Phillies Nation

So much for worrying about who the Game 1 starter should be.  Charlie Manuel made a wise decision as Cliff Lee tossed a complete game to open the Phillies 2009 postseason.

Lee absolutely dumbfounded the Rockies lineup over nine innings, leading the Phillies to a 5-1 victory. There were butterflies to start the game, as the Rockies put two men on base, only to watch Lee finagle his way out of the jam. The tall lefty then settled in, calming his nerves in the second on an inning-ending double play by Clint Barmes. It was smooth sailing from then until the ninth.

In the final frame, just when it appeared a shutout was in order, a clearly amped-up Lee allowed a single by Carlos Gonzalez, who then scored on a gap-double by Troy Tulowitzki.

For the Fightin’s, the fun began in the fifth inning when Ubaldo Jimenez lost all control.  Jayson Werth kicked off the frame with a walk and Raul Ibanez doubled him home, shooting it past first baseman Todd Helton into the corner. Two batters later, Carlos Ruiz hit a liner to right field that skipped past right fielder Brad Hawpe to score Ibanez, making it 2-0.  The floodgates would then open.

The Phillies would score three more in the sixth, chasing the starter Jimenez, who had been virtually un-hittable through four innings. Chase Utley led things off with a single, after two awful previous plate appearances.  Ryan Howard then smashed one into the wind to the opposite field, only to have the wind play tricks with it, and drop off of the glove of the backpedaling Carlos Gonzalez in left.  Gonzalez himself smashed against the wall, and Utley easily crossed home plate to make it a three run advantage.

Jayson Werth then annihilated a pitch that headed toward the left-center field seats and would have easily been a bomb had the jet stream not be present above CBP.  It barely stayed in play, and hit off of the top of the wall, just above the reach of Dexter Fowler. Werth ended up at third base, sending Howard home.  4-0.  After a pitching change, Raul Ibanez singled to right, bringing Werth home and putting the Phils up by a five spot.

Offensively, you just never know when this team will strike, and they did quickly and efficiently on this beautiful afternoon.  And although the festivities began with an anxious sigh as Jimenez pumped 100 m.p.h. fastballs through the zone, the Phils pounced at the perfect moment and sent the Rockies starter into tizzy.  As is customary by this group, they put together back-to-back big innings and it was more than enough for the dazzling Cliff Lee.

He was brought here for one reason: to win big games. The fans looked slightly disheveled early on, but they stuck with the mid-season acquisition through the bumps. All-in-all, it was a powerful performance by all involved.  The lineup from top to bottom came up large (every player got a hit for the Phils) and the defense was just as steady.  Several routine plays were anything but due to the whipping winds, but that’s why the Phils as a unit are one of the best with the leather.

Phillies Nation can now breathe a little easier with a Game 1 win in the books.

Well that’s all she wrote.  The Philadelphia Phillies 2009 regular season has come to a close, and as a team they’ve dealt with the ups and downs that come with a 162-game schedule.

In the finale, the regulars were strapped to the pine for the most part, as all of the starters, save Jayson Werth, sat down.  In what was clearly a meaningless game to both teams, the Phillies and Marlins decided to extend the already lengthy season by just one more inning.  With the two men on and two outs in the bottom of the 10^th inning, Paul Hoover singled in John Mayberry Jr. to give the Phillies a 7-6 victory.

J.A. Happ began the game but threw just 39 pitches over two innings as Charlie Manuel gives him some rest to prepare for the postseason.  Seven other pitchers combined to finish off the game for the Phillies, with Chad Durbin getting the win.

The Phillies finish the 2009 campaign with a 93-69 record, the most wins for the franchise since 1993 when the won 97 games.  They jump into the postseason with a victory, however insignificant that may be.  Now all that is left to do is set the postseason roster and start the run back to the World Series.

In the NLDS, the Phillies will face off against the Colorado Rockies, the same team that swept the Phils in the opening round in 2007.  The Rox started the season off with a dud, causing them to fire manager Clint Hurdle.  Jim Tracy took over and the Rockies never looked back, going 74-41 since his promotion.  Two seasons ago, Colorado was hot going into the postseason and used that to catapult them into the World Series, where they were swept by the Red Sox.

It was a hell of a year for the Phillies, as they again eclipsed the 90-win plateau.  But now, with a World Championship already in the bag, the expectations are higher than they have ever been.  Anything less than another title will be considered somewhat of a disappointment for fans who long to see a dynasty built in Philadelphia.  The second season starts Wednesday here in Philly.  You have two days to rest, and then the fun begins once again.

For the second straight night, manager Charlie Manuel decided it best to rest some key players in the lineup, despite still being in the hunt for home-field advantage. For the second straight night, the Phillies starting pitcher allowed two first inning runs. And for the second straight night, the Phillies took a loss, as they head into the final week of regular season baseball.

