Broad Street Heroes

It was that kind of day for the Phillies

The last 10 games have been a showcase for the World Champion Phillies. They played great defense, had outstanding pitching from their starters and bullpen, and everybody in the lineup was hitting. I think playing a day game today threw them off. The Phillies took 2 of 3 from the Cubs, but couldn’t finish off the sweep, losing by a score of 10-5. Jamie Moyer lost his control in the 4th inning and for parts of the 5th, allowing 5 runs in that span, including 4 runs off of 5 hits in the 4th inning. Down 5-0, the Phillies rallied back, scoring three runs in the next two innings to make it a close game, but the bullpen was not there for the Phils today. Bad Durbin (Chad’s unfortunate cousin) allowed three runs in the 7th inning, stretching the lead to 8-3 Cubs. The Phils struck back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the 7th, but Brad Lidge sealed the game for the Cubs by pitching terribly in the 9th, allowing them to jump out to another 5 run lead, which they ultimately kept. Poor pitching, unproductive hitting, and shoddy bullpen work combined for the Phillies first loss in a fortnight.

Hey, they’re still 14-4 in July and are 14 games above .500.  Two bright spots in the game were Greg Dobbs and Pedro Feliz, who each went 2-5 with 2 RBIs.  Raul Ibanez start today, and in my opinion his stellar play has earned him a day off.  He should be rested and ready to play more All Star quality ball at home against the Padres and Cardinals before the Phillies head to the west coast for a date with the Diamondbacks and Giants.

Tomorrow the Phillies play a make up game against the hapless Padres. I expect the winning ways to start up again.  Cole Hamels is on the mound tomorrow for the Phils.  He has been shaky this season and is currently 5-5.  The bullpen got a lot of work this week, so look for Cole to try to go 7+ innings to save some tired arms.