In one of the worst losses in recent memory, the Phillies charged back in the ninth, but let it slip away again in the 10th, losing to the Dodgers, 5-3.
It was brutal, really, aside from two bright spots. The first: Cole Hamels was fantastic. He went seven innings, giving up one earned run (a seventh-inning home run by fire-hot James Loney) while striking out nine. The second: The two-out, ninth-inning rally that started with a Raul Ibanez single, carried over with a Greg Dobbs walk and capped with a Carlos Ruiz double. At the time, it was a godsend, truly a chance for the Phillies to redeem themselves.
However …
Chad Durbin quickly surrendered two runs in the 10th, putting the game officially out of reach for the home team. That added onto the already-harrowing points made throughout the game: Chase Utley is disgustingly slumping (now a .278 hitter), Ryan Howard can’t hit anymore (another 0-for-4), Shane Victorino has lost his swing (again, 0-for-4), Jimmy Rollins still can’t do it (1-for-5) and Brad Lidge cannot go an inning without surrendering a run (fifth-straight appearance giving up a run).
Is Utley injured? Is Lidge injured? What happened to Victorino? Will Rollins ever rebound? Can Charlie Manuel manage a game correctly? All these questions are impossible to answer right now; instead, one fact remains: The Phillies are suddenly a .500 team once again.
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