Phillies Recap: September 18, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies 9, Atlanta Braves 4

W - Kendrick (2-1), L - Hudson (1-1)

The Phillies battled injuries and a tough Braves team to find a way to win their 86th game of the season. Jay Happ went three innings before being lifted as a precautionary measure. Kyle Kendrick came on in long relief and really helped the Phillies' bullpen. Carlos Ruiz also suffered a sprained wrist on a play at the plate. For the Braves, Tim Hudson was solid but was hurt by his nemesis, Ryan Howard's two homers. When all the scoring was done, the Phillies found themselves on the right side of a 9-4 decision.

Happ came back and showed signs of his mid-season form, but struggled with his command at times. In his three innings, he allowed just a solo homer and scattered five hits in all. The real story for the pitching, though, was Kyle Kendrick who came in for long relief and delivered four blank innings. It was another promising performance for the once-outed right-hander. The Phillies bullpen was mostly saved and finished off the game, once it was out of reach.

On offense, the story tonight was the long ball. Ryan Howard punished Tim Hudson once again with another pair of homers off the righty. Hudson went seven solid innings, though, allowing three earned runs on six hits and a walk. However, once the Phillies got into the Braves' pen, they unleashed their offense. Jimmy Rollins delivered the keynote with a three-run shot in the ninth that put the game out of reach for good. Ben Francisco put in a solid night's work with three hits including a homer of his own.

This was a bittersweet win for the Phillies. It was an important one in the standings, but costly for the roster. It is unclear the extent of the injuries to Happ and Ruiz, but both situations are certainly concerning. The catching depth on the Phillies' roster is minimal, so if Ruiz is out for an extended period of time, the Phils will be essentially crippled at that position. For now, the Phillies can take some pleasure in their win, as they move to 26 games over .500 and drop their magic number to eight.

Phillies Recap: September 15, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies 5, Washington Nationals 0

W - Lee (14-11), L - Mock (3-8)

The Phillies' offense and Cliff Lee both seemed to hit their stride together in this game. Behind a bases-clearing double by Carlos Ruiz, the Phils built an early five run lead on Garrett Mock and Cliff Lee just cruised through the Nationals' line up. It was a low-stress, important win for the Phillies, as they defeated the hapless Nationals by a final score of 5-0.

It's been a few weeks since Cliff Lee has looked as sharp as he did tonight. All of his pitches were working and he was able to get the put-away pitch when he needed it. Despite walking the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Lee kept his pitch count down and never seemed to lose control. On the night, Lee went the distance, shutting out the Nationals. He allowed six hits and three walks, while striking out nine Nationals hitters. It was a much-needed start for Lee and the Phillies, as the big lefty threw his third complete game and first shut out as a Phillie.

Garrett Mock was roughed up again early, but hung tough and pitched six innings for the Nationals. The Phillies were able to hit a few balls hard and paired them with some dunkers to score five earned runs off of Mock in the first two innings. After that, Mock kept the Phils off the board, but the damage was done, with Ruiz delivering the keynote, a three-run double. On the evening, Mock went six innings, allowing the five runs on seven hits and a pair of walks. He struck out two and made a poor base running mistake.

Tonight's win was the first time in several weeks that Phillie fans could relax and enjoy a game. With an early lead and Cliff Lee dealing, the Phils were never really in danger in this affair. It was good to see the offense score some organic runs without the aid of the long ball, though they could have done better to tack on runs. Nevertheless, the bottom line is their magic number drops to 12 and can be further reduced pending late night action.

Phillies Recap: September 8, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies 5, Washington Nationals 3

W - Martinez (4-0), L - Lannan (8-11), S - Madson (5)

Early in the game, it looked like the Phillies were flat. Pedro Martinez surrendered an early run and the Phils quickly fell behind the Nationals. However, the Phillies offense, led by Raul Ibanez, homered their way out of their slump. It still wasn't easy and it seems like weeks since the Phillies have had a relaxing win, but they got the job done tonight. In the end, they earned a much needed win by a score of 5-3.

