Phillies Nation

PHOTO: AP

Cole Hamels was stellar. He tossed his second straight complete game shutout, this time against yet another NL East opponent in the Marlins. He gave up six hits, one walk, and punched out five.  Here’s his line:  9.0 IP/6 H/0 R/0 ER/1 BB/5 K. Here are some other story lines from tonight’s game:

MARLINS WOES OVER?

The Phillies lost their last five against the Marlins, but snapped that streak tonight with the win.

Cole Hamels, who had three losses against the Marlins this year and a ERA in the 5′s, tossed a gem. Maybe the woes against the Marlins this year could be coming to an end.

GOOD SIGNS FROM BROWN AND PIERRE

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is keeping watch of Domonic Brown this year. He’s given him a spot and it looks like he may finally be on the MLB club for good. Tonight, Brown showed some good signs with two hits, a run and a walk. He also had an outfield assist.

Juan Pierre, who was losing playing time with the addition of Nate Shierholtz, was 3-5 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.

COLE. HAMELS.

I know I’ve mentioned his name a lot already, but he deserves it. He was outstanding for the second straight start. His ERA is now below 3 and is seriously looking like one of the top left-handers in MLB again. So far, that new contract of his is looking better and better. This was his 12th career complete game.

He’s never had more than two in a single season, and this is his second in a row. He did not allow an extra base hit until Giancarlo Stanton‘s double with two outs in the ninth inning. The second straight shutout extends his scoreless inning streak to 22 innings.

This man is on fire.

GAME NOTES:

The Phillies take on the Marlins again tomorrow at 7:10 with Kyle Kendrick (4-9, 4.86 ERA) taking the mound for the Phillies and Josh Johnson (7-8, 3.88 ERA) taking the mound for the Marlins.

With his performance tonight, Vance Worley gave the Phillies exactly what they needed. (AP)

Behind three solo home runs, including one from Nate Schierholtz, and a gutty pitching performance, the Phillies were able to grind out a 3-2 victory in Washington tonight. The win puts the Phils in position to sweep the first-place Nationals tomorrow with Cole Hamels on the mound. So far, this series has felt like better times.

NO WOES FOR WORLEY

- July was a cruel month for Vance Worley. In his five starts, he went 1-2 with a 6.43 ERA. He had a month to forget, and that’s something that hasn’t happened much to Worley since he became a fixture in the rotation last season. In fact, his July ERA was the highest Worley has posted in any month during his young career. He’s pitching with bone chips in his elbow, and it’s not unreasonable to suggest that is affecting him. He was also likely victimized by a season-high .427 BABIP during the month of July. Tonight, however, neither bone chips nor misfortune affected Worley’s results.

- After some first inning jitters, Worley would settle in nicely and provide the Phils with a solid effort. The final line: 7 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K. Both runs were unearned because of the Kevin Frandsen error and a couple other misplays in the first that led to them. After that inning, Worley was stellar. Perhaps most impressive about his outing is the fact that he recorded no strikeouts. That’s the first time he’s ever done that. I’m betting he wouldn’t have guessed that his first start without a strikeout would last seven innings, and he’d allow no earned runs. With a stagnant offense, Worley’s effort tonight was a big part of the victory.

Continue reading Power And Pitching Give Phils Win Over Nats

It's June 16, and Cliff Lee is still without a win. (AP)

For the third time in a row, the Phillies were able to get a lead with Cliff Lee on the mound, and for the third time in a row, they’d end up losing the game. This time, it was a painful loss in extra innings, as the Blue Jays prevailed 6-5 in ten innings. Defense was the coup de grace today for a Phillies team that can’t seem to get things going back in the right direction.

It’s June 16th, And Cliff Lee’s Still Winless:

- I understand that wins are a virtually meaningless statistic for pitchers, but it’s June 16th, Lee has thrown very well, and he still doesn’t have a win. It’s getting a little ridiculous. It’s actually a perfect example of why the win statistic needs to be thrown out. Still, you can tell the guy is frustrated by it.

- Lee wasn’t his usual sharp self today. He  allowed five earned runs in 7+ innings, though three of them were probably more on the defense than Lee (more on that later). But it was a battle as he allowed a season-high twelve hits. He worked out of jams in the third, fourth, and sixth innings. In the third he was helped out by some poor baserunning by the Blue Jays and in the fourth a ground rule double prevented a run from scoring. It looked like he may be able to get to Jonathan Papelbon with the lead by himself as he entered the eighth inning, but then…

Continue reading Phils Extra-Inning Woes Continue As They Fall To Jays

Placido Polanco is batting .179 this season.

The Phillies had a chance to win their second straight series at AT&T Park on Tuesday night, but that’ll have to wait 24 more hours. The Giants were victorious, 4-2, as Joe Blanton lost his second game of the season.

