Friday, October 2, 2009

Phillies Recap: October 2, 2009

W - VandenHurk (3-2), L - Blanton (12-8)

The Phillies were once again flat as Joe Blanton was jumped on by the aggressive Marlins lineup. Kirk VandenHurk was strong for the Marlins, keeping the Phillies shut down and the Marlins tacked on runs late to put the game away. Despite playing with a partial team, the Phillies lost a tough game tonight, as they pursue the best record in the National League. By the end of the night, the Phillies had been dealt a 7-2 loss.

Joe Blanton had his second straight rough start, allowing a lot of early runs on the night. Once the Phillies fell behind in the second inning, they would never be back in the game. For the game, Blanton allowed five earned runs on nine hits and a pair of walks. He pitched into the seventh inning, but lasted on six official innings, and struck out only three. The Phillies bullpen allowed a few late runs that finished them off.

The Phillies offense was again stagnant against the Marlins, this time facing Kirk VandenHurk. Ryan Howard crushed his 44th homer of the season but the Phillies offense did almost nothing else. VandenHurk went six solid innings, allowing just two earned runs on five hits and a walk. The Marlins bullpen was impressive, though, as they came in for three shut out innings.

Once again, the Phillies failed to make up ground in the hunt for the best record in the National League. With two games left, the Phillies are 92-68 and can still improve on last season's record. It will be interesting to see what they do with their lineup the last two games of the season and how the rotation sets up. It is still much too early to tell who and where the Phillies will play in the first round of the playoffs.

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