Phillies Nation

It’s gettin’ old.

The Phillies lost yet another start of Roy Halladay‘s on Wednesday, falling 4-3 to the Reds. Doc went complete, allowing thirteen hits (but no walks) and striking out ten.

If one were to simply look at the box score, a statement like “Halladay did not pitch well” might ring true, but the fact of the matter is that the best pitcher in baseball was again brilliant on this particular day.

Halladay was razor-sharp through the first five innings – allowing only five baserunners to reach. Of the five, four hits were on very good pitches.

Doc made two mistakes all game and both left the yard. Aside from the homers of Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, Halladay scattered his hits and completely overmatched Reds batters when he needed to. Save for the perfect game – his swing-and-miss stuff has not been better in a Phillies uniform than on this day.

But in what is becoming an ugly tradition, the Phillies, as a unit, failed Roy Halladay. A patchwork lineup managed only three runs, all of which came on a fourth inning Dane Sardinha homer.

Eight other hits (all singles) were tallied, and one walk was drawn, but 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position ain’t gonna get it done.

The Phillies (3-7) have managed 27 total runs in Halladay’s last ten starts, and even THAT is misleading – take away the 9-0 Blue Jays win and the Phils have scored a mere 2.0 runs per game for Doc since May 12. Unacceptable.

Offensive woes are one thing, but the Phillies defense has been equally shoddy for Halladay – committing nine errors in his starts. Zack Greinke is the only major league pitcher whose defense has erred more on his behalf – the Royals have committed 10 errors for the reigning AL Cy Young.

Poor plays were made today by Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth, each of whom played balls they should have caught into doubles. Neither were officially scored as errors, but the trend strangely continued.

There is absolutely no explanation for the poor defense behind Halladay. The Phillies have been an excellent defensive unit for several seasons, and Halladay is the perfect pitcher to field for – he works extremely fast, throws strike after strike, and keeps you on your toes.

Remember the preseason predictions of 22-4 for Doc? Or 20-6? Or how about the fans and analysts taking it a step further and (unrealistically) predicting 30 wins?

Well, due to no fault of his own, Roy Halladay is 9-7 through 17 starts and the Phillies are 9-8 as a team when he pitches.

My question is, how many of you would have believed the above sentence in March?

Say whatever you want about the homers of Votto and Bruce. Doc was his usual dominant self on Wednesday and once again suffered an undeserved loss.

Snakebitten, again.

Roy Halladay was not at his finest, however, his outing was certainly good enough for a Phillies victory. With a series win at stake, they could not get the job done as the Reds took the game, 4-3. Jay Bruce went yard in the 8th inning off of Halladay to give Cincinnati a series win.

Doc was hittable, but at the same time he wasn’t. He allowed a season-high 13 hits, yet did not walk a batter and struck out 10. It’s one of the oddest lines you’ll see.  It was also Halladay’s sixth complete game of the season already, although his record dropped to 9-7 overall. He also tossed 119 pitches – and a ridiculous 89 for strikes.  Perhaps today, he threw too many strikes as the Reds pelted the diamond left and right when they did make contact.

As an aside (and personal opinion) on Halladay’s performance, Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee really didn’t need to keep him out there past the 7th. Just because he can throw 120 pitches every game, doesn’t mean he has to. Seven innings would have been plenty, and maybe today Doc didn’t have his best stuff, so pulling him early might have been the right thing.  There seems to be a reluctance to do that through the first two-plus months of the season.

In addition to Bruce’s game-winning blast, Joey Votto homered for the second straight day. He’s clearly one of the best first basemen in baseball, however, playing in Cincinnati allows him little recognition beyond his own town.

Some of the blame can be placed on the offense here (again). Dane Sardinha was the only source of runs today as he mashed his second home run of the season, this of the three-run variety. They were unable to capture last night’s late-inning magic and use  it in todays game. Sardinha’s homer was the only extra-base hit of the day and the middle of the order – Rollins, Howard, and Werth – combined for seven strikeouts.

Next up are the Pirates, which would seem like a winnable series. Nothing at this point can be taken for granted, however.

