Phillies Nation

Gregor Blanco and Martin Prado weren’t supposed to be in the Braves’ lineup. Due to injuries, they were given an opportunity to start and they did not disappoint. They went a combined 7-for-10 with four runs batted in, a walk, and three runs scored.

Prado and Blanco’s performances were the opposite of Jimmy Rollins’, who received his first start in four days. As usual, Rollins provided Gold Glove defense. But Braves fans chanted Rollins’ average, and each time he stepped to the plate, the number chanted became lower and lower. Rollins finished the night 0-for-5.

The Phillies opened the scoring in the third inning on Ryan Howard’s ground-rule double. The bounce over the fence proved to cost the Phillies. If it stayed in the yard, Chase Utley would have scored easily. Instead, he was forced to stop at third.

Utley homered to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead, but Prado responded with a solo home run of his own to tie it up. The Braves took a 3-2 lead on a ground-out in the fifth inning.

Joe Blanton pitched five innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and three walks. He struck out three. Derek Lowe was a little better. In seven innings, he gave up two runs on seven hits and three walks.

With two outs in the eighth inning, John Mayberry Jr. was called to pinch hit and answered with a game tying home run. If that wasn’t exciting enough, Pedro Feliz followed with a long home run, giving the Phillies a 4-3 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth with two outs and a runner on first, Ryan Madson attempted a pick-off throw, only for it to hit the runner and scoot toward the Braves dugout. The runner advanced, then scored on Prado’s double down the line, making it a 4-4 game. If it didn’t hit the runner, Howard would have held the runner on and the Phillies could have seen their way out of the inning.

In the bottom of the tenth, Prado haunted the Phillies once again. With two on and one out, Prado hit a line drive over the head of Mayberry. Game over. Braves win, 5-4.

Philadelphia Phillies (39-34) at Atlanta Braves (35-40)

Joe Blanton (4-4, 5.06 ERA) vs. Derek Lowe (7-6, 4.53 ERA)
Time: 7:00 p.m at Turner Field
Weather: Sunny, 90
TV: Comcast Sportsnet
Twitter: Phillies Nation

The Phillies are happy interleague play is over after posting a 6-12 record against the American League.  They head to Turner Field, where they were a perfect 9-0 last season.  They’ll have to extend their win streak against Derek Lowe, who shutout the Phillies in eight innings back in April.

Joe Blanton was roughed up by the Braves earlier this year.  In 12 innings, his ERA is 9.75 and Braves hitters are batting .321 against him this season.

Jimmy Rollins is back in the starting lineup, and out of all the Phillies hitters, Rollins has the most success against Lowe.  He is batting .304 against Lowe in his career. On the other hand, Brian McCann is 6-for-7 with 2 home runs and six RBI against Blanton.

With Rollins back in the lead-off spot, the rest of the lineup looks like this: Rollins (SS)/ Victorino (CF)/ Utley (2B)/ Howard (1B)/ Werth (RF)/ Dobbs (LF)/ Feliz (3B)/ Ruiz (C)/ Blanton (P).

Your Gameday Beer- Today’s beer is Red Rocket Ale.  Careful, this Amber/Red Ale is on fire. Its deep cinnamon color makes for a beautiful pour so be sure to release it from the bottle. Its hoppy, caramel malt flavor comes from a complex recipe of five different grains. If you can, roast a chicken with all the fix-ins. -By Brian

Go Phillies!

Todd Zolecki reports (via Twitter) that J.A Happ will start on Thursday against the Atlanta Braves.  A pitcher that has yet to be announced will pitch on Friday against the New York Mets.  Originally, the call-up was slated for Thursday.

The Phillies acquired Brian Mazone from the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Mazone, a former Phillies farm hand, is 0-1 with an 8.44 ERA in Triple-A this season. 

The move could fill a hole in Lehigh Valley’s rotation after somebody is promoted to the majors.  It can also prevent a Double-A player from being promoted to Triple-A.

Starting pitcher Yohan Flande was promoted from Single-A Clearwater to Double-A Reading yesterday.  He will make his first start with the Reading Phillies tonight.

In Clearwater, Flande was 7-1 with a 2.52 earned run average.

The move could also indicate a promotion for two other players in the farm system.  The Phillies need a starter on Thursday, so a player will be called up from Triple-A or Double-A.  There could also be a Double-A to Triple-A promotion.

The St. Petersburg Police Department filed a complaint against J.C Romero to the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s office and he may be charged with battery.

“Remember, this is a simple battery,” George Kajtsa said. “No weapon was used. There were no injuries to the victim whatsoever, except as he says in the report he was embarrassed because it happened in front of other fans and his family. This is a very minor incident so the state’s attorney will probably concentrate on more serious matters, but it will be up to the state’s attorney to make the determination.”

Robert Eaton asked for an autograph, but Romero ignored him.  Eaton made a comment about steroids and got into screaming match with Romero.  Romero allegedly hit Eaton.

Jayson Werth grabbed some national attention over the weekend in becoming only the 14th player to ever reach the fifth deck at Rogers Centre (formerly Skydome.) While the 458-foot homer gave a glimpse of Werth’s power to the casual baseball fan who has never heard of him, it is safe to say that the Phillies five-tool outfielder will continue to fly under the radar.

But why?

We’re talking about an integral part of a defending World Series champion who often bats third for a team that plays a lot of nationally televised games. Maybe it’s Werth’s streakiness, maybe it’s the perception that he’s still little more than a platoon player, or maybe it’s merely the fact that the Phillies have too many other media-friendly names to focus on.

The platoon label that has followed Werth throughout his career is gone now. Yes, he struggles considerably more against right-handers than he does with southpaws, but seven of Werth’s fifteen home-runs this year have come against righties. And his slugging percentage against righties has increased every season since he joined the Phillies.

