Phillies Nation

Cliff Lee threw his first shutout of the season on Wednesday night. (AP Photo)

The Phillies took the rubber match of their three game set with Miami on Wednesday, shutting out the struggling Marlins 3-0. It was the second straight series win for the Fightin’s, and the first time since April 15 (when they were 6-7)  that they are back to just one game under the .500 mark.

Vintage Cliff Lee on the mound tonight

The Phillies offense managed three runs on 12 hits against Marlins pitching, which was more than enough for Cliff Lee, who threw nine strong innings en- route to his first complete game and shutout of the season.The left-hander faced minimal danger in the contest, working his way out of a bases loaded, nobody out jam in the second to go on to throw six 1-2-3 innings. He walked two and gave up just three hits on 115 pitches (85 of which were strikes). Lee has basically been a lock to perform in every start this year. He has had quality starts in each of his last four outings, and in eight of ten outings this season. His record improves to 5-2, and his ERA is now a minuscule 2.48 on the season. He has given up just four runs in his last four starts, and the shutout was the twelfth of his career, and seventh in a Phillies uniform.

Continue reading Phils Win Series Behind Masterful Lee

According to Chris Branch, Phillippe Aumont is headed to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Todd Zolecki states a corresponding roster move will be made Friday. Aumont has a 4.15 ERA and has his highest BB/9 IP of his career (6.92). No word on who will take his place but the Phillies could turn to either an infielder such as Cesar Hernandez (.320/.386/.456 heading into today for Lehigh Valley) to replace Chase Utley or a straight swap for a reliever like the suddenly hot Mike Stutes.

Philadelphia Phillies (22-24) at Miami Marlins (13-33)

Cliff Lee (4-2, 2.83 ERA) v. Kevin Slowey (1-4, 3.44 ERA)

TIME: 7:10, Marlins Park
TV: MyPHL 17
Weather: 79, chance of showers, expect the roof up
Media: Twitter and Facebook

The Fightin’ Phils enter tonight’s game with a shot to win yet another series. The Phils are 2-0-3 in their last five series and have posted a record of 10-8 in that time period. A win tonight and they will have been undefeated in their last six series with an 11-8 record. That record translates into a .579 winning percentage and over 93 wins across a whole season. Interesting.

Despite how inconsistent the play of the Phils has felt, the Phils quietly entered tonight’s just one game behind the Nationals (pending a result in their game against the Giants) and six behind the Braves, who disposed of Vance Worley earlier today. Cliff Lee takes the ball tonight, looking for his fourth quality start in a row and is opposed by the pride of Conroe, TX, righty Kevin Slowey.

Expect a big game out of Lee, who has held current Marlins to a .209/.248/.313 triple-slash line in 123 PA against. Marlin Catcher Miguel Oliva has two career homers off of Lee but is not in the line-up tonight for the Fish. Chase Utley is out again tonight while Ryan Howard will start in back-to-back games after receiving a cortisone shot in his knee.

Lineup: Rollins SS, Revere CF, M. Young 3B, Howard 1B, D. Young RF, Brown LF, Galvis 2B, Kratz C, Lee P

GAMEDAY BEER: Coors Light

The Fightins need Cliff Lee to be the Cliff Lee they know and love tonight in order to pick up a W. Like Lee, you always know what you are going to get when you have a Coors Light. Here is to Lee’s reliability and a solid start toinght against the Marlins! - IR

(AP)

According to the beats down in Miami with the Phillies, it appears likely Chase Utley will find himself on the disabled list soon. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Chase Utley swung for the first time in batting practice Tuesday and it did not feel right. He took a second hack, then another, and one more. That is when he went to Charlie Manuel and told him his right side hurt.

“It definitely scared me a little bit,” Utley said Wednesday.

More bad news for the Phillies, who have been crushed by the injury bug. Add Utley to the bloated list including Roy Halladay, Carlos Ruiz, John Lannan, and Mike Adams.