Philadelphia Phillies (41-34) at Cincinnati Reds (43-35)

Roy Halladay, RHP (9-6, 2.29 ERA) vs. Aaron Harang, RHP (6-7, 5.07 ERA)

Time: 12:35, Great American Ballpark
Weather: Sunny, 77
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Twitter: @philliesnation

Game 1 of the Post-Utley/Polanco Experiment went about as well as it could go. Wilson Valdez played second base and hit a three-run bomb. The Phillies won the game, the Braves and Mets lost, and all is well with the world. Greg Dobbs went hitless, but we’ll give him a pass after the roller-coaster ride the team put everyone on. Dobbs tenure at third will be of the day-to-day variety, it would seem.

To today’s matchup, where Roy Halladay looks for double digits in wins for the sixth straight season. He’s faced the Reds twice in his career and has gone 1-0 with a 3.68 ERA. Who would you rather have on the mound with a series win at stake? Lets do it…

Aaron Harang is opposite the Doc and has been relatively sub-par this year, and for the previous two years as well. Over his past 71 starts, Harang has just 18 victories against 38 losses. The Phillies have shelled him over nine career starts, as he’s given up 32 earned runs over just 54 innings of work. After last night’s wild victory, an easier way to win would be to have Doc shut down a touch Cincy lineup and have Harang implode early. Seems possible given the circumstances.

LINEUP: Victorino CF, Dobbs 3B, Rollins SS, Howard 1B, Werth RF, Ibanez LF, Valdez 2B, Sardinha C, Halladay P

Your Gameday Beer- Samuel Adams Latitude 48

As part of the Sam Adams Brewmaster’s Collection, and one of the newest to grace the Sam name, Latitude 48 is a unique IPA brewed with a select blend of hops from top German, English, and American growing regions all located close to the 48^th latitude within the “hop belt” of the Northern Hemisphere. I’ve yet to try this beer, but basically anything made by these guys is brilliant. For the early day game, have some smoked salmon for lunch, it’s a great pairing. -By Pat

GO PHILLIES!

Just read an interesting piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer this morning about the Worlds Greatest Mascot, the Phillie Phanatic, and his litigation troubles. It seems that our green friend injured a woman at a Reading Phillies game; she’s seeking $50,000 in damages.

The woman’s lawyer said that those around him liken it to “suing Santa Claus.” It’s understandable if you read the article; the woman has arthritis and the Phanatic’s horseplay set it off, causing her to seek medical attention. But does the Phanatic need to walk around with a waiver form nowadays?

The person inside the costume, Tom Burgoyne, is one of several parties being sued in this case. It’s certainly an unfortunate chain of events, but you figure something like this was bound to happen. And actually, it’s happened several times before, although just a few times in the last decade.  The Phanatic has been sued before!?

We normally don’t go all politico on you, however, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this topic…

It wasn’t how they drew it up, but with that lineup, no doubt they’ll take it. With a makeshift order due to the injuries to Chase Utley and Placido Polanco, and following a Brad Lidge two-out meltdown in the ninth, the Phillies were able to take the middle game of the series over the Reds, 9-6 in 10 innings.

Lidge easily put aside the first two batters of the ninth before walking Brandon Phillips. Orlando Cabrera then singled to left to bring the tying run to the plate and wouldn’t you know it, he tied it. Joey Votto annihilated a baseball into the left-center field seats, knotting it up at six and making it a tale of two Lidge’s.

During extra baseball, the Phillies ripped apart lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes, who had previously gone 33 straight games without allowing a run – a major league record. Ryan Howard doubled to lead off and Jayson Werth walked before Raul Ibanez snapped the tie game with a double that bounced out of the glove of center fielder Drew Stubbs. Howard scored to make it 7-6 and one batter later, Ben Francisco singled to left field to score Werth. Ibanez was then plated on a sac-bunt by Wilson Valdez as the Phils showed their small-ball side. It’s something we don’t see often, but in this case, it worked.

On the scoreboard, the Phils were able to put up crooked numbers in the 2nd, 4th, and 10th innings as they moved up the standings, inching closer to New York and Atlanta. Brian Schneider was the golden bat this evening, going yard in the second frame with a 402-foot blast. He went 3-for-4 on the night and has filled in admirably for injured backstop Carlos Ruiz, one of the seven Phils on the DL currently.

Starter Joe Blanton couldn’t get the win due to the blown save by Lidge, however, he was solid for a second straight outing. Joe B again went 7 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs, the same line he produced five days ago against Cleveland.

