSox-'Pigs series.

Rajai

One of the many young players on the Oakland A's, Rajai was a snatch from the Giants. He doesn't get to play everyday but he's often a runner in the late innings. He'll be used more frequently during interleague games.

amazing moyer

Last night's IronPigs' game had its share of rallying "oink, oink" calls but they didn't keep the team from going down 5-4 to the Buffalo Bisons. I got home from a long day and went to the game on the spur of the moment. All of the scoring came off the two starters. When the two bullpens took over, nothing much else happened. I left at the end of the 7th and listened on the way home to the Bisons' broadcast on radio.

When I left the 'Pigs, the Phillies were leading 2-0 in the 6th down in Florida. By the time I got home, Jamie Moyer had just finished throwing eight innings of 2-hit ball (yeah, he's 45) against the high-octane Fish and the Phillies were up 3-0. Moyer is simply amazing. This year he may just be on a mission. I caught the 9th on TV. In the top, the Phillies loaded the bases in vain; in the bottom, Brad Lidge, looking tall and serious, notched his 18th. The Phillies scored two of their runs off one wild pitch by Marlins' starter Scott Olsen. Jimmy Rollins dashed in from 3rd when Olsen bounced one that careened away from the catcher. Shane Victorino, who was on 2nd, then scored on the catcher's errant throw to Olsen, covering home. The third run was a conventional RBI.

Everybody else in the division lost. Oh, happy day.

ugh-a-lugga

Tuesday night it was Brett Myers and his fatal predilection for gopher balls. Last night it was Tom Gordon giving up a grand slam to Dan Uggla in the bottom of the 9th of a 2-2 ball game. Cole Hamels went 8, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, and striking out 13. But in the top of the ninth, with the bases loaded and 2 outs, Jayson Werth tried inexplicably to lay down a bunt. Maybe Jayson's time on the DL clouded his brain. Maybe south Florida is just too hot for the Phillies? Jorge Cantu already has about 100 home runs in the series. Seems to me that every June in recent memory has featured a disastrous trip south. Tonight it's salvage mode with Jamie Moyer up against loose-cannon Fish ace Scott Olsen. Ugh.

By the bye, rookie lefty Andrew Miller, who came over with Cameron Maybin from the Tigers for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera, was also fab. That trade is starting to look lopsided.

And the IronPigs swept a doubleheader last night from the Buffalo Bisons at Coca-Cola Park. Go, 'Pigs.

digging the heat, sweeping the braves

On another hot day in Atlanta, the Phillies pulled off another 9th-inning win. Both starters, Jorge Campillo (5.1 innings) and Adam Eaton (6 innings), gave up three runs early and that's where the scoring stayed till the top of the 9th, when the Phillies plated 3. Shane Victorino, who had an exciting series, was in the thick of things. Ryan Howard chipped in with his 3rd double of the day, for 2 more RBI. Make it 6-3, Phillies. Brad Lidge needed only 7 pitches to notch his 17th save in 17 tries. The Braves had been 25-8 at home before the weekend. It was the first time this season they were swept at home. On to Miami and more heat.

300 for charlie, another win for the phils

Charlie Manuel got his 300th win last night as Phillies' manager. Since 2005, when he took over, the Phillies have won more games than any other NL team. Big kudos to Mr. Manuel and the Fightin's.

Last night's game featured two 23-year-old pitchers: Kyle Kendrick for the Phillies vs. Jo-Jo Reyes for the Braves. The Phillies scored first, on a 5th-inning solo homer by catcher Carlos Ruiz. Pat Burrell added another in the 6th. But Krazy K, who walked an unacceptable five, lost his one-hit shutout in the bottom of the inning, via a two-run homer by Chipper (Who Else) Jones. The bullpen again took over and did a magnificent job. In the 8th, Victorino led off with a walk. Chase (Who Else) Utley tripled him home. Ryan Howard then brought Ut in. In the 9th, with the Phillies up 4-2, Rollins tacked on some insurance with a majestic 2-run homer (a big man's homer, one of the broadcasters called it). Brad Lidge, already up and warmed, came in for the finish. So far, so good.