- The Phillies’ struggles with runners in scoring position reared their ugly head again. The Phils were 1-for-11 with RISP, delivering only one run in such situations despite having runners in scoring position in six different innings.

- Placido Polanco continues to look like he’s completely done. In the top of the fifth inning, Polanco came to the plate with Freddy Galvis on second base with two out. It was the kind of situation in which you used to feel confident in Polly. Now, not at all. He can’t drive the ball, he can’t make solid contact of any kind. Another 0-for-4 night dropped his average to .179, and he has just five line drives in 33 balls put into play. It’s gotten so bad for Polanco that he did his little “home run hop” on a fly ball to center field in his fourth at-bat. He’s so unused to good swings right now that he thought THAT was a real charge.

- John Mayberry hasn’t been much better than Polanco. The power we saw in 2011 is nowhere to be found, but it would be nearly impossible for Mayberry not to run into 8-10 homers as the season goes on. So at least with him, there’s a bit of room for optimism. His swing is just too long right now. When the Phillies loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning, Mayberry weakly popped out to first base on a fastball right down the middle. His head wasn’t on the ball.

- The Phillies stole two more bases Tuesday. They are 12-for-13 swiping bags.

- Madison Bumgarner was hittable and this game was winnable. These are the ones that frustrate you… not because the Phillies fell to 5-6, but because this looked like the kind of game they could lose in the playoffs. Starter gives up three or four runs, offense can’t capitalize on opportunities.

It’s a familiar formula. And it can happen easily when a team refuses to walk (they had one on Tuesday) and seldom produces extra-base hits.

When it comes to the Phillies and Astros, it never seems to matter which team is better and which is worse. At least not recently.

Since 2007, the Phils are 15-18 against Houston despite being a whopping 106 games better over that span. Those 33 meetings have been filled with games like Tuesday night’s (or Monday night’s, for that matter), in which the Phillies look flat, sloppy and apathetic.

Charlie Manuel reportedly laid into his team following Tuesday’s debacle. Perhaps a wake-up call was necessary. More realistically, Chase Utley and a performing Jimmy Rollins are more necessary. As is the Phillies’ notoriously solid defense. If the Phillies come out and win tomorrow afternoon, Manuel’s speech will likely be cited as the main cause, even though that Roy Halladay guy will have been more responsible. Continue reading Inexplicable Woes With Houston Continue

Washington Nationals (59-103, last place in NL East)

There were not many positives for the Washington Nationals in 2009.  Their below average offense and pitching resulted in the worst record in baseball. 

Manny Acta managed 87 games before getting the boot.  Jesus Flores, Christian Guzman and others suffered injuries.  Adam Dunn looked lost in the outfield. The woes were endless.  Heck, they couldn’t even spell their name right.

The one bright spot for the Nationals was Ryan Zimmerman, who earned a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger in 2009.  The 24-year old third baseman batted .292 with an .888 on-base plus slugging percentage.

Although it was very painful to watch the Nationals last season, there is reason to believe that the Nationals won’t be as terrible as they were in the past.

The 2010 Season

It’s so easy to write off the Nationals.  They aren’t going to contend this year, and perhaps not for a few more.  However, the Nationals always seem to be that pesky team that doesn’t quit and gives up a good fight — at least it seems that way when the play the Phillies.

The Nationals are young, but they added a veteran presence.  The Nationals signed Jason Marquis, Ivan Rodriguez, Chein-Ming Wang, and Adam Kennedy.  While none of these moves are hugely significant, they could change the vibe of the clubhouse, which no longer include Lastings Milledge or Elijiah Dukes.

The new veterans could certainly help out some of the younger and talented players.  Ian Desmond has a lot of potential, and earned the starting shortstop job this spring.  In addition, the speedy centerfielder  Nyjer Morgan is capable of stealing 50 bases, or more.

Although Stephen Strasburg did not break camp, there’s a great chance that he could be in the Nationals’ starting rotation by June.  Strasburg impressed this spring, and many said that they’ve never seen the ball explode out of a pitcher’s hand like Strasburg.

As of now, the Nationals’ one-two punch is Jason Marquis and John Lannan, who has improved throughout his career.

While Strasburg is the organization’s biggest pitching prospect, Drew Storen should not be overlooked.  The reliever has closer potential and could be called up this season. 

For now, the Nationals will go with Matt Capps as their closer, who will attempt to rebound from a poor season with the Pirates.

The Nationals aren’t ready for contention this year, but may in about two or three years.  And if they draft Bryce Harper in this year’s draft — look out!

Prediction: 69-93

Throughout the month, Phillies Nation will be counting down the Top 25 Phillies Moments of 2009.