The Marlins came into Philadelphia, having  just helped to spoil the Braves chances at postseason glory and were looking to rain on the Phillies parade as well. The Fish set the tone early, as they scored two in the first and then two in the second, on their way to beating the Phillies by a final of 7-2.

Mustering 14 hits for the night, nine off of starter Joe Blanton, the Marlins solidly beat the Phillies in the series opener. After allowing four runs in the first two innings, Blanton, settled down, pitching six innings total and keeping it a close game. He finshed, allowing  five earned runs in his shakiest start since early in the season.  

The Marlins would score two more off of the much taxed Phillies bullpen, which received news earlier in the day that reliever J.C. Romero would be lost for the season.

The Phillies offense, meanwhile, managed just two runs off of Marlins starter Rick VandenHurk. Both runs came in the first inning off of the bat of Ryan Howard, who hit his 44th home run of the season. The two runs batted in gave Howard 140 for the season. The Phillies hit the ball hard throughout the game, but couldn’t come up with the timely hitting  needed to keep pace with the Fish.

With the loss, the Phillies dropped to a game and a half behind the Dodgers. The Phillies can maintain a one game lead over the Cardinals in the battle for the number two seed if the Brewers can hang on to win their match-up.

Basking in the glow of their third straight East Division title, the Phillies couldn’t quite shake the champagne hangover as they fell to the Astros, giving them a split for the series and dropping them another half game out of the race for the top seed in the National League.

Cliff Lee looked shaky early, surrendering two first-inning runs courtesy of a Lance Berkman double. Lee settled in until the sixth inning when he surrendered a two-run home-run to Tejada. Lee finished the night giving up four earned runs, on seven hits. He struck out six on the evening in 5.2 innings of work.

Both Chase Utley and Shane Victorino received the night off, with Eric Brunlett and Ben Francisco starting in their places. Francisco was the offensive star of the night, going 3-4 with two doubles. Pedro Feliz led the team with two R.B.I.’s while going 2-5.

The team looked sluggish all evening, most likely due to the lingering effects of Bud Light and celebratory champagne, but woke up in the ninth-inning, putting together a two-out rally.

Pinch-hitter Matt Stairs led the inning off with a walk before Astros closer, Jose Valverde, retired both Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez. Jayson Werth followed with a single, which was backed by Feliz’s R.B.I. double, which plated two. The Phillies eventually got the winning run to the plate however Miguel Cairo flew out to end the ballgame.

After a roller-coaster month of baseball, the Phillies earned the opportunity to take a few breaths and rest. However, despite clinching the division, there is still meaningful baseball left to be played. Home-field advantage is still in play and we all know how important that can be, as the Phillies were undefeated at home in the 2008 playoffs en-route to their second World Series title in the team’s history.

The Philadelphia Phillies are the 2009 National League East Division Champions!

Tonight the Phillies captured their 3rd straight NL East championship.  They did it behind a full team effort.

Pedro Martinez and Kyle Kendrick tag-teamed the Astros with a combined quality start.   Pedro threw 82 pitches over four innings making a case for a starting job in the postseason.  He was not as dominating as J.A. Happ in his performance last night but proved he is at least healthy enough to pitch.  Kyle Kendrick, meanwhile, made a statement in his three innings allowing no runs on two hits while striking out four.  There is a better chance he’ll make the roster after the unfortunate news emerged that Jamie Moyer will need season-ending groin surgery.

The offense built upon last night’s outburst with double-digit runs – the thrust of which came during a four-run fourth.  JRoll (now batting over .250) and Shane Victorino followed up with back-to-back triples in the fifth.  A Raul Ibanez homer in the seventh helped to secure his first appearance in a playoff series.

With the game well in hand at 10-3 going into the final two innings, Charlie Manuel looked to Chad Durbin and Scott Eyre to hold the lead.  Then in most dramatic fashion before a boisterous sell-out crowd and with just one out remaining to clinch the division, Manuel called for Brad Lidge. If you were caught up in the emotions of the moment while Lidge was warming up, you may have missed the end of the Marlins-Braves game in which the Fish outlasted the Braves to officially crown the Phillies NL East champs.  Just seconds later, Lidge needed only a single pitch to get Lance Berkman to ground out to Ryan Howard.  And the celebration began!

After we clear out the burning champagne, our eyes will now turn to the standings as we follow the Cardinals (90 wins) and Dodgers (93 wins) to determine who secures home field advantage in the playoffs (the Phillies have 92 wins with 4 games to play).  With the Braves loss, the Rockies inch closer to clinching the Wild Card.

This is the second time the Phillies have won three consecutive division crowns.  They did it before in 1976, 1977 and 1978.

