Offense wakes up just in time to carry Phillies past Marlins

Better late than never, Phillies offense. After being shutout for the first six innings by Ricky Nolasco, the Phillies offense woke up in the late innings against the Marlins, picking up 5 runs in the final three frames to pull out a 5-3 win.

The big hit of the night belonged to Jimmy Rollins, who singled home a pair of runs with two outs in the top of the 9th. It was a quick turn back to hero for J-Roll after being the goat in yesterday's loss when his error allowed the Marlins to score the game-winning run. The other big hit for the Phillies came off the bat of Shane Victorino, who hit his 6th homer of the season to tie the game in the 8th inning.

Cliff Lee wasn't nearly as dominant in his outing tonight as his previous outing when he struck out 16 batters. While he did give up 3 runs and only managed 4 strikeouts, Lee was effective enough to keep the Phillies within striking distance for their late rally.

The win on Wednesday night secured a series victory for the Phillies over the Marlins and kept them 3 games ahead of Florida in the NL East. Now the Phils head to Atlanta and look to bury the Braves, who are currently 5 games behind them in the standings. They'll need the offense to not sleepwalk through the first 6 innings of the game if they want to get anything done against the strong Braves pitching.
(AP PHOTO)

Halladay "loses" duel with Josh Johnson

Apparently Roy Halladay has to be perfect if he wants to beat Josh Johnson.

In a rematch from last season when Halladay threw a no-hitter against the Marlins, two of the best pitchers in baseball lived up to the hype, each mowing down the opposition and going deep into the game. In the end, an unearned run given up by Halladay was the difference as the Marlins edged the Phillies, 2-1.

Despite getting hung with the loss, Halladay was his usual dominant self, striking out 9 Marlins and giving up only 1 earned run. He basically made only one mistake, a walk to the opposing pitcher (Johnson) that set up the Marlins first run of the game. The second run was unearned after a Jimmy Rollins error allowed the first batter to get on base in the 8th inning, a play that triggered another Marlins tally.

The Phillies offense, which scored its only run on a Ryan Howard homer, couldn't be faulted for not producing against Johnson. While they had no problem getting guys on base in the early innings, they couldn't capitalize after Johnson bore down and went for the kill. If Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball, a case could be made that Johnson is right behind him.

The best thing about the Phillies is that, whenever they lose, they have another ace taking the mound in short order: Cliff Lee will look to follow up his 16 strikeout performance tomorrow in the series rubber match. It should only take a run or two from the offense to get a win.
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Blanton back in usual form in return from DL

In what can only be called an adequate effort, Joe Blanton was victorious in his return from the disabled list as the Phillies beat the Marlins, 6-4. Blanton, who hadn't pitched since April 23rd due to elbow issues, pitched 5 spotty innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. While it wasn't exactly pretty, it was good enough to keep the Phillies in the game, which is about all we can expect from big Joe.

When he's healthy, Blanton may never dominate on the mound but he's certainly good enough to pitch 6 or 7 innings and give up something in the range of 3 to 5 runs. If the Phillies lineup can give him any kind of support, like they did Monday night, he should be good enough to win about half of his games. That's pretty decent for a number 5 starter.

The Marlins did their fair share to lose this game, from baserunning mistakes to fielding gaffes to poor pitching. With a below-average lineup and a rotation with only one stud, they hardly look like a team that is going to compete in the NL East. Still, expect a great game tomorrow as the two best pitchers in the NL, Josh Johnson and Roy Halladay, face off. First team to score a run wins?
(AP PHOTO)

Phillies sweep Fish, take commanding 3 game lead in the NL East

It's been a long, long time since the Phillies had a comfortable lead in the NL East. While they still shouldn't get too comfortable, they certainly took another step towards a playoff berth today as they completed a sweep against the Marlins on Wednesday night in a 10-5 win. With the Braves continuing to scuffle, losing another game to the Nationals, the Phillies added another game to their lead in the NL East to give them a nice three game cushion. Not only that, the Phillies also jumped up to 2.5 games above the Reds in the race for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, something the best National League team will have since the NL finally won the All-Star game this year.

Roy Halladay did the work on the mound on Wednesday, going 6 innings and giving up 10 hits and 3 runs, a mediocre outing by his standards. Luckily the Phillies offense did plenty of damage against the Marlins, who turned this one into a bullpen game as they used 6 different pitchers with none lasting more than two and one thirds innings. While Halladay probably isn't happy with how many hits he gave up, he did pick up his 19th win of the season, the most by any pitcher in the NL and tied with C.C. Sabathia for the most in MLB.

