Chase Utley heads home after his second blast against the Nats last night.
Three Phillies rang the bell last night at Citizens Bank Park: Feliz, Ibanez, and Utley, who did it twice.Cole Hamels breezed through 4.1 innings, then stumbled off the mound fielding a bunt by Nats' pitcher John Lannan, twisted an ankle, and fell into a frustrated heap. Chad Durbin replaced him and was outstanding, going three and 2/3 innings and allowing just one hit, a solo homer to Adam Dunn that disappeared deep into the second deck. Stalwart Clay Condrey came in to finish things off in the 9th and the Phillies handled the Nationals 7-1. For the second half of the game several relief pitchers hung over the bullpen fence, watching their guy Chad shine--and give them a much-needed respite. It was cute.
All of the offense was via the home run. Chase Utley started it with a 2-run shot. Pedro Feliz added a 3-run smack of his own. Utley's second homer was a bomb to right center. Raul Ibanez capped it off with a solo homer to left center. Starter John Lannon, who debuted a couple of years ago at Citizens Bank Park, broke Utley's hand in that game, then hit Ryan Howard and got tossed for his efforts. Since then Utley has owned Lannan.
On Charlie Manuel bobblehead night, a sellout crowd was on hand. The heat and humidity had abated thanks to an approaching coldfront and the weather was simply wonderful for baseball.
