Phillies can’t catch up after early Braves bombing
Posted by Kieran Carobine, Sat, May 14, 2011 06:23 PM | Comments: 20
2011 Game Recaps, Posts
It’s not exactly how you would draw it up.
The Braves lead off the game with back-to-back home runs off Phillies starter Joe Blanton. Martin Prado and Nate McLouth needed only five pitches total to put the Braves ahead 2-0. Blanton, who was just recently activated from the DL was making his second start and left two fastballs up. Those were the only two runs Blanton gave up in five innings.
Braves starter Jair Jurrjens was unhittable through the first 5.2 innings. He retired the first 17 hitters he faced. Jurrjens was super sharp on the mound mixing up the looks he gave hitters and kept them off balance all day. In his 7.1 innings pitched, the Phillies managed to score just two runs off the righty.
The Phillies trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. J.C. Romero and Kyle Kendrick combined to pitch the inning but not before the Braves tacked on three more runs. The Phillies would never recover.
Jimmy Rollins did have a run scoring double in the sixth inning but was caught between second and third for the final out trying to stretch it into a triple.
The Phillies would add two more runs but never catch up. The 5-3 score would hold. Center fielder Shane Victorino left the game in the eighth with a sore right hamstring and will not play tomorrow. An 0-3 day at the plate ended his 15 game hitting streak.
The Phillies only collect three hits for the entire game today. The Phillies staff issued six walks and only struck out seven. It seems like the bullpen has been worked a lot lately, so hopefully with Roy Halladay on the bump tomorrow they will get some rest.
It’s hard to win ball games at any level when your starting eight position players go 2-25. Jurrjens did pitch a great game but the Phillies hitters have to do better. They can not continue to depend on their starting pitching. I refuse to see this team as last year’s Padres or Giants.
Phillies still own the best record in majors (25-13) and are 3-2 so far on this road trip.
Worth Noting: Ryan Howard‘s defense. Anyone else impressed with the big fellow this season? It seems every year he is committing himself to become a better defensive player.
Posts: 0 Frank Riccard
Howard has been looking much slimmer, and supposedly has really changed the way he eats in order to maintain his value as a player. Clearly he read up on what happens to older, fatter players, and figured he’d like to actually be able to play for the entirety of his contract.
Presumably, his weight loss has something to do with the resulting athleticism and defensive ability. I’ve always thought he was a solid first-basemen, but a slimmer, sleeker Ryan Howard clearly benefits the team tremendously.
Posted: 07:13 PM on May 14, 2011
Posts: 1996 Brooks
A slimmer Howard maybe so but, I think his Homeruns have been mammoth this year. No doubters leaving the bat for the most part.
The slam he hit the Friday before last may not have been that deep and the wind could have helped it reach the fence but I tell you what, that ball was in the clouds! What a shot.
Posted: 12:50 PM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 bacardipr05
Shane hurt our 2nd hottest hitter. D brown has a sore thumb geez.
Posted: 12:41 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 bacardipr05
i come to the conclusion if we dont keep the opposition to 4 runs or under we loose 85% of those games…
Posted: 12:50 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 Lefty
Bacardi, I’ve been saying something similar all year only the opposite. In 85% of our wins, we must score 4 runs or more. If you consider that our staff currently has an ERA of 3.12 – 4 runs scored is the number we must attain in wins. I think we can do that 100 times this season, that should give us about 85-90 wins (it won’t work every time, sometimes we give up more than 4) and we’ll pick up the rest on late inning wins, or superior pitching with 1-0 type wins. That’s still about 100 wins.
The hard part is that 50 or 60 times this year we won’t get the 4 runs necessary and will lose approximately 60 games.
I’ll take 100-62, wouldn’t you?
Posted: 07:58 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 19 phils_ftw
I wouldn’t mind seeing this team as last years Giants, because that means we’d win the World Series.
Posted: 07:19 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 Lefty
So what will the lineup look like without Shane?
Here’s my guess- Ibanez is our hottest hitter right now, and hit well in the three spot in S.T.
Rollins
Polanco
Ibanez
Howard
Mayberry
Francisco
Orr
Ruiz
Posted: 08:07 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 TheDipsy
Get Brown up. Now.
The Dipsy
Posted: 08:51 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 19 phils_ftw
“Now” is not an option: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillies_zone/Brown-will-miss-more-time.html
Posted: 09:26 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 Chuck
They probably won’t bring up Brown until AT LEAST after the All-Star Break. I think they don’t want to “rush him” And, think about it, as long as the Phillies are winning 2 of 3 like they have been….that’s probably the scenario.
Posted: 09:23 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 770 betasigmadeltashag
I do not think you need to bring up brown until he is ready to contribute and Charlie is ready to play him every day, especially now that he is hurt. If Shane needs to miss extended time then maybe you bring someone up or maybe even play Marteniz in the OF
Posted: 09:40 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 Lefty
I forgot that Martinez and Valdez both played CF in ST. But i don’t think that will help the offense much. We all like to rag on Vic, but we’ll miss him big time if he’s out for an extended period.
Posted: 10:00 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 770 betasigmadeltashag
I know that Charlie has been making questionable moves out of the pen and they have been working out. But to keep bringing JC to start an inning or ever pitching to a RH bat is just not right. And KK should only be brought out of the pen to start an inning. And I know most of you do not like Baez, and he got himself in trouble and out of it last night, but he has been pitching abouve average all year and then he has not pitched for about a week. Jurrjins always gives PHillies fits. And after the first two batters of the game Joe pitched well enought to keep the team in the game. So I would not read much into this lose. They showed a little life scoring late in the game. I just hope Vic is not out a long time or DL’d cause that would be a concern especially a hamstring
Posted: 10:08 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 Tavian
Trade Brown and Kendrick for Hunter Pence and be done with this whole Brown saga
Posted: 10:24 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 Chuck
Hunter Pence would look great in red pinstripes but is trading Brown really the direction that the Phillies should take?
Posted: 10:38 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 Tavian
Excellent point on Ryan Howard’s metamorphosis into an outstanding defensive first baseman. He has looked really good this year.
Regarding Hunter Pence, he would give us an immediate boost offensively and is fairly young. We are built to win now and I believe that Pence makes us a little younger and much better offensively now.
But, It still may be the wrong direction to go. What I hear about Dom Brown is much better than what I’ve seen.
Posted: 11:53 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 1996 Brooks
Interesting offer. I’d have to think about it as Pence is one of my favorite players.
Posted: 11:56 AM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 1431 Pat Gallen
Kendrick has no value. As much as people want to get rid of him, he’s not worth anything in a trade.
As for Pence, he’s reached his ceiling as a free swinging 25-90, .280 type guy with decent defense in right field. Dom Brown has the potential to get beyond those numbers and is younger. I like Pence, but I’d rather see Brown grow here. I know you go for the sure thing, but I believe Brown can be a 30+ homer guy with a decent average.
Posted: 12:27 PM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 Tavian
I want to win now and Pence is a sure thing that I believe will help take us far into the playoffs. We have Singleton in the minors who is supposed to be an outstanding hitter. We will get a solid hitting free agent to play left field next year, or Chase may be out there, with Polanco moving to second base. We could land a player like Wilson Bettemit, or someone better, , to play third base. This year, I want to capture the potential of this great starting pitching staff with a complement of decent offense, which we lack now.
But I may be dead wrong and admit to it.
Posted: 02:00 PM on May 15, 2011
Posts: 0 bacardipr05
You have a point Tavian
Posted: 06:00 PM on May 15, 2011