Slippery Rocks: Phillies 4, Rockies 3
by WholeCamels on Jul 25, 2010 7:25 PM EDT
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PrintIt took awhile, and after a scare courtesy of closer Brad Lidge, it was worth the wait.
The Phillies overcame a late Rockies lead, scoring two runs in the bottom of the 7th after a 90 minute rain delay en route to a 4-3 victory over Colorado.
Making his first start since April, lefty J.A. Happ was rusty, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks in five complete innings. He threw 92 pitches, and worked in and out of trouble throughout the day, including a second inning where he worked out of a bases loaded jam allowing just a single run.
The Phillies got on the board and took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second on a long two-run home run by Ben Francisco who has started nine of the Phillies last ten games against lefty starters. Sounds like a platoon to me...
The Rockies took the lead back in the fourth on a two-run homer by Certified Phillie Killer Ryan Spilbourghs.
After the rain, the Phillies again took the lead, with Jimmy Rollins driving Wilson Valdez in from second. Rollins, who later stole third base, scored the Phillies fourth and final run on a wild pitch.
Phillies relievers pitched four shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven.
The Phillies go for the four game sweep tomorrow.
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If we get the deficit down to 4.5 tomorrow with three home games vs. the D-Backs and three quasi-home games vs. the Nationals coming up next… things could really be looking up as of this time next week…
First things first – Kill Jason Hammel!
Killing is so ugly…
How about maiming?
by WanderingMoses on Jul 25, 2010 7:41 PM EDT up reply actions
OK, close enough.
(“I’ll KILL that Mr. Burns and, uh… WOUND that Mr. Smithers!” —Groundskeeper Willie)
Great reference. I am picturing Willie after he has been denied his crystal slop bucket.
by WanderingMoses on Jul 25, 2010 7:54 PM EDT up reply actions
My comment should have gone here... LOL
"If chaos drives, let suffering hold the reins!"
by PhillyFan20XX on Jul 25, 2010 8:47 PM EDT up reply actions
As bleak as things looked during that St. Louis series, the Phils aren’t really out of it by any means (though the odds still aren’t with them, obviously).
With that said — and I know I’m flip-flopping a bit by saying this — I wouldn’t mind the idea of being “weak buyers” at the deadline. Meaning, hold onto Werth, see if there are any minor deals out there (a Brett Myers type starter or a stopgap infielder, but certainly not at the price of a top ten prospect).
Also worth noting: both Francisco and Ibanez looking good with the stick. Would be a huge help to the offense to get either or both going.
by PhillyFriar on Jul 25, 2010 8:49 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Straight platoon from here on
I don’t care if Charlie doesn’t want to call it that but that’s what it is.
Only *one* thing stops me from completely agreeing with this statement:
The Braves are looking at the Nationals and the Reds. I don’t smell a losing streak in Atlanta just yet.
"If chaos drives, let suffering hold the reins!"
Stranger things have happend. I watched Wilson Valdez hit a double today so I’m looking for the sky to fly tommrow.
by sowhatifitisasportste on Jul 25, 2010 8:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Point taken.
"If chaos drives, let suffering hold the reins!"
by PhillyFan20XX on Jul 25, 2010 8:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I read that three times before I realized that “play” did not follow “double”. I was wondering why the statement was made in support of “stranger things have happened”. My brain is just used to seeing it there, so it filled it in when it was missing in this instance.
Remember the Phitans
by RememberthePhitans on Jul 25, 2010 10:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Two counterpoints: (1) haven’t seen the pitching matchups, but if Strasburg is going, that’d be a big help; and (2) the Reds are good.
by PhillyFriar on Jul 25, 2010 8:53 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The Reds are good...
but not enough to sweep the Braves. Not as good as we would like them to be. I wasn’t trying to say the Braves would sweep the next two series, but any more than two losses just doesn’t seem likely.
"If chaos drives, let suffering hold the reins!"
by PhillyFan20XX on Jul 25, 2010 8:55 PM EDT up reply actions
We don’t need them to sweep the Braves. It’s still July. We don’t need the Braves to go on a losing streak at all. We just need to pick up 1 or 2 more games this week. If we get to 2.5 games on August 1, then we’ll be in good shape.