Top Moment #24: Chase Utley’s 2 HR’s down the Mets at Citi

Before we really knew the extent of the Mets woes, the Phillies locked horns with their neighbors to the northeast during a seemingly important three-game set in mid-June.  At that point, the Phillies sat just two games ahead of New York for the NL East lead.  This game would serve as a back-breaker of sorts for the Mets, who would end the month 20 days later nine-and-a-half games out of first.

For six innings, the Mets offense played small ball, giving right-hander Mike Pelfrey a 4-1 cushion to work with. Pelfrey helped his own cause in the fourth by singling in a run, the first of three to cross the plate for NY in that frame.  Names like Omir Santos and Alex Cora were doing damage with the bat, while Pelfrey held his own on the hill.

Going into the seventh inning on June 10, Pelfrey stymied the Phils, going six strong while allowing just one lone run on a Chase Utley solo jack in the fourth. In that fateful seventh, Pelfrey would get lifted after the first three Phillies reached base, all via singles. They would all touch home, locking it up a four apiece.

The bullpen’s then combined to take the game into the 11th, paving the way for a spot in right field to be adorned with a new moniker.

New York turned to Bobby Parnell in the 11th, following two shutdown innings by Francisco Rodriguez.  On the second pitch from the new reliever, Chase Utley smashed the delivery about six rows deep into the bleachers for his second shot of the game.  The homer put the Phils up 5-4 and in the process, “Utley’s Corner” was born.

Two weeks later, with the Yankees visiting Citi Field, Brett Gardner blasted a ball into the same section as the Utley home run, prompting Mets announcer Gary Cohen to say: “Gardner lifts one down the right field line, back toward Utley’s Corner, near the wall…it’s outta here!” The rest is history.

Well, that was a less than spectacular week in Phillies baseball. This week the Phillies will look to turn the tides on their misfortune as they return to the east coast to play the two worst teams in the N.L. East.

The Phillies, coming off of a week that saw them go 2-5, will head to Washington, for a three game set against the last-place Nationals. The Phillies will look to get their offense back in line after managing just 13 runs in their last seven games. They were shutout twice during that stretch and also beat the Giants by a 1-0 score, on a Cole Hamels complete game shutout.

In their last ten, the Phils are just 4-6, not the way you want to start the last month heading into the postseason. They remain in first in the East with a dwindling six game lead over the Marlins. The Braves are still eight games back. The Nationals meanwhile, have already been eliminated from playoff contention and are all playing for their 2010 employment in the Major League.

In their last ten, the Nationals are just 2-8, and a dismal 47-90 overall. Although they are this seasons version of baseballs laughing stock, do not take a team playing for pride lightly. The Nationals despite their pitching woes can still hit the ball hard and this past weekend was proof as they scored 16 runs in a three-game shootout with the Marlins.

The Nationals will send John Lannan, Garrett Mock, and Livan Hernandez to the rubber to face the Phillies. The Phils will counter with Pedro Martinez, Cliff Lee, and Joe Blanton.

The Phillies have had trouble with Lannan in his career, and Lannan has been responsible for injuring two Phillies in his career, Chase Utley(broken hand), and Cole Hamels(sprained ankle). Lannan has been decent this year, toting a 4.09 ERA into the final month.

Garrett Mock was recently rocked by the Marlins, giving up six runs over three innings in a loss to Florida. Long balls are what hurt Mock the most, which should play into the Phillies hands. Hernandez also gave up six runs in his last start, giving up four in the first.

Pedro Martinez’s last outing was by far his best since returning to baseball as he out-dueled Cy Young Award candidate Tim Lincecum. Martinez has shown flashes of brilliance in his short time with the Phillies, but it is way too early to tell if this kind of success can be duplicated, let alone sustained.

Cliff Lee has gone the opposite direction of Martinez, giving up six runs in each of his last two starts. Lee lasted only three innings in his last start and looks to regain his winning form heading into baseballs home stretch.

Blanton, despite giving up three runs in his last outing still kept the Phillies in the game. The Phillies eventually took the lead in that game against the Astros just to have it blown in the ninth by closer Brad Lidge. Blanton remains the team’s most steady starter this season and looks to maintain his solid work.

After three games with the Nats, the Phillies finally return home to face the much maligned New York Mets. It’s no secret that the Mets have had a rough season, losing key players such as Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, and David Wright for significant amounts of time. Although Wright has returned to the line-up, the rest are still out.

If you want to feel sorry for the Mets, don’t. There is nothing more that New York would love to do than come to Philadelphia and help to spoil our shot at the post season. If there is anything left for them to play for, this is it. Make no mistake, these four games against the Mets ARE their playoffs and believe that whatever “A” game is left in that clubhouse will be brought to Philly.

