Dog Days: Rockies 8, Phillies 3

by dajafi on Aug 5, 2009 12:31 AM EDT

Okay, so just as the Phillies weren't really as good as they looked during the 19-3 stretch that concluded last Tuesday night, they're not as bad as they've appeared in losing five of six games since then. Still, that's scant consolation after another shaky Jamie Moyer start and another quiet evening for the vaunted Philadelphia bats resulted in another loss to a potential playoff opponent.

The visiting Rockies took a quick 2-0 lead when Moyer surrendered his 22nd home run of the season, a two-run shot, to Garrett Atkins in the second inning. They added two more in the fourth on a Ryan Spilborghs single and a bases-loaded walk of Chris Iannetta, one of four free passes Moyer issued on the night. The last two, to Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe to lead off the sixth inning, were particularly damaging, coming right after Jimmy Rollins had cut the deficit to 4-2 with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth. Rodrigo Lopez came on in relief, but surrendered run-scoring hits in the inning to Atkins, Iannetta, and Dexter Fowler as Colorado stretched its advantage to 8-2. That proved to be more than enough, as the Phils managed just one more run, on a Pedro Feliz sac fly in the bottom of the inning and did not seriously threaten again.

Spare a pleasant thought for the Washington Nationals, who scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth, capped by an Adam Dunn home run, to defeat Florida by a 6-4 score. The loss kept the Marlins five games back in the NL East.

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Is the answer to who the odd man out in rotation should be pretty obvious at this point?

Follow Bleeding Green Nation on Twitter

by JasonB on Aug 5, 2009 12:40 AM EDT reply actions

It sure is to me. But I think the best we can hope for is that they somehow come to their senses in time that he doesn’t start Game Four of the Division Series. And even that, I probably wouldn’t bet on.

by dajafi on Aug 5, 2009 1:15 AM EDT up reply actions

painfully obvious

…sigh…

by Boundforbeach on Aug 5, 2009 9:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Moyer & Martinez

Somebody mentioned it on a different post, but there might be some merit to alternating or spotting Moyer and Martinez depending on the matchups. Like letting Moyer get his shots vs. the Marlins (we’ll see how that goes this weekend) and trying Martinez against some teams that fare well against Moyer (lots of choices there this year). I think the jury’s still out on whether Martinez contributing this year is likely – how long has it been since he’s faced a major league lineup? I’m not saying he’s bound to fail, just that it’s premature to yank Moyer out of the rotation (some critics are even saying to send Moyer down to the minors!) and put Martinez in until we see how he does. And for those who somehow think the team would benefit with Moyer in the minors, do you really think the pitching staff hasn’t learned a lot from having Moyer there in the clubhouse and on the bench every day? If he’s not pitching he’s coaching, and you can’t do that in Reading.

by phillyinportland on Aug 6, 2009 3:26 AM EDT reply actions