shane shines in unbelievable comeback

Some kind of comeback! In the 9th, the Phillies scored the tying run on dead-cert game-ending pop-up to 2nd baseman Kelly Johnson, who dropped the ball. Then in the 10th, Shane Victorino hit a triple to knock in the go-ahead run and Utley doubled him in to put the Phils up 4-2. In the bottom of the frame, with 2 outs and 2 on, Yunel Escobar singled up the middle. One run scored, but an absolute laser from Victorino in center allowed catcher Chris Coste to tag out the sliding Gregor Blanco. Bang-bang, game over. Replays showed that umpire Angel Marquez had indeed got the call right. But Victorino was not the only arm worthy of note last night. Jamie Moyer was again sterling, allowing only a 2-run homer in the 6th to put the Braves up 2-1. (Tim Hudson meanwhile held the Phillies to their 1st-inning run, also sparked by a Victorino triple.) The bullpen then came in and held the Braves' offense down, allowing the unlikely 9th-inning drama to unfold.

Said Brad Lidge of the unbelievable win, "The Force was with us tonight."

on the road and into the fire

Tonight is the start of a road trip from Atlanta to Miami to St. Louis. The Phillies then come home to host the Red Sox and Angels. Talk about a daunting stretch. Tonight it's Tim Hudson vs. Jamie Moyer. On the road the Braves are dismal but at home they are something like 24-8. The big news from Atlanta this week was that John Smoltz, just back from the DL, will have season-ending surgery. Smoltz says he hopes to return to baseball, but at his age it's iffy. Maybe his next baseball gig will be in the booth: he's always got an opinion on everything. My fave Bravo pitcher will always be Greg Maddux, but it's sad to see Smoltz's career come to an abrupt end.

Meanwhile, the baseball draft is here and just about gone. For the first time in a decade the Phillies had a lot of 1st-round picks. As usual, they seem to have gone for the high-ceiling, toolsy high school kids. Since I wouldn't know any of these players, high school or college, if I fell over them, all it means to me is a trip to Williamsport maybe next month.

hamels throws another complete game shut-out

Phillies win! Game over. They take three from the Reds and now head for Atlanta.

The only thing that would have made this afternoon's sellout game better was a beer. Cole Hamels, with a ridiculous lifetime ERA against the Reds, continued his mastery of Cincinnati with a three-hit complete game shutout. Rookie Homer Bailey wasn't bad himself, going into the 7th and giving up five runs, two of them earned. This was less than 24 hours after a fabulous game Wednesday night that the Phillies lost 2-0. Edinson Volquez, the dominating rookie pitcher who came over in the Josh Hamilton deal, held the Phillies to just two hits. Unbelievably, Brett Myers had a perfect game through four and a no-hitterthrough 6.2 . In the end it was a superb outing for Myers, despite his hard luck loss. For Hamels, today was an excellent bouceback game after two rocky starts.

Ken Griffey, Jr., in pursuit of his 600th home run, pinch hit in the previous three games, but played today. He led off the 9th to a nice ovation, then hit a ball to deep center that brought the crowd to its feet. But Shane Victorino caught it in front of the wall. Jr. walked off to a rousing ovation and responded with a tip of his cap to both sides of the park. It was an unexpectedly sweet moment, especially when one thinks of where Griffey, a great player, would be were it not for the many injuries that have plagued him in recent years.

Jimmy Rollins was lifted from the game for not running out a routine pop-up in the 3rd to short, which shortstop Paul Janish inexplicably booted. (Janish later made a much more difficult play.) Carlos Ruiz scored on the error but Rollins ended up on 1st. Charlie Manuel lifted him in the 5th for Eric Bruntlett. Manuel later declined to talk about it with the media, saying only that he and J-Roll had settled things. Was Rollins upset? Said Rollins, "That's like breaking the law and getting mad when the police show up." He added that Charlie has two rules: be on time and hustle, and that he had broken one of them. Message sent, message received.

Mets Close Out the Giants

A gorgeous wind-blown day at AT&T. Too bad the Giants let the Mets get away with another win. The year of "rebuilding" the Giants has been pretty tedious so far although I'm surprised at the number of fans that turn out for these games. Across the Bay the A's, also "rebuilding," has a youthful, energetic team that isn't afraid to battle against their high-priced opponents. Sometimes they get beat but other times, like the recent Tigers series, the A's have no trouble sweeping. Too bad the stadium is so empty. I don't get it - between the two Bay Area teams, the A's are hands-down more talented and exciting to watch than the Giants.

