They do it again! The Comeback Kids are back in the house. Credit Jimmy Rollins on the game-winning hit, but Erik Kratz and Carlos Ruiz set it up in the Phillies 7-6, 10 innings victory. It’s their first three-game sweep of the season.
Ty Wigginton had a costly error in the top of the 10th, but it mattered not. The Phillies survive on their final at bat for a fourth straight day.
WORLEY SO-SO
-This is just Vance these days. He was average, at best, working in and out of trouble, getting through just 5 1/3 innings. The 10 hits allowed is alarming, although he was able to combat that by holding the Brewers to just three runs. He did strikeout six. You have to wonder if he’s feeling the effects, even just a little, of the loose bodies in his pitching elbow. Worley has not been crisp in quite sometime and is unable to get past the fifth or sixth inning. His high pitch counts early on are killing his hopes of pitching deeper into games. Again, not a terrible job by Worley, just not overwhelming.
KENDRICK KEEPS ROLLING
-Get the lunchmeat because Kyle Kendrick is on a roll. (Really unacceptable pun there, I know). Kendrick has now gone 19 1/3 scoreless innings with 1 2/3 more today. Liking what I’m seeing from him in the bullpen; he seems most comfortable there.
-Antonio Bastardo could not keep the good times going. He served up a two-run bomb to Ryan Braun in the eighth inning. That dude is just good. And before you kill Charlie for not making a move, Braun came into the contest hitting lefties at a .317 clip this year and righties at .312; although lifetime, his slugging percentage is .100 points higher against lefties. He crushes everyone equally. However, walk the guy, will ya. Just don’t give him anything to hit.
UTLEY’S BACK
-Chase Utley, the full Utley we’ve known for many years, is rearing his head again. Now, he’ll never be the 30-100 guy from before, I’m not proclaiming that. But he does look good at the plate, in the field, and on the bases. Utley finished 3-for-4 with a couple of run-scoring doubles, raising his average to .260. What I was most impressed about was his running ability, going first-to-third beautifully on a Ryan Howard single up the middle. He also made a sick, over-the-shoulder catch in the 10th inning. That’s what made Chase Utley special, and it’s still there.
-Give it up for Juan Pierre and Erik Kratz, too. Both had two hits and did their part at the bottom of the order. I really like Kratz, he seems like a good guy to have in the clubhouse and is contributing when his number is called.
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