Adams could return by Wednesday, Rich Dubee told the Inky. He’s scheduled to pitch in a rehab game in Clearwater on Monday.

In this jam-packed episode of Phillies Nation TV, Pat and Corey discuss Jimmy Rollins’ candidacy for the Hall of Fame, plus look back at a wild series against the Reds.

Natalie talks with Jen Utley about her and Chase’s involvement with the PSPCA. Natalie also has some fun at the Utley Foundation Casino Night, talking with Michael Young, Kevin Frandsen and Ruben Amaro, among others.

And last but certainly not least, Ian is with sandwich maven Tony Luke, as they attempt to capture the experience of eating delicious cheesesteaks and roast porks in South Philly!

Ruiz set career-highs in 2012 in eight offensive categories. Did Adderall aid that?

Once the season ends, or perhaps even at the July 31 trade deadline, the Phillies will be forced to deal with harsh realities. Several players who were integral parts of the teams’ run to the 2008 World Series could be on the move. It’s not out of the question to think the 2014 Phillies could be without Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Carlos Ruiz.

Let’s focus on Ruiz. He’s was slowly working his way back to normalcy after a rough start following a 25-game suspension to begin the year. Then, he blew a tire going first-to-third in a game against the Reds last weekend and is now on the DL for 3-to-4 weeks.

The use of Adderall, for which he was suspended, tells me one thing; that he’s slowing down.  And inevitably, when a catcher slows down, it usually isn’t pretty. Ruiz was looking for an advantage and felt he could get one with the use of this banned substance. Without that aid, what does the future hold for Chooch?

For one, he’ll be 35 when next season rolls around. His .325 average last season appears to be an aberration, but we’ll know more about that after the year is complete. With 16 games and 51 at-bats under his belt this year, Ruiz is hitting .235. One thing Chooch has been known for is his ability to get on base and not strike out. His .361 career OBP is fantastic and would be sorely missed in a lineup that struggles with that idea. Even if his bat slows a bit, he still has shown to have a solid grasp of the strike zone.

Continue reading To Chooch or Not to Chooch

Tyler Cloyd pitched another gem. (Photo: AP)

Behind a second straight admirable start by Tyler Cloyd, the Phillies were able to snap a three-game losing streak against the Marlins, beating them 7-3.

After scoring three runs in three straight against Miami, the Phillies offense finally found its stride. The team notched 15 total hits, including four doubles and a home run. The outburst was a welcome sign for a team that had really been struggling. It’s a step forward. Now the challenge becomes doing it consistently and preventing the two steps back.

CLOYD EFFECTIVE ONCE AGAIN

- Juan Pierre has always been known for causing havoc on the base path, finding inventive ways to get on. Tonight, it was Tyler Cloyd injecting a little chaos of his own that allowed Pierre to reach base. Leading off the game, Pierre bunted a ball hard down the first base line. Ryan Howard fielded it cleanly and should have been able to tag Pierre with ease. Except Cloyd, who also broke on the ball, was still standing on the base line, directly in Howard’s path to Pierre. Using Cloyd as a human shield, Pierre averted the tag and slid safely into first. The play looked like a potential tone setter for Cloyd, an indication of snake bite. That proved to be untrue, as Cloyd would instead shake off the mishap and go on to pitch another good game. By the time Cloyd walked off the mound to close out the seventh inning, the unrecorded error was a distant memory.

- Much like his last outing, Cloyd wasn’t particularly dominant. The Marlins managed eight hits, but only two for extra bases. It was ex-Phillies who did all of the damage. Pierre had an RBI and Placido Polanco scored two runs–the only ones Cloyd allowed. Hovering in the mid-80s, he doesn’t blow it by anyone. But right now, he’s missing bats. He struck out five and walked two. Cloyd also got two doubleplays to get out of tough jams, including one to erase his first inning gaffe. Thus far, Cloyd has turned in two very valuable starts.

Continue reading Phils Bats Breakout In Win Over Marlins

Shortly before tonight’s first pitch, the Phillies were dealt another crucial blow when Chase Utley pulled himself from the lineup due to soreness on his right side. He was replaced in the lineup by Freddy Galvis.

