The reasons why the Phillies lost to the Braves, 4-2, were glaringly obvious:
- Jack Taschner was brought into a high-leverage situation, up one, in the seventh inning. Taschner is not a setup man. Scott Eyre, Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey were all rested.
- Jimmy Rollins went 0-for-5, lowering his average to .195. At no time did he look like a threat to even get on base.
- To accompany that, Shane Victorino went 0-for-4.
- Brad Lidge was brought in while down a run. Again, poor, poor bullpen management.
It’s no secret these were the problems. Despite a solid (if battling) start by Brett Myers (6 IP, 1 ER), a great offensive and defensive showing by Ryan Howard (2-for-4, 2 2B) and inspired play by Matt Stairs (2-for-2, RBI), the Phillies didn’t look like winners. After dropping two of three against the Braves, the Phils are now 15-14.
Here’s the really sad thing about this recap: I wrote it after the bottom of the eighth.
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