Doc Rocked Again in Loss, Could be DL-bound
The Phillies and Roy Halladay were blown out by the Marlins on Sunday, 14-2. Halladay was lit up in his last start in Cleveland and he may have been even worse today, giving up nine earned runs to the no-name Miami lineup. Doc only got seven outs before being pulled in the third inning in favor of Raul Valdes. His final line; four hits, nine earned runs, four walks and four strikeouts over 2.1 innings. His ERA now sits at 8.65.
DOC TO THE DL?
Halladay acknowledged after the game that he was experiencing soreness in his right shoulder and Ruben Amaro told the media that the right-hander is probably headed for the disabled list. Doc has been awful in four of his seven starts, making it nearly impossible for the Phillies to even compete in those outings. While an injury would certainly help to explain Halladay’s ineffectiveness, it is worth wondering whether or not the Phillies are just pulling the plug on the former Cy Young award winer, regardless of injury, until they can better grasp exactly what is going on with him.
SLOWEY SILENCES PHILS BATS
The Phillies offense was anemic for the second straight game. Last night it was against the electric stuff of 20-year-old Jose Fernandez. Today, it was not. While Kevin Slowey has pitched very well in his first seven starts as a Marlin – his ERA dropped to 1.81 after seven shutout innings today – Sunday’s victory was his first since September 18, 2010. He was 0-10 in his last 15 starts headed into today’s start. In short, Slowey is the type of journeyman pitcher that this lineup used to feast on.
To be fair, the Phillies were down 9-0 in the third inning, which is undoubtedly demoralizing for an offense. Still, they could only muster four hits on Sunday. They scored their only two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, with the score 12-0, and did so without hitting a ball out of the infield. The offense has sporadically shown signs of life this season, but has yet to put together a consistent stretch. After a disappointing April, this Phillies team needs a win streak here or there in order to get back into the divisional race. It will be impossible to do that if the offense scores two runs over two games as they did twice this week. They were outscored 36-4 in those four outings. At minus-34, the Phillies now own the second worst run differential in the National League, leading only the Marlins. Only the Astros and the Blue Jays are worse in the American League.