Pedro Martinez took control of the game after giving up an early run. He looked stronger as the game went along, and though he battled a high pitch count, he rarely broke a sweat. Pedro went 6.2 solid innings, allowing three earned runs and seven hits, while walking just one hitter and striking out four. The Phils' bullpen came in and shut down the Nationals, while working with the slimest of margins.

For the Nationals, John Lannan pitched extremely well early on. He was efficient and retired the Phillies quickly for the first five innings. However, trouble found Lannan in the sixth as he gave up homers to Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz, and the second long ball of the night to Raul Ibanez. Chase Utley added his 30th of the season in the eighth inning. The Phillies continue to live and die by the home run and tonight was no exception, as they homered their way past the Nationals. Lannan went 6.2 innings, allowing four earned on six hits and fanned just one.

Tonight's win was important for confidence, if nothing else. Despite the fact that 14 of the team's last 15 homers have been solo shots, they swung the bats pretty well tonight. Raul Ibanez looks like he has dusted off his recent struggles, as he has now homered three times in the last two days. Also encouraging was seeing yet another solid outing from Pedro Martinez, who has been a pleasant addition to the rotation. In all, the Phils halt their four-game losing streak and lower their magic number to 20.

Phillies Recap: August 30, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies 3, Atlanta Braves 2

W - Blanton (9-6), L - Jurrjens (10-9), S - Lidge (27)

All night, the Phillies and the Braves played in a tight-matched pitcher's duel. Both Joe Blanton and Jair Jurrjens surrendered solo home runs early in the game, but then matched goose eggs for most of the rest of the game. However, in the seventh inning, the Phillies finally broke through with a clutch hit from Carlos Ruiz to take the lead for good. In what was an all-around well pitched game, the Phillies took two of three from the Braves by the final of 3-2.

Joe Blanton pitched superbly, allowing a first inning homer and then settling down. He only gave up three hits but walked an uncharacteristically high four batters. However, the righty worked through jams masterfully and held the Braves to the one earned run in seven innings pitched and struck out seven. The Phillies' bullpen made it interesting in the eighth inning, but a fantastic, unorthodox double play by the Phillies' middle infielders got them out of trouble. Brad Lidge came in for the ninth and tossed another spotless inning for the save.

The Braves' Jair Jurrjens battled hard, as he has all season. In the fourth inning, he gave up a line driver homer to Chase Utley that tied the game, though. Jurrjens worked out of trouble on several occasions but was not able to escape in the seventh inning, when Carlos Ruiz knocked in a pair of runs on a double. Though not great on offense, the Phillies executed just enough to put themselves in line for a win against a very good Atlanta staff.

Giving the Braves one last kick on their way out of town was great for the Phillies standing and spirits. They now own an eight game lead in the NL East, over both the Braves and Marlins. With the win, the Phillies improve to 75-53 on the season. More importantly, they have take two of three from a tough division opponent at home, before welcoming the very hot Giants in this week.

Phillies Recap: August 23, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies 9, New York Mets 7

The Phillies jumped all over Oliver Perez (3-4) and knocked him out before he finished the first inning. Pedro Martinez wasn't much sharper but he got the outs he needed to, as he went six innings and picked up his second win with the Phillies. The game was an offense show, as neither side pitched especially well. But when all the scoring was finished, the Phillies snuck out with a 9-7 win over the Mets, capped off with an unassisted triple play by Eric Bruntlett.

Pedro Martinez (2-0) seemed to battle some emotions in the game and gave up a number of hard-hit balls. Angel Pagan of the Mets hit two home runs, including a ball that Shane Victorino played into an inside-the-park home run. Pedro ended up going six innings, giving up four earned runs. He allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out five. The bullpen wasn't as sharp but Brad Lidge earned his 25th save of the season, on a walk-off unassisted triple play by Eric Bruntlett (I have always wanted to use the term 'walk-off triple play' in my vocabulary).

In the first inning of the game, Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz each hit three-run homers to knock Oliver Perez out of the game. Perez went .2 innings and allowed six earned runs. The Phillies tacked on a few more runs, but again did not deliver the knock-out blow, though they did have chances. Eric Bruntlett had a nice day at the plate with three hits and the Phillies put together 10 hits and six walks on the day. However, the Mets bullpen did a good job limiting the damage after Perez had departed.

