7/10/13
The Phillies took care of business in the first game of this
four game series against the Nationals. They did the little things to win the
previous game, and had superb pitching too. The Nationals made it interesting
in the ninth inning, but Jonathan Papelbon slammed the door after allowing two
runs to score on sacrifice flies. Last night the Phillies sent Cole Hamels out
to the mound while Washington handed the ball to rookie Taylor Jordan. The
Phillies made a roster move yesterday. They demoted Phillippe Aumont to the
minors and purchased the contract of Luis Garcia. Garcia had been out of
baseball for two years and has impressed the Phillies with how hard he throws.
The Nationals made a change in their starting lineup last night. Scott Hairston
replaced Denard Span as the leadoff hitter. Hairston played in left field while
Bryce Harper moved from left field to centerfield. Also, Kurt Suzuki replaced
Wilson Ramos in the lineup at catcher. Will the Phillies make Jordan look like
a Cy Young pitcher or will they give Hamels run support?
The Phillies made a rookie starting pitcher not look like Cy
Young for the first time all year. Jayson Werth may have started the scoring
for the Nationals in the second inning when he blasted a solo homerun into left
centerfield, but the Phillies got some breaks that went their way later in the
game. In the fourth inning, Domonic Brown looped a single into right field that
Werth nonchalantly didn’t make the catch which should have recorded the final
out of that inning. Instead, it made the game tied at one. The other break
happened in the sixth inning when Chase Utley hit a roller to first base and
Adam LaRoche airmailed a throw over second base which allowed Ben Revere to
score. Michael Young gave the Phillies a few insurance runs as he laced a
double into right centerfield that scored Jimmy Rollins and Utley. There was
another ninth inning drama that occurred last night. This time Antonio Bastardo
stirred the drama instead of Papelbon. Bastardo allowed Wilson Ramos to hit a
pinch hit RBI double to make it a 4-2 game. However, he got Hairston to pop up
to Utley and the Phillies survived another close game and won the game.
Hamels repeated what John Lannan did in the first game
against the Nationals. Hamels was spectacular. He had some quick innings up
until the later part of the game. He was mixing up his pitches well and had
great location. His changeup was masterful, his curveball and cutter had some
bite, and his fastball was located well. The one moment that stood out for me
in Hamels’ performance was when he got out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth
inning. He struck out Ryan Zimmerman and got Werth to fly out to deep right
centerfield. It had me nervous because Hamels threw a fastball right over the
plate to Werth and, as Charlie Manuel said, Werth was close but no cigar. Hamels
allowed six hits, one walk, and struck out four batters in his eight innings of
work. Bastardo was getting behind in the count to three of the five batters he
faced. That’s never a good thing when you come into the later innings of a
game. It will make the fans want to munch on a full bottle of Tums.
Jordan was brought back to reality and was shown why he’s
only a Double A pitcher pitching in the big leagues. He was good through the
first three innings when the Phillies hitters were seeing him the first time
around. However, when the Phillies faced Jordan the second time around, they
were getting pitches to hit and scoring runs. Jordan has decent stuff, but he
has to not get predictable. Early in the game, he kept throwing pitches to the
same location. Jordan had some luck go his way when the Phillies grounded into
three double plays. Craig Stammen and Ian Krol pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings
out of the bullpen and held the Phillies hitless.
Overall, the Phillies are on some surge. They have won six
out of their last eight games and are only 5 ½ games out of the second wildcard
spot. They are also 1 ½ games out of second place in the NL East. The Phillies
keep having these crooked number innings when they score a lot of runs in one
inning and then shut it down offensively. That’s what the Phillies use to do
during their five year playoff run. What’s different this year from years past
is that the Phillies are finally learning how to play small ball and
manufacture runs without relying on hitting the three run homeruns. Hamels
seems like he’s turning a corner after having an extended two day breather as
he has won in his last two outings.
Can the Phillies keep
this winning up with Cliff Lee on the mound tonight? Sound off and stay tuned.
Gio Gonzalez will oppose Lee.
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