Philly Sports Today

Two things were bound to happen sooner or later. First, the Washington Nationals were bound to win their first game of the season, and second, Joe Blanton was bound to lose his first game as a Phillie. Unfortunately, both of these events happened during the same game as the the Nats abused relievers Chad “You may be able to start calling me J.D.” Durbin and Jack “Trashner” Taschner in the seventh and eighth innings during their 8-2 win. To put in perspective how poorly those two guys pitched, the Phillies only trailed 3-2 when Durbin took the mound.

In what seems to be an every game occurrence, the Phillies allowed first inning runs when starting pitcher “Fat” Joe Blanton served up a three-run home run that Adam Dunn absolutely crushed into the right field seats. The Phightins got one back from Washington starting pitcher Shairon Martis in the fourth inning when Raul Ibanez’s RBI-single plated Chase Utley. The Phils clawed to within one run in the fifth inning on a Jimmy Rollins sac fly that scored rookie Lou Marson.

However, Philly couldn’t get anything else off of Martis, who threw 6 1/3 strong innings and allowed two runs on five hits with one strikeout and two walks. Blanton didn’t do so bad either. During Fat Joe’s six inning of work, he allowed three runs and scattered eight hits while striking out five and walking one. So besides the Dunn jack, Blanton had a pretty good night. Then, the Phils completely unraveled. Durbin started the seventh in relief of Blanton and got a rude welcome by pinch hitter Josh Willingham, who greeted him with a solo homer to left that pushed Washington’s lead to 4-2. Taschner came on in relief of Durbin to record the final out of the inning, but it was only a matter of time before he would get abused.

If J.C. Romero isn’t suspended, does the eighth inning play out the way it did? The obvious answer is no. Elijah Dukes led off the inning with a home run. Then, Trashner picked up two outs and it looked like he was going to be able to get out of the inning after only allowing one run. Not so fast, my friend. Alberto Gonzalez hit a solo home run to left. Roger Bernadina walked, stole second, and scored on Anderson Hernandez’s single. After Nick Johnson walked, Ryan Zimmerman singled to center to plate Hernandez and suddenly that Nats had a 8-2 lead. Joel Hanrahan came on in relief in the ninth and had an easy 1-2-3 inning as the Nationals cruised to their first victory of 2009.

The Phillies’ pitching has been absolutely dreadful this season. In 70 innings, the staff has allowed 54 earned runs (6.94 ERA). Additionally, they’ve now served up 20 home runs. Only the Baltimore Orioles have allowed more homers (21), but at least they’re hitting .290 as a team with 56 runs scored, while the Phillies are only hitting .261 with 42 runs scored. The Phightins right the ship as soon as possible since their schedule gets a lot tougher once the calendar flips to May.

The Phillies return home tonight to begin a three-game series with the surprising San Diego Padres, who just won two of three from the Mets during the first series at Citi Field. Cole Hamels will make his second start of the year in the series opener and will be opposed by Chris Young. Hopefully, Cole has a much better performance than he did in his first outing of the year when he threw about as hard as Jamie Moyer.

Go Phillies.

On a day when the Phillies edged the Washington Nationals 9-8, the game was meaningless. At about 12:30 p.m., Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas was found by the Phillies’ director of broadcasting after collapsing in the broadcast booth. Harry the K was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. It is a dark day in Philadelphia, and it is fitting that today’s forecast calls for rain. That pretty much describes how all members of Phillies Nation feel today. I never thought that I would see the day when Kalas was gone. He was supposed to call Phillies games forever, and for an entire generation of Phillies fans, his voice is all that we know. Every time that there is a big play, I’m going to wonder, “How would Harry have called this?” Phillies games will never be the same. Now, like the countless home runs that he called, Harry is “Outta Here,” but he will be in all of our hearts forever. I think Phillies president David Montgomery summed up Harry’s death best when he said, “We lost our voice.” Truer words may never be spoken.

Although the Phillies and the Nationals discussed postponing the game, they ultimately decided against it. The starting pitching continued to struggle early on as Jamie Moyer quickly found himself in a 1-0 hole after an Elijah Dukes RBI-double in the bottom of the first inning. However, the Phils battled back in the second inning when Chris Coste picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded walk and Moyer helped himself out with a sac fly that put Philly up 2-1. Unfortunately, the Nats responded in the bottom of the second when Cristian Guzman stroked an RBI-single to tie the game at 2-2.

“The Flyin’ Hawaiian” Shane Victorino put the Phillies back on top in the top of the third inning with a solo shot. After the homer, Victorino crossed himself and then pointed up at the booth where Kalas was supposed to be working. The Phils tacked on another run in the fourth inning when Jimmy Rollins roped a double to right that plated Pedro Feliz to push the advantage to 4-2. Unfortunately, the winless-Nationals would not go away as Guzman picked up an RBI-single in the bottom of the fourth and Dukes connected on a solo homer in the fifth to retie the game.

The Phillies busted out in the seventh inning when “The Big Man,” Ryan Howard, belted a three-run home run to deep center field. One batter later, Raul Ibanez got into the act and smoked a solo homer to put the Phightins up 8-4. Once again, the Nats battled back as Adam Dunn answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to slice the deficit to 8-6. Victorino tacked on an insurance run in the eighth inning on a sac fly that plated Eric Bruntlett, and that would prove to be a very big run.