Utley began to feel the discomfort during batting practice, and the issue was obviously strong enough to raise concern for the long-time Phillies second baseman, as Utley is often not wont to take himself out of a ballgame.

Utley will be reevaluated on Wednesday, and more information should become available at that time. If there is one silver lining here, it’s that Utley’s injury was not to his knees.

Still, with Carlos Ruiz and Mike Adams already on the DL, and Ryan Howard battling soreness in his knee, a DL stint for Utley, who leads the Phillies with an .814 OPS, is the last thing this team needs right now.

Philadelphia Phillies (21-24) at Miami Marlins (13-32)

Tyler Cloyd (0-0, 2.84 ERA) v. Jose Fernandez (2-2, 3.48 ERA)

TIME: 7:10, Marlins Park
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Weather: 77, mostly cloudy
Media: Twitter and Facebook

BREAK UP THE POWERHOUSE MARLINS!!!

Apparently this Miami Marlins team is supposed to be pretty bad. You wouldn’t know it from watching the Phillies last three contests against the Fish, in which they were outscored 21-3. It’s no wonder then that four of the Marlins 13 wins (30.7%) have come against the Phils this year. Last night’s loss may have been the most frustrating of the season, as the Phils wasted an otherwise dominant outing from Cole Hamels by once again forgetting to bring the lumber.

If you’re looking for a reprieve tonight, you’ve come to the wrong place. That’s because the man on the mound for Miami has flatout owned the Phillies so far this season. For that reason, you probably already know the name Jose Fernandez. He’s an unpolished rookie with a very high ceiling, who has been an otherwise pedestrian pitcher this year, except when facing the Phils. In fact, if you remove Fernandez’s two starts against the Phils–in which he’s held them scoreless over 6 innings and 7 innings, respectively–he would have a 4.94 ERA. That’s right. Simply facing the Phils has saved Fernandez a cool run and a half on his ERA. That needs to change tonight.

Starting for the Phils is Tyler Cloyd, who’s making is second start of the season in place of the injured Roy Halladay. In Cloyd’s first start, a couple weeks ago in Arizona, he pitched well enough to get a win. Though his numbers looked pretty good, for those who watched the game, it seemed apparent Cloyd had been let off the hook by Arizona. He left a few balls over the plate, and Arizona failed to capitalize. While it’s always a slippery slope to delve to deep into statistics after one outing, Cloyd’s 4.56 xFIP suggests there is going to be quite a bit of regression over the long haul, if the Phils continue to go with him. For now, he has a (supposedly) weak Marlins lineup to deal with, and he should be able to handle them.

Despite speculation on this website that Howard could be headed for a DL stint, he returns to the lineup and is batting cleanup tonight.

Lineup: Rollins SS, Utley 2B, M. Young 3B, Howard 1B, D. Young RF, Brown LF, Revere CF, Kratz C, Cloyd P

GAMEDAY BEER: Shiner Red Ruby

When you think of Florida, what’s the first fruit you think of? If you said oranges, you are 100% correct. But the second fruit you’d probably associate with the Sunshine State would be grapefruit, as Florida is one of the world’s largest exporters of the tart citrus fruit. The idea behind Shiner’s Red Ruby is to give you a hint of that grapefruit taste in your beer. Combined with the a strong malt taste, the beer has a citrus aftertaste, and a subtle bitterness. It’s definitely a summertime beer, which goes great in Florida, or on an 80 degree, humid night in Philly.  – RD

Not clear in the sense that his phlegm is clear because his allergies aren’t an issue; clear in the sense that seconds after Domonic Brown hit a home run, Sanabia hocked a loogie on the baseball in plain view of the cameras.

According to the rulebook, which these days is used more as a guideline than anything, it says:

Rule 8.02: The pitcher shall not — (2) expectorate on the ball, either hand or his glove;

Take a look, should he have been tossed?

(Thanks Fangraphs)