The Philadelphia Phillies had a chance to pick up a game on the National League East division-leading Atlanta Braves after the Braves lost again to the Colorado Rockies. Controversy again plagued the game as it did on Monday night. Houston Astros starter Bud Norris and Phillies starter Cole Hamels locked up in a pitcher’s duel with Hamels’ only blemish being a two-run homerun by Carlos Lee through the wind blowing in. Norris only allowed an RBI double to Raul Ibanez in the 6th inning. The Astros would lead the game 2-1 heading into the 9th inning when Jimmy Rollins tied the game at 2-2 with a solo homerun off Wilton Lopez with two outs (Lopez had not allowed a run in 20+ innings).

The controversy came in the bottom of the 14th inning with Ryan Howard at the plate. The Phillies had runners on second and third with two outs and a chance to win the game. However back-to-back check swing calls against Howard led to his strikeout and immediate ejection by the third base umpire. The Phillies had no more position players left, leaving Ibanez to move to first base and starting pitcher Roy Oswalt to play left field. The first play in the 15th inning was a fly ball to Oswalt that he handled cleanly.

In the top of the 16th, the Astros got to rookie reliever David Herndon. Astros outfielder Hunter Pence singled with one out and Brett Wallace was hit by a pitch. After a wild pitch, Jason Michaels was intentionally walked. Chris Johnson followed with a ground ball to third baseman Placido Polanco, who tried to get the force out at second base, but everyone was safe and a run scored. Tommy Manzella then followed with a ground ball that Rollins made a great play on but Ibanez could not hold on at first base for the double play and another run scored. The Astros took a 4-2 lead. In the bottom of the 16th, Oswalt came to bat as the winning run but grounded out to end the game.

The NY Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays continue to keep pace with each other as they are tied for first place in the American League East and the wild card. The Yankees brought out the offense on Tuesday night, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 11-5. They jumped on Blue Jays starter Marc Rzepczynski for six runs in just three innings. They also blasted five homeruns in the victory. Fill-in starter Dustin Moseley held the Blue Jays to two runs on five hits in six innings.

The Rays jumped on LA Angels starter Ervin Santana for five runs in the first three innings. The Rays pounded out 13 hits and 10 runs, with Evan Longoria going 3-for-5. Rookie Wade Davis returned to the rotation and was solid, allowing just two runs on six hits in 5.1 innings.

In Chicago, the White Sox scored four runs in the bottom of the 7th inning against Baltimore Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie to break away from the Orioles to take a 6-2 lead. However Bobby Jenks was needed in the 9th inning as the Orioles came back to make it a 7-4 game and had the bases loaded with nobody out. Jenks was relieving JJ Putz (who got hurt while warming up), who was relieving Sergio Santos. Jenks got Ty Wigginton to hit into a double-play (though a run scored) and Luke Scott to pop up to end the game. The White Sox pulled to within 3.5 games of the Minnesota Twins, but may be in trouble. Both Putz and left-handed reliever Matt Thornton went on the disabled list Wednesday.

The Twins were in Texas for their big series against the AL West-leading Rangers. The Twins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning over Colby Lewis, but he settled in from there. Lewis allowed three runs on seven hits through 6.1 innings. Twins starter Carl Pavano pitched a complete game in the loss. He allowed four runs on eight hits. Andres Blanco of the Rangers delivered two key doubles and scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 7th inning in the Rangers 4-3 victory.

Tags:

Atlanta Braves, Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies, Roy Oswalt, Ryan Howard

There were a lot of storylines on Saturday. NY Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez landed on the DL with a strained left calf. For the duration of his DL stint, the Yankees will go with rookie Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez (unless they make a deal for a veteran to spend some more money). A-Rod’s replacement on Saturday was Nunez, who was making his first Major League start. In the 7th inning of a tie game with the visiting Seattle Mariners, Nunez found a hole between first baseman Casey Kotchman and second baseman Chone Figgins for his first Major League hit, which proved to be the game winner.

The Yankees mounted four straight singles off Mariners starter Jason Vargas (after he retired 17 of 18 batters) which led to three runs (Nunez’ also being his first RBI). The Yankees bullpen (after starter Javier Vazquez lasted just one batter into the 4th inning) held on for a 9-5 victory.

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia came off the DL on Tuesday, only to be placed back on Friday with a sore left foot (the same foot that he broke). In his absence before his latest stint on the DL, Jed Lowrie played a huge part, as he hit over .300. Now with more playing time on the horizon, Lowrie looks to make the most of it. On Saturday night, he pinch-hit and walked in the 8th inning. He stayed in the game to play first base and prolonged the top of the 11th inning by missing a pop up near the first base bag for an error.

Lowrie redeemed himself in the bottom of the inning, as he led off with a walk-off solo homerun to give the Red Sox a much needed 5-4 victory. The homerun extended Lowrie’s hitting streak to nine games.

Cliff Lee surrendered four homeruns in his start against the Baltimore Orioles. The four homeruns he allowed was the first time in his career. It was his shortest outing of the season for Lee, who missed with his spots and the Orioles hitters did not miss the pitches. Orioles rookie third baseman Josh Bell connected in the 3rd inning for a two-run shot, his first of his Major League career. Bell connected on a three-run shot on Lee’s first pitch in the 4th inning, after Ty Wiggington and Luke Scott hit back-to-back homeruns earlier in the inning. On the season, Lee has allowed 13 homeruns, 7 to the Orioles in two games. Michael Kirkman made his Major League debut for the Rangers and he retired all four batters he faced, while striking out the side in the 7th inning.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard returned from the DL on Saturday from an ankle sprain (instead of rehabbing with Triple-A Lehigh Valley). Howard returned to first base and his fourth spot in the lineup. He collected a base hit off Washington Nationals rookie Stephen Strasburg in his first at-bat and contributed an RBI ground out in his second plate appearance against Strasburg. However the Phillies lost the game 8-1. The Nationals may have lost Strasburg for the rest of the season as he left the game in the 5th inning with a flexor tendon strain of his forearm (his pitching arm) and he will undergo an MRI Sunday.

