Phillies Nation

Domonic Brown swatted his sixth home run in May and knocked in two to power the Phils. (AP)

Consecutive two-out hits by Delmon Young and Domonic Brown plated a pair of runs in the eighth inning and keyed a 5-3 Phillies victory over the Nationals in D.C. on Saturday night.  In what is beginning to seem like an every start occurrence, Jonathan Pettibone admirably battled through six innings despite looking pretty hittable.  Jonathan Papelbon shut the door on the Nats in the ninth for his ninth save.  Chad Durbin threw 13 pitches between the seventh and eighth to get the win.

DELMON COMES UP BIG AGAIN

- It wasn’t pretty, but Young’s single over the first base bag was the difference on Saturday.  As the ball trickled into the right field corner, Ryne Sandberg took a chance by waving Michael Young home.  It paid off as a weak throw by Bryce Harper and a good slide by Young allowed the Phils to go ahead for good.  Brown laced the next pitch into the gap in right center to make it 5-3.  Delmon Young now has four RBI in the past four games (eight overall).

- Brown and Erik Kratz hit back-to-back solo home runs for the Phils in the bottom of the second.  After D. Young became the fourth consecutive hitter to strikeout, Brown jumped all over a first-pitch, hanging curveball, blasting it into the seats in right field.  Kratz hit the next pitch into the bleachers in left center.  Brown finished 2 for 4 with two RBI.

- They scored five runs, but the Phillies stuck out 12 times and had only six hits, making Dan Haren look like an All-Star again in the process.  Haren struck out 10 Phillies in six innings.  His previous high this season was five.  Ryan Howard struck out four times.

Continue reading Young, Brown Propel Phils Past Nats

With Chase Utley on the disabled list and Ryan Howard on the precipice of injury with his hurting left knee, there has been an outcry from some fans for the Phillies to call up Darin Ruf. To some, the Ruthian-type hero from last year who blasted 20 home runs in one month, and 51 between three leagues is the obvious choice for a team which so desperately needs an offensive boost. But to others, his recent 0-for-21 slump warrants some more minor league seasoning before joining the Phils.

In talking with Ruf today at Lehigh Valley, it was clearly evident that he, nor anyone else, is particularly worried about his recent skid. He does not feel like it is a mechanical issue, pressure to perform, or a lack of confidence at the plate. In fact, Ruf is extremely sure of his abilities and makes absolutely nothing of his struggles of late. To him, it is just the natural ebb and flow of the game.

Here is some of what he had to say about dealing with his slump:

“Everybody struggles in baseball at some point. In a six-month season you’re going to go 0-for-20, 0-for-30- that just happens. You just have to shorten [the slumps] and try to get into a rhythm as quickly as possible.”

Continue reading Should Darin Ruf Be Called Up Despite Recent Slump? Depends How Much He Will Play

Cliff Lee threw his first shutout of the season on Wednesday night. (AP Photo)

The Phillies took the rubber match of their three game set with Miami on Wednesday, shutting out the struggling Marlins 3-0. It was the second straight series win for the Fightin’s, and the first time since April 15 (when they were 6-7)  that they are back to just one game under the .500 mark.

Vintage Cliff Lee on the mound tonight

The Phillies offense managed three runs on 12 hits against Marlins pitching, which was more than enough for Cliff Lee, who threw nine strong innings en- route to his first complete game and shutout of the season.The left-hander faced minimal danger in the contest, working his way out of a bases loaded, nobody out jam in the second to go on to throw six 1-2-3 innings. He walked two and gave up just three hits on 115 pitches (85 of which were strikes). Lee has basically been a lock to perform in every start this year. He has had quality starts in each of his last four outings, and in eight of ten outings this season. His record improves to 5-2, and his ERA is now a minuscule 2.48 on the season. He has given up just four runs in his last four starts, and the shutout was the twelfth of his career, and seventh in a Phillies uniform.