The Phillies dropped another important game down the stretch.  This was not another blown save, nor did a Phillies comeback  fall short – they straight up lost.  Cole Hamels pitched poorly and the offense was anemic in front of their increasingly frustrated home town fans.

Hamels cruised through the first three innings, allowing just a single hit after Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley manufactured a run in the bottom of the first.  He coughed up a run in the fourth and two more in the sixth before the Astros really took it to him.  With two outs in the seventh, Michael Bourne singled and stole second.  A Miguel Tejada RBI single and intentional walk later and Hamels gave way to Tyler Walker.  Walker allowed another three runs to score in the inning and with an 8-2 score, the game was out of reach.

Astros’ starter, Yorman Bazardo – whom the Phillies released in Spring Training – kept the Phils’ bats in-check despite allowing a run on a balk.  Chase Utley saw only 8 pitches the entire night as the zombie lineup mustered just four hits.

So yes, the Phillies magic number rests at three with six games to play.  Yes, the Braves won (again).  And yes, the Phillies have now lost 5 of their past 7 games.  Talks of 1964 have surfaced, albeit prematurely.  But let’s focus on some positives.

The Phillies activated J.C. Romero from the disabled list today and he threw a scoreless eighth while allowing two hits.  With barely a whiff of pressure, Brad Lidge pitched the ninth without allowing a run.  He did hit a batter though.  Chan Ho Park and Brett Myers both had successful rehab assignments throwing on the side prior to the game.

If you’re questioning whether or not the Phillies will make the playoffs, you’re overreacting…but not by much.

The Phillies and Marlins each won a game in today’s twin bill.  Fortunately for the Phillies, another day in the books represents another day closer to clinching a playoff spot.

It was a tale of two pitchers for the Marlins, both of whom ignored the scouting reports from the pregame post.  The Phillies roughed up Josh Johnson from the start of game one, while Anabel Sanchez looked like the no-hitter pitcher of 2006.

Don’t let the 9-3 score in favor of the Phillies fool you, Johnson and the Marlins pitchers show glimpses of mastery over Rollins, Utley and Ibanez, racking up 8 strikeouts between them and 16 overall in game one.  The Phils were able to piece together some offense with two RBI fielder choices by Ryan Howard and Miguel Cairo who got the start at third-base.  In the fifth inning, Jayson Werth came through with a 2-out single to drive in Victorino and Utley.  Raul Ibanez kicked off a 5-run eighth inning with a homer to right field before more RBIs by JRoll and Ryan Howard put the game away.

All the offense in the eighth was gravy, as Joe Blanton cruised through seven innings allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks.  He struck out nine Marlins, including Cody Ross three times.  Things got a little uncomfortable when Sergio Escalona coughed up 3 runs in the bottom of the eighth but Tyler Walker ended the threat and Clay Condrey came on to finish the game 1-2-3.

Unfortunately the Phillies bats went quiet in game two, as Anabel Sanchez scattered 2 hits over eight innings.  Jayson Werth struck out three times; and the rest of the Phillies long ball hitters could only muster up enough strength to reach the warning track several times throughout the nightcap.  Cody Ross and Dan Uggla – both big supporters of the Moyer Foundation – took the Phillies starter deep for two of the Marlins’ three runs.

The Marlins left-fielder Chris Coghlan continued his case for Rookie of the Year honors going 4-for-8 on Tuesday.  J.A. Happ’s injury certainly isn’t helping his chances.  However, Jamie Moyer despite taking the loss had a quality start giving up three earned runs in seven innings.  You can’t ask for much more from the man looking to earn a playoff start.

All-in-all, today was a good day.  The magic number is 5.

In what has been a season chock full of ups and downs, the Phillies embarked on their final road swing of the season, ten games. With the division title within sight, the Phillies had to beat the team in their rear-view mirror.

Heading into tonight’s game the Phillies had a five game winning streak, however the Braves had a nice streak of their own going as they had previously won their last seven.

Happ, despite giving up a solo shot in the third, looked solid to start the game, but left after the third inning after re-injuring his oblique. This gave way to recent call up, Kyle Kendrick to prove that he still belongs on a major league roster. For the second time in the past week, Kendrick succeeded.

Kendrick, who entered the game in the fourth, went on to pitch four shut out innings. He scattered three hits and gave up no walks.

Ryan Howard provided some of the power in tonight’s game, belting two bombs, gathering three R.B.I.’s in the process. His second home run of the night gave him 40 HR’s for the season. It is his fourth straight year with 40 or more long-balls.

Jayson Werth added what happened to be two very important insurance runs in the eighth with a bases-loaded single up the middle. Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley both came around to score on the play, to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead.

Atlanta would get those two runs back right away in the bottom half of the frame, on a two-run shot courtesy of Brian McCann off of reliever Tyler Walker.