Tags:

Alex Rodriguez, Casey Kotchman, Eduardo Nunez, Josh Bell, Philadelphia Phillies, Ramiro Pena, Ryan Howard

After receiving a dominant performance from Clay Buchholz on Monday night, the Boston Red Sox received an even better start from Jon Lester against the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite going just six innings (he walked five batters), Lester allowed just one hit (a single to Willy Aybar) while striking out nine.

Manny Delcarmen, Daniel Bard, and Jonathon Papelbon combined to pitch three perfect innings of relief. DH David Ortiz of the Red Sox provided the only offense, a two-run double in the third inning off Rays starter James Shields. Shields lasted eight innings and allowed two runs on four hits while striking out five.

The Philadelphia Phillies offense has become stagnant over the last week, especially against left-handed starting pitchers and knuckleballers. This has allowed the rest of the National League East to get back into the race. On Tuesday, the NY Mets started RA Dickey (a knuckleballer) who shut down the Phillies offense.

Despite collecting seven hits off Dickey, they could not muster a single run. Dickey struck out seven in six innings of work. The Phillies offense greeted reliever Raul Valdes with back-to-back hits to put runners at second and third, but Valdes shut down the middle of the order (Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth) to leave the runners stranded. Valdes pitched three scoreless innings to earn his first save.

A pitcher’s duel arose in San Diego as Jon Garland of the Padres matched up with Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals. Wainwright allowed a solo homerun to Jerry Hairston in the second inning. Wainwright went seven innings and allowed four hits while striking out 12. He also collected a hit. Unfortunately for Wainwright, Garland did not allow a run in his seven innings of work. The Cardinals collected six singles (seven in the game) with Albert Pujols collecting three hits and Felipe Lopez collecting two.

The SF Giants received solid pitching from Todd Wellemeyer, as he allowed just two runs (both scored in the seventh inning) on four hits in six-plus innings. The Giants got to Washington Nationals starter Livan Hernandez for four runs in the fifth inning, his last inning of work. Giants closer Brian Wilson worked a perfect ninth while striking out all three batters he faced for his 11th save.

There was also a pitcher’s duel in Cincinnati last night between the Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates and their young starters. Rookie Mike Leake continues to impress as he gave up just one run on ten hits while striking out three in 7.1 innings. He lowered his ERA to 2.70 and also collected a hit (his average is .368).

Paul Maholm of the Pirates pitched seven shutout innings and allowed six hits. Unfortunately for Maholm, reliever Joel Hanrahan allowed a solo homerun to Brandon Phillips to tie the game at 1-1 in the eighth inning. In the ninth inning, Ryan Doumit hit a solo homerun to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead off Nick Masset, a lead that Pirates closer Octavio Dotel protected for this 10th save.

In Chicago, there was also a pitcher’s duel between the LA Dodgers Clayton Kershaw and the Cubs Ryan Dempster. The game pitted legendary managers Joe Torre against Lou Piniella. Kershaw allowed an unearned run in the sixth inning. Reliever Ramon Troncoso allowed two runs (one earned) in the eighth inning. Dempster pitched eight shutout innings and allowed just three this while striking out seven. Closer Carlos Marmol pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to preserve the 3-0 victory.

Tags:

Adam Wainwrigh, Chase Utley, Daniel Bard, Jon Lester, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, RA Dickey, Raul Valdes, Ryan Howard, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays

The NY Mets have moved into first place in the National League East as the Philadelphia Phillies continue to struggle. The Mets have won six in a row and eight of their last nine as they swept the doubleheader from the LA Dodgers. Mets third baseman David Wright had three hits in the second game of the 10-5 win and two hits and a walk in the first game of a 4-0 win.

Wright’s single in the fifth inning of the second game was his 1,000 hit for his career. Left fielder Jason Bay hit his first homerun of the season in the first game and rookie Ike Davis drove in three runs in the second game.

The Phillies are out in San Francisco in a funk. They dropped out of first place for the first time since May 29, 2009 (135 consecutive games). They have lost seven of their last ten games and have not hit or pitched consistently. In this stretch, they have hit just .217 and have averaged three runs a game.

The Phillies are hitting just .173 with no homeruns and two extra-base hits with runners in scoring position. Shane Victorino is hitting .194 with four RBIs in his last nine games. Placido Polanco is hitting .152 with one RBI in his last 10 games. Chase Utley has hit .182 with three RBIs in his last nine games. Ryan Howard is hitting .185 with two RBIs in his last 10. The top and middle of the order is struggling (though Jayson Werth continues to hit).

On Tuesday night, Giants starter Todd Wellemeyer limited the damage by allowing just three hits and two runs. He was helped out by his defense, like when right fielder Nate Schierholtz threw Howard out at second base on a hit in the gap. Phillies starter Jamie Moyer tried to keep the Phillies in the game as he allowed four runs on ten hits in six innings.

In a pitchers’ duel in Detroit the Tigers and Minnesota Twins matched up with Justin Verlander going up against Francisco Liriano. The game remained scoreless until the sixth when the Twins scored a single run and another in the seventh. Liriano lasted eight innings and allowed no runs on just four hits while striking out ten.

Verlander (and the Tigers bullpen) were victimized by three Tigers errors. Verlander went into the sixth and allowed an unearned run on four hits while striking out seven.

