Kyle Kendrick was out of sync all night (PHOTO: AP)
Kyle Kendrick struggled for the second straight outing on Friday night, and the Phillies dropped the first of their three game series with the Nationals, 5-2. Kendrick and the defense had a very tough time in the fifth inning, giving up four runs in that frame alone. The inning started off with a Bryce Harper single, and the scoring began with an RBI triple by Adam Laroche, Â followed by an RBI single by Kurt Suzuki, and a 2 RBI double by Steve Lombardozzi. The Phillies runs came from an RBI single by Domonic Brown and a sac fly by Erik Kratz.
STRUGGLING KENDRICK
Kendrick’s line was 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4BB, 1 K. That’s two straight starts where he gave up at least four runs, bringing his era up to 3.29. His defense didn’t do him any favors tonight, but he did struggle with his command, and didn’t miss many bats. This isn’t a good sign for the Phillies, because Kendrick has been arguably their best pitcher so far this year, and two straight poor starts might be a sign of regression. Hopefully he can snap out of it.
FREE SWINGERS
The Phillies walked zero times Friday night. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. They only collected six hits, and grounded out 15 times, including two GIDP’s–one that absolutely killed a rally in a promising fifth inning. The only Phillie with multiple hits was Domonic Brown.
THE RETURN OF STUTES
Michael Stutes got his first in-game MLB action since April of 2012. He threw two scoreless innings while striking out two batters. He threw 16 strikes in 21 pitches. It was very good to see him back out there again.
The Phillies return to action on national TV tomorrow at 7:15 with Jonathan Pettibone and Dan Haren squaring off against each other.
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