Philadelphia Phillies (40-34) at Cincinnati Reds (43-34)

Joe Blanton, RHP (3-5, 6.53 ERA) vs. Mike Leake, RHP (5-1, 2.92 ERA)

Time: 7:10, Great American Ballpark
Weather: Sunny, 77
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Twitter: @philliesnation

Well, the Phillies did not anticipate beginning their final first half road trip like this.

In Monday night’s series opener, an uninspiring 7-3 loss to the Reds was coupled with a thumb injury damaging enough to force Chase Utley out of the game. Utley, attempting to stretch a single into a double, sprained his thumb sliding into second base in the fourth inning but remained in the game until the top of the ninth.

Chase later had trouble gripping the bat, and made an atypical fielding error that most certainly was a result of the injury.

Trips to the DL for Utley and Placido Polanco (elbow) leave the Phillies in a precarious position. The team was forced to call up Greg Dobbs (2-for-17 in Triple-A) and middle infielder Brian Bocock (.179/.239/.231 in 237 awful plate appearances at Lehigh Valley.)

Now that the depressing news is out of the way, let’s focus on tonight’s game. As I stated yesterday, the Phillies should hit Mike Leake. The rookie righthander has been very effective this season, but his success is over-exaggerated by an extremely high left on-base rate.

For the season, Leake has a middling 1.41 WHIP and has stranded 80% of his baserunners, almost 10% better than the rest of the league. While a glance at this number may lead you to believe that Leake has simply beared down with men on, it should be noted that even the best pitchers lack some sort of “skill” to consistently maintain such lofty strand rates.

Leake, who has been considerably worse at Great American Ballpark than on the road, has allowed more than three runs only three times in fourteen starts, but two of those outings took place in his last three times out (five runs apiece at home to the Dodgers and Giants.)

Leake throws the following five pitches, with the percentage of how often he throws each following in parentheses:

• High-80s fastball (51% of the time),
• Low-80s slider (20%),
• High-80s cutter (11%),
• Low-80s changeup (10%),
• Mid-70s curveball (8%).

Look for Leake’s changeup to be used more frequently tonight, because the Phillies first four hitters, and six of nine overall, are lefties.

As for the Phils, Joe Blanton will look to build upon two solid outings. Things haven’t been easy for Kentucky Fried Starter in 2010, as he started the season on the DL, came back and pitched well but had nothing to show for it, then went through a horrific stretch of four poor starts in a row.

Blanton is 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA in thirteen lifetime innings against the Reds, and, despite allowing five runs in five innings, got a win in his only career start at Great American Ballpark.

Tonight’s home plate umpire will be the universally despised CB Bucknor. In his career, Blanton has struggled in the three starts in which Bucknor stood behind home plate – allowing ten runs in 16 innings of work.

Obviously, this could mean nothing – Blanton could have simply faced good competition or failed to make pitches in those games, but it seems worthy of a note.

LINEUP: Victorino CF, Dobbs 3B, Rollins SS, Howard 1B, Werth RF, Ibanez LF, Schneider C, Valdez 3B, Blanton P

Your Gameday Beer- Konigshoeven Blond Trappist Ale
Tonight’s beer kicks off our European tour and comes from the De Koningshoeven Brewery, a Dutch Trappist brewery. It is the only producer of Trappist beer outside of Belgium. Run inside an abbey, the monks get the water for the beer from five 200-metre deep wells on the grounds. La Trappe Blond is one of their many offerings. This Pale Ale is bitter and sweet like fruit candy, but less sweet by comparison to the more popular Leffe Blonde. – By Brian

GO PHILLIES!

Chase Utley and Placido Polanco have been placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Chase sprained his right thumb in last night’s game as he was thrown out attempting to stretch a single into a double via a head first slide.

Placido, who has been nursing a right elbow injury, received a cortisone shot on Monday. Unfortunately it did not help. He will likely need surgery in the offseason, but the Phils hope some rest will at least get him to game-shape.

Greg Dobbs and Brian Bocock have been recalled and will join the team in Cincinnati.

It will only take a minute – but it can make all the difference. Please take a moment to vote for the Phillies as representatives at this year’s All-Star game in Anaheim.

Sure, not every Phillie deserves to be an All-Star this season, but vote for him anyway. It’s the duty of every Phillies fan.

Most importantly, Placido Polanco needs your votes to hold on to the starting third base position over the Mets’ David Wright. So while you’re at it, vote for all the rest of the Phils.

Click here to vote now! You can vote up to 25 times with one email address.

