Results tagged ‘ Domonic Brown ’
Big Bats Cookin’ at Phillies Fish Fry
Last night the Phillies faced the Marlins in what was to be first of four games in 48 hours with the Fish. As rain poured onto the field, delaying the start of the game, the hours dwindled down. But after the one hour and 20 minute delay, the game finally began.
And although Cole Hamels allowed on run in the first inning, the offense got that run and more right back for him in the bottom half of the inning. Ryan Howard smashed a two-run homer, which was to be the first of many on the night.
Hamels took the 2-1 lead and ran with it. Over 7+ innings, Hamels filleted the Fish with six strikeouts, allowing only three hits and the one run. He left the game early in the seventh when his back tightened up, but all reports say he will be fine to make his next start. David Herndon pitched the final two innings without allowing a run.
As for the home runs, they just kept on coming. Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins all hit 2-run homers in the game. Not to be left behind in the home run barrage, rookie Domonic Brown smashed TWO solo shots, one of which went far into the second deck in right field.
Just to recap, that is five home runs for a total of eight of the Phillies nine runs in the game.’
This break-out game was amazing for a number of reasons. First, the top four in the batting order, including Shane Victorino who had three hits in the game, are all clicking for the first time this season. Second, the rookie Brown looks like a legit big leaguer now. Also, nine runs in a game is what this team is capable of and they are finally living up to their true potential.
I actually felt sorry for Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad by the fifth inning. This poor guy was getting the crap beat out of him and his manager, probably trying to save the pen for the doubleheader today, just left him out there to dry. Volstad was finally pulled mid-way through the sixth inning, but this spanking is going to hurt for a while.
So the big doubleheader is set to kick off at 1:05pm with Kyle Kendrick on the mound. The second game starts at 7:05pm and Roy Halladay will pitch against Marlins ace Anibal Sanchez. Should be a great day for baseball!
Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Polanco’s Grand Slam & 100th Homer Help Halladay Win
Third baseman Placido Polanco smacked his 100th career homer in Friday night’s Phillies – Cubs game. The grand slam not only marked a significant career achievement, it also helped the Phillies win the game.
Roy Halladay was his usual awesome self on the mound and it looked like he would not need much assistance. Domonic Brown hit a two-run homer in the second inning to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. Then Polly’s slam made it a seven run lead in the seventh.
So after seven innings of no-run ball for Halladay, manager Charlie Manuel decided to give him a little rest and use the bullpen for the final two innings. That almost wound up being a disaster.
Jose Contreras and J.C. Romero nearly blew the seven run lead, which was especially scary considering how hard it has been for the Phillies to score any runs lately. Contreras walked two of the first four batters he faced, loaded the bases and had given up two runs by the time he was pulled after recording only one out.
Things got worse when Romero entered and proceeded to walk the first batter he faced on four pitches. Then back-to-back singles scored three more runs for the Cubs. Without having recorded an out, Romero was lifted from the game. The seven run lead had turned into a 7-5 ballgame quickly.
Rookie Michael Stutes was called upon to stop the bleeding, which he did. Stutes also started the ninth inning where a strike-out, throw-out double play with a strong toss to second from catcher Carlos Ruiz retired two Cubs in one shot. Antonio Bastardo then struck out lefty Carlos Pena to earn the save.
While the Phillies won the game 7-5, the performance from Contreras and Romero is raising eyebrows. Contreras is still struggling with his command since coming off the DL. Hopefully, time and getting some more work in will correct the issue. Romero seems healthy, but he is still having serious issues throwing strikes.
The outlook for these bullpen pieces remains to be seen, but it does appear that the back-end of the pen is in the midst of a youth movement. Both Stutes and Bastardo have outpitched the more experienced Contreras and Romero and will likely be transitioned into the later innings role for the foreseeable future.
Game three with the Cubs is this afternoon at 4:10pm. Cliff Lee will pitch.
Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Cole Hamels In Top Form Against Dodgers
In eight shut-out innings against the Dodgers, pitcher Cole Hamels was absolutely dominant. In 95 degree temperatures, it seemed like Hamels did not even break a sweat.
After the game, Charlie Manuel said about Hamels’ development, “He’s bigger than he used to be. Ya know, if you see him with his shirt and stuff off he’s, ya know, he’s developing into a man.”
Besides Hamels’ manly physique, his pitching has grown as well. Hamels allowed only six hits while striking out nine batters in the 2-0 win Wednesday night.
He got a little help from the offense, but only a little. Luckily, it was all he needed. Ryan Howard blasted a solo home run in the sixth inning, the first home run for the Phillies in 65 innings of play. Howard’s last blast was on May 30.