After a bit of a shakeup for the Texas Rangers, the team named Matt Treanor the starting catcher and sent their young platoon of Taylor Teagarden and Jarrod Saltalamacchia to Triple-A.

Treanor made the most of it last night. Catching for CJ Wilson, he guided the Rangers to a 4-2 victory. Treanor homered off of Chicago White Sox starter Mark Buehrle in the second inning and doubled in two in the fourth. Wilson went six innings and allowed two runs on five hits while striking out five.

The Boston Red Sox received stellar pitching from Clay Buchholz against the Toronto Blue Jays. He allowed a single run in the bottom of the first inning and did not allow another. Buchholz went eight innings and allowed seven hits. Shaun Marcum for the Blue Jays went seven innings and allowed one run on four hits.

A solid pitching performance but Scott Downs could not keep the game tied. He left with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and reliever Kevin Gregg came in and walked pinch-hitter Mike Lowell (his first of the season) for the 2-1 win.

Livan Hernandez of the Washington Nationals continued his excellent pitching this season and seems to have a purpose. He is pitching to prove that he can still pitch in the big leagues after not signing until February. Against the Chicago Cubs, Hernandez went seven innings while allowing just one run on six hits.

Reliever Tyler Clippard did not allow a hit in the eighth and closer Matt Capps earned his ninth save. Capps lowered his ERA to 0.73 and may be the biggest surprise so far this season. He has yet to blow a save and has only allowed one earned run in 11 appearances.

After being pummeled by the Milwaukee Brewers for awhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates finally got their revenge. Down 3-2 in the top of the ninth against future Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman, the Pirates scored five runs on four hits, highlighted by Ryan Doumit’s grand slam. Ronny Cedeno also homered off of Hoffman.

This eliminated the solid pitching performance by Randy Wolf, who went eight innings and allowed two runs on ten hits. The Pirates Andy LaRoche continued his hot-hitting by going 4-for-5 and Doumit went 3-for-5.

Tags:

David Wright, Francisco Liriano, Jamie Moyer, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Livan Hernandez, Mike Lowell, Nate Schierholtz, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Doumit, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Texas Rangers, Todd Wellemeyer

On Saturday afternoon, NY Yankees ace CC Sabathia made quick work of the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. He got within four outs of a no-hitter. In the seventh with two outs catcher Kelly Shoppach (and a former teammate of Sabathia’s with Cleveland) ripped a single to left field on the very first pitch to break up the no-hitter. Sabathia threw 111 pitches and was helped out by great defense in the infield by Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano. The Yankees spanked the Rays 10-0.

Gaby Sanchez of the Florida Marlins hit his first big league homerun, a three-run shot, off of LA Dodger Vicente Padilla. In the bottom of the ninth and the Marlins down 6-4 (after the Dodgers came back against the Marlins bullpen to take the lead), pinch-hitter Ronny Paulino delivered a two-run double off of Dodgers reliever George Sherrill to tie the game. Hanley Ramirez was intentionally walked to load the bases to face Jorge Cantu. Cantu launched a fly ball to centerfield for a sacrifice fly to score Chris Coghlin for the game winner (the Marlins won 7-6).

Zach Duke of the Pittsburgh Pirates seems to have rediscovered his dominance of a few years back. Against the Arizona Diamondbacks he got 14 ground ball outs to go with his two strikeouts in his seven solid innings of work. Duke allowed just four hits and two runs, which scored on Mark Reynolds’ two-run homerun in the seventh inning. The Pirates bullpen held on for the 6-3 win.

New LA Angels ace Jered Weaver dominated in his second start against the hot-hitting Oakland A’s. Weaver went six innings allowing one run on four hits while striking out seven (to just one walk). However the A’s were happy to see Weaver exit the game as they scored single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to tie the game at 3-3. In the bottom of the ninth, the A’s elected to intentionally walk Torii Hunter after Bobby Abreu doubled. That brought up Hideki Matsui, who ripped a 2-0 fastball down the right field line to win the game 4-3, which broke the Angels four game losing streak.

The Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres battled into the 14^th inning with Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez coming through with an RBI double for the game winner. The Rockies could not muster any offense against the Padres bullpen and had just two hits after the sixth inning. Tim Stauffer of the Padres went three shutout innings out of the pen while allowing just one hit while striking out three.

The Philadelphia Phillies continue to put runs on the board and rack up hits. They have 10 or more hits in each of their first five games (they are 4-1). Last night, veteran left-hander Jamie Moyer was cruising along until a five run third inning gave the Houston Astros the lead (their first lead of the year). The Astros, who were the only team in baseball without a homerun, hit two on Saturday night in that third inning (both Jason Michaels and Hunter Pence homered). Unfortunately for the Astros, their bullpen could not hold the lead. Brandon Lyon, who was signed to bolster the pen, gave up four hits and three runs in the seventh inning to take the loss (two of the runs came on a Ryan Howard homerun). In the ninth, Astros closer Matt Lindstrom gave up a two-run homerun to Shane Victorino. Despite the Astros hitting homeruns and scoring a run in the ninth against Phillies closer Ryan Madson, they lost 9-6 and have lost all five games to open the season at home at Minute Maid Park.

In San Francisco, the Atlanta Braves halted the Giants four game winning streak with a 7-2 win. Braves starter Derek Lowe did not have his best stuff but gutted it out. He walked seven but gave up just one run and four hits. Offensively the Braves were led by rookie Jason Heyward, who snapped an 0-for-11 skid to go 3-for-3 with two walks, two RBIs, and two runs scored, and the league’s leading hitter in second baseman Martin Prado (he is batting .600) as he went 2-for-4.

