The Phillies swept the playoff-poised Padres right on out of Petco on the strength of dominant starting pitching. Good pitching beats good hitting, and apparently, overcomes bad hitting. Yesterday, Cole Hamels carved up the Padres through eight shutout innings, retiring his final 16 batters, in a 5-0 statement win to complete the sweep of the league’s best team. Cole finally received a long-overdue care package of run support to help pick off the camouflage-clad Pads (uniform tops that emulated the...
Seeking his first win in nine tries, Cole Hamels (7-10, 3.47) has the ball in his hometown this afternoon against lefty Clayton Richard (12-5, 3.55) and the Padres. First pitch is 4:10 ET. Hamels: Hamels’ telltale 7-10 mark defines this season as well as any statistic. His annoying, unsupportive offense has bled out just 12 runs over his last eight starts, leaving the ace left-hander with three losses and five no-decisions over that stretch. The Phils can’t possibly ask for...
Preview: Following his best start of the season, Joe Blanton (5-6, 5.32), who is 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA in his last six starts, toes the slab today at Petco Park. Right-hander Jon Garland (13-8, 3.25) has it for San Diego. The Phils have put up good numbers against Garland, who is 0-4 with a 7.94 ERA in five meetings against them. The Phils lead the National League wild card race by half a game and trail Atlanta by two...
Jimmy Rollins' scored the go-ahead run on a miracle slide in the 12th to erase one of the all-time managing and save-situation blunders from the books in the Phillies 3-2 win over the Padres Friday night. With Roy Oswalt absolutely dialed in through eight innings, Charlie Manuel elected to go with Brad Lidge for the save with the Phillies up 2-1. Lidge promptly loaded the bases by hitting a batter then balked in the tying run. Two shutout innings by...
Swept out of Citizens Bank Park in the finale of their 10-game homestand, the Phillies take to the road for a three-city tour of the National League West beginning tonight with a meeting with Mat Latos (13-5, 2.33) and the league-leading Padres. First pitch is 10:05. Roy Oswalt (9-13, 3.22) counters in what should be an excellent night of pitching. Unfortunately, I can't make the same prediction about the Phillies' sputtering offense, which has scored two runs or fewer in...
Reliever Danys Baez was placed on the 15-day disabled list today with back spasms. Left-hander Antonio Bastardo, who has been up-and-down with the Phillies all season, has been recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he had been lights-out in 20 appearances. Baez, who will turn 33 in a few days, has pitched sparingly in a reduced role. In 42 innings, he's 3-3 with a 23/21 K/BB ratio, 1.67 WHIP and 5.14 ERA. Baez becomes the 17th different regular to spend...
Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has confirmed that rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg has a significant tear to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will likely require Tommy John Surgery. Recovery time is typically 12-to-18 months. Strasburg injured himself Saturday night in the fifth inning against the Phillies. He was 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 12 starts (68 innings). [Read more]
A round-up of reader observations and a few of my own. Eye on the Wild Card: “Pitching and defense have been pretty damn solid this month and that is what wins you ball games in the end. Especially in the NL. Problem is that the Braves are first in runs this month and first in ERA. It’s going to be very difficult to catch them especially with a better pitching staff and rotation. Good news for the Phils is that...
One run was all the Phillies could ooze from their lifeless bodies in a lousy 5-1 finale Thursday afternoon. The Phils finish the homestand a disappointing 4-6 with four losses to the junior varsity, having blown and golden opportunity to close ground in the division race. Ryan Howard, hitless again, continued to be a major drain on the offense since coming off the DL, but he had help from Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco and Brian Schneider, who were also held...
Kyle Kendrick (8-6, 4.58) tries to get back on track after he was roughed up Wednesday against Washington this afternoon when the Phillies wrap up their series with left-hander Wandy Rodriguez (9-12, 4.00) and the Astros. First pitch is 1:05. The Phillies go with Rollins SS, Utley 2B, Polanco 3B, Howard 1B, Werth RF, Ibanez LF, Victorino CF, Schneider C. [Jump to the newest comments]
Former Phillie J.A. Happ tied up his former teammates for two runs over 6 1-3 innings as Houston defeated the Phillies 3-2 Wednesday night. The slumping Phils, who kept pace with the Braves thanks to the Rockies' stunning nine-run rally, have scored just two runs or less in six of their last seven games. One reason is that they are hitting just .163 with runners in scoring position over that span. The Phillies turn to Kyle Kendrick this afternoon to...
J.A. Happ (2-2, 4.62 in five starts with the Astros) returns to the mound in Philadelphia just weeks after being shipped out in the Roy Oswalt deal tonight against the other Roy beginning at 7:05 from Citizens Bank Park. Ryan Howard gets the night off. The Phils stack the righty hitters: Rollins SS, Victorino CF, Polanco 3B, Utley 2B, Werth RF, Sweeney 1B, Francisco LF, Ruiz C. [Jump to the newest comments]
Five of the Phillies eight regulars are fighting an uphill battle to meet their own personal performance standards. A couple of nights ago, Charlie Manuel talked about how the offense has been dragging because a number of players have produced below expectations, a simple point that resonates strongly among the many theories as to why the offense keeps scuffling the way it has. Even before Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Shane Victorino went on the shelf, they were falling short...
Readers decompress following five hours of brutal baseball. Stop swinging at slop: “As for Howard, I have no sympathy at all. Don't blame the umpire. Stop checking your swing on every pitch in the dirt for starters. They are not borderline strikes. You turn them into borderline strikes. Secondly, even if you did get screwed, you did realize that there were no position players left, didn't you? You should be just thankful Oswalt didn't pull a hamstring or hurt his...
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