Blue Jays Series

Game 1: Phillies 9, Blue Jays 0
Length of game: 2:46; W - Halladay (9-6) - 7 IP, 0 ER; L - Litsch (0-2) - 4 IP, 6 ER; Gload (3 for 4) knocks in 4 runs for Phillies; Contreras and Herndon finish game with 1 scoreless inning each; Rollins goes 0 for 1 with 4 walks; Halladay goes 7 strong in first start against former team

Game 2: Blue Jays 5, Phillies 1
Length of game: 2:44; W - Marcum (7-3) - 6 IP, 1 ER; L - Hamels (6-6) - 4 IP, 5 ER; Howard hits solo home run (15) for only Phillies run; Figueroa (2 innings), Baez (1 inning), and Zagurski (1 inning in 2nd appearance of season) combine to shutout Blue Jays in innings 5-8

Game 3: Phillies 11, Blue Jays 2
Length of game: 3:04; W - Moyer (9-6) - 7 IP, 2 ER; L - Cecil (7-5) - 4 2/3 IP, 5 ER; 4 Blue Jays errors leads to 6 unearned runs scored by Phillies; Herndon and Baez finish game for Phillies with 1 scoreless inning each; Moyer allows MLB record 506th home run of career; Victorino goes 3 for 5; Rollins goes 3 for 6, raising average to .311

Final Analysis: Another strong series for the Phillies (40-33) has them looking much better in the playoff race. Sure, it's only June, but it's never too early to begin looking at it. They are 2.5 games behind the Braves in the N.L. East, and are 2 games behind the 2nd place Mets for the wild card. After a 6-3 homestand, the Phillies hit the road and head to Cincinnati for a 3 game series against the N.L. Central leading Reds (42-34). The return of Mike Zagurski (2 1/3 IP, 0 ER in 2 appearances) adds another lefty to the bullpen and adds to the Phillies' pitching depth. Chase Utley has finally started to hit, Ryan Howard is still on a tear, and the return of Jimmy Rollins as the leadoff hitter has the Phillies offense looking very strong. The return of Carlos Ruiz (placed on the 15-day DL on June 19) will also help the offense. Overall, things are looking very good for the Phillies after this series.

Indians Series

Game 1: Phillies 2, Indians 1
Length of game: 2:22; W - Moyer (8-6) - 8 IP, 1 ER; L - Talbot (7-6) - 7 IP, 2 ER; 7 total hits in game; Howard and Werth each knock in 1 run for Phillies; Romero and Lidge finish the game

Game 2: Phillies 7, Indians 6
Length of game: 3:16; W - Romero (1-0) - 1 IP, 0 ER; L - Wood (1-3) - 1/3 IP, 2 ER; Neither team scored more than 2 runs in any 1 inning; Phillies score in 5 seperate innings; Indians score in 4 seperate innings; Rollins hits 2 run walk off home run (3) off Wood

Game 3: Phillies 12, Indians 3
Length of game: 2:36 (1:37 delay); W - Blanton (3-5) - 7 2/3 IP, 3 ER; L - Carmona (6-6) - 4 IP, 5 ER; every Phillies starter gets at least 1 hit; Polanco goes 4-5; Utley goes 3-3; Figueroa finishes game with 1 1/3 shutout innings

Final Analysis: Phillies fans can breathe a sigh of relief. After struggling for about a month, the Phillies finally looked good in a series. Game 1 showed how strong the Phillies' pitching can be at times and how the bullpen is able to hold a lead. Game 2 showed that the Phillies still remember how to win in dramatic fashion and can come back at any time. Game 3 showed how the entire team can come together for a strong win and give the bullpen a rest. Although it was against the Indians who are in last place in the A.L. Central, the Phillies still looked good throughout this series, and will finish out this makeshift 9-game homestand with 3 "home" games against the Toronto Blue Jays. They are 4-2 on the homestand so far, and could really use at least 2 wins in the Blue Jays series.