They almost had a run before that in the fifth when Michael Martinez hit the first triple of his career. Hamels then drew a walk. With two outs, the Phillies needed a wild pitch or a hit from Shane Victorino. They got the wild pitch, which sailed all the way to the back stop, but Martinez froze and did not go. The goof did not come back to haunt them though, thanks to the pitching.
Another run scored in the seventh on a Domonic Brown fielder’s choice after Victorino had tripled. Ryan Madson stepped in for the ninth and closed the game for his 14th save of the year. Madson is still perfect in saves so far this season.
The Cubs come into town next. Kyle Kendrick will start tonight and game time is 7:05pm.
And the Winner Is…
The winner of the contest for a ticket to the Phillies Phestival on Monday is Jeff from Clifton Heights, PA. Congrats and see you there!
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Halladay Ends Losing Streak
After a four game losing streak, the longest of the season for the Phillies, Roy Halladay finally led this struggling team to a win against the Pirates. It seemed like an eternity since the Phillies came out on the winning end.
However, the win was not without drama. In the fourth inning, down by 2-1, Domonic Brown was all set to tie up the game when an umpire literally stepped in.
With two runners in scoring position, Brown powered a ball straight up the middle that should have shot into center field to score a run. Instead, second-base umpire Chad Fairchild stepped into the ball while trying to avoid it. Once the ball hit him, it was a dead ball. And although Brown was awarded first base, the run was not allowed to score.
The next batter, Wilson Valdez, hit into an inning-ending double play. After that, things looked grim for the Phillies who had a run stolen from them and lost a chance with the bases loaded.
But the team followed Halladay’s lead and pushed forward. After allowing a two-run homer in the first, Halladay put it behind him and pitched extremely well after that. The offense, despite the umpire goof, followed suit.
Chase Utley finally had a good day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a walk and a run scored. Ryan Howard collected three RBI on two hits and a sac fly. And Placido Polanco, Shane Victorino and Brown all had two hits in the game as well.
Utley was amazing on defense as well. He saved Halladay in the seventh when he laid out, Superman-style, diving for a line drive. The catch ended the inning that otherwise may have been a disaster.
Relief pitcher Jose Contreras gave up his first run of the year in the eighth, but Antonio Bastardo bailed him out, getting the final two outs of the inning. Ryan Madson shut the door in the ninth and the Phillies pulled out a 7-3 win.
The team is headed home now for a long home stand, starting with the Dodgers tomorrow night at 7:05pm.
In the meantime, do not forget to enter to win an admission ticket to the Phillies Phestival right here! Entries will be accepted until Wednesday at 6pm. Enter today…good luck!
Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
The Nightmare at PNC Park Continues
After a dismal, 12-inning, 2-1 loss to the Pirates last night, the Phillies are now a frightening 12-31 lifetime at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. They simply cannot win in this ballpark. Could it be cursed? This place is like a haunted house of horrors for the Phils.
Even with the entire line-up together for the first time all season, the Phillies still looked like zombies out there. Shane Victorino came off the DL and with the whole gang all together again, one might think it would break the sleep spell on this dreadful offense.
That simply did not happen.
The biggest victim of the night was pitcher Cole Hamels. This poor guy left it all on the field, pitching eight innings of one-run ball. And what did he get to show for it? Nothing. His team left him hanging.
The offense came out of 12-innings of play with a measly six hits. And two of those six hits were courtesy of the pitcher, Hamels. So they gave Cole only four hits and one run to work with. This should be a criminal offense ;o}
Let us count the 0′fers: Victorino, 0-for-5. Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Domonic Brown, Carlos Ruiz…all 0-for-4. As a team, they complied 40 at-bats, six hits and left seven men on base. Disgusting.
Last year, in a similar slump, the Phillies fired hitting coach and all around nice guy, Milt Thompson. So is Greg Gross next to go? Because if this keeps up, the team is going to be looking for another fall guy. But they only one to blame are the players themselves.
No one seems to be getting too worked up over all this as they are still in first place, thanks to the pitching. But the Marlins and Braves are creeping up closer and something is going to hit the fan when the Phillies drop out of first because they cannot score more than one or two runs in a game. As I gaze into my crystal ball, I see the disaster coming.
But the disaster can easily be averted. This team need to get back to the basics. Stop swinging for the fences, stop swinging at bad pitches and for heaven’s sake, would someone please inform this line-up that they need to adjust their swing when a pitcher is tossing all kinds of off-speed crap at them? They cannot just stand up there and pray for a fastball. Pitchers have this teams’ number now and they need to adjust.
In the league, the Phillies rank #2 in fly-ball outs. If there was a stat specifically in short pop-ups, I am pretty sure they would be #1 in all of baseball. Also of note, they rank 19th in the majors in runs scored and batting average. For a first place team, this is pathetic.