Obviously, this was a much closer game than it needed to be. When Brad Lidge entered in the ninth inning, it shouldn't have even been a save situation. However, the Phillies and Lidge were bailed out by Bruntlett's unassisted triple play, the 14th such play in Major League history. It was a good win for the Phillies, who are now a season-high 21 games over .500 at 71-50 and will have a 6.5 game lead in the East after play today.

Phillies Recap: August 20, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies 12, Arizona Diamondbacks 3

Despite not having his best stuff, Joe Blanton battled the Diamondbacks and got some run support in the meantime. Blanton was able to keep his pitch count relatively low even though he allowed a lot of base runners. His counterpart, Doug Davis, was not as fortunate as the Phillies tagged him all night long. By the end of a long, humid night, the Phillies had swept out the Diamondbacks with a 12-3 win.

Early in the game, Joe Blanton (8-6) was not as sharp as he has been in recent starts. It ended up being a moot point as he finally received some run support from the offense. Blanton ran into trouble a few times, falling victim of some dinks and dunks from Arizona. But he battled all night and kept the team in the game until they could really go to work. All in all, Blanton went eight solid innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out four. He did allow 10 hits but did not walk a batter.

Doug Davis (7-11) struggled from the first pitch he threw on the night. In the first inning, Ben Francisco came through with a clutch two-out two-run single. After that, the Philies offense exploded as Carlos Ruiz homered for his second straight game, Jayson Werth homered for the fifth time in the last five games, and Ryan Howard absolutely crushed a three-run homer to center field. Joe Blanton even got in on the hit parade as he compiled his first career multi-hit game. All in all, the Phillies offense is alive and well once again.

This was an important series win for the Phillies. The sweep puts the Phillies three games over .500 at home and are now 20 games over the .500 mark overall. They won't have much time to bask in the glory of the victory, as they immediately head out for a seven-game trip to New York and Pittsburgh. There's no reason why the Phillies can't be 25 games over .500 by the time they return home.

Phillies Recap: August 18, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 1

On a night that featured a quick thunderstorm delay, the Phillies looked like they were going to struggle again with their clutch hitting. However, despite Pedro Martinez's start being cut short by the rain, the Phillies rallied with a nice effort and win against the Diamondbacks. Once the game and rain were done, the Phils had pulled out a nice 5-1 victory.

Pedro Martinez looked a little shaky in the first inning, giving up a leadoff homer to Stephen Drew. However, he settled down for the next two innings and escaped unscathed before the rains came. Jamie Moyer (11-9) came in to the game in relief, his first such appearance as a Phillie, and pitched very well. Moyer completed the game for Martinez, throwing six shutout innings, allowing two hits while striking out five. Almost as impressive was Moyer at the plate, where he singled twice.

From the beginning of the game, Jon Garland (6-11) worked in and out of trouble. In the first inning, the Phillies loaded the bases with no one out before stranding the bases that way. However, their offense came alive after the rain delay, thanks to some questionable defense from Arizona left fielder Ryan Roberts. The inning culminated in three two-out hits resulting in three runs and the lead. Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz each hit solo homeruns to tack on to the lead, but Ryan Howard had a tough night as he struck out twice with the bases loaded and flied out to the wall on two other occasions.

Overall, this was an important game for the Phillies, not just because they won but also how they won. With the rain delay, the Phillies avoided decimating their bullpen by using their new long-man, Jamie Moyer. Equally important was Moyer's effort, who was effective in his new role and showed a great attitude. And the much-maligned Phillies offense managed do better with runners in scoring position, but not great as they left the bases loaded twice. It was important to take the first game of the series, as they will face off in a pitcher's duel tomorrow night.

Phillies Recap: August 2, 2009

San Francisco Giants 7, Philadelphia Phillies 3

Neither Cole Hamels nor Barry Zito was nearly as sharp as their teammates from last night's game. However, while Chip Caray practiced his over-reactive inflection points, both starters battled hard and kept their teams close early. The Phillies utlimately lost a tough get-away game to the Giants by a final score of 7-3.

