A sign up at the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees' park in Moosic. So I was in Philadelphia tonight and sure enough J.A. Happ beat Roy Halladay, who actually looked unbeatable for several innings and who left in the seventh having thrown about 70 pitches but trailing 3-2. Happ, looking like his usual balletic self on the mound, threw over 100 and got the win. As usual these days, the Phillies mustered only two runs, ho-hum, ho-hum. That is their limit these days.
The umpires were booed roundly when introduced and when they did just about anything. The biggest frisson of the evening was reserved for Ryan Howard, who did not start but did come out to pinch-hit in the 9th. He got a very loud and very pointed standing O, which was repeated after he got a single. Alas, Domonic Brown then struck out, the third strike-out of the inning and that was that. It was a quick game, the best that could be said for it. I didn't really expect the Phillies to win. Once again there was a boneheaded play on the base paths, tonight's by Ben Francisco, who was picked off third on a throw by catcher Umberto Quintero to end a rally threat. What the hell else is new? We now know the (funny) reason for Werth being picked off second on Monday, but it really is a bum way to play baseball.
Kyle Kendrick goes tomorrow, the last hope for a one-game salvage.