So the house of horrors continues tonight. Kyle Kendrick will start and game time is 7:05pm. Bust out your four-leaf clovers, rabbit’s foot (artificial, of course), horseshoe, crucifix, #7 pendant, voodoo doll, lucky jersey or whatever you have and start praying for the curse to be lifted!
Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Unproductive Phillies Offense Leads to Series Loss
The month of June did not start off as the Phillies may have hoped. After a win on Monday, the Phils went on to lose two straight to the lowly, last place Washington Nationals by a score of 2-1.
Domonic Brown was almost the hero as he blasted a shot to left center that should have scored the three runners on base at the time. But the Nats left fielder, Laynce Nix, ripped the Superman cape right off Brown’s back, put it on himself and literally flew through the air to snatch the ball out of no-man’s land. Nix won the tug-o-war battle.
That catch will be on highlight reels all week. Nix also hit the go-ahead home run off pitcher Roy Oswalt. He was a one-man wrecking crew.
Oswalt had a descent game, allowing just the two runs. He was pulled early after five innings in order to send Brown in with the bases loaded, after which Brown was robbed of that big hit.
The real disappointment, however, was watching the Phillies offense revert back to old habits. They had only five hits in the game, went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 9 men on base. Ryan Howard had two of the five hits. No one collected an RBI as the lone run scored after a Nats error.
Chase Utley is another concern. He is hitting only .194 since coming off the DL. And although he appears healthy, his swing is simply not there. That is especially concerning when you remember that the only thing Utley was able to do the entire time he was injured was hit.
The Phillies have a day off tomorrow to lick their wounds, but things do not get much better on Friday. They are headed to Pittsburgh and recent history shows the Phillies have a rough time there. Despite the Pirates fielding fairly awful teams over the years, the Phillies simply play badly in Pittsburgh. They better hope that changes.
Shane Victorino should be back for the series, which will hopefully be a nice boost for the offense. However, who will be sent down to make room?
My feeling is that John Mayberry Jr. has to stay, as he is the only suitable center field back-up who can match Victorino’s defense. Brown should be here to stay. Michael Martinez is a Rule-5 and the Phils do not want to lose him. But Ross Gload is injured. He can hit, but cannot run or play the field. If it were up to me, he’d be going on the DL to make room.
Another option is pitcher Mike Zagurski, but it seems like the Phillies want an extra pitcher around. However, Zagurski still has not shown he is a major leaguer.
It is a tough decision. Glad I do not have to make it :O)
Photoshopping by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Cliff Lee Imposter Tanks Against Nats?
Who was that pitcher on the mound for the Phillies Tuesday night? Certainly it could not be Cliff Lee. At least not the one we are used to. He must be an imposter!
After a careful review of the statistics, the mystery Lee went only 5.1 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits to a last place Nationals team. He also walked three batters and gave up two home runs.
Upon witnessing this disastrous outing, I can come to only one conclusion: Cliff Lee has been abducted by aliens. They are conducting a number of probing experiments on him in order to clone the near-perfect pitcher. This totally explains why an imposter was sent in his place to give up six runs in less than six innings.
Perhaps many do not agree with my assessment. However, I assure you that the alternative is much more difficult to swallow. Cliff Lee had a horrible game? Against a crappy team?? No way. Aliens…I tell you, it must be aliens.
On the other hand, many pitchers sucked without alien intervention. Danys Baez has been returned to earth after a spectacular five innings in last week’s 19-inning marathon. On this night, Baez coughed up three runs in just one inning.
And then lefty Mike Zagurski, called up to take Vance Worley’s roster spot, walked the opposing pitcher, gave up one run and another walk in just one inning. Zagurski has been given a plethora of chances in the Bigs over the years. But each time, despite doing well in the minors, he tanks as soon as he is called up.
The offense took the night off as well, apparently refusing to play with imposter aliens. The only excitement was when Domonic Brown and John Mayberry Jr. smacked back-to-back homers in the fifth.
So the Phils went down in flames by a score of 10-2…against the Nationals. Ugh. Well, tomorrow is another day and with any luck, the aliens have returned the real Cliff Lee and maybe will visit the Marlins or Braves next. ;o)
Lee Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Comedy of Errors Turns Into a Win For the Phillies
It was not pretty, but the Phillies pulled out at 6-4 win over the Mets on Friday night. The Phillies committed three errors and the Mets had two.
The real circus act occurred between Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. With two outs in the fifth inning, a pop-up to short center turned into a small disaster. Utley was over-aggressive and crossed past his side of second base, slamming into Rollins and the ball dropped between the two of them after a little juggling.
Then in the seventh inning, it appeared a throw-over was put on by the bench. Michael Stutes turned and threw to second, but no one was covering. Either Rollins or Utley missed the call. That blooper cost the Phils another run.
