Phillies Nation

The Philadelphia Phillies were defeated by the Colarado Rockies, 5-2.

Rough Seventh Inning for Hamels

Cole Hamels pitched well, but was tagged with the loss.  He finished after 7 innings. Hamels cruised through six innings allowing just a home run, but hit a bump in the road during the seventh inning.  The Rockies weren’t completely crushing the ball, but strung a few hits together, including some bloop hits and infield dribblers.

Hamels’ final line: 7 innings, 3 runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts.

The Rockies added two runs in the eighth inning as Justin De Fratus gave up two runs in 2/3 of an inning.

Offense Woes Continue

The Phillies were shut down by Jhoulys Chacin, who almost threw a complete game shut out.  Chacin was an out away from the shut out before Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard drove in a run a piece. The Phillies only squiggled out four hits before the ninth inning.  Chacin had less than 80 pitches entering the ninth.  After Howard’s RBI, Chachin was pulled and Domonic Brown struck out to end the game.

Once again, the offense is to blame as they lacked support for Hamels.

Philadelphia Phillies (33-36) vs Colorado Rockies (36-33)

Cole Hamels (2-9, 4.45) vs Jhoulys  Chacin (4-3, 4.52)

TIME: 2:10 (4:10 ET), Coors Field
TV: MyPhl17
WEATHER: 76, partly cloudy, chance of rain
MEDIA: Facebook or Twitter

Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there!  May the Phillies’ gift to you  be a win!

Cole Hamels will make his fifteenth start of the year today.  Hamels has improved in his two starts in the month of June, continuing his roller coaster 2013 season of ups and downs.  Hamels was tagged with the loss in his last outing, but the offense was to blame.  Like Hamels, the Phillies offense has been very inconsistent this season.  All Hamels can do is pitch his game that he is capable of.  On the other hand, the Phillies offense should be taking advantage of a hitter friendly Coors Field.

Jhoulys  Chacin will oppose Hamels.  Chacin suffered from a back injury back in April, and has had his share of struggles.  However, Chacin has had some success against the Phillies in the past, posting a 1.21 ERA in 5 games against Philadelphia.

Lineup: Revere CF, Frandsen 2B, Rollins SS, Howard 1B, Brown LF, Mayberry RF, Galvis 3B, Quintero C, Hamels P

Gameday Beer: Rolling Rock, suggested by Liz P. via Facebook.  Celebrate Father’s Day and try one of these sweet-tasting beverages.

GO PHILLIES!

(Photo Credit: Tom Lynn/AP)

The Phillies were blown out by the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-1. The Brewers ended up taking the series, 3-1.  The Phillies had a chance to take advantage of a last place team this series, but failed to do so.  The Phillies are now two games below the .500 mark at 31-33.

Rough Second Inning for Pettibone

The Brewers put up a four-spot in the second inning against Jonathan Pettibone. To begin the inning, Pettibone made a fielding error. He then proceeded to give up a single and hit a batter. The mistakes proved costly as the inning was capped off by Scooter Gennett’s two-run triple. The Brewers jumped to a 4-0 lead in the second.

Pettibone later surrendered a two-run homer to Carlos Gomez in the sixth inning.

The start would be Pettibone’s worst start to this point in his major league career as he surrended a career high six runs. Four were earned.

Offense Silent

Kyle Lohse shut down the Phillies offense. He pitched 8 strong innings allowing just one run on a home run to Humberto Quintero.

Dom Brown Watch

Even the almighty Domonic Brown could not get to Lohse today.  Brown went 0-for-3, leaving two men on base today.

Philadelphia Phillies (24-25) at Washington Nationals (25-24)

Cole Hamels (1-7, 4.45) vs. Stephen Strasburg (2-5, 2.66)

TIME: 1:35, Nationals Park
TV: My Phl 17
Weather: High 60s, mostly sunny
Media: Twitter and Facebook

In today’s rubber match, the Phillies hope to take the series and get back to .500. Two aces take the mound; one has pitched very well this season, while the other has yet to meet his expectations.

Along with Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg is the future of the Washington Nationals. He has lived up to all the hype as he has dominated in the major leagues. He has had success against the Phillies in his short career thus far, as the Phillies roster collectively has a .200 average against him.

It will likely not be a fun day for both offenses, as the game has the potential to be a pitcher’s duel. Cole Hamels has lacked run support in 2013, and it is doubtful he will receive much today with Strasburg on the hill. Despite some of his struggles this season, Hamels is capable of pitching a great game. At Nationals Park, he is 3-1 with a 1.96 ERA.