As with most players on the brink of stardom, Werth spends long stretches at both ends of the spectrum. He’ll strikeout at an alarming rate for two weeks, then scorch through the next two.

For an example of a Jayson Werth “cold spell,” look no further than mid-May of this year. After a decent start to the month, Werth struck out four times against the Dodgers on May 14 and proceeded to enter a 12-for-71 tailspin, seeing his batting average drop from .299 to .243 in under three weeks. During that span, Werth had five walks, 23 strikeouts, and only four extra-base hits. Luckily for the Phils, the rest of the lineup (minus Jimmy Rollins) was hitting well during this time, and the team went 13-5.

But when the Phillies were welcomed by interleague play, a rash of injuries, and poor hitting, Werth was one of the few bright spots. In those 15 games against the AL (eight of which were started by lefties), he hit .333/.412/.754, with seven homers and 15 RBI. He saw the ball much better, working nine walks while striking out only eleven times. Werth’s current hot streak was capped off by a weekend against the Blue Jays (the team he reached the majors with), in which he hit two homers and reached base in his final eleven plate appearances.

In Sunday’s win, he singled and walked four times. The Jays obviously wanted no part of Werth, and the patient righty was more than happy to work a quartet of free passes. After all, his disciplined eye is his best trait.

In 2009, Werth leads the NL in pitches per plate appearance (4.50) and is second in the majors in total number of pitches seen. But the man in front of him, Marco Scutaro, has seen only 17 more pitches in six more games played than Werth.

This isn’t some sort of fluke, either, as Werth led all major leaguers not named Nick Swisher in 2008 with 4.51 P/PA.

Werth’s value doesn’t end there, however. Over the last few seasons, he has been one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball, according to Fangraphs.com’s all-encompassing defensive stat, UZR.

UZR is short for Ultimate Zone Rating, and it includes a fielder’s arm, range, and amount of errors committed. Last season, Werth was second among ALL major league outfielders with a UZR of 21.5. This means that he saved 21.5 more runs than the average outfielder. The Phillies just saw 2008’s leader in Alex Rios. This season, Werth’s UZR is fifth among NL right-fielders.

Since joining the Phils, Jayson Werth has shown us that in any given game he can belt three homers, steal four bases (including home), throw two runners out at third, work four walks, or don a “golden sombrero.” The streakiness will likely always be there. But the excitement will be too. It’s amazing that this guy is making $2 million.

According to Todd Zolecki (via Twitter), Antonio Bastardo has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder strain.  Left-handed relief pitcher Sergio Escalona is recalled.

Raul Ibanez says that his strained left groin feels better, however it is unlikely he will be activated on Friday, when he eligible to come off the disabled list.

Ibanez will be re-evaluated this week to see if he is physically able to start rehabbing.

On the other hand, Scott Eyre is scheduled to make a rehab appearance tonight with the Gulf Coast League Phillies.  There have been no updates on Antonio Bastardo or Clay Condrey.

For three years in a row he has been the top-ranked pitcher in the Phillies system. For three years he has given reason to believe that somewhere down the line the team would have a dynamic 1-2 punch in the rotation.

There is plenty left to be seen with Carlos Carrasco, and the results could swing in so many directions, but Thursday night is the one we have been anticipating for three years. If “likely” becomes “definitely” and Carrasco is called up to fill the void Antonio Bastardo’s injury created in the rotation, the long-awaited glimpse of the future will finally arrive.

Carrasco’s development in the minor leagues has been at times dazzling and at times difficult to watch. His was not a smooth transition from one level to the next, constantly growing as a pitcher on a steady plane toward the big leagues. Instead, it included several bumps along the way, several long stretches of starts where nothing seemed to work for the Venezuelan righthander.

But in the middle of his fifth season in the Phillies farm system, Carrasco is about to get his first taste of the spotlight, and it will come against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Thursday. The pitcher who for three years has carried with him hopes of becoming a No. 2 starter will do just that. He follows the team’s struggling ace, Cole Hamels, who will pitch Wednesday. It seems only right that if Carrasco is successful and sticks in the rotation, it will be behind Hamels.

After working his way through rough patches in April and May, Carrasco’s ERA in June was 4.06 with Lehigh Valley. His last two starts have been stellar, allowing two runs over 13.1 innings and striking out 12. The curveball that Brett Myers taught him in spring training has developed into another out pitch, which coupled with his low-to-mid-90s fastball and devastating changeup should make him a complete starting pitcher. In recent weeks Carrasco has begun to put a slider to use. His further expanded repertoire is essential for the major league level, where it takes multiple out pitches to fool professional hitters.

Carrasco’s pitching coach with the Iron Pigs, Rod Nichols, was glowing after Carrasco’s outing Friday night.

“I used the word ‘electric,’” Nichols said. “His stuff was electric.”

Furthermore, Nichols said that “he does have stuff that would play at the big-league level.” That has always been the key with Carrasco, who despite high ERAs and troublesome outings has always maintained an assortment of quality pitches. Once he’s pitching against Chipper Jones and Brian McCann, it will come down to his mental makeup and ability to use those pitches in the right spots.

Carrasco is equipped right now with the stuff to be a pitcher at the top level of baseball. Reining in all of his talent and directing it all into the most important game of his life will be the next step toward establishing himself.

Thursday night will be special for Phillies Nation. Four seasons ago on May 12, Cole Hamels made his debut in a Phillies uniform, spinning 5 shutout innings of one-hit ball and striking out 7. It was the start of what will be a long and illustrious career for the lefty. But Hamels has spent three seasons as the best pitcher on the staff without a No. 2 anchor behind him. Carrasco has always been that potential second starter, and with the pitching market drying up lately, the Phils might need him to be just that. Thursday he gets his shot.