Tags:

Adrian Gonzalez, Arizona Diamonbacks, Atlanta Braves, Bobby Abreu, Brandon Lyon, CC Sabathia, Chris Coghlin, Colorado Rockies, Derek Lowe, Florida Marlins, Gaby Sanchez, Hideki Matsui, Houston Astros, Jamie Moyer, Jason Heyward, Jered Weaver, Jorge Cantu, Kelly Shoppach, LA Angels, LA Dodgers, Martin Prado, Matt Lindstrom, NY Yankees, Oakland A's, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ronny Paulino, Ryan Howard, San Diego Padres, SF Giants, Shane Victorino, Tampa Bay Rays, Tim Stauffer, Torii Hunter, Zach Duke

Coming off their first World Series title in 20 years, the Philadelphia Phillies entered 2009 with virtually the same team as in 2008 (except for the addition of Raul Ibanez in left field). However getting to the World Series was a lot tougher in 2009. Injuries decimated the bullpen as everyone except setup man Ryan Madson spent time on the DL and Madson was hardly lights out (5-5 with a 3.26 ERA in 79 games and converted 10 of 16 saves). No one expected closer Brad Lidge to be perfect again, but he was hardly automatic in 2009 as he blew 11 saves in 42 opportunities. Lefty JC Romero missed the first 50 games due to a performance-enhancing drug suspension, but returned and injured his elbow. It seemed like every week someone was going on the DL and a new body was being called up from the minors.

Ace Cole Hamels was hardly an ace and was inconsistent all season (10-11 with a 4.32 ERA in 32 starts with 24 homeruns allowed and more hits than innings pitched). A slimmer Brett Myers hurt his hip and missed a portion of the season. Joe Blanton had his typical average first half (6-4 with a 4.44 ERA with 19 homeruns allowed) and good second half (6-4 with a 3.62 ERA and 11 homeruns allowed). Chan Ho Park struggled in the starting role (but thrived as a reliever), opening the door for lefty JA Happ’s outstanding rookie season (12-4 with a 2.93 ERA in 23 starts). The struggles in the rotation led to the acquisition of CY Young winner Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians (and outfielder Ben Francisco), though the Phillies were linked to Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay (but the price seemed to be too high). Lee dominated in his time with the Phillies, even into the playoffs (7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts and 10 BB/ 74 K but in the playoffs, Lee was 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in 5 starts with 2 complete games and 6 BB/ 33 K). They also added free agent veteran Pedro Martinez, who also added a boost to the rotation (5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in 9 starts)

The offense was typical for the Phillies, even with leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins’ lackluster season. Centerfielder Shane Victorino and rightfielder Jayson Werth had career years. First baseman Ryan Howard sizzled again when the summer heated up (.305 with 23 homeruns and 74 RBIs in the second half).

The 2009 Phillies made it back to the World Series, the first time since the 1995-1996 Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately the offense sputtered and the pitching just could not hold down the NY Yankees. Heading into the offseason, the Phillies had some holes to fill and question marks that needed to be answered. Members of the World Champion team that had major supporting roles were free agents like Matt Stairs, Eric Bruntlett, Myers, and Scott Eyre. Lidge, Romero, Ibanez, and Jamie Moyer had offseason surgery, with Lidge and Romero questionable for spring training and Moyer having complications. With a payroll set to bulge due to arbitration cases for Victorino, Blanton, and catcher Carlos Ruiz, GM Ruben Amaro was hoping to stay within a set amount. Here’s the Phillies wish list:

1. 

   Placido Polanco signing

   A third baseman: Despite his solid season, Pedro Feliz was a free agent and not expected to be re-signed due to his struggles in the playoffs (.167 in 54 at-bats with just 4 RBIs and 11 Ks). Ruben Amaro quickly signed former Phillie Placido Polanco, who was coming off a Gold Glove season with the Detroit Tigers at second base. Polanco hasn’t played third since 2005 but is a hard working veteran who will be excellent batting in the 2 hole (where he is the game’s best) in front of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, and Raul Ibanez.

2. A backup catcher: Starter Carlos Ruiz has been a postseason hero for the Phillies the last two years. Late in 2009, the Phillies cut ties with backup Chris Coste (a fan favorite) and added veteran Paul Bako. However with Bako a free agent, the Phillies decided to go after a local free agent. Brian Schneider, who spent the last two years with the NY Mets, signed on to backup Ruiz. Schneider has been known to be a great defensive catcher though he tends to struggle with the bat.
3. Bullpen help: This is a major need as there are quite a few question marks with the health of the arms returning. The biggest hole is to add a left-hander to complement JC Romero and management hoped to re-sign Scott Eyre, but both sides are far apart. The Phillies seem fine with going to young lefties Sergio Escalona and Antonio Bastardo (who was on the postseason roster but was rarely used) in 2010. Rumors have the Phillies signing a mystery reliever with Danys Baez and Mike MacDougal being the leading candidates.
4. Adding another starter: Despite Kyle Kendrick’s resurgence at the end of 2009, the Phillies are looking to add a starter to compete with Kendrick, veteran Jamie Moyer, and Drew Carpenter. However the Phillies made a blockbuster deal to land Roy Halladay (who they coveted in July) but traded away Cliff Lee and top prospect Kyle Drabek. So yes the Phillies added a workhorse in Halladay, but still may need another starter.

Tags:

Brad Lidge, Brian Schneider, Carlos Ruiz, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, JA Happ, Joe Blanton, Pedro Martinez, Philadelphia Phillies, Placido Polanco, Roy Halladay, Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson

Yankees 7, Phillies 3: The Yankees celebrated their 27th World Series victory by jumping up and down like little kids. Even closer Mariano Rivera was jumping around in jubilation on the podium after hoisting the World Series trophy. It never gets old, as four of the Yankees have now won 5 World Series titles (Jeter, Rivera, Posada, and Pettitte). It is sort of surreal because every little kid who plays baseball dreams of winning the World Series. That’s the goal every year when spring training begins for all 30 MLB clubs.