Despite the nice three game lead, the Phillies in no way can let their foot off the gas. With the Nationals, who played the Braves tough over the last few days, coming up next and six games with Atlanta on the horizon, an offensive lull or a few bad pitching outings could make for a very stressful final few weeks of the season. With the way Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt continue to take care of business, however, the postseason seems to be more of a certainty every day. With those three the only Phillies pitchers that will take the mound against Atlanta for the rest of the season, one can't help but start looking ahead to October.

Marlins announcers aren't too happy with blown call

We all know the Phillies got a gift when the ump called the shot down the line "fair" yesterday.

Take a listen to how the Marlins announcers reacted. They make their thoughts on the call pretty clear:

I get being mad about the call but that's a little over the top, no?
(Video via Daily Pulp)

Blown call helps Phillies salvage sweep over Marlins

In a season filled with injuries the Phillies finally look like they are catching some breaks. On Thursday night, with a runner on second and the game tied up in the bottom of the 9th, Marlins hitter Gaby Sanchez rolled a grounder down the third base line that would easily have scored the game-winning run but was instead called foul. Replays clearly showed that the ball stayed fair the whole time but no amount of arguing by the Marlins reversed the call. Capitalizing on the mistake, the Phillies quickly got out of the inning and then won the game after Carlos Ruiz homered in the 10th and Brad Lidge had a (relatively) clean save to help the Phils win 5-4 and finish the sweep in Florida.

Lost in all the madness of the bad call and the terrible baserunning by the Phillies at the end of the game was the performance of Roy Oswalt. In his second start as a Phillie, Oswalt showed why he is still considered one of the better pitchers in the game. Despite having some issues locating his pitches, Oswalt left the game in the 7th with two runners on base and the Phillies up 2-0. A few pitches by J.C. Romero later and Oswalt was on the hook for a pair of earned runs, but he still had a respectable night overall, striking out 5 batters and even retiring 10 straight Marlins at one point. Given how poor he looked in his last outing, it was nice to see the real Oswalt do his thing.

With the Marlins out of the way, the season-best 12 games over .500 Phillies now come home to face the mediocre Mets. The Phillies goal with Ryan Howard should be to tread water and keep the Braves close but they are doing even better than that as they sit only 2 games back. A solid series win against the Mets while the Braves are face the tough Giants pitching could make things even tighter. Winners of 12 of their last 14, the Phillies appear to be making their move.
(AP PHOTO)

Enough is enough, Brad Lidge

So long, Brad Lidge, and thanks for the memories. At this point, the Phillies need to move on without you. The Brad Lidge from 2008 isn't showing up any time soon so get this guy out of the closer role. His 11th blown save against the Marlins on Wednesday night is beyond the last straw. If Lidge can't close out a game in front of like 15 Marlins fans in a fairly meaningless game in September then how is he going to do in October with a packed stadium and a ton of pressure?

Enough already Charlie Manuel. I know you are loyal to a fault but you have to take Lidge out of the closer role. Ryan Madson, while not perfect either, is your only option and you have to turn to him in the 9th. At this point Lidge isn't even worthy of a spot on the playoff roster but I know the Phillies will at least be that loyal to him.

Enough is enough, Brad Lidge. Your time as the Phillies closer in 2009 is over. Get your head on straight and get yourself ready to bounce back in 2010.

As Trade Deadline passes, Phillies come out winners

As the MLB Trade Deadline came and went today at 4 pm, one thing was for certain: the Phillies were the big winners. Their acquisition of Cliff Lee on Wednesday set the bar that the rest of the National League tried to get to, but none did. The Phillies got the best pitcher of any team at the deadline, and arguably the best player, setting themselves up nicely for a return trip to the World Series.

Let's take a quick look at what other National League contenders did at the deadline:

NL East:
Braves: Acquired Adam LaRoche from the Red Sox for Casey Kotchman
A peculiar trade that isn't much of an upgrade for Atlanta. LaRoche is the slightly better hitter, but this move doesn't really make the Braves any more of a threat.

Marlins: Acquired Nick Johnson from the Nationals for Aaron Thompson
Johnson is a patient hitter, something the Marlins definitely need (see every Jamie Moyer start against the Fish). Not sure what this does to Jorge Cantu, but not a bad move for the Marlins. Not earth-shattering, but not bad.