Continue reading Phils Win Series Behind Masterful Lee

Philadelphia Phillies (22-24) at Miami Marlins (13-33)

Cliff Lee (4-2, 2.83 ERA) v. Kevin Slowey (1-4, 3.44 ERA)

TIME: 7:10, Marlins Park
TV: MyPHL 17
Weather: 79, chance of showers, expect the roof up
Media: Twitter and Facebook

The Fightin’ Phils enter tonight’s game with a shot to win yet another series. The Phils are 2-0-3 in their last five series and have posted a record of 10-8 in that time period. A win tonight and they will have been undefeated in their last six series with an 11-8 record. That record translates into a .579 winning percentage and over 93 wins across a whole season. Interesting.

Despite how inconsistent the play of the Phils has felt, the Phils quietly entered tonight’s just one game behind the Nationals (pending a result in their game against the Giants) and six behind the Braves, who disposed of Vance Worley earlier today. Cliff Lee takes the ball tonight, looking for his fourth quality start in a row and is opposed by the pride of Conroe, TX, righty Kevin Slowey.

Expect a big game out of Lee, who has held current Marlins to a .209/.248/.313 triple-slash line in 123 PA against. Marlin Catcher Miguel Oliva has two career homers off of Lee but is not in the line-up tonight for the Fish. Chase Utley is out again tonight while Ryan Howard will start in back-to-back games after receiving a cortisone shot in his knee.

Lineup: Rollins SS, Revere CF, M. Young 3B, Howard 1B, D. Young RF, Brown LF, Galvis 2B, Kratz C, Lee P

GAMEDAY BEER: Coors Light

The Fightins need Cliff Lee to be the Cliff Lee they know and love tonight in order to pick up a W. Like Lee, you always know what you are going to get when you have a Coors Light. Here is to Lee’s reliability and a solid start toinght against the Marlins! - IR

Tyler Cloyd pitched another gem. (Photo: AP)

Behind a second straight admirable start by Tyler Cloyd, the Phillies were able to snap a three-game losing streak against the Marlins, beating them 7-3.

After scoring three runs in three straight against Miami, the Phillies offense finally found its stride. The team notched 15 total hits, including four doubles and a home run. The outburst was a welcome sign for a team that had really been struggling. It’s a step forward. Now the challenge becomes doing it consistently and preventing the two steps back.

CLOYD EFFECTIVE ONCE AGAIN

- Juan Pierre has always been known for causing havoc on the base path, finding inventive ways to get on. Tonight, it was Tyler Cloyd injecting a little chaos of his own that allowed Pierre to reach base. Leading off the game, Pierre bunted a ball hard down the first base line. Ryan Howard fielded it cleanly and should have been able to tag Pierre with ease. Except Cloyd, who also broke on the ball, was still standing on the base line, directly in Howard’s path to Pierre. Using Cloyd as a human shield, Pierre averted the tag and slid safely into first. The play looked like a potential tone setter for Cloyd, an indication of snake bite. That proved to be untrue, as Cloyd would instead shake off the mishap and go on to pitch another good game. By the time Cloyd walked off the mound to close out the seventh inning, the unrecorded error was a distant memory.

- Much like his last outing, Cloyd wasn’t particularly dominant. The Marlins managed eight hits, but only two for extra bases. It was ex-Phillies who did all of the damage. Pierre had an RBI and Placido Polanco scored two runs–the only ones Cloyd allowed. Hovering in the mid-80s, he doesn’t blow it by anyone. But right now, he’s missing bats. He struck out five and walked two. Cloyd also got two doubleplays to get out of tough jams, including one to erase his first inning gaffe. Thus far, Cloyd has turned in two very valuable starts.

Continue reading Phils Bats Breakout In Win Over Marlins

Shortly before tonight’s first pitch, the Phillies were dealt another crucial blow when Chase Utley pulled himself from the lineup due to soreness on his right side. He was replaced in the lineup by Freddy Galvis.

Utley began to feel the discomfort during batting practice, and the issue was obviously strong enough to raise concern for the long-time Phillies second baseman, as Utley is often not wont to take himself out of a ballgame.

Utley will be reevaluated on Wednesday, and more information should become available at that time. If there is one silver lining here, it’s that Utley’s injury was not to his knees.

