The Big Piece hit two home runs Saturday afternoon. (PHOTO: AP)
The Phillies were sitting pretty with a 7-1 lead in the sixth inning, thanks in part to two home runs by Ryan Howard, but an injury forced Jonathan Pettibone to be relieved and the bullpen nearly imploded in the 7th inning. The bleeding was stopped by Jake Diekman after four runs crossed the plate. But then in the ninth, Jonathan Papelbon gave up the lead with the help of some shoddy defense behind him, and the game went to the bottom of the ninth where Kevin Frandsen led off the inning with a walk-off home run.
HEART OF THE LINEUP DELIVERS
The Phillies went with a lineup that had Michael Young batting third, followed by Ryan Howard and then Domonic Brown. Young was 2-4 with 2 runs and an RBI, Howard was 3-4 with four RBI thanks to two home runs, and Brown was 2-4 with two doubles. Those three were involved in six of the the eight scoring plays. Brown is now slugging .550, and Howard .496.
PETTIBONE INJURED
Jonathan Pettibone pitched six great innings, giving up just one run and scattering five hits. However, he left the game with what was later called “lower back tightness on the right side”. There is no more information at this time. Michael Stutes came in for relief for him, which brings me to my next point…
STRUGGLING STUTES
Mike Stutes did not look good today. He ended up giving up four runs, and nearly threw as many balls as strikes. When he was pulled, he showed some discomfort in the dugout of his right shoulder, however nothing was formally announced yet.
He hasn’t looked all that good recently, and a shoulder injury could be an explanation. It would be a huge loss for the already diminished Phils bullpen, which looks like the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs bullpen right now.
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