NL Central:
Cubs: Acquired John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny from the Pirates for prospects
This move shores up the shaky Cubs bullpen, but how much can you trust anyone from the Pirates?

Cardinals: Acquired Matt Holliday from the Athletics for prospects
Like the Phillies, the Cardinals didn't make a move on deadline day, choosing to strike early and sit out the frenzy. Holliday gives them a dangerous lineup, especially when added with their other recent acquisitions of Julio Lugo and Mark DeRosa. Still, the Cardinals are a few pitchers short of being a complete team.

Brewers: Acquired Claudio Vargas from the Dodgers for Vinny Rottino
A minor move for some deep bullpen help.

NL West:
Dodgers: Acquired George Sherrill from the Orioles for prospects
This might be the 3rd best trade by any NL contender after the Lee and Holliday deals. Sherrill was a solid closer for the Orioles and slots in nicely as a setup man for the Dodgers. The Dodgers had several other talks to acquire big-name players, but they failed to get Roy Halladay or Adrian Gonzalez.

Giants: Acquired Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates and Ryan Garko from the Indians for prospects
The Giants offense is terrible, so they made two moves to upgrade it to mediocre. The Giants pitching will be dangerous if they make the playoffs, but there is still no reason to worry about them scoring any runs.

Rockies: Acquired Joe Beimel from the Nationals for prospects
Nice under the radar move by the Rockies. Biemel is a good situational lefty who could give the Phillies lefties some fits.

As you can see, no National League team made any moves that make them significantly better. The Cardinals probably did the most to upgrade their team, but, as we saw in their most recent series in Philadelphia, they still lack the pitching to compete with the Phillies. Probably the biggest moves that should worry the Phillies came in the American League, where the Red Sox were able to land Victor Martinez, a bat that greatly upgrades their offense. That move makes it even more likely that we will see a Red Sox/Phillies World Series this year. With Cliff Lee, the best pitcher traded this year, on the mound for the Phillies, I like the chances of a WFC repeat.

Time to start the J.A. Happ Rookie of the Year talk

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The Phillies aren't going to need Pedro Martinez, or Roy Halladay for that matter, if this keeps up. J.A. Happ, considered the Phillies 5th starter and likely a target by the Blue Jays in a trade for Halladay, put yet another solid effort together on Sunday, shutting out the Marlins in 7 innings to lead the Phillies to a 5-0 sweep over Florida. The win gives the Phillies a commanding 7 game lead in the NL East, their biggest division lead since 2001.

Happ gave up 5 hits and worked his way out of several jams to move his record on the season to 7-0. Couple that unbeaten record with a 2.68 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and a batting average against of .222, and you have a pitcher who is having a great rookie campaign. Is it strong enough for Happ to be considered Rookie of the Year?

I would say yes. There aren't a lot of strong candidates in the NL this year, from Colby Rasmus to Andrew McCutchen, there isn't a rookie having a dominant campaign. Jayson Stark of ESPN felt that Rasmus was the first half NL Rookie of the Year, but looking at his numbers, 11 HR, 34 RBI and a .270 average, those aren't nearly as impressive as what Happ is doing with the Phils.

The only thing that may work against Happ is how difficult it is for a pitcher to win the award. Since 2003, only 3 pitchers have won a ROTY award in either league, and those three pitchers had to put up big-time win or save totals to even be considered. It's kind of like the MVP award, if a pitcher is going to win it, he has to be truly dominant above the rest of the candidates. Happ will need several more starts like today to be the front-runner for Rookie of the Year.

Of course, there is also the possibility that Happ is traded to the Blue Jays and never gets a shot at ROTY. As the Halladay to the Phillies rumors continue, you can be the Jays will insist that Happ is included in any deal. I would still be fine with Happ being dealt for a known ace like Roy Halladay, but it would be even better if the Phillies found a way to hold on to Happ and still got Doc. A rotation of Hamels, Halladay, Blanton, Happ and Moyer/Martinez would be phenomenal.

Now that the Phillies have a 7 game lead in the division, however, they may not feel the need to make any drastic changes, and who could blame them. With the emergence of J.A. Happ, possible Rookie of the Year, the Phillies rotation is looking better and better.

Click here to take a look at how the Phillies were built!

