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TwitterRaul hits a towering home run to right center field for his second home run of the night! Happy Birthday Raul. 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. If he isn’t starting in the All Star Game then something is wrong. Amazing. Phillies lead it 10-1, it’s time to save some runs for tomorrow night.
Archive for June, 2009
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I Guess Nobody Will be Asking…
June 2nd, 2009 
BroadStreetHero …Antonio Bastardo who his daddy is, because he was filthy tonight in his Major League Debut. 6 strong innings by the 23 year old kid, and an odd seating area combined with the major league home run leader kept him from keeping his ERA at a clean 0.00. Overall I thought that Bastardo did an amazing job. He threw a lot of pitches early but kept his composure and threw strikes. Even though he mainly threw fastballs, it works on major leaguers when you have a 93-95 mph fastball like he does. I’m officially impressed with this kid. Let’s finish this off and go for the sweep tomorrow night!
Happy Birthday Rauuuuuuuuul!
June 2nd, 2009 BroadStreetHero Raul Ibanez is celebrating his 37th birthday today and gave himself a few presents. He is 2 for 3 with an RBI double and a 2 RBI home run to center field. You really have to give Ruben Amaro, Jr. some credit for signing Ibanez to a 3 year deal when most others wouldn’t give him that type of contract.
As far as Major League debuts go, Antonio Bastardo has been great through 5 innings. I don’t think anyone was expecting 95 mph fastballs like the ones he was throwing. Bastardo seems like he is a very promising young pitcher and is a strikeout machine. He was a little wild early in the game, but it looks like he will pitch 6 or 7 innings depending on how Rich Dubee feels. Great job so far and he will most likely get his first major league victory.
Greg Dobbs goes deep to right field for his 2nd RBI of the game to give the Phillies an 8-0 lead in the 5th!
Live Blog: Phillies at Padres
June 1st, 2009 BroadStreetHero 12:45 AM: After a lucky call by the 2nd base umpire Brad Lidge gets Brian Giles to pop up to Jimmy Rollins and the Phillies WIN by a score of 5-3! Brad Lidge records his 4th save in a row and Joe Blanton gets his 4th win of the season. The Phillies are now 29-20 and are 1 1/2 games up in the NL East. Some notes on the game tonight:
- Joe Blanton pitches 7 solid innings for the second straight game
- Brad Lidge has 4 consecutive saves and now has 13 on the season
- Carlos Ruiz threw out two runners at 2nd base in tonight’s game
- Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hit back to back home runs
- Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Hairston also hit back to back home runs. Gonzalez had his league leading 21st home run.
Thank you for following my first live blog. It was great for me to do tonight, especially because the Phillies won!
12:40 AM: Brad Lidge comes in to try to record his 13th save of the season. Scott Eyre walked Adrian Gonzalez to start off the 9th. The Phils are three outs away from going 1 1/2 games up on the Mets in the NL East.
12:36 AM: Scott Eyre stays in the game to face Adrian Gonzalez. Good decision to get the Lefty/Lefty matchup before Lidge comes in. With a two run lead let’s hope he made the right decision. The Phils have the lead 5-3, let’s get a win in the first game of this home stand. By the way, one thing I always say when Jayson Werth(less) comes to bad each time is, “Come on Jayson. Show us what you’re worth.” The last 10 games or so he has been pathetic. Does anyone agree when I say we should call up John Mayberry, Jr. for a few games and let Jayson work on his swing?
12:28 AM: Scott Eyre has a strong outing, taking care of the Padres in the 8th inning with some help from Chase Utley’s over the shoulder catch (he caught it in his arm pit, not even his glove). It’s almost Brad Lidge time for the Phillies, although I don’t like the idea of him facing Adrian Gonzalez. Stay classy San Diego (I felt like I had to say it).
12:18 AM: Greg Dobbs gets off the schneid (is that how it’s spelled?) and hits an opposite field double. Jimmy Rollins hit the ball hard yet again to bring him to 3rd, setting the stage for Shane Victorino’s bloop single which he turned into a double thanks to some heads up baserunning and poor fielding by the pitcher. The Phils get that insurance run to go up 5-3. The 1 through 5 hitters are currently 9 for 23 in this game with a walk, but we are only 3 for 18 with runners in scoring position. Ryan Howard has 4 K’s tonight. At least he made up for it with a 426 foot home run. Who’s going to pitch the 8th since Madson has the night off?
12:08 AM: That was the type of inning I like to see. Great job by Joe Blanton. 7 strong innings yet again. Now hopefully the bullpen can win it for him. I don’t see Charlie putting him out for the 8th, although I might based on that last inning. Some more hits and a couple of runs would be comforting.
12:04 AM: The Phils go down 1-2-3 again and we are at stretch time in San Diego. With the exception of those two pitches last inning I think Joe Blanton has been brilliant. Charlie should send him out for the 7th so we can go Madson/Lidge for the 8th and 9th. I really would like an insurance run, but let’s just worry about getting out the next three batters.
11:59 PM: Just when you thought it would be a quick 6th the Padres respond with back to back jacks of their own. The first was by Adrian Gonzalez with his league leading 21st homer. That ball really got out of here in a hurry. If there were fans at this game I would be confused. With four home runs it feels like a game at Citizen’s Bank Park, not Petco Park. Let’s get those runs back.