Twins Series

Game 1: Phillies 9, Twins 5
Length of game: 2:49; W - Blanton (2-5) - 6+ IP, 3 ER; L - Blackburn (6-4) - 1 2/3 IP, 8 ER; Utley goes 2 for 5 with 4 RBI (3 run home run (11) in 2nd inning); Howard goes 4 for 4 with 3 RBI (solo home run (12) in 2nd inning and solo home run (13) in 5th inning); Romero throws scoreless 8th

Game 2: Twins 13, Phillies 10 (F/11)
Length of game: 3:53; W - Rauch (2-1) - 2 IP, 1 ER; L - Baez (2-3) - 1 IP, 3 ER; Phillies led 9-4 entering 9th; Contreras and Lidge combine to allow 5 runs in 9th

Game 3: Twins 4, Phillies 1
Length of game: 2:17; W - Pavano (8-6) - 9 IP, 1 ER; L - Halladay (8-6) - 8 IP, 3 ER; Halladay loses 3rd consecutive start; Phillies get 4 hits

Final Analysis: No comment. I'm disgusted.

Yankees Series

Game 1: Yankees 8, Phillies 3
Length of game: 2:45; W - Sabathia (7-3) - 7 IP, 3 ER; L - Halladay (8-5) - 6 IP, 6 ER; Utley is only Phillie with multiple hits; Bastardo struggles out of bullpen in 7th inning (2/3 IP, 2 ER); Phillies score all 3 runs in 4th inning off of Sabathia

Game 2: Phillies 6, Yankees 3
Length of game: 2:51; W - Moyer (7-6) - 8 IP, 2 ER; L - Burnett (6-5) - 3 1/3 IP, 6 ER; Phillies score 6 runs on just 6 hits and 5 walks; Howard and Werth each hit their 11th home run on back-to-back home runs in the 3rd inning off Burnett; Victorino hits a bases clearing triple to knock in 3 runs in the 2nd

Game 3: Phillies 7, Yankees 1
Length of game: 3:15; W - Kendrick (4-2) - 7 IP, 1 ER; L - Pettite (8-2) - 7 IP, 2 ER; Victorino hits 2 run home run (11) in 5th; Howard knocks in 2 runs on a single and a sacrifice fly; Contreras and Romero combine for 2 perfect innings to finish the game

Final Analysis: In this mid-week series against the Yankees, the Phillies did something that they haven't done since May: won a series. They just took 2 of 3 games from one of the best teams in baseball, with the only loss coming as a result of a very rare poor pitching performance from Roy Halladay. Chase Utley, one of the most consistent performers in baseball over the past 5 years, has been in a year-long slump, but one must think that Utley will come out of it eventually due to his terrific work ethic. Although things do not look good in the standings for the Phillies, who sit at 3rd place in the N.L. East and are 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves, the upside for this team is unlimited. They have played 3 fewer games than the Braves, and they are just 2 games behind in the loss column. Almost every player on the roster has serious potential, and we all know what this team can do when those players are living up to their potential. While Charlie Manuel does not always make the best decisions for one specific game, he has proven that he makes the correct decisions for the long run. He knows what it takes to get his players to play their best ball. He has become a master at getting his teams to peak at the right time, September and October. If the Phillies can pick it up over the next few weeks, they will have themselves in prime position to make the playoffs and allow their best ball to win Philadelphia another championship.

Red Sox Series

Game 1: Red Sox 12, Phillies 2
Length of game: 2:43; W - Lackey (7-3) - 7 IP, 2 ER; L - Moyer (6-6) - 1+ IP, 9 ER; Moyer gives up 5 runs in 1st, 4 runs in 2nd without recording an out, throws 61 pitches and records just 3 outs; Werth goes 3 for 4 as lone bright spot for Phillies; 6 Red Sox record multi-hit game

Game 2: Red Sox 10, Phillies 2
Length of game: 3:20; W - Delcarmen (2-2) - 2 IP, 0 ER; L - Blanton (1-5) - 4 IP, 9 ER; Blanton surrenders 13 hits in just 4 innings of work; Brian Schneider goes 3 for 4, knocking in both Phillies runs on a double in the 2nd inning; Red Sox again have 6 players with multiple hits; every starter recorded at least 1 hit for the Red Sox

Game 3: Phillies 5, Red Sox 3
Length of game: 2:57; W - Hamels (6-5) - 7 IP, 1 ER; L - Wakefield (2-5) - 7 1/3 IP, 4 ER; Ibañez hits 2 run home run (4) in 4th inning off Wakefield; Werth, Castro, and Francisco all knock in a run; Romero struggles in 9th, causing Lidge to finish the game and pick up 4th save, lowers ERA to 1.13

Final Analysis: Winning 1 out of 3 games is not good. But there is a lot more to take out of this series than 1 win and 2 losses. On May 23rd, Tim Wakefield stymied the Phillies with his knuckleball on the way to an 8-3 Red Sox victory. Since that day, the Phillies had been 5-13. In their next game, the Phillies faced another knuckleballer, R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets, and again were stymied. Since then, the Philadelphia offense has been in a funk that they have struggled to get out of. And although today's game show's no serious signs of the cold streak being over, they did score 4 runs on Wakefield and showed some ability to hit the knuckleball. This could be the start of their turnaround. The Phillies need it soon or else they will find themselves nowhere near the top of the N.L. East.