Pedro Martinez of the Phillies began the game with a max fastball of 85 mph. It was not a good sign. After issuing a leadoff walk to Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui battled Pedro, with Matsui winning the battle by crushing a 2-run homerun into the right field upper deck seats. The Yankees held an early 2-0 lead. With one out in the top of the third, Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz ripped the pitch from Andy Pettitte off of the left centerfield wall for a triple. Jimmy Rollins followed with a sacrifice fly to cut the Yankees lead to 2-1. After a misplay in centerfield by the Phillies Shane Victorino on a ball hit by Derek Jeter, Pedro then walked Johnny Damon and hit Mark Teixeira to bring up A-Rod. Pedro struck him out looking, but it brought up Matsui with the bases loaded. Instead of going to the bullpen, manager Charlie Manuel decided to stick with Pedro, which blew up in his face. Matsui was 8-for-18 against Pedro in the postseason before this at-bat. On a 0-2 pitch, Matsui laced a single back up the middle to drive in two more runs, increasing the Yankees lead to 4-1.

The Yankees increased the lead to 7-1 in the fifth inning off the Phillies bullpen combination of Chad Durbin and JA Happ, highlighted by a 2-run double by Matsui. Matsui finished the game 3-for-4 with 6 RBIs, which tied a Major League World Series record for a single game). Ryan Howard tried to get the Phillies back into the game by hitting an opposite field 2-run homerun off of Pettitte to cut the lead to 7-3. This ended Pettitte’s night, yet the Phillies could do nothing against the Yankees bullpen. Damaso Marte continued his postseason mastery of lefties as he struck out both Chase Utley and Howard on just 6 pitches. Howard struck out 13 times in the World Series, which set a World Series record. This meant the Phillies would have to score against closer Mariano Rivera, who came in to record the final five outs. Though it took Rivera 41 pitches to get those final outs, he was the one on the mound in the celebratory moment when Victorino grounded out to end the game.

As the Yankees players ran around the new stadium celebrating with their teammates, coaches, fans, and family, the Phillies players looked on from the dugout in disbelief. Matsui, deservedly so, earned the World Series MVP. In the World Series, Matsui, the free-agent to be, was 8-for-13 with 3 homeruns and 8 RBIs. “They’re partying in Tokyo tonight,” teammate Nick Swisher said. “I know that. What a great job Matsui did for us, coming up in clutch situations all year long. He deserved that MVP trophy, no doubt about it.”

Tags:

Andy Pettitte, Carlos Ruiz, Damaso Marte, Hideki Matsui, Mariano Rivera, Pedro Martinez, Phillies, Ryan Howard, World Series Game 6, Yankees

Yankees 3, Phillies 1: The game began with Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performing their hit song (and Derek Jeter’s entrance song) and most felt this was an omen that the Yankees would win. This was a game many felt would be high scoring with the bullpens battling it out, myself included. However both starting pitchers pitched gems like their Game 1 counterparts. The veteran for the Phillies, Pedro Martinez, entered the field to the expected “Who’s your daddy?” chants. He fed off the hostile crowd to, for the most part, dominate the potent Yankee lineup, a lineup most expected would kill the Phillies pitching. So far, that hasn’t happened. The Yankees are hitting .222, with the red-hot Alex Rodriguez going completely cold, 0-for-8 with six strikeouts. Pedro made just two mistakes, two sole homeruns by Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui, before being taken out in the seventh. Watching Pedro take the mound in the seventh, it reminded me of the 2003 playoffs when he was with Boston and manager Grady Little left him in the game too long (and got fired soon following). With double-barreled action in the Phillies bullpen, manager Charlie Manuel decided to stay with Pedro to start the seventh and it backfired as he gave up back-to-back hits, leading to another run.

Yankees starter AJ Burnett avoided the big wild inning, throwing first pitch strikes to 22 of the 26 batters he faced. Burnett’s curveball was working throughout the night, making the Phillies hitters look silly. He gave manager Joe Girardi seven solid innings, allowing him to go to closer Mariano Rivera for another six out save. Rivera looked hittable in Game 2, especially in the eighth inning when the Phillies had two men on and only one out. Manuel decided not to send the speedy runners (Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino) on a 3-2 count and the batter, Chase Utley, grounded into a double-play to end the inning. Utley meanwhile, extended his consecutive on-base streak in postseason games to 27 with a walk in the 3rd inning, continuing to add on to his Major League Baseball record.

Has Girardi completely lost faith in his entire bullpen? I’m not sure Girardi can continue to go to Rivera for six out saves, especially if he continues to throw close to 40 pitches an outing. We will see as the World Series continues.

Neither team is tearing the cover off of the baseball and both teams RBI machines have cooled off. I mentioned A-Rod earlier, but Ryan Howard went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts last night against the combination of Burnett and Rivera and never looked comfortable at the plate. Unlike in Game 1, Burnett only showed the fastball on the first pitch to most of the hitters and they were taking it for a strike, trying to be patient and run up Burnett’s pitch-count. That approach never really worked. The Phillies struck out 15 times in Game 2, yet only lost 3-1.

The Phillies left Yankee Stadium with a split, something they did last year in the World Series against Tampa Bay and something they just did in this year’s NLCS. They left smiling, with all of the confidence that they have retaken home-field advantage and can win three straight to celebrate in Philadelphia behind their wild and raucous fans. The Phillies have lost just one postseason game at home in the past two years (11-1).

