San Francisco Giants 2, Philadelphia Phillies 0
As expected, tonight's Phillies-Giants matchup was a fast-moving pitcher's duel. Unfortunately for the team in red, Tim Lincecum was just a little bit better than Joe Blanton. The Phillies fell to the Giants 2-0 and were shut out for the second time this week. The Phillies' offensive inconsistencies continued on their west coast swing, as they missed several early opportunities to get to Lincecum. The Phillies are now 3-3 on the trip and will look to leave California with a split with the Giants tomorrow.
Joe Blanton started out sharp and was efficient with his pitches. He gave up only one baserunner in the first four innings. However, he was met with some trouble and bad luck in the fifth, as the Giants strung together several hits and scored on Juan Uribe's sacrifice fly. The Giants again put together a run-scoring inning in the seventh inning, culminating with another Uribe sac fly. Overall, Blanton was the hard-luck loser as he went seven strong innings, yielding seven hits and two earned runs while striking out five. He is now 7-5 on the season. Chan Ho Park came in for one inning of relief and tossed a scoreless frame.
Tim Lincecum was simply superb tonight. He had all of his pitches working and was hitting his spots consistently. The Phillies did a good job being patient with him early, and worked him to almost 50 pitches through the third inning. However, they lacked the clutch him in several key points early, which could have given them the lead. In the third inning, Chase Utley grounded out with runners on the corners and two out. In the fourth, the Phillies again had two aboard before Paul Bako struck out to end the threat. And in the fifth, the bases were loaded up for Raul Ibanez's ground out. After that, Lincecum really settled in to shut down the Phils, en route to his eight inning-eight strikeout performance. He scattered seven hits and a walk, before Brian Wilson came in for a 1-2-3 save in the ninth.
It was a tough loss to watch for the Phillies. After coming out of the All-Star Break on fire, the Phillies have cooled down despite solid pitching efforts. With the Marlins' extra-inning loss, the Phillies do maintain their six game lead in the NL East. There's one more game on the road trip, and they will look to go home on a high note as Cole Hamels faces off with veteran Barry Zito. This matchup of southpaws will be another tough test for the Phillies and will be aired on national television.
Joe Blanton started out sharp and was efficient with his pitches. He gave up only one baserunner in the first four innings. However, he was met with some trouble and bad luck in the fifth, as the Giants strung together several hits and scored on Juan Uribe's sacrifice fly. The Giants again put together a run-scoring inning in the seventh inning, culminating with another Uribe sac fly. Overall, Blanton was the hard-luck loser as he went seven strong innings, yielding seven hits and two earned runs while striking out five. He is now 7-5 on the season. Chan Ho Park came in for one inning of relief and tossed a scoreless frame.
Tim Lincecum was simply superb tonight. He had all of his pitches working and was hitting his spots consistently. The Phillies did a good job being patient with him early, and worked him to almost 50 pitches through the third inning. However, they lacked the clutch him in several key points early, which could have given them the lead. In the third inning, Chase Utley grounded out with runners on the corners and two out. In the fourth, the Phillies again had two aboard before Paul Bako struck out to end the threat. And in the fifth, the bases were loaded up for Raul Ibanez's ground out. After that, Lincecum really settled in to shut down the Phils, en route to his eight inning-eight strikeout performance. He scattered seven hits and a walk, before Brian Wilson came in for a 1-2-3 save in the ninth.
It was a tough loss to watch for the Phillies. After coming out of the All-Star Break on fire, the Phillies have cooled down despite solid pitching efforts. With the Marlins' extra-inning loss, the Phillies do maintain their six game lead in the NL East. There's one more game on the road trip, and they will look to go home on a high note as Cole Hamels faces off with veteran Barry Zito. This matchup of southpaws will be another tough test for the Phillies and will be aired on national television.
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