-The Phillies offense looked locked in right off the bat, working the count and getting solid hits off of Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter. Carpenter was fortunate to get out of the first without allowing too much damage when he got Polanco to ground into a double play. Think the Cards will ever use him on short rest again?
-After the second inning, the Phillies offense went into a coma and never woke up. Tony La Russa trotted out pitcher after pitcher and the Phillies couldn't muster any kind of offense. Only Jimmy Rollins managed a hit and he was promptly picked off trying to steal second.
-The Phillies looked especially clueless against Jason Motte. I hope they don't need a key run against him in an elimination situation.
-That wasn't quite the Cliff Lee we've all come to expect. Though he gave up a few hits early, he looked good through the first three innings. The Cardinals starting tagging him after that, though, picking up a string of cheap hits to get themselves back into the game. He wasn't helped by the wildly inconsistent strike zone but Lee is going to have to pitch better than that next time around.
-The Phillies bullpen was tremendous, allowing just one hit in three innings. That was one big positive to come out of the game.
-Ryan Howard continued his great postseason with 2 big RBI's in the first inning. He is putting that nightmare of a 2010 postseason behind him though it would have been nice if he came through in the 8th inning.
-That Jon Jay hit on Carlos Ruiz at the plate was the biggest hit of the day in Philadelphia. Yeah, I'm looking at you, Eagles.
The Phillies still have another ace to turn to so there is no reason to panic. What a horrible Sunday to be a Philly fan, though.
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