Meanwhile, Roy Oswalt saw his pitch count rise as the Phillies error’s extended his day. He went six innings, allowing one earned and one unearned run. He also hit an RBI-single in an attempt to keep pace with the hitting of Cliff Lee in the previous game.
The game was tied 3-3 by the eighth inning, but the Phillies bounced back against the Mets closer, Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth. Historically, the Phillies have had no success against Rodriguez, never scoring a run against him. But in a non-save situation, they finally got to K-Rod.
Five singles and a sac fly later, the Phillies jumped to a 6-3 lead. Domonic Brown and Placido Polanco both hit key RBI-singles that inning. Brown went two-for-two after coming into the game in the eighth, although one hit was a gift from Mets first baseman who missed the easy grounder. And Rollins collected three RBI in the game.
John Mayberry Jr. continues to impress as well. He had a hit, a walk, a stolen base and scored two runs. And his defense in center while standing in for the injured Shane Victorino has been outstanding. Mayberry’s long strides make difficult balls look easy to get to.
So although the game was a real adventure, a win makes all the mistakes fade away.
Cole Hamels will pitch tomorrow in game two with the Mets which starts at 7:10pm.
Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Cliff Lee Helps Himself to a Win
Just a short 12 hours after a stunning 19-inning victory, the Phillies won again, making it two wins in one day. The 10-4 victory today gave the Phils a 3-1 series win over the Reds.
The Phillies hoped that starting pitcher Cliff Lee could go deep into the game as nearly the entire bullpen was worked hard in the previous game. Lee did not disappoint, going eight innings. He did allow four runs on 10 hits and a walk, but he kept his team in the game in more ways than one.
Lee himself accounted for two of the Phillies 13 hits and he drove in three runs, two on a double and one more later on a single. There have been a number of role reversals in the past two days. Lee was the big slugger today and infielder Wilson Valdez was the winning pitcher in the game before.
Not so backwards was a three-run homer by Raul Ibanez in the third inning. Chase Utley also hit his first home run of the year today. Utley has now doubled and homered since coming off the DL on Monday and all is right with the world again.
Utley did appear to twist his right ankle / leg on a play today, which was a bit scary. However, he kept playing and it looks like we all have to wait until tomorrow to see if Utley bounces back okay.
As for the rest of the offense, some of the younger players are starting to hit, which is a good sign. The Reds starter Homer Bailey only lasted five innings and then rookie Daryl Thompson took over, making his major league debut. However, Domonic Brown and Michael Martinez each had a hit off Bailey, so it was not like they were just abusing the rookie. They hit a solid, veteran pitcher as well.
If the younger guys can keep stringing hits together like this, things may soon look-up for the Phillies offense.
And if injured players keep returning, like Jose Contreras did today, that is another big positive. Contreras pitched a scoreless ninth inning today and looks like he is ready to pick up where he left off, although Ryan Madson will remain the closer. And David Herndon was sent back to Triple-A to make room on the roster.
The Phillies will embark on a 9-game road trip next. They play the Mets in New York Friday night at 7:10pm; Roy Oswalt will pitch.
Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Utley Returns and it Rains Runs for the Phillies
The crowd went wild as Chase Utley stepped to the plate for his 2011 debut tonight against the Reds. After missing the start of the season with knee issues, the Phillies have anxiously awaited the return of their leader. It was so thrilling to see Utley back in the line-up, fans everywhere felt like skipping joyously through a field of wildflowers.
The overwhelming exhilaration poured onto the field and bled over into the Phillies recently dreadful offense. Runs began to pour out like rain drops. The Phils scored ten runs tonight, which equaled the run total of their last seven games combined.
Oddly enough, the only starter in the line-up, including the pitcher, to not have a hit was Utley. He went 0-5. But just his presence alone was motivation for this struggling offense.
Domonic Brown got his first hit since being called up. Carlos Ruiz racked up three hits. Both Raul Ibanez and Placido Polanco had two hits and two RBI each. And Jimmy Rollins put a charge into his bat with two hits, including a three-run homer.
Cole Hamels started the game and did well until he allowed a three-run homer in the fourth to Jay Bruce. Hamels went six innings, allowing five hits. Because of the huge Phillies lead, he was able to come out of the game early and take a little break.
Phillies fans had a blast tonight, cheering for Chase and finally seeing some offense. As an added bonus, they were able to boo Scott Rolen, which was the icing on the cake. The Phillies won by a score of 10-3.
The question now is can this offense take the huge momentum that Utley provided and carry it over from game to game? I will be at the ballpark Tuesday night to find out and I shall return with photos.
Game time is 7:05pm; Vance Worley gets the start.
Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
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