Tags:

AJ Burnett, Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui, Mariano Rivera, Mark Teixeira, NY Yankees, Pedro Martinez, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard, World Series Game 2

Phillies 6, Yankees 1: Everyone expected Game 1 to be a pitcher’s duel and those in attendance and those watching on TV got exactly that. The Phillies loaded the bases in the first inning on 2 walks (Chase Utley extended his postseason on-base streak to 26 games, a Major League Baseball record) and a Ryan Howard double. However CC Sabathia induced Raul Ibanez to ground out to end the inning. Sabathia wasn’t too sharp early on, but after giving up a solo homerun to Utley in the 2nd inning, Sabathia settled in…until giving up another solo blast to Utley in the 6th inning. Both of Utley’s homeruns came with two strikes. Cliff Lee for the Phillies was settled in as soon as he took the mound in the bottom of the first. Through the first four innings, Lee had already accumulated 7 strikeouts. Lee flat out dominated a potent Yankees lineup and he knew it. To go along with his dominant pitching, he also made plays in the field on a few ground balls, by stealing a hit away from Robinson Cano with a behind the back stab, and his carefree catch of a popup. As Lee told the media before his start, he was not nervous because he worked his whole life for that actual moment, even though he would be pitching in the biggest game of his career. Lee reiterated his comments after the game: “It’s been a long time since I’ve been nervous playing this game,” Lee said. “It’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. I put all the work in. You do everything you need to do to prepare, and I try not to leave anything to chance. So what’s the point in being nervous? I’ve already done the work. It’s game time — time to go out there and have fun and execute and let your skills take over.” Lee is a rhythm pitcher: the first one out onto the field and the first one into the dugout when the inning is over, always sprinting. He gets the ball from his catcher Carlos Ruiz and fires a pitch. The Yankees hitters never got him out of his rhythm all night.

After Sabathia left the game after seven innings of work, the Philadelphia Phillies offense went to work against the Yankees bullpen. In the 8th inning, it took the combination of Phil Hughes, Damaso Marte, and Dave Robertson 35 pitches to get through the inning. All after giving up 2 runs and 3 walks. In the 9th inning against the combination of Brian Bruney and Phil Coke, the Phillies scored 2 more runs on 4 hits. The bullpen has been Yankees manager Joe Girardi’s biggest concern in the postseason. The Yankees put together a mini-rally against Lee in the 9th inning around a Jimmy Rollins error, but Lee shut it down by striking out the mighty Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada to end the game. Lee’s final line looked like this: 9 IP, 6 H, O BB, 10 K. It took him just 122 pitches to get through the Yankees order without giving up an earned run. So far this postseason, Lee has 30 strikeouts and just 3 walks. In his last 2 starts, Lee has pitched 17 innings without giving up a walk and has 20 strikeouts. Sabathia has been the second most dominant pitcher (and left-hander) this postseason.

Tags:

Brian Bruney, CC Sabathia, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Jimmy Rollins, Major League Baseball, NY Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Raul Ibanez, Robinson Cano, Ryan Howard, World Series

The 2009 World Series is truly a matchup of the two best teams in baseball. There is trash-talking, with each city’s media taking things to the extreme and trying to get the players involved. One NY newspaper depicted Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino in a cheerleading skirt and called the Phillies the “Frillies”. Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins predicted the Phillies would win in 5 games. Both teams expect hostile crowds while on the road and Rollins loves to silence opposing teams’ home crowds. Plus he used to being hated in NY.

Both team’s ballparks are susceptible to the homerun as they were ranked in the top two in homeruns in Major League Baseball. Both team’s lineups are the two most-prolific homerun-hitting clubs in MLB. And as Nike stated in a 90’s ad, “chicks dig the long ball”. It’s not surprising that both teams sometimes live and die by the long ball. Both teams looked beatable in their respective league championship series, but both overcame their bullpen obstacles to win and advance. Both teams are led by their RBI machines: Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees and Ryan Howard of the Phillies. A-Rod has stripped the label of “postseason choke artist” and become the Yankees best postseason offensive threat. This will be A-Rod’s first World Series appearance. Howard has continued his usual late season hot streak into the postseason, earning NLCS MVP. Both tied the MLB postseason record for consecutive games with an RBI. It will be interesting to see how the managers elect to pitch to these two sluggers.

Both teams have a few questions marks in their lineups. The Phillies Chase Utley has a 25 straight postseason games of reaching base streak, which ties a ML record. Though he has been on base, he really has not been hitting (.211 against the Dodgers). The Phillies need more than just Victorino, Howard, and catcher Carlos Ruiz to produce. Rollins will need to be the fire-starter and put pressure on the pitchers and Jorge Posada behind the plate for the Phillies to be successful. Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher of the Yankees have been struggling throughout this postseason and some have talked about benching Swisher. The Yankees are relying on Swisher becoming the clutch hitter he has been all season long and Tex to be the power-hitting, RBI machine he was all season.

Both teams have question marks in the bullpen. Ryan Madson, the setup man for the Phillies has been inconsistent all season and has mostly struggled this postseason. Closer Brad Lidge seems to have found his 2008 self. Chad Durbin has been lights-out coming in to get out of jams and if his sinker is working, double-play balls will be common. Everyone else is either hurting or coming back from an injury (Scott Eyre, Chan Ho Park, and Brett Myers) or inexperienced (Antonio Bastardo, Happ). Yes the Yankees have postseason sensation Mariano Rivera as their closer, but he has been far from dominant in the last year or so. Getting to Mo has been a challenge and manager Joe Girardi has been using him for more than an inning lately. I think that the young bullpen pitchers have struggled lately mainly due to overuse throughout the regular season. Look at box scores and some pitched almost every day (like Phil Coke and his 72 games). Alfredo Aceves ended up with 10 wins, mainly out of the bullpen. Dave Robertson was in the top 5 in the AL in strikeouts per nine innings (12.98) and has been dominant. Phil Hughes has been struggling though he has been the 8th inning setup man for most of the second-half. Since Girardi seems to have lost some confidence in his bullpen, Brian Bruney has been added to the roster and could regain his role of setup man if he dominates.