Old Man Moyer mows down Marlins

(AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Recognize the headline? I'm pretty sure I've used it before, possibly every time Jamie Moyer has faced the Marlins, a team he is now 13-2 lifetime against. Moyer once again led the Phillies past the Marlins in a 4-0 Phillies win.

Who needs Old Man Pedro when you still have Old Man Moyer, anyway? Moyer got his 255th career victory by pitching 7 innings of shutout ball, allowing only one hit and one walk and striking out 4 Fish. He just simply owns the young Marlins, who just aren't patient enough to wait out his pitches.

Offensively, the Phillies had a few fireworks. Raul Ibanez hit a pair of homers and Ryan Howard hit his 200th career shot, which turned out to be an historic one. Howard became the fastest player to reach 200 home runs when he did it in his 658th game, crushing the previous record of 200 homers in 706 career games by Ralph Kiner. Howard isn't the youngest player ever to 200, but this milestone is still quite an achievement.

The Phillies won their 6th straight, and their 10th of their last 11, and now have a commanding 5 game lead over the Marlins. With three left against Florida, the Phillies could really open things up in the NL East.

POLL: Don't forget to vote to the left for how many wins you think Pedro Martinez will have with the Phillies. For the record, I think he'll end up with 4.

Phillies explode for 7 runs in the 9th to down Marlins

Talk about an offensive explosion. After 8 innings of baseball that looked just like Thursday's game against the Brewers where they nearly got no-hit, the Phillies offense finally came alive in a big way against the Marlins. After managing only 3 hits and striking out 8 times against young Marlins ace Josh Johnson, the Phils bats pounded Marlins relievers for 5 hits and 7 runs in the 9th inning to earn a 7-3 victory in Florida.

Shane Victorino had the big hit of the game when, with the Phillies down 3-2, he smashed a grand slam to clear the bases and give the Phils the lead. Chase Utley also homered and Jimmy Rollins and Matt Stairs each had an RBI.

The Phillies starting pitching once again put the team in an early hole as Brett Myers (surprise, surprise) gave up a 3-run homer to Dan Uggla in the 1st inning. The starting pitchers have given up way too many homers this season and it has forced the team to have to come from behind nearly every game. Myers did bear down after giving up the homer but it would be nice if the Phils could get some consistency out of their pitchers sometime soon.

Thanks to the late outburst, the Phillies avoided getting completely shut down offensively for the second game in a row. Charlie Manuel has good reason to be upset with this team, they are still a long way off from playing like the World Champs that they are.

The Marlins finally solve Moyer

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

I guess all good things do have to come to an end eventually. Entering tonight's game, Jamie Moyer had a career record of 10-0 against the Florida Marlins. Unfortunately for Moyer, he didn't bring his best stuff tonight, and although he did well to fight his way out of jams, the Marlins finally hung a loss on Old Man Moyer, winning 8-2.

Moyer pitched five innings and found himself in a jam in every inning except his last. I have never seen him have as much trouble throwing strikes as he did tonight, allowing 6 hits and 3 walks. He was lucky that he only give up 2 runs, and if the Phillie offense gave him anything, he could have escaped with his perfect record in tact.

The Phillies emptied the bullpen in this game, letting Les Walrond and J.A. Happ finally get some pitches in. Both didn't look good, with Happ in particular getting bombed for 4 runs in two innings. When Happ came in, the Phillies were down only two runs and still had a shot to come back, but Happ couldn't keep the Marlins off the basepaths, giving up 4 hits and walking 2. Even though Happ was thrust into a situation he isn't familiar with, it certainly wasn't the effort the Phillies wanted from someone who might be starting games for them in the coming weeks.

Offensively the Phillies really got nothing going all game. Shane Victorino did homer to continue his scorching play as of late but the Phils were unable to string together any hits against the Marlins. They even made former Phillie Arthur Rhodes look good when he struck out two batters in the 8th.

The Marlins are now 1.5 games out of first place. The series continues tomorrow with Kyle Kendrick pitching against Anibal Sanchez.

2 hours left until the deadline and the Phillies are quiet

With the MLB trade deadline looming at 4 pm Eastern, the Phillies have been very quiet. There have been plenty of deals and rumors going on throughout the league, but the Phillies have not been in the middle of anything. Speculation is that they will make some sort of deal for left handed bullpen help, but they could very well do nothing and wait until the August waiver deadline to get something done. GM Pat Gillick is known for making deals in August so he could be betting that the available talent then will be just as good as what is out there now.

