Thursday, May 23, 2013

reCAP: Philadelphia Phillies vs. Miami Marlins



5/23/13

After a relieving 7-3 victory over the Marlins, the Phillies went back to work for the final game of this three game series. Tyler Cloyd pitched a spectacle of a game, and the offense backed up his solid performance. Jose Fernandez showed that he could be a future ace for the Marlins as he stymied the Phillies to only one run in his five innings of limited work. Cliff Lee took the mound for the Phillies last night. He’s having a better year than he had last year if you want to focus on the wins/loss column. Kevin Slowey started for the Marlins and just like every other pitcher on the Marlins, he’s had a rough beginning to the season. Chase Utley will not be in the lineup for the second straight game. He will be getting an MRI on his ailing hip today. Hopefully he is not placed on the 15-Day disabled list because the Phillies are living in the training room with four other players on the disabled list. Also, Utley is an important player for the Phillies. Will Slowey slow down the Phillies bats (pun intended) or will the bats wake up again?

There’s not a lot to say about this game offensively. Delmon Young hit another solo homerun to put the Phillies on the board in the fourth inning. Domonic Brown hit an RBI triple that scored Delmon Young in the sixth and Freddy Galvis laced an RBI single into left that scored Brown. That was all the scoring and the Phillies won 3-0.

Cliff Lee pitched a magnificent game. He pitched a complete game three hit shutout. He had it all last night. He only got into a jam once in the second inning. The Marlins loaded the bases with no outs and this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the Marlins got no runs. That was the only time the Marlins threatened to score a run.

Kevin Slowey pitched a Kevin Slowey kind of game. He allows more hits than innings pitched and didn’t walk anyone. The only surprising thing is that he struck out six batters. I thought the Phillies should have scored more runs against Slowey. The leadoff hitter in the first three innings got on base for the Phillies, but they failed to drive the runner home all three times. Slowey had to leave the game early because he had a left lateral strain in his lower back. The bullpen failed yet again for the Marlins and guess who opened the little flood gate for the Phillies? Wade LeBlanc. You could pick anyone on that team to open a flood gate and they will open it for you in a jiffy.

Overall, the Phillies played Phillies like. They won with very little offense and excellent pitching, which is what this team was built to do this year. I thought they would have scored a few more runs in the first three innings when the leadoff hitter reached base. I’m giving Delmon Young a shoutout because I think he may have found his swing. He’s hit safely in four out of his last eight at bats. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins both had multi-hit games last night. Howard did something that he rarely does and that is hit the ball towards the opposite part of the field. I loved that excuse-me-swing that he trickled down the third base line which seemed like the shortest hit double that I have ever seen. I thought Rollins would have had a third hit in his five at bats last night, but Marcel Ozuna robbed him of an extra base hit. After the game, reliever Phillippe Aumont got sent to the minors. The Phillies want him to get more work in and to improve on his command. He would not get too much work with the Phillies because he has been terrible in his most recent outings.

Can the Phillies build on this performance over the weekend when they invade DC to play the Washington Nationals? Sound off and stay tuned until next time…

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