The pitching staffs are evenly matched. Both have seasoned playoff veterans in Andy Pettitte and Pedro Martinez. Both managers have decisions to make regarding their Game 4 starters.

Game 1: Cliff Lee @ CC Sabathia
This may be the best pitching matchup that the World Series has had in a long time. They are the last two American League CY Young award winners. They were teammates with the Cleveland Indians up until last July. Lee and his Indians opened up new Yankee Stadium this year against Sabathia and his Yankees, winning 10-2. Sabathia has pitched better than ever in this year’s postseason, rather than in year’s past and is earning every penny the Yankees are paying him. Lee has made other teams look silly for not pulling the trigger and adding him to their pitching staff. Lee has been dominant in his first experience in the postseason.

Game 2: Pedro Martinez @ AJ Burnett
Pedro is sure to hear “who’s your daddy?” throughout this game at Yankee Stadium. He was not well-liked in his Red Sox/Mets days when playing at Yankee Stadium, so it should be no different being with the Phillies. Pedro dominated the Dodgers in his lone playoff game this season for the Phillies (though the bullpen blew his win), and manager Charlie Manuel is hoping for Pedro’s continued playoff success. Burnett is known to be wild but can keep the damage to a minimum if he keeps his emotions in check. Burnett got lit up by the Phillies in back in May, but that was a long time ago. Manager Joe Girardi is hoping for an ALCS Game 2 type outing (6.1 IP, 2 R, 2BB, 1 HBP) from Burnett rather than ALCS Game 5 types outing (6+ IP, 8 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP).

Game 3: Cole Hamels vs. Andy Pettitte

Pettitte is the seasoned playoff veteran and he continued his playoff dominance against the LA Angels in the ALCS, winning the deciding Game 6. That win was Pettitte’s 16th career postseason victory. Hamels was last year’s NLCS & World Series MVP. He has not been close to the same pitcher so far this year. The Phillies will need the 2009 version of Hamels to regain his 2008 form.

Game 4: Joe Blanton/JA Happ vs. Sabathia/Chad Gaudin/Joba Chamberlain
This is where the debate begins. Happ made his first start of 2009 at new Yankee Stadium back in May and dominated (though Brad Lidge blew the game). Blanton has been the most consistent starter for the Phillies and the backbone of the rotation. Both will be available out of the bullpen for the first two games and whoever pitched the least will probably get the Game 4 nod. Girardi has used the 3 –man rotation throughout this year’s playoffs, though Sabathia has been the only one to pitch on short rest. With only one guaranteed off-day (2 total) and inclement weather looming, can Girardi afford a 3-man rotation? Can all 3 pitch on 3 days rest? Gaudin only made one playoff appearance so far this postseason (1 inning) and Chamberlain has struggled out of the bullpen lately. Neither is stretched out for a long starting stint. Depending on the first three games of the series may dictate how Girardi chooses the Game 4 & 5 starters.

The Phillies won the season series in NY 2-1, though Lidge was not lights-out (2 blown saves and a loss). The Yankees are trying for their 27th World Series title (these reason Girardi wears number 27 on his jersey) and the Phillies are trying for their 2nd consecutive. Both teams have played loose throughout the postseason. On paper, the Yankees would be the choice to win, but the Dodgers on paper looked like the team to be in the World Series. It’s time to throw out all the stats and watch the two teams play ball. It should be exciting.

Tags:

AJ Burnett, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Brad Lidge, Brian Bruney, CC Sabathia, Chad Durbin, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Dave Robertson, JA Happ, Jimmy Rollins, Joba Chamberlain, Joe Blanton, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, NY Yankees, Pedro Martinez, Phil Hughes, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson, Shane Victorino, World Series

Phillies 10, Dodgers 4: Jimmy Rollins had stated in years past that the Phillies were the team to beat. After winning the 2008 World Series, they would BE the team to beat. Now that they are again the National League Champions for the second consecutive season and are defending their World Series title, they are still the team to beat. Phillies starter Cole Hamels quickly got through the first two hitters of the game but Andre Ethier fouled pitches off until he got the pitch he liked, which he crushed into the right field seats. Manny Ramirez followed with a base hit on the next pitch, but Hamels got Matt Kemp to strike out (Kemp struck out in 16 of his 34 2009 postseason at-bats) to end the first inning. The Phillies, or should I say Jayson Werth jumped on Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla after 2 walks, and Werth crushed a 3-2 pitch (after fouling off several pitches) into about the same place Ethier’s homerun landed in the right field seats. Looking for a shutdown inning from Hamels, yet James Loney had other things in mind and crushed a pitch deep into the right field seats to cut the Phillies lead to 3-2. The ball was sailing out to right field throughout the game and early on the game looked to be a slugfest. Pedro Feliz jumped on the first pitch of the 2nd inning, depositing yet another homerun into the right field seats, increasing the Phillies lead to 4-2. The Dodgers were forced to bring in 8th inning lefty George Sherrill to stop the bleeding in the 4th inning with the bases loaded. He hit Shane Victorino, forcing in the 6th run, but he came back to strike out Chase Utley to end the inning. Dodgers pinch-hitter Orlando “the O-Dog” Hudson, hit a sole homerun to left to cut the lead to 6-3. After a double by Rafael Furcal, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel gave the quick hook to Hamels and brought in rookie JA Happ. Ronnie Belliard walked, but Happ got Ethier to fly out (just got under it) on the first pitch. In came Chad Durbin to face Manny Ramirez with 2 on and 2 outs. Manny weakly grounded out to Durbin (2-for-12 against Durbin in his career) to end the inning. The Phillies continued to add on against Clayton Kershaw as Victorino absolutely crushed a 2-run homerun to left to increase the lead to 8-3. Against Phillies relievers Chan Ho Park and Ryan Madson, the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out and a run in (8-4). However Madson bared down and got Loney to pop out in foul territory, Russell Martin to strikeout, and Casey Blake to ground out to end the inning without allowing another run. As Phillies closer Brad Lidge came in from the bullpen, the Phillies crowd of over 46,000 was on their feet, waving their white rally towels, and going nuts.