Brad “Lights Out” Lidge came on in the ninth inning and had another shaky save performance. Lidge gave up a single to Guzman and then a two-run homer to Ryan Zimmerman that cut Philly’s lead to 9-8. Just like that, the Phils were clinging to a one-run lead with no outs in the ninth inning. However, Lidge settled down and struck out Dunn and Dukes before Nick Johnson grounded out to first to end the game. It was nice to get the win for Harry.

The Phils have an off-day today before returning back to the field on Wednesday for the second game of their series against the Nationals. “Fat” Joe Blanton will be on the mound for the Phillies and he will be opposed by Washington’s Shairon Martis.

R.I.P. Harry Kalas
March 26, 1936 - April 13, 2009

Go Phillies.

The legend of Matt Stairs continues to grow. The 41-year-old crushed a tie-breaking pinch-hit two-run home run in the ninth inning as the Phillies battled all the way back from an early 5-1 deficit to escape with a 7-5 win over the Colorado Rockies. Stairs is arguably one of the best pinch-hitters as he now leads all active players with 15 career pinch-hit homers. The decision to keep Stairs over Geoff Jenkins has already paid dividends.

The Phightins got off to yet another terrible start thanks to their starting pitching. In his first start as a Phillie, Chan Ho Park was awful. Colorado jumped all over Park in the bottom of the first inning as Brad Hawpe opened the scoring with an RBI double to center. After a passed ball by Chris Coste, Garrett Atkins stroked another single to center to put Colorado up 2-0. Ian Stewart followed with a single and then Troy Tulowitzki walked to load the bases with only one out. One batter later, Clint Barmes singled to shallow left that plated Atkins and Stewart as the Rockies were suddenly up 4-0 before Park could get out of the inning.

The Phillies got one back in the top of the second when Ryan Howard hit a lead-off double and came around to score on a throwing error after Raul Ibanez hit an infield single. Unfortunately, Park gave the run right back by serving up a solo shot to Dexter Fowler as the Rox extended their lead to 5-1. The Phils inched closer in the fourth inning when Jayson Werth hit an RBI single that plated Chase Utley to slice the deficit to 5-2. Park settled down a bit before being lifted with runners at first and second and one out in the bottom of the fourth inning. Thankfully, Chad Durbin came on in relief and got out of trouble. For the game, Chan Oh No allowed five runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and three walks in only 3 1/3 innings pitched. I really hope that he’s out of the rotation sooner rather than later.

Werth continued to be a one-man wrecking crew in the sixth inning as he hit another RBI single that once again scored Utley to make it 5-3. The Phightins squandered a lead-off double by Pedro Feliz in the seventh, but Utley crushed a two-run jack in the top of the eighth inning off of Manny Corpas to tie the game at 5-5. After Ryan Madson pitched a perfect eighth, Feliz led off the ninth with a double and a Chris Coste sacrifice bunt moved Peter Happy to third. Stairs was summoned to pinch-hit for Madson and absolutely crushed Huston Street’s fastball for a go-ahead two-run bomb that gave the Phillies a 7-5 lead. Brad Lidge came on in the ninth inning and things got a little dicey, but Lights Out got out of the inning unscathed to preserve the win.

The Phillies will look for their third straight win this afternoon when they open a three-game series on the road with the winless Washington Nationals. The crafty left-hander Jamie Moyer will face-off against the gigantic Daniel Cabrera. The Nats always seem to give the Phils some problems and Washington’s home opener will definitely be a tough game for the Champs to win.

Go Phillies.

Just some quick comments about the Flyers and Sixers as they free fall into the playoffs. All the Flyers had to do to lock up the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference was force overtime. However, they couldn’t hold onto a 3-2 lead in the third period as the New York Rangers lit the lamp twice in the first half of the period and the Flyers couldn’t answer as they fell 4-3. This is a very disappointing result for the Orange and Black, who have essentially been the number four seed for the entire second half of the season, but their inconsistent play has finally caught up with them. Now the fifth-seeded Flyers get rewarded with a match-up against the fourth-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. Game one of the series is Wednesday night in the Steel City. Philly’s defense has just been awful, so I’m predicting that Pittsburgh wins in six games.

Let’s Go Flyers!

The Sixers are also slumping their way into the playoffs and have now lost five straight games, including a 111-104 road loss to the Toronto Raptors. Philly is tied with the streaking Chicago Bulls as both teams are 40-40 with two games left. The Sixers finish up with games against the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, so I’m expecting them to finish with the seventh seed and have to meet the Celtics in the first round. I guess it’s going to be another one-and-done playoff appearance. Why couldn’t they have just tanked the season once Elton Brand went down and gotten a lottery pick?

Go Sixers!

It wasn’t the smoothest win for Brett Myers and the Phillies, but at least it was a win. The Phightins once again found themselves in an early-inning hole thanks to their awful starting pitching, but overcame Myers’s subpar performance in the middle innings and pulled away from the Colorado Rockies down the stretch for an 8-4 victory.