Ryan Howard put good wood on a baseball and sent it to the deepest angle of Great American ballpark.  Off the bat, it looked long gone, but it ricocheted off the top of the center field wall.  That summed up the day for the Phillies:  nothing seemed to go their way.

Kyle Kendrick retired the first ten batters he faced, but fell apart quickly after.  In the fourth inning, Scott Rolen smacked a two-run shot to left.  Since leaving the Phillies, Rolen has given his former club all sorts of fits (.350 AVG career vs. Phillies) and troubles.  But that is typical for most ex-Phillies; it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

The Reds kept chipping away and tacked Kendrick for six runs (five earned) in 6.1 innings.

Meanwhile, Johnny Cueto cruised along, surrendering just one run in eight innings of work.  He got plenty of help from his defense, as the Reds backed him with numerous spectacular plays and web gems, showing why they lead the majors in fielding percentage.

The Phillies finally added a couple runs with two outs in the ninth inning.  Raul Ibanez sent Bill Bray’s breaking ball into the right field bleachers for a meaningless home run.  It can’t hurt his statistics.

There is a little concern regarding Chase Utley, who was mysteriously removed for a pinch hitter in the ninth inning.  It was later revealed that Utley had his thumb wrapped, and will have an MRI tomorrow.  Utley, who made a fielding error, injured his thumb by sliding head first into second base.

“Hopefully [Utley] isn’t seriously-seriously hurt. But for him to leave the game, that in itself says something. That’s the last guy is going to take himself out of the game,” Shane Victorino said (via Ryan Lawrence).

There is no word on the severity of the injury, but if Utley were to miss time, that would be a huge blow for an already snake-bitten clubhouse.  Placido Polanco would normally be the replacement, however he remains out of the lineup due to elbow problems.  Losing any player of Utley’s caliber is tough, so hopefully he does not miss a significant amount of time.

The Phillies’ 7-3 loss showed that the Reds are legitimate contenders.  They currently sit in first place in the National League Central, when in previous seasons they were towards the cellar.  The Reds finally have a healthy mix of young, talented players and proven veterans.  If the Phillies are going to contend, they have to beat teams like the Reds, who also have a chance to make the postseason.

Philadelphia Phillies (40-33) at Cincinnati Reds (42-34)

Kyle Kendrick, RHP (4-2, 4.71 ERA) vs. Johnny Cueto, RHP (7-2, 3.97 ERA)

Time: 7:10, Great American Ballpark
Weather: Sunny, 77
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Twitter: @philliesnation

The Phillies head into Cincinnati for a three game series to face the NL Central leading Reds.  The Phightins just finished up their interleague schedule yesterday against Toronto in Philly playing a rare road-home series.  They were 10-8 against the American League this season.

The Phils come into today’s game winning 8 of their last 12 thanks to the offense getting a heavy dose of smelling salt.  Chase Utley andJayson Werth have led the offensive charge hitting .381 and .400, respectively, in their last 11 games.  Ryan Howard has also been on a tear in the month of June hitting over .300 with seven homers.

On the mound for Philadelphia will be right-hander Kyle Kendrick.   In his last three starts away from Citizens Bank Park, Kendrick has only allowed two runs in 20 innings pitched.  He is 3-0 against the Reds in his career despite having a 6.61 ERA.

For the Reds, Johnny Cueto will try and continue his great start to the season.   Of his 15 starts this season, Cincinnati has won 10 of those games.  However, Cueto is winless against the Phillies.  In his last start against Philly in 2009, Cueto only lasted two-thirds of an inning giving up nine runs.  The Phillies ended up winning that game 22-1.

The Phillies will most likely be without third baseman Placido Polanco for a third straight start.  He was supposed to receive another cortisone shot in his elbow yesterday.  He could be back in the line-up tomorrow.

Shane Victorino and Howard have homered off Cueto in their careers.

LINEUP: Rollins SS, Victorino CF, Utley 2B, Howard 1B, Werth RF, Ibanez LF, Schneider C, Valdez 3B, Kendrick P

Your Gameday Beer- Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

Named one of the best beers in the country by several publications, Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout is a blend of French and toasted oak chips, which infuses a subtle oak and vanilla character into Yeti’s already intense chocolate, roasted coffee malt flavor and hugely assertive hop profile.  Tasty. It probably won’t quench your thirst on this hot day, but if your indoors in the AC, open up a few of these and enjoy as the Phils smack the Reds around. - By Pat

Go Phillies!