Lineup: Rollins SS, Galvis 2B, M. Young 3B, D. Young RF, Brown LF, Frandsen 1B, Revere CF, Quintero C, Hamels P

Your Gameday Beer: Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA, suggest by Jimmy L. via Facebook. Inspired by West Coast I.P.A.’s, but brewed with Michigan style. The Crooked Tree is heavily dry hopped to give it a big aroma of pine and citrus. The flavors are big, yet very balanced between fresh hops and malt. Often described as “grapefruit” our hops give this beer an excellent fruit flavor that finishes dry, crisp, and clean. It will pour a nice deep copper color with a bit of haziness.

GO PHILLIES!

Philadelphia Phillies (23-25) at Washington Nationals (25-23)

Jonathan Pettibone (3-0, 3.00) vs. Dan Haren (4-5, 5.54)

TIME: 7:15, Nationals Park
TV: FOX
Weather: 50′s, partly cloudy
Media: Twitter and Facebook

The season of ups and downs continues.  The Phillies have been playing their best baseball of the year as of late, but they dropped last night’s game to the Washington Nationals.  The Phillies have yet to build a significant winning streak, but it would be great to start one this Memorial Day weekend.

Jonathan Pettibone will attempt to put the Phillies back into the win column.  Since being called up, Pettibone has done better than the Phillies could have asked.  He’s been consistent and has yet to toss a bad outing.  In each of his six starts, Pettibone has had a quality start or better.  He will look to continue his success tonight in D.C.

Dan Haren has a pretty good resume, but he has struggled thus far this season.  He has yet to earn the $13 million that he will make in 2013, as his ERA is well over five.  He is coming off his worst start of the season, in which  he allowed seven runs to the always weak-hitting San Diego Padres.

Your Gameday Beer: Victory Hop Devil Ale, suggested by Gary J. via Facebook

GO PHILLIES!

Philadelphia Phillies (9-12) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (11-9)

Wandy Rodriguez (2-0, 0.56) vs. Roy Halladay (2-2, 6.04)

TIME: 7:05, Citizens Bank Park
TV: Comcast Sportsnet, home of Phillies Nation TV
Weather: 55, cloudy
Media: Twitter and Facebook

Continue reading Gameday: Phillies (9-12) vs. Pirates (11-9)

Philadelphia Phillies (5-6) at Miami Marlins (2-9)

Roy Halladay (0-2, 14.72) vs Kevin Slowey (0-2,2.19)

Time: 1:10 PM, Marlins Park
TV: PHL17
Weather: 83, Chance of Rain
Media: Twitter and Facebook

Continue reading Gameday: Phillies (5-6) at Marlins (2-9)

Billy Butler finishes the night with a grand slam and 7 RBIs (Photo: AP)

The game looked to be over as the Phillies trailed the Royals 9-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth.  Could there be more ninth inning magic left over from Saturday?

Ezequiel Carrerra lead off the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk.  Two batters later, Ben Revere singled.  With two on and one out, it still didn’t appear that anything spectacular would happen.  Maybe the Phillies would get one run.  But Jimmy Rollins changed the momentum with one swing of the bat.  Rollins smashed his first home run of the year, a three-run shot.  The Phillies were now trailing 9-7.  The crowd, who had lost enthusiasm earlier, was now back into the game and fully behind the home team.  Maybe there was some magic left after all.

The hits kept coming, and there was hope again.  Ryan Howard and Michael Young singled with two outs.  Laynce Nix followed with an RBI single to put the Phillies within one.  With Erik Kratz up, a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third.  A single would win the game!

The intense, ninth-inning, heart-pounding adrenaline was rushing through the bodies of anxious Phillies fans — a feeling that drives fans crazy, but is needed at the same time.  Could Kratz be the hero?  Could the Phillies have another miracle comeback?

Continue reading Phils Rally in 9th, Not Enough as Pitching Continues to Struggle

Kansas City Royals  vs. Philadelphia Phillies

James Shields (0-1, 1.50) vs. Cole Hamels (0-1, 9.00)

Time: 1:35 PM, Citizens Bank Park
TV: PHL17
Weather: Mostly Sunny, 66
Media: Twitter and Facebook

Continue reading Gameday: Royals at Phillies

Kansas City Royals (2-2) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (1-3)

Luis Mendoza vs. John Lannan

Time: 7:05 PM, Citizens Bank Park
TV: TCN, MLBN
Weather: Sunny/Wind, 48
Media: Twitter and Facebook

Continue reading Gameday: Royals (2-2) at Phillies (1-3)