Marlins Series

Game 1: Phillies 10, Marlins 8
Length of game: 3:14; W - Contreras (3-2) - 1 IP, 1 ER; L - Hensley (1-3) - 1/3 IP, 2 ER; 4 lead changes in game; Ibañez goes 4 for 5 with 2 RBI; Utley scores 3 runs, Howard and Francisco score 2 each; Lidge struggles in 9th but holds Marlins scoreless to notch 3rd save of season, lowers ERA to 1.23; Phillies take final lead in 8th inning on 2 run single by Ben Francisco

Game 2: Postponed to September 6th at 1:05 PM EST; to be part of a day/night doubleheader with a 7:05 PM EST game that night

Game 3: Marlins 2, Phillies 0
Length of game: 2:23; W - Johnson (7-2) - 8 IP, 0 ER; L - Halladay (8-4) - 8 IP, 1 ER; Marlins score single runs in 1st and 9th innings; Baez continues to struggle, allowing 1 run in the 9th inning and raising ERA to 4.50; Marlins eliminate possibility of perfect game with first batter

Final Analysis: The Phillies split their 2nd straight series, making them 3-3 in their last 6 games. Game 2 being postponed will lead to a crucial 4 game series against the Marlins in early September. The offense jumped out of their slump with a huge 10 run game in game 1, but returned to their old ways in the final game, not scoring at all. There is not much to say differently, but the Phillies need consistent offensive production and they need it soon. Danys Baez has struggled mightily in the late innings recently, and would probably be better suited for a job as a middle inning guy.

Padres Series

Game 1: Phillies 3, Padres 2
Length of game: 3:01; W – Halladay (8-3) – 7 IP, 2 ER; L – Latos (5-4) – 5 IP, 3 ER; Phillies score 2 runs in 3rd inning on 2 run home run by Victorino (9); 2 shutout innings by bullpen (Contreras, Romero, Lidge); Halladay strikes out 7, allows 10 hits

Game 2: Phillies 6, Padres 2
Length of game: 2:02; W – Moyer (6-5) – 9 IP, 2 ER; L – Garland (6-3) – 7 IP, 6 ER; RBI single by Chase Utley ignites rally for 4 run 3rd inning; 2 run home run by Werth (10) extends lead to 6-2; Moyer throws complete game (98 pitches)

Game 3: Padres 6, Phillies 5 (F/10)
Length of game: 3:41; W – M. Adams (1-1) – 2 IP, 0 ER; L – Baez (2-2) – 1 IP, 1 ER; Blanton allows 11 hits over 5 innings, allows 5 earned runs; Phillies score only runs in 1st and 2nd innings (4 runs in 2nd); Padres bullpen throws 8 1/3 shutout innings

Game 4: Padres 3, Phillies 1
Length of game: 2:39; W – LeBlanc (3-4) – 7 IP, 0 ER; L – Hamels (5-5) – 8 IP, 2 ER; Phillies score only run in 9th inning, leave Howard on 2nd, bring tying run to plate; Hamels throws 8 strong innings, allowing just 3 hits and walking 2; Baez continues to struggle, allowing an insurance run in the 9th inning

