Results tagged ‘ Red Sox ’
The Phillies Drop 2 of 3 To The Red Sox
I am grouchy. It happens. Two straight losses to the Red Sox will do that. So, the Phillies have an off day tomorrow and boy, oh boy, do they need it bad. This team looks like they may be headed for trouble if they don’t quickly regroup and find a way to put the wheels back on the track. Having lost their last 3 series now, they will come back on Friday to face the 1st place Angels, one of the best base running teams in the AL. And when you look as tired and run down as the Phillies do right now, the last thing you need to see is a team that is ready to burn up the base path.
As usual, it boils down to starting pitching and today, the Sox made Kyle Kendrick look like a minor leaguer. He gave up 6 runs and 2 walks with 2 homers in only 3 innings and had to be pulled early.
Our bullpen was excellent as usual, giving up only 1 more run and giving the team a shot at getting back in the game, but as has been the trend of late, the offense could not get the job done. As a team, they mustered up only 6 hits and struggled again to advance runners. Chase Utley continues to battle at the plate, jumping his no hit streak to a massive 0 for 20. His reaction to this?…see photo. What??? Yeah, right there with ya…we all have no clue what is up with this funk he’s in. Well, it happens to the best of them.
Well, as I always say, tomorrow is another day. Unless it is the last day of the season and we miss the playoffs…don’t talk to me on that day. But for now, it is only June, let’s try to think happy thoughts J Sunshine, flowers, ocean waves….did it work? Ok, yeah, I am still in a bad mood too…sorry, I tried. I’ll get over it later…for now, I’ll use it as an excuse to eat some chocolate…. Have a happy day off everyone!
Pitching Shuts Down Phils Offense
The Phillies offense struggled tonight, having to face a much tougher pitcher tonight in Jon Lester, and they just did not get the job done. Jamie Moyer had a decent start again, although he was only able to go 5 innings as his pitch count mounted with Red Sox’s hitters being very patient at the plate, drawing walks and making the most of the 4 hits they got off him. Jamie
only gave up 2 runs, both of which came off a 2 run homer from Coco Crisp, who also scored the 3rd Sox run of the game in the 6th off Ryan Madson after stealing 2 bags. Not bad for a guy who sounds more like a breakfast cereal than a baseball player. Really, Moyer did his part…only 4 hits allowed is great, especially considering the tight strike zone the home plate umpire gave him to work with. The Sox were simply not swinging and the walks kept coming…five in all. It was as if Moyer were tossing cute little kitty cats up to the plate and the Sox did not want to swing and hurt the poor kitties. How nice of them! Well, extra points to the BoSox for being such animal lovers. J
As for the Phillies offense, they were not quite as patient. Four strikeouts for Ryan Howard on the night after last night’s amazing 3 for 5 performance…wow. Burrell had 3 on the night. As a team, the Red Sox racked up 10 strike outs total and gave up only 7 hits. A few missed opportunities as well by our offense did not help. Carlos Ruiz had 2 identical chances to get the Phillies going with 2 men on base in 2 different innings…both times he grounded to third base; once for a double play, once for the final out as there were already 2 outs. And Chase Utley had a huge shot at getting the Phillies on the board in the 8th with Rollins on 3rd base and 2 outs, but he continues his slump and struck out on a bad pitch. I believe he is now 0 for his last 16. Yikes! Clearly, he was seeing adorable kitty cats at the plate too J Give credit however to Jon Lester tonight…he was great and pitched all sides of the plate and changed speeds effectively. This guy is the real deal.
Well, we’ve got one more shot at the World Champs tomorrow afternoon and hopefully, the bats come out swinging hard! Also, remember to keep VOTING for the Phillies to go to All-Star game! Chase Utley still leads all Major league players in votes! Pat Burrell has moved back up to 6th place in outfield votes, Rollins is in 4th at short stop and Howard is in 5th at first base…so, we need MORE votes to get these guys in there with Chase! Go Phillies!
Bouncing Back Against The BoSox
Cole Hamels led the Phillies to an 8-2 win over the World Champion Red Sox tonight, going 7 innings and giving up only 2 runs that came off 2 solo home runs. Cole struck out 5, walked 2, gave up a total of 7 hits and his record improves to 7-4. More importantly, he kept the Phillies in the game, looked calm and in control and even laid down a sacrifice bunt and singled in the game to aid his own cause. This was exactly the shot in the arm this pitching staff needed after a sad performance by Brett Myers yesterday.
Add to that, the offense came back to life against Boston’s Bartolo Colon. Jimmy Rollins got the party started with a lead-off home run, essentially whacking his way out of a hitting slump as he wound up going 3 for 5 with 3 RBI on the night. Ryan Howard had another huge night with 3 more hits, 2 of which were home runs, 4 RBI’s and increased his batting average to .224. Pat Burrell and Shane Victorino also contributed with 2 hits each. A much bigger challenge awaits tomorrow with Jon Lester scheduled to pitch for the Red Sox, who pitched a no hitter last month against the Royals.
In other news, Juan Samuel has been named to the Phillies Wall of Fame and will be inducted in a ceremony to be held at Citizens Bank Park before the game on August 8, 2008. Sammy joined the Phillies broadcasting staff in the booth during the game tonight and expressed his joy and appreciation at being chosen for this honor. Sammy will be the 30th member of the Wall. Samuel player 6 ½ years with the Phillies and he became the first player in Major League history to reach double digits in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in each of his first four seasons. Congrats to Sammy on this well deserved honor!
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