The Mets enter the series 62-75 and are seemingly out of playoff contention at 16 games back. They are an even 5-5 in their last ten, and recently took two of three from a quickly sinking Chicago Cubs. Just like in the Nationals series, pride is in play here so the the Phillies would be mistaken if they take this four game series lightly.

The Phillies should finish this week with a 5-2 record. Period. Anything less than that and fans have a legitimate reason to be concerned. Despite the pride factor, these are two terrible teams and the Phillies need to beat up on them for a few reasons. They need to get back on track, first. Second, they need to put more space between them and the division ankle-biters known as the Marlins. Lastly, the Phillies took a small hit to their own pride last week and they need to regain some pride of their own.

A good week could lead to a wonderful September. A bad week could spell the begin of a miserable one.

When the Phillies started their title defense, the more reasonable fan predicted that although Brad Lidge had a season for the ages in 2008, the perfection would likely end, and we as fans could look forward to a blown save throughout the season. Or two. Maybe three. At most four, but absolutely no more than four, right?

Starting pitcher Cole Hamels finally had put the pieces together to pitch a decent game. Despite a third inning mistake to the Braves catcher Brian McCann, Hamels soared through six innings, allowing just two runs. McCann’s two-run shot was the only damage allowed by Hamels who allowed just three hits.

Hamels wasn’t dominant, but he was effective. He struck out only two and walked four, but his ability to work out of jams was refreshing. The Hamels we have become accustomed to would have folded under the pressure of frustration. This game was different.

Hamels pitched well enough to win, and despite his season long infection of lack-of-run-support-itis, when he exited the game, he had a 3-2 lead.

The Phillies offense had plenty of wasted opportunities. Overall, they were 1-12 at the plate with runners in scoring position but only left six on base. The Phillies twice left runners stranded at third base that reached third with no outs.

Despite their woes at the plate, they managed seven hits off of Braves starter, Kenshin Kawakami, including triples from Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz.

In the seventh, Jayson Werth gave the Phillies the advantage when he belted his 24th long ball of the season to left-center.  The Phillies looked as if they may be on the way to winning their second consecutive series.

The Braves bullpen came in with one-out in the seventh and proceeded to shut the Phillies line-up down, allowing  just two walks in 2.2 innings of work. The Phillies middle-relief wasn’t bad either, allowing just two base-runners in the seventh and eighth innings.

Into the ninth the Phillies went clutching a 3-2 lead. Fans watching across the Delaware Valley were clutching their chests as Brad Lidge entered the game and promptly surrendered a lead-off single. To be fair Chase Utley should have been able to make a play on the ball, but watched the ball scoot under his glove as he was playing deep in the over-shift position.

What happened next caused fans to clutch their stomachs.

With Garret Anderson on first-base, Atlanta’s Matt Diaz layed down what was a routine sacrifice bunt. Overly anxious to make the play, Lidge failed to field the ball cleanly and then proceeded to air-mail a throw to first in which he had no play on. Anderson scored and Diaz went to third as Lidge earned himself not only the blown save, but two errors as well.

With no one out and a runner at third base, Lidge walked the next two batters, one intentionally. He then got Ryan Church to strikeout swinging, leaving him just a double-play away from reaching extra-innings.

With one out and the infield playing up to prevent the run from scoring, Omar Infante singled through the hole at short, past a diving Jimmy Rollins and the Braves completed the come back.

It was Lidge’s eighth blown save and his fifth loss of the season, wasting what was a quality outing from starter Cole Hamels and the opportunity to bury the Braves a little deeper in the division race.

The Phillies will try to get the series win tomorrow in the rubber match.

The Phillies have made mental mistakes. Their pitching has given up key runs. But like the last 11 of 13 games they have played, they have found a new way to lose.

Ricky Romero no-hit the Phillies for six innings before Chase Utley broke up the no-hit bid with a single in the seventh. He pitched seven shutout innings allowing only two hits and one walk. He struck out seven.

Cole Hamels struggled and was ejected for arguing balls and strikes after he left the game in the fifth inning. In 4.2 innings, Hamels allowed four earned runs on eight hits and two walks.

The bullpen continues to have its woes. Chan Ho Park left the game with a knee contusion. Brad Lidge gave up two earned runs in 0.1 innings.

The Phillies ended their streak of 97 straight games with an extra base hit. They scored a run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth, however, this loss is on the offense. Tip of the cap to Ricky Romero who pitched a terrific game by keeping the Phillies off-balanced, however, it is always embarrassing when a potent lineup like the Phillies is no-hit for six innings.

The Phillies lose 6-1, but are lucky that the Yankees won, therefore remaining a half game above the New York Mets.