Posts Tagged ‘Ryan Howard’

Phillies Back on Track

August 14th, 2009 BroadStreetHero
Shane probably wouldve rather had one to drink after the game than a beer during the game.

Shane probably would've rather had one to drink after the game than a beer during the game.

In case anyone forgot, the Phillies did sweep the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field yesterday. Behind another sensational performance by Cliff Lee, the Phillies brought their division lead back up to 5 games. Lee pitched 8 strong innings, allowing only one run while striking out 8. In three starts with the Phillies Cliff Lee has shown why he was the AL Cy Young Winner last season. His stats so far: 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA, 24 innings pitched, 23 Ks, and 6 BB. Plus he has 3 hits which is equal to the amount of runs he has let up.

Lee wasn’t the only highlight of the game.  The Phillies brought their bats out in the series and remembered how to hit with runners in scoring position for the first time in a while.  Ryan Howard hit his first home run of August and Pedro Feliz also homered to spark the Phillies in the finale.

The Phillies were able to sweep the Cubs at Wrigley for the first time in the last 25 years.  The Wrigley faithful had something to say about it, trying to help out their Cubs by throwing a beer on Shane Victorino as he was trying to make a catch late in the game.  Fortunately Shane kept his concentration and caught the ball while receiving a shower of beer.

After this energy boost, the Phillies traveled to Atlanta to face the division rival Braves.  Tonight Joe Blanton squared off against Braves ace Jair Jurrjens, who the Phillies hadn’t scored a run against in his last two starts.  After the Braves got out to a 1-0 lead, Chase Utley provided a spark for the Phillies by hitting a two run homer off of Jurrjens (his first of August) to make it 2-1 Phils.

Of course they gave one run back the next inning to tie the game at two.  Both starters pitched through 7 innings as the game remained tied due to some tremendous fielding, especially by Shane Victorino, who made two sensational grabs in center field.

In the top of the 9th inning, Ryan Howard showed that he is back in the home run hitting groove, smacking a solo shot to deep center field.  This gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead, and it was Howard’s 205th career home run, passing Dick Allen on the Phillies all time home run list.  Not-so-lights-out Brad Lidge came into the game in the bottom of the 9th to close it out for the Phillies, who were going for their 4th win in a row, one that they sorely needed to put some more room between themselves and the Braves.

After getting the first out, Lidge allowed a base hit, then a stolen base.  Brad then threw some 97 mph high heat to strike out Ryan Church.  With a man on 2nd and two outs, Lidge faced the poor man’s Matt Stairs in Greg Norton, who he walked.  This brought Nate McLouth to the plate for the Braves with two men on.  McClouth hit a fly ball to left field that fell into the glove of Raul Ibanez, securing the win for the Phillies!

Posted in Phillies Tags: , , , , , , 1,519 Comments »

Phillies Win 7-0 on Happ’s Complete Game Shutout

August 5th, 2009 BroadStreetHero
The Phillies are back to their winning ways

The Phillies are back to their winning ways

J.A. Happ just showed Phillies management, coaches, players, and fans why he deserves a spot not only in the starting rotation for the rest of the season, but also as the fourth man in the playoff rotation. Tonight, Happ pitched 9 shutout innings for his 2nd complete game shutout of the season. He racked up a career high 10 strikeouts as well, showing that he can be dominant. On a night where Pedro Martinez pitched 6 strong innings in AA ball where he fanned 11 batters, J.A. Happ overshadowed with a more dominant performance against the Wild Card leading Rockies.

J.A. wasn’t the only story tonight. After a 6 game stretch where the Phillies bats were limp and the team went 1-5 while scoring a total of 13 runs, they finally started hitting. Each starter got a hit, including a double by Happ, and Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Feliz, and Jayson Werth hit homers for the Phils. Ryan Howard also recorded an RBI tonight, and Chase Utley got hit by a pitch for the 17th time this season and 100th time in his career.

The hot summer night was all the Phillies needed to get back on track in front of a crowd that acted as if tonight’s game was a playoff game. The atmosphere was absolutely electric as J.A. Happ struck out the final batter of the game, demonstrating poise that is needed out of a playoff pitcher.