Myers cruised through the first inning, but in the bottom of the second inning, Brad Hawpe stroked a double to left and Troy Tulowitzki followed with a home run to center field to put the Rockies up 2-0. The Phils answered in the top of the third inning, although it initially looked like they were going to go down quietly. With two outs, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino each singled before Chase Utley loaded the bases with a walk. After only going 3-for-16 in the first four games of the season, Ryan Howard seemed to break out of his funk and smoked a bases-clearing double to deep left center field to give the Phils a 3-2 lead.

Colorado responded in the bottom of the fourth inning when Garrett Atkins roughed up Myers on a solo shot to left that tied the game at 3-3. The Phillies once again worked some two-out magic in the top of the fifth inning when Utley and Howard each singled to put runners at the corners for Jayson Werth, who sliced a triple down the right field line that put Philly back in front 5-3. However, Colorado got one back in the bottom of the inning when Clint Barmes went yard on another solo homer. So, if you’re keeping track at home, Myers has given up six homers in 13 innings over the course of his two starts. As a team, the Phils have given up a Major League-leading 12 home runs. That’s downright pathetic.

The Phils added insurance run in the seventh inning when Raul Ibanez hit his second jack of the year. The lead was extended a tad more in the eighth inning on an RBI single by Utley that plated Victorino. Just for good measure, Pedro Feliz stroked an RBI single to center that plated Ibanez to seal the win as Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth inning in a non-save situation.

While the win was good, the pitching is still a major red flag. With the way that they’re throwing the ball right now, the Phils will be playing from behind in pretty much every game. If the pitching doesn’t improve ASAP, the World Champs may get KO’d for good in April.

The Phillies will wrap up their three-game series against the Rockies this afternoon when Chan Ho Park will make his first start of the season. Aaron Cook will be on the mound for Colorado in the rubber game. I really have no confidence in Park as a fifth starter. I know he threw the ball well in Spring Training, but there’s a reason why no other team even considered Park as a someone who could compete for the #5 spot in a rotation. That reason is that he sucks. I hope that he proves me wrong, but I’d much rather see Chan Oh No in the ‘pen and J.A. Happ/Carlos Carrasco in the rotation. I’m sure Park will lose his spot in the rotation soon enough.

Go Phillies!

After monitoring Cole Hamels all Spring, you just knew that he wasn’t the same pitcher who was almost un-hittable during the 2008 playoffs. From the delayed start to the elbow injury to the drop in velocity to the low amount of innings pitched, the writing was on the wall for a bad outing. In only 3 2/3 innings of work, Hamels got pounded for seven runs and 11 hits with one walk and only one strikeout. In addition, his fastball only averaged 86 m.p.h. That’s not exactly the type of performance that the Phillies can afford from the 2008 World Series and NLCS MVP if they want to try to defend their title.

The Phillies took an early lead in the top of the second inning when Jayson Werth scored on a sacrifice fly by Pedro “Peter Happy” Feliz, but the lead didn’t last long. Clint Barmes led off the bottom of the third with a double Jason Marquis helped himself with an RBI single that tied the game at 1-1. One batter later, Ryan Spilborghs stroked a double to center to put runners at the second and third. Todd Helton picked up an RBI on a ground out and it looked like Hamels would get out of the inning with only a 2-1 deficit. Garrett Atkins followed with a two-run bomb to deep left field. Then Brad Hawpe crushed a ground rule double to deep center field and Troy Tulowitzki tripled to left to give the Rockies a 5-1 lead.

The Phightins got one back in the top of the fourth inning when Feliz plated Werth for the second time with an RBI ground out to short, but the Rox answered with a pair in the bottom of the inning. Barmes led off the inning with a single, and Marquis and Dexter Fowler moved him along to third. Spilborghs pounded a double to center to score Barmes and Helton followed with a single to score Spilborghs and give Colorado a 7-2 lead. After Hamels gave up a single to Atkins, his day was done. Fortunately, J.A. Happ and Clay Condrey stopped the bleeding through the seventh inning, combining for one hit and two strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, Marquis was just as good and only allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings with two strikeouts and two walks.

The Rockies padded their lead in the eighth inning when Fowler and Spilborghs had back-to-back RBI singles and Helton followed with a sac fly off of Chad Durbin. Just like that, the Rockies hung another crooked number on the board and led 10-2. In the top of the ninth, Werth capped off his perfect 4-for-4 day with a solo home run to left, but it would not be enough as Colorado cruised to a 10-3 win.

The Phils cannot afford to get off to another slow start in April because their schedule in May is absolutely brutal. Philly has six games against the Washington Nationals and four games against the San Diego Padres out of their remaining 18 April games, so they should be able to pick up a bunch of wins. However, if they slip up, they could be buried by Memorial Day. With five games against the New York Mets, a pair against the St. Louis Cardinals, and three each against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, and New York Yankees, the Phils could find themselves in a huge whole in the vastly improved NL East before J.C. Romero even comes back from his suspension. I know it’s still early, but the Phillies need to get it going really soon because the rest of the division isn’t going to wait up for them like they have in the past.

Go Phillies.