Bay Bridge Baseball

Pedro Martinez pitching for the Mets at AT&T
Dontrell's Mom
Willis' high leg kick
Willis congratulating teammates

A fun baseball evening...Taking advantage of the rare dual scheduling (A's and Giants rarely are in town together), we decided to take in both ball games. First we drove to Oakland to take in the A's vs Tigers at the Mac for four innings, then we rushed to the AT&T to watch the Giants vs Mets. I'd never seen Dontrell Willis pitch "live" and so it was a great treat to sit only 13 rows away from home plate. He wasn't in the best of shape because this was his first game after coming back from a hyperextended knee injury but he still displayed his high leg kick and great emotion. Wonderful to capture his mom in the stands too!
We were walking to the AT&T park during the 5th inning Zito debacle where 6 runs scored so thankfully we missed that. The Giants ended up losing but they made it close, coming back from a 9-1 deficit to 9-6 but Wags came in for the Mets save. One more game today at the AT&T.

good eaton

The story last night in Philadelphia was pretty much Adam Eaton, who pitched 6.2 innings, giving up 1 run and 3 hits and walking none. It was a taut 1-1 game till Reds' starter Aaron Harang hung one for Pat Burrell, who smacked it deep into the left field seats for a 2-run homer. Tom Gordon allowed a run in the 8th but the boos were reserved for his walking the pinch-hitting Griffey, Jr. In the 9th Brad Lidge skirted trouble to preserve the 3-2 lead and notch his 15th save in 15 attempts. It was pretty much Eaton's best outing as a Phillie. May he keep it up. Today's matchup is sizzling rookie Endison Volquez vs. Brett Myers. Thunderstorms are forecast all day.

utley all over

In the morning Chase Utley was announced as the NL Player of the Week. In the evening he drilled a laser to right in the 1st to put the Phillies up 2-0 over the visiting Cincinnati Reds. That was his 5th homer in five days, the second time he's homered five games in a row this season. The last time the Phillies faced Bronson Arroyo, they hit four homers off him; last night they hit three. Jay Bruce, the Reds' engaging young phenom, also homered in the 5-4 loss. Kyle Kendrick got the win; the Phillies are 9-3 in games started by KK. Chad Durbin came in for Kendrick in the 6th; Flash took over in the 8th. In the 9th, Lidge struck out the first two men, then Joey Votto hit a liner that Utley made a diving catch on to end the game. The look on Lidge's face was priceless. Jimmy Rollins had to hide his smile in his glove. Some kind of fun.

just another comeback win

little bit of this
little bit of that---
all together now

And it was a team effort to come back yesterday afternoon from a 5-1 deficit to the Fish. Geoff Jenkins tied the game with a 2-run pinch-hit homer and in the 7th Pat Burrell put the Phils in front with a clutch 2-RBI double. Then Tom Gordon, with a verbal assist from Jimmy Rollins, held the Marlins down in the 8th and My Guy Lidge closed the door in the 9th. Did I mention the flashy glove work by the big man at 1st? Or Rollins' heads-up baserunning? Or Victorino's hotness? Or, speaking of hot, Chutley's 20th homer? Or how about Jamie Moyer, who once again bent but did not break? Sure, he gave up 5 runs (on 3 bad pitches), but he settled in and went 7. Once again Moyer was matched up with a young phenom half his age and once again he came away with the W.

It was an interesting series. Could be lots of good games in the offing with the young Marlins, who will be truly dangerous when they and their manager put it all together.

So long as he's not injured, I never worry about Cole Hamels, a delicious young man. I worry even less after hearing him quoted to the effect that he was looking forward to talking with Moyer, Gordon, Seanez, and Lidge about his recent rocky outings. The kid knows his stuff.

thud

That was the sound of the Phillies falling 7-3 to the Fish and falling out of first. Well, that didn't last long! That was also the sound of the clunker thrown last night by Cole Hamels, who was visibly annoyed by his outing. It's also the second "worst" game by him in a row.

As I write this Mike Lieberthal is being interviewed on the pregame show. Today's the day he again dons a Phillies uni in order to "retire" officially from MLB. Lieberthal sounds absolutely giddy. He's making me smile.

I left the park at the end of the 6th, soon after Hamels was lifted, and took this shot of the 1st base entrance.