Final Analysis: While it was an improvement over the 2-7 road trip, this 4 game series was not enough to be considered successful. The offense showed some signs of life throughout the series, but they are still struggling mightily. A total of 15 runs over 4 games (3.8 runs per game) is not in any way good. The pitching was strong, especially the starts from Moyer (9 IP, 2 ER) and Hamels (8 IP, 2 ER). Brad Lidge has looked very strong over the last few games. Since his first appearance on April 30 (1/3 IP, 1 ER), he has thrown 6 shutout innings in 6 appearances. While the offensive struggles are nothing to be ignored, the team looks very hopeful in the big picture. With Hamels seemingly on top of his game (although this may have been a fluke due to throwing only 2/3 innings in his previous start due to rain) and Halladay consistently terrific, the starting rotation has been rounded out nicely by the strong and somewhat consistent starts from Moyer, Blanton, and Kendrick. In the bullpen, Lidge has looked strong, Contreras is virtually unhittable, and J.C. Romero has returned to form with his ERA down to 1.93. With these three late inning stoppers and middle inning guys like Danys Baez (or at least he should be switched to a middle inning guy due to his recent struggles) and Chad Durbin (solid 2.96 ERA), the Phillies pitching looks ready for a World Series. The offense has looked ready for a World Series at times this year. These are good signs. Every year, there are about 8 or 10 teams that have a legitimate chance at winning the World Series; the Phillies are one of these teams. And while this is a good sign and the most important time of year is clearly October, the offense needs to pick it up soon, or else there won’t be an October. The Phillies sit 2 games behind Atlanta for the division lead, and just 0.5 games ahead of the Mets for 2nd place in the N.L. East. Without a major improvement, the Phillies could find themselves clawing from behind during the grueling months of July and August.

Braves Series

Game 1: Braves 9, Phillies 3
Memorial Day - 1:05 EST start time; W - Hanson (5-3) - 6 2/3 IP, 1 ER; L - Blanton (1-4) - 6 IP, 4 ER; Braves scored 3 runs each in the 1st, 3rd, and 7th innings; Phillies scored 3 runs in 7th inning; Brad Lidge threw a scoreless 8th inning in his 1st appearance since returning from the DL.


Game 2: Braves 7, Phillies 3
7:05 EST start time; W - Hudson (6-1) - 6 IP, 2 ER; L - Hamels (5-4) - 2/3 IP, 3 ER; SV - Wagner (8); Braves score 3 runs in 1st inning again; Phillies scored a run in the 9th to cut it to 7-3, left the bases loaded, ended the game with the tying run at the plate; Game was delayed in bottom of 1st inning, which forced Hamels to an early exit; Jose Contreras lowered his ERA to 0.56 with 2/3 scoreless innings.



Game 3: Braves 2, Phillies 1
1:05 EST start time; W - Lowe (8-4) - 8 IP, 1 ER; L - Contreras (2-2) - 2/3 IP, 1 ER; S - Wagner (9); Game was tied, 1-1, entering bottom of 8th inning; Kendrick threw 6 consecutive scoreless innings after allowing a 1st inning run; Braves took lead on Omar Infante single in 8th inning; Jayson Werth went 1 for 3 hitting from the leadoff spot.



Final Analysis: The last time the Phillies scored more than 3 runs in a game: May 21. The last time the Phillies scored more than 5 runs in a game: May 17. This team cannot continue to waste good pitching performances. From the start of the season, I have been very uncomfortable with the pitching staff. I believed that the Phillies' chances of winning the World Series lied only with the pitching staff, because I assumed that the offense would be producing consistently. For the last 2 weeks, it has been the opposite. The pitching staff has been producing consistently, while the offense has looked helpless. I still believe that the pitching staff is shaky, and if the offense doesn't turn it around soon, they will have wasted one of the few stretches throughout the year in which the pitching staff has been consistently good. As they continue to fall further behind the Braves in the standings, the Phillies must look to turn it around as they return home after finishing that road trip 2-7. Who better to turn it around than Roy Halladay though, right?

Braves Series: Midpoint

It's currently the bottom of the 8th in game 2 of the Phillies-Braves series. It seems as if the entire organization is out of sorts. They're about to lose their 3rd straight game (down 7-2), Jayson Werth seems to have been on a different planet for the last week or two, and Charlie Manuel's batting order is ridiculous. Our 8-hitter, Carlos Ruiz, leads the starting lineup in batting average, hitting .311. The rest of the lineup holds stellar numbers such as .254 (Victorino), .250 (Valdez), .247 (Ibanez), and .244 (Castro). Really, I can only think of 3 bright spots in the organization: Roy Halladay (consistently spectacular, not to mention the perfect game), Jose Contreras (0.59 ERA, and just brought about an inning ending double play), and Brad Lidge (out of lineup due to injury, has allowed Contreras to pitch wondefully and has prevented himself from blowing saves). As the top of the 9th now begins, it looks all but hopeless for the Phillies in this game. They will most likely fall 1.5 games behind the Braves for the lead in the N.L. East, and they leave themselves badly needing a win in the final game of the series.

A single by Ben Francisco to open the inning...hope? Ya gotta believe.