Tomorrow afternoon Cliff Lee makes his home debut. He will have to do something extraordinary to overshadow his first start where he pitched a complete game while allowing only one run. Hopefully he is the competitive type and will only want to improve on his performance, and maybe try to beat out Happ’s outing from tonight.

Posted in Phillies Tags: , , , , , , , , 5,775 Comments »

Cliff Amazes in PhilLee Debut: Phils Win 5-1

August 1st, 2009 BroadStreetHero
Cliff Lee Scores a Run in His Phillies Debut: Also Pitched Well Tonight

Cliff Lee Scores a Run in His Phillies Debut: Also Pitched Well Tonight

Cliff Lee made Ruben Amaro, Jr. look like the smartest man in the league after his outstanding start tonight.  Aside from a 12 pitch walk to former teammate Ryan Garko, Lee was perfect through 5 1/3 innings.  For the next 3 2/3 innings Lee wasn’t any worse for the wear, pitching a complete game 4 hitter, allowing one run on a sacrifice fly.  Not only was Cliff unbelievably good on the mound, but he showed the batting prowess of someone accustomed to hitting, going 2 for 3 in the game with a run scored, missing a home run by inches.

All in all, Cliff Lee’s Phillies debut was perfect.  Nobody could’ve asked for more, and if this is a sign for things to come, I have to ask, “Who needs Roy Halladay?”  Not only was Cliff Lee great tonight, but the other player we got in the deal, Ben Francisco, had the best 1 for 4 night that I have ever seen.  He hammered the ball in all five of his at bats and got his first RBI as a Phillie, driving in Cliff Lee.  If this game was in Philly, Ben Francisco may have had 3 homers tonight with the way he hit the ball.

The Phillies bats were silent for the most part of the game, starting out 0/10 with runners in scoring position.  Through 6 innings they led 1-0 on a solo shot by Jayson Werth, but then the hitters got patient and the bats got hot.  After two walks, Ryan Howard got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and a walk to Ibanez make it 2-0 Phillies.  Jayson Werth hit a single to drive in Utley and Howard, and the Phillies took a 4-0 lead.

The Phillies didn’t look back.  Cliff Lee finished the game off with his 3rd complete game in his last 4 starts, and he got the first Phillies complete game since Cole Hamels shut out the Dodgers earlier in the month.  The Phillies finish off July 20-7 to bring their record to 59-42!

Posted in Phillies Tags: , , , , , , , 1,225 Comments »

Phillies Crash Back to Reality in Loss

July 22nd, 2009 BroadStreetHero
It was that kind of day for the Phillies

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.

Posted in Phillies Tags: , , , , , , , , 5,082 Comments »

Phillies Oust Lilly and Cubs Early: Win 10-1

July 20th, 2009 BroadStreetHero

The Phillies began their 3 game home series with the Chicago Cubs in style tonight on national television. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino got things rolling with back to back hits, then after two outs, Raul Ibanez hit a shot to dead center field to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. The Phillies never looked back. Rodrigo Lopez pitched a very solid game, going 6 strong innings while allowing 1 run and striking out 5 batters. Chad Durbin got the save by pitching three scoreless innings in relief. I learned something new tonight, if a reliever pitches three innings of relief to end a game he will earn a save no matter how big the lead is, which is why Durbin got the save in a 10-1 game.

Ryan Howard was the only Phillie who had a poor game, with three strikeouts in his first three at bats, but he hit a towering opposite field home run in the 8th inning to make up for his previous at bats. Jayson Werth just missed hitting a ball out and ended up going 0-3 in the game. Otherwise, the lineup was very impressive. Carlos Ruiz had a two run homer along with a RBI double.

The Phillies have gone 10-1 in their last 11 home games, and are 13-3 in July. This surge has given the Phillies a 52-38 record on the season, good enough for a 7 game lead in the NL East.

Click Here to Open Live Blog in a New Window

Posted in Phillies Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 4,644 Comments »
« Older Entries


  • Featured Video