Still, with Carlos Ruiz and Mike Adams already on the DL, and Ryan Howard battling soreness in his knee, a DL stint for Utley, who leads the Phillies with an .814 OPS, is the last thing this team needs right now.

Philadelphia Phillies (21-24) at Miami Marlins (13-32)

Tyler Cloyd (0-0, 2.84 ERA) v. Jose Fernandez (2-2, 3.48 ERA)

TIME: 7:10, Marlins Park
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Weather: 77, mostly cloudy
Media: Twitter and Facebook

BREAK UP THE POWERHOUSE MARLINS!!!

Apparently this Miami Marlins team is supposed to be pretty bad. You wouldn’t know it from watching the Phillies last three contests against the Fish, in which they were outscored 21-3. It’s no wonder then that four of the Marlins 13 wins (30.7%) have come against the Phils this year. Last night’s loss may have been the most frustrating of the season, as the Phils wasted an otherwise dominant outing from Cole Hamels by once again forgetting to bring the lumber.

If you’re looking for a reprieve tonight, you’ve come to the wrong place. That’s because the man on the mound for Miami has flatout owned the Phillies so far this season. For that reason, you probably already know the name Jose Fernandez. He’s an unpolished rookie with a very high ceiling, who has been an otherwise pedestrian pitcher this year, except when facing the Phils. In fact, if you remove Fernandez’s two starts against the Phils–in which he’s held them scoreless over 6 innings and 7 innings, respectively–he would have a 4.94 ERA. That’s right. Simply facing the Phils has saved Fernandez a cool run and a half on his ERA. That needs to change tonight.

Starting for the Phils is Tyler Cloyd, who’s making is second start of the season in place of the injured Roy Halladay. In Cloyd’s first start, a couple weeks ago in Arizona, he pitched well enough to get a win. Though his numbers looked pretty good, for those who watched the game, it seemed apparent Cloyd had been let off the hook by Arizona. He left a few balls over the plate, and Arizona failed to capitalize. While it’s always a slippery slope to delve to deep into statistics after one outing, Cloyd’s 4.56 xFIP suggests there is going to be quite a bit of regression over the long haul, if the Phils continue to go with him. For now, he has a (supposedly) weak Marlins lineup to deal with, and he should be able to handle them.

Despite speculation on this website that Howard could be headed for a DL stint, he returns to the lineup and is batting cleanup tonight.

Lineup: Rollins SS, Utley 2B, M. Young 3B, Howard 1B, D. Young RF, Brown LF, Revere CF, Kratz C, Cloyd P

GAMEDAY BEER: Shiner Red Ruby

When you think of Florida, what’s the first fruit you think of? If you said oranges, you are 100% correct. But the second fruit you’d probably associate with the Sunshine State would be grapefruit, as Florida is one of the world’s largest exporters of the tart citrus fruit. The idea behind Shiner’s Red Ruby is to give you a hint of that grapefruit taste in your beer. Combined with the a strong malt taste, the beer has a citrus aftertaste, and a subtle bitterness. It’s definitely a summertime beer, which goes great in Florida, or on an 80 degree, humid night in Philly.  – RD

Jeff Schuler of the Allentown Morning Call has reported the following:

Josh Fields‘ bags were packed and he was getting hugs. Asked if he was heading south, said with smile, ‘Not the man to ask that question.”

— jeff schuler (@jschulermc) May 21, 2013

Dave Brundage on potential Fields move: “I can’t comment on that right now.’ Best guess: look for Howard to go to DL

— jeff schuler (@jschulermc) May 21, 2013

Connecting the dots, it appears that INF Josh Fields, who went 3-4 and was a HR away from the cycle tonight in a 14-5 IronPigs win, and not Darin Ruf will get the call if/when Ryan Howard heads to the DL. Fields entered today’s game with a .272/.340/.457 triple-slash and undoubtedly raised that tonight with an outstanding night.

We will have more as this develops.