In the rest of the NL East, only one team seems intent on making deals. The Marlins, right in the thick of the Manny Ramirez talks, have already made one deal today, for reliever Arthur Rhodes. Thank goodness the Marlins got him so Gillick didn't try to get him. The Manny deal, which has been off again and on again for the last 24 hours, appears to be off again. The Mets, on the other hand, have been just as quiet as the Phillies, with MLB Trade Rumors speculating that they won't be making any deals today. For as desperate as they are for outfield help, I am surprised the Mets won't try to get something done.

There are 2 hours left for the Phillies to get something done. Forget about Manny or Maddux or any other big name coming to Philly. Expect a decent lefty pitcher to be coming here for some mid-level prospects. I'll keep you posted if anything happens.

Phillies back atop the NL East

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Rumors of a Chase Utley injury are greatly exaggerated. Utley hit a homer for the second day in a row and the Phillies got a strong outing from Jamie Moyer to lead them to a 8-5 victory over the Nationals. It was their fourth straight win, and with the Marlins beating the Mets today, it moves the Phillies back into first place in the NL East by a half game.

Utley hit a two run homer in the 5th inning as part of a 5 run inning that lead the Phillies to the win. Shane Victorino also had a great game, getting 3 hits, scoring 3 times and even driving in 3 runs. Brad Lidge also got his 26th save in as many chances this year. I am stating the obvious here, but Lidge has been awesome this year. It's nice to have someone that reliable in the back of the bullpen. He did have that rough outing last week against the Braves, and at some point he will probably blow a save, but that doesn't take away from the amazing stability he has provided to the back of the pen.

The Phillies will finish up their series with the crappy Nationals tomorrow and then they will play the Cardinals this weekend, a much tougher opponent. More importantly, the trade deadline is tomorrow, and with the Marlins rumored to be pulling off a huge deal for Manny Ramirez, the Phillies better do more than simply getting a left handed reliever if they want to stay on top of the division.

Marlins take the first one over Philllies

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The Phillies started an important three game stretch tonight with the second place Marlins and they came up short in the first game of the series, losing 5-4 in Florida.

3 Up
1. Fightin' Fish I am one of probably many who doubted that the Marlins were for real but as they continue to win, we have to start looking at them as a serious contender. With the Braves and Mets already fading in the Phillies rear view, the Marlins are the only team that has managed to keep up. With tonight's win, the Marlins are within 3 games of first place and have a record of six games over .500. Watching the game today I got a good idea why they have been successful. They have a bunch of guys who can hit for power (5 players with 10 or more homers), several quality starters and an above average closer. The scariest part of the team is their bats, with superstar Hanley Ramirez and the 2nd best 2nd baseman in the game, Dan Uggla anchoring the line-up. These Marlins appear to be for real, and with New York and Atlanta disappointing, the Fish might be the only competition the Phils will have in their quest to repeat as NL East Champs.

2. Nolasco owns Phils Ricky Nolasco has proven to be a thorn in the Phillies side. Back on May 31st, Nolasco beat the Phillies by giving up only 2 runs in 6 and 2/3rds innings. Tonight, Nolasco did even better, giving up no earned runs across 6 innings of work. Nolasco did end up allowing 3 unearned runs across the plate, but those were due to bad fielding plays. Nolasco is just another in the long line of no-name pitchers who seem to have the Phillies' number

3. Rollins, Burrell homer The Phils did manage two homers on the night, including this one by Rollins in the 5th inning:

Rollins hasn't really lit the world on fire this season but he now has two homers in his last three games after only hitting 3 through the first two months of the season.

3 Down
1. Myers' W-L record Brett Myers continues to have an up and down season and tonight's effort was another one on the down side. In 5 and 1/3rds innings, Myers gave up 7 hits and walked 4 batters and gave up 3 homers. Myers' record now moves to 3-8, an ugly number for an Opening Day starter. He still has plenty of time to bounce back, but he may never re-gain the form he once had before he was a closer.

2. Victorino's 0-fer After being the hero in the series against the Atlanta Braves, Shane Victorino didn't start off this series with the same effort, going 0 for 5 and making the last out of the game with a runner standing at second base. He ended up stranding 4 runners in all in the game.

3. Howard's K's Just thought I would point out that Howard struck out two more times tonight and is currently on pace for 218 strikeouts on the season. I know his hitting has improved lately, but that's just an astounding amount of K's.