11:50 PM: The Phils have an uneventful top of the 6th. They showed the All Star Voting so far and Raul Ibanez has climbed up to 2nd place. Great job Philly fans! Keep voting for your favorite Phillies at www.mlb.com. You can vote a maximum of 25 times. I already did. Hopefully Joe Blanton can have a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 6th.
11:40 PM: More great pitching and some exceptional defense by Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino, who almost doubled off Kevin Kouzmanoff at 1st base, to keep the score 4-1 Phillies after 5 innings.
11:33 PM: At least Jimmy is hitting the ball hard. 2 for 4 tonight isn’t bad. The only negative in this game is that the Phils are 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position. Maybe they should take batting practice and have people stand on 2nd and 3rd.
11:30 PM: Pitching change for the Padres as Kevin Correia is only able to go 4 1/3 innings and leaves with the bases loaded. They don’t even have enough confidence in him to let him pitch to Joe Blanton. What are the odds of a Joe Blanton Grand Slam? Probably better than my odds of dating Megan Fox, but a man can dream can’t he?
11:21 PM: WHAT A SHOT RYAN HOWARD! BACK TO BACK JACKS FOR THE PHIGHTIN’ PHILS! Ryan hit that to dead center field. I don’t think that is a regular occurence at Petco Park. 4-1 Phillies.
11:20 PM: As Sarge was saying if you can hit a home run here you earned it, and Chase Utley did just that with a solo shot to lead off the 5th! Phillies take the lead 3-1!
11:18 PM: Another great inning for Joe Blanton. He really has his stuff again tonight. He did a really good job of pitching around Adrian Gonzalez, who leads the league in home runs, and he made a wonderful pitch to get his 4th strikeout. Chase Utley made a fine play to tag out Gonzalez after Blanton jammed Brian Giles. On we go to the top of the 5th in San Diego.
11:10 PM: …and that’s why this is a pitcher’s park. Shane hits a bomb to deep center field and Tony Gwynn, Jr. makes a hell of a catch to rob him of extra bases and an RBI. So far the Phillies are 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position. The runs will come if we keep getting the leadoff batter on base. So far we have had that in all four innings with three hits and a walk.
11:03 PM: I LOVE CARLOS RUIZ! What a throw and tag to catch Tony Gwynn, Jr. stealing 2nd base. Joe Blanton brings his K total to 3 and seems to have his control so far this game, which bodes well for the rest of the game. Carlos has really stepped up his game this year. He really calls a great game and can play the field. What a speech by the Ageless One, Jamie Moyer, after his 250th victory. If I needed advice from anyone I think I would turn to Jamie if I had the chance.
10:55 PM: The bases are loaded for Pedro Feliz (also known as Peter Happy) and he…strikes out. Oh well. At least we got two runs in the inning to take the lead. As long as Blanton keeps pitching well and gives us 6 or 7 solid innings I’m not concerned.
10:45 PM: What did I say! Great job Joe Blanton taking a leadoff walk. Jimmy is seeing the ball well tonight and is 2 for 2. Shane Victorino ropes a single to right field and Blanton scores! The Phillies tie is at 1! Chase Utley hits it right up the middle. RBI single and the Phils take the Lead 2-1! I guess lefties can hit off of Kevin Correia.
10:40 PM: Baseball is a game of inches. Brian Giles foul tips strike three and Carlos Ruiz couldn’t quite hold it, which allowed Giles to get a second chance. He made the most of it and powered a single through the hole between Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. Good baserunning by the Padres to get Hairston over to 3rd on the play. Amazing job by Rollins and Utley to turn two to make sure the inning didn’t get out of hand. Joe Blanton kept his cool and got a strikeout for the 3rd out of the inning, leaving it at 1-0 Padres. Let’s get that run back!
10:29 PM: The Phillies are now 0-2 with runners in scoring position. What makes this worse is that both runners were leadoff doubles. In a pitcher’s park like Petco Park we really need to score runs when they are available. Man I hope this doesn’t come back to bite us. Jayson Werth has been terrible as of late. Since the series against the Yankees I think he’s had like 2 hits, and every time he has been up with men on base he has either struck out or he made an out that didn’t move a runner over. Terrible.
10:20 PM: After a leadoff double by Jimmy Rollins the Phillies were not able to capitalize and get him home. Hopefully we don’t leave too many men on base this game. Joe Blanton pitched a solid first inning. It really just hit me how big Petco Park is as Raul Ibanez rips a double down the right field line.
I visited San Diego last summer and was able to check out Petco Park. It really is a great place to see a game. The center field wall is open and people on the street are able to walk up and be right up against the wall when games aren’t going on, which is really cool.
Anyway, back to the game. Another leadoff double and Jayson Werth can’t move him over. Ibanez on 2nd with one out for Pedro Feliz. Tom MacCarthy has Tony Gwynn up in the booth. That’s awesome! Not often do we get hall of famers up in the booth from the other team. Let’s see what Pedro can do…please get Ibanez home.
On the Road Again
June 1st, 2009 BroadStreetHero After a successful home stand capped off by a sweep of the Nationals, the Phillies are about to go on a West Coast swing that will show us what they are really made of. The next 10 games are on the road. First we play a three game set against the Padres, then comes a four game battle with the Dodgers, and the road trip finishes in Citi Field against the division rival Mets. I will keep you updated on each game, hopefully with good results.
How do you think the Phillies will fair during this road trip?
- Win all three series
- Win two out of three series
- Win one out of three series
- Lose all three series