Phils fans braced for the worst and came away with a pair of “phews”. Carlos Ruiz will miss just 3-4 weeks with a strained hamstring while Ryan Howard is day-to-day with a “bum knee“.

Ruiz has seen action in 16 games since returning from his 25-game suspension and has struggled, striking out an uncharacteristically high 16.1%, walking an uncharacteristically low 5.4%, and hitting just .235/.286/.275 in 56 PA. Ruiz left yesterday’s game in the second inning after hearing a pop in his leg. The injury was initially described as a hamstring strain. Catcher Humberto Quintero joined the team today in Miami, filling the roster spot vacated by Mike Adams‘ trip to the DL.

Howard, as reported this morning, has been amongst the worst first baseman in baseball in 2013, ranking 26th in fWAR among first baseman who would qualify for the batting title and 49th among the pool of every player to play first base this year. The lefty-slugger and former MVP is hitting just .245/.282/.430 with just 6 HR in 163 PA. Howard received a cortisone shot yesterday and will see how he responds to it.

Analysis: Will it be a blessing in disguise to having Howard out? I’m not sure I would go that far but I will say this: it is difficult to be a less-statistically relevant first baseman than Howard has been this year. Any combination of Michael Young and Darin Ruf will provide an upgrade in production over what this Ryan Howard has provided. What I won’t do is write Ryan Howard off yet – yes, he has been a declining player who has not executed the proper adjustments to remain an elite player since 2009 but it is entirely plausible that this most recent dip in production has come due to injury.

Philadelphia Phillies (21-23) vs. Florida Marlins (12-32)

LHP Cole Hamels (1-6, 4.61 ERA) v. RHP Alex Sanabia (2-6, 5.00 ERA)

TIME: 7:10, Marlins Park
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Weather: 78, mostly cloudy
Media: Twitter and Facebook

On Monday night in Miami, Cole Hamels will get his third crack at the Marlins lineup this year.  It has been a disappointing 2013 for the Phillies left-hander, and no starts epitomize his misfortune quite like the first two he’s made against the Fish.  Hamels has pitched 14 innings against Miami, giving up only one earned run, seven hits and three walks.  In those 14 innings – 13 of which came against rookie sensation Jose Fernandez – the Phillies offense was dormant, scoring zero runs for Hamels and leaving him with an 0-1 record despite a microscopic ERA.

To be fair, Hamels’ ERA for the year is an unacceptable 4.61, well above his career mark of 3.39.  He needs to be better.  After getting rocked in his first two starts, Hamels put together six consecutive quality starts and looked to be back on track, despite going 1-3 over that stretch due to the aforementioned lack of run support.  But he struggled again last week against the Indians, surrendering five earned runs.  Unable to put Cleveland hitters away, Cole ran too many deep counts and the result was 106 pitches in only five innings of work.  Hopefully facing a Miami lineup that is last in baseball in runs will help him return to the form that warranted a six-year, $144 million contract extension last summer.

Lucky for Hamels, the Phillies hitters won’t have to face Fernandez again until Tuesday night.  On Monday, they get Alex Sanabia who – surprise, surprise – also has had success against the Phils, with a 2.45 ERA in two career starts.  Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz are both out of the lineup as the team awaits the results of their MRIs.  This gives Phillies fans another look at Freddy Galvis who, after his Sunday afternoon walk-off home run, has an incredible OPS of .864 (he posted a .617 OPS in 190 at-bats last season).  With seven games against the Nationals and Red Sox looming, the Phillies need to take care of business in South Florida.

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

GAMEDAY BEER: Landshark

Courtesy of Ryan Dinger:  Typically I like to pick a craft beer for these, but the Marlins always remind me of Margaritaville’s Landshark. Partly because of the state of Florida and its tropical climate, but mainly because Landshark Stadium was the name of their former home in their last season there. Landshark is an Island Lager without a lot of flash. It is, in essence, a much-improved version of Corona. Easy on the eyes and even easier on the pallet, Landshark is a beer ideal for a lager fan looking for a quality beer without an overly complex taste. It will compliment literally anything you want to have to eat with it. - RD