In the top half of the ninth, the Phillies would put the Braves away for good with back-to-back  jacks form both Jimmy Rollins and Ben Fransisco. Rollins shot was good for three runs and with the pair the Phillies went ahead 9-3. Fransico finished the night 3 for 3.

All in all it was a solid win all around and it helped the Phillies prove that the last two series wins against the drech of the NL East was no fluke. It may be too early to tell, but it seems as if the Phillies have no intention of surrendering their commanding lead in the East. The Phillies now lead the Marlins by eight games and the Braves by 8.5 games.

Oh, and for those keeping score at home, the Phillies magic number to clinch the division now stands at eight.

With a 50-94 record coming into Wednesday’s game, not many people have struggled against the Nationals. Count Joe Blanton as one of the very few who have.

Blanton went into the middle game of the three-game set sporting an ERA above seven versus the cellar dwellers.  In his last outing, which happened to be against Livan Hernandez, he allowed a season high eight earned, and did not make it out of the fifth.

Those previous struggles turned into a six-inning shutout against the lowly Nats, as Blanton fanned seven in the Phillies 6-1 win.  Things started rather shaky for Big Joe, as he seemed unable to locate any of his pitches early on.  With four walks in all, plus five hits, Blanton did a fine job with damage control, keeping the Nationals from touching home plate.

Chan Ho Park and Ryan Madson then followed up with scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, before Tyler Walker allowed the lone run of the ball game in the ninth.  The three relievers sealed it up for Blanton’s 10th victory of the season.  The run scored by Washington was the first given up by Walker since July 29, skyrocketing his ERA to 1.93.  However, the Phils pitching staff as a whole narrowly missed recording three consecutive shutouts for the first time since August of 1969.

On the chilly, damp night at Citizens Bank Park, the flags were moving in from right field, meaning the lefty pull hitters would have a tough time reaching the seats.  The whipping winds were evident throughout as routine fly balls became anything but.

The Phillies jump started their evening with a rarely seen double steal, as Ryan Howard successfully stole second, while Chase Utley capitalized on the mistake by catcher Jesus Flores, scoring run number one.  It was Utley’s 20th steal of the year, giving him 20 home runs and 20 steals for the first time in his career.

In the sixth inning, another fielding blunder by Washington led to Raul Ibanez scoring on a near double play off the bat of Pedro Feliz.  The 124th error of the Nats season made it 2-0 Phils.

As the Phillies continued to refine their small ball approach, Jayson Werth decided it was time for a change.  Without a homer since Game 1 of the doubleheader on Sunday, the Phillies used the long ball to break Wednesday’s game wide open.

With the bases loaded in the seventh following an Utley hit by pitch, a Howard intentional walk, and another walk to Raul Ibanez, Werth used that jet stream out to left to his advantage.  He nailed a 2-2 offering from Jason Bergmann deep into the left-center field seats, giving the Phillies plenty to work with for the final two innings.

And finally, the bullpen took advantage of the situation, leaving the heart stopping antics at home for at least one night.  As the Phillies moved their record to 14-3 against Washington this year, it was all about Joe Blanton and his about face from a week ago, and Jayson Werth’s continued evolution as one of the best power hitters in the game.  A sweep would sure look sweet this late in September.  Tomorrow, Cole Hamels will try to make it happen.

Finally, a game where we can use the back of our seat instead of hanging off the edge. Cliff Lee returned to form with a masterful 124-pitch complete game shutout; and the Phillies drove in runs when they needed.

Lee’s complete game included nine strikeouts, six hits and three walks which helped to drop his ERA back below two (2.67). His command was on point as he got ahead of the Nationals batters early and often. The only trouble Lee ran into came in the fourth inning when he walked the bases loaded – his first walk in 39 innings. He promptly struck out Josh Bard to escape unscathed and keep the Phillies pitchers’ scoreless streak intact.

At the plate, Lee’s two strikeouts dropped his average to .259, but that was inconsequential as the rest of the Phillies maintained the offensive production. The hitting began in the bottom of the first inning (after Lee struck out the side) when the Phillies sparkplug, Jimmy Rollins reached base with a double and Chase Utley drove him in with a single. Then in the fourth, Ibanez, Werth and Feliz set the table for Carlos Ruiz with a double, single and walk respectively. Chooch came through with the runners in scoring position by delivering a bases-clearing double. JRoll singled later in the inning to rescue Carlos from the basepath and post the Phillies fifth and final run.

From there Cliff Lee cruised to the ninth and even got a little help from the Nationals as their youth and inexperience were on display after a few baserunning blunders. To their credit, Washington did manage two web gems in the field – both robbing Carlos Ruiz of hits.

The Phillies maintain a seven-game lead over the Marlins with 19 to play.