Hamels (7-6) fell victim to some early misfortune, as the Giants dinked and dunked hits on him. In the bottom of the second, former Phillie Aaron Rowand opened the scoring with a run-scoring triple with no one out. Hamels bounced back though and limited the damage by stranding Rowand at third. After cruising through the next couple of innings, Hamels found two-out trouble when Zito blooped a broken bat single that led to a three-run outburst. Hamels ran into another jam in the sixth inning which ended his afternoon, as he was tagged for six runs over five plus innings. Chan Ho Park, who allowed two of Hamels' runners to score, Ryan Madson, and Scott Eyre threw an inning each in relief.

Barry Zito (7-10) started out much stronger, facing the minimum through three frames. In the fourth, Jimmy Rollins tied the game with his 11th homer of the season, a no-doubt-about-it shot to left. The Phils then scratched out another unearned run. They added another run in the fifth as Carlos Ruiz came through and proved my theory right. But, as the game progressed, impatient at-bats by the Phillies hitters led to five strikeouts in six innings by Zito. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the sixth, and he was propelled to his seventh win of the season. The Phillies' only other major threat came in the eighth inning when they had two aboard for Utley and Howard, but lefty Jeremy Affeldt escaped unharmed.

The Phillies lose a series for the first time since they were swept by the Braves to start July and finish the road trip 3-4. It was not the start the Phillies or Hamels wanted, as they stumble home for an off day, before taking on the Rockies. The Phillies are now 59-44 on the season. They are currently 5.5 games ahead of the Marlins, who were still in play when the game ended.

Phillies Breakdown: Catchers

If there is one glaring flaw in the Phillies lineup, it is certainly the catcher position. The backstops, led by Carlos Ruiz, have struggled mightily at the plate. Now, with Chris Coste and Lou Marson gone, the Phillies rely (all too much) on veteran Paul Bako as their backup. Through 102 games this season, Phillies catchers have the following stats:

2009: 397 PA, 7 HR, 32 RBI, .226 BA, .322 OBP, .362 SLG

Carlos Ruiz has proven to be a solid defensive catcher. While his offensive struggles can be more frustrating than listening to Tim McCarver mispronounce his name, Ruiz has contributed with great glove-work. He calls a great game and has a strong arm, which he has used to throw out 16/50 base stealers this season (32%). Ruiz has allowed only one passed ball and committed just three errors all season for a .994 fielding percentage. On a team with more than enough offense, Ruiz's emphasis is on defense and as such, he should be starting almost all of the Phillies' games.

Paul Bako on the other hand is an aging, mediocre catcher. While he hits lefty and has played adequate defense, there is something unnerving about him when he starts. Bako is sufficient for the occassional spot-start but should an injury befall Ruiz, I worry that the catcher's spot will be a black hole on an otherwise highly competitive team. Phillies Nation made this case about a week ago, when it suggested that Marson should replace the light-hitting Bako on the major league roster.

Here is a comparison of the Phillies' two catchers to this point in the season:

Ruiz: 65 G, 239 PA, 5 HR, 23 RBI, .223 BA, .325 OBP, .369 SLG
Bako: 18 G, 52 PA, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .167 BA, .231 OBP, .208 SLG

It's hard to imagine that a team on pace to score over 800 runs this season can have such little production from one of its starting positions. However, even based on these weak numbers, it is clear that Ruiz is a better offensive option than Bako. The only distinct advantage for Bako is his lefty bat. But I ask, does which side of the plate you are striking out from really matter?

So as the season comes to a close, Phillies fans should expect, or at least hope, to see much more of Chooch in the lineup. Charlie Manuel is walking a fine line between too much rest for Ruiz and too much playing time for Bako. As Phillies' beat writer Todd Zolecki points out, "the Phillies like Paul Bako as Carlos Ruiz's backup, although Bako has been playing more lately." But with 60 games left in the season, I would hope to see Ruiz start as many as 48 of those games, to help secure a third straight division crown. The Phillies are simply a better team with him in the lineup.