The NLCS MVP went to Ryan Howard, who batted .333, with 2 homeruns, and 8 RBIs. The Phillies celebrated with their teammates, family, friends, and the fans following their manhandling of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They now await the winner of the ALCS between the LA Angels and the NY Yankees.

Tags:

Andre Ethier, Brad Lidge, Chad Durbin, Chan Ho Park, Cole Hamels, JA Happ, James Loney, Jayson Werth, Jimmy Rollins, LA Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, NL Champions, Orlando Hudson, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson, Shane Victorino, Vicente Padilla

Phillies 11, Dodgers 0 (Game 3): The Dodgers arrived in Philadelphia and knew they would have to deal with the weather and hostile crowds. They also had to deal with the buzz saw that is Cliff Lee. The Phillies received another dominant pitching performance from Lee (8IP, 3H, 0BB, 10K). The Phillies also got outstanding offensive performances from everyone up and down the lineup and it came early an often. The Phillies jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 1st inning, highlighted by a Ryan Howard 2-run triple and a Jayson Werth 2-run homer. In the 2nd, the Philadelphia Phillies jumped out to a 6-0 lead, knocking Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda out of the game. Despite the overall solid bullpen performance from the Dodgers, Lee was virtually unhittable for the entire Dodgers lineup, except for Manny Ramirez. Carlos Ruiz continued his hot-hitting against the Dodgers, collecting 2 hits, an RBI, and 2 runs scored. The exclamation point to the game came in the bottom of the 8th when Shane Victorino blasted a 3-run homer to right field on an inside fastball.

Angels 5, Yankees 4 in 11 innings (Game 3): The Yankees and Angels yet again battled into extra innings. Against Angels starter Jered Weaver, the Yankees got 3 solo homeruns from Derek Jeter (whose HR led off the game), Alex Rodriguez, and Johnny Damon. The Angels battled back against starter Andy Pettitte, getting a solo homerun from Howie Kendrick and a 2-run homerun from Vladimir Guerrero (his first RBIs of the ALCS). After Pettitte was lifted for Joba Chamberlain in the 7th, the Angels offense went to work and finally scored a run to take the lead at 4-3 on a Kendrick triple and a pinch-hit sacrifice fly from Maicer Izturis. This lead was short-lived as Angels reliever Kevin Jepsen gave up a solo homerun to Jorge Posada to tie the game in the 8th. This could have been worse, but pinch-runner Brett Gardner was thrown out trying to steal second while Posada was batting. The game then became a battle of the bullpens. In the bottom of the 11th, newly inserted catcher Jeff Mathis led off the inning with a double off of Phil Hughes. The Angels then loaded the bases against Mariano Rivera, but could not get a run across with the heart of the order up. In the bottom of the 11th after Dave Robertson got two quick outs, manger Joe Girardi decided to go to Alfredo Aceves to face Kendrick. Kendrick singled and Mathis followed with another double off the left field wall, scoring Kendrick from first base to win the game. Mathis is a career .200 hitter and only had 8 doubles all season, but now has 3 doubles in the ALCS. The Angels needed the win in LA to get back in the series and they celebrated on the field accordingly. The Angels will send lefty Scott Kazmir to the mound in Game 4 against the Yankees CC Sabathia on 3-days rest.

Phillies 5, Dodgers 4 (Game 4): The Phillies capped the night of postseason games by providing more late-inning drama. Phillies starter Joe Blanton was cruising along through the Dodgers order with an early 2-0 lead thanks to a Ryan Howard first inning 2-run blast. However in the 4th, Blanton struggled giving up three hits and two walks, with 2-out RBIs from James Loney and Russell Martin. Meanwhile Los Angeles Dodgers starter Randy Wolf pitched well after the 2-run first inning. Matt Kemp belted a solo homerun to dead center on an elevated 2-0 pitch to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Casey Blake delivered another 2-out RBI in the next inning to give the Dodgers a 4-2 lead. Blake had been 1-for-25 against Blanton in his career. The Phillies finally started to get to Wolf in the 6th, ending his night. Shane Victorino tripled, Chase Utley hit an RBI single, and Howard walked. Ronald Belisario came in and got Jayson Werth to ground into a force out, and Hong-Chih Kuo got Raul Ibanez to line out to left field to end the inning. The 4-3 lead for the Dodgers held up until the bottom of the ninth inning. With one out, closer Jonathon Broxton walked pinch-hitter Matt Stairs and hit Carlos Ruiz. After getting pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs to line out, Jimmy Rollins came up and ripped a 99 mph fastball into the right-center field gap, driving in the tying and winning runs. All of this sent both the Phillies players and their fans into a frenzy. In Game 5 and the possible clincher for the Phillies, they will send Cole Hamels to the mound hoping to rebound from his Game 1 loss. The Dodgers will counter with former Phillies Vicente Padilla, who stifled the Phillies in Game 2.

Tags:

ALCS, Andy Pettitte, Cliff Lee, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Jered Weaver, Jimmy Rollins, Joe Blanton, Jonathon Broxton, LA Angels, LA Dodgers, NLCS, NY Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Randy Wolf, Ryan Howard