^ That...
…is the most likely outcome that I see happening.
"If chaos drives, let suffering hold the reins!"
by PhillyFan20XX on Jul 25, 2010 9:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I just want to see the Phillies winning series consistently. The standings will take care of themselves.
Remember the Phitans
by RememberthePhitans on Jul 25, 2010 10:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Strasburg will be pitching against both of us, I think. On Tuesday vs. the Braves and on Sunday vs. Phillies.
We’ll have the advantage in the other two games of our respective series, though. They’ll get Hernandez and Stammen. They not very good, but we’ll get two even-stinkier as-yet-unnamed fill-in scrubs from the minors.
Which means we’ll lose both of those games.
by WanderingMoses on Jul 25, 2010 9:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, I am not very down…just threw a one-hitter in MLB The Show. Things are indeed looking up. I just fear we’ll run into Tim Redding Disease.
by WanderingMoses on Jul 25, 2010 9:25 PM EDT up reply actions
I was playing last night and threw a Lidge-esque save. Inherited a baserunner on second, nobody out, my team’s up by two. First guy I face slaps one up the middle. Runners on the corners, nobody out. Next guy pops out to 1st in foul territory. Runner steals second on a slider that gets away from the catcher. I intentionally walk the batter to get the double play opportunity, and then proceed to strike out the last two batters.
Honor is no substitute for victory.
So it looks like one of the guys we’re going to face is Ross Detwiler, who was a fairly highly touted prospect a year ago, but hasn’t yet had success in the majors. Hard throwing lefty. So he’s a genuinely talented guy at least, although the results have still been scrubby.
Not sure who Scrub #2 will be. It could be Matt Chico.
He's hard-throwing?
Good. Then we’re bound to win. It’s those junk-balling Ed Harris types that seem to give us the most trouble.
For reference, see Ubaldo OMGTEHWINZZS Jiminez and R.A. Eephus McDickey.
upcoming pitching probables
Mon: Blanton vs. Jason Hammel
Tue: Hamels vs. Rodrigo Lopez
Wed: Halladay vs. Joe Saunders or Edwin Jackson
Thu: Kendrick vs. Saunders, Jackson, or Ian Kennedy
Fri: Happ vs. Some Nationals Scrub (1 of 2)
Sat: Blanton vs. Some Nationals Scrub (2 of 2)
Sun: Hamels vs. Strasburg
I have a bit of a soft spot for Lopez, as his contributions last July were really quite crucial to our season and often overlooked. I hope we beat him but not too badly.
That said, I wonder if we should give Ben Francisco a start in CF that day instead of Victorino. Lopez strikes me as being the type of pitcher Francisco has historically feasted on.
Wow I missed that post the first time. OPS of 3.5???? Forget trading Werth, can we just get the Rays to trade Sonnanstine to the Mets or Braves?
Yes I am old. I remember the Phils good old days and their bad old days. Course, the good old days I'm thinking of were in 2009.
Homer's Epics: An Odyssey for the Salary Cap, The Quest For the Goalie Grail
I was glad to see Happ pitch a respectable game. Not great, but not awful. He was terrible in the minors, and I wasn’t sure if it was a result of just not pushing it, working on specific pitches, or something else. To the extent that he is trade bait, along with Werth, it had to help to show that he can be effective against MLB hitters.
That said, if Happ is ok, I am feeling more ok about the Phillies doing nothing on the trade front. If it turns out that the team can flip Werth for prospects and then prospects and Happ for something really delicious (Greinke, though I think that’s a pipe dream), I’d be ok about it, but the Phillies are not nearly as desperate.
It’s just one start, and not a great one at that, but it was encouraging. Also, the OF platoon seems to be paying some dividends, or else the team is just turning the corner on a couple Job-like months.
Simply put, I’m feeling better about this team now.
Remember the Phitans
by RememberthePhitans on Jul 25, 2010 10:31 PM EDT reply actions
If Zack Greinke is even REMOTELY possible, I will cry tears of joy. Seriously, ever since I read an interview with him and realized how awesome of a dude he is (as a pitcher and a person) I’ve had a bit of a crush on him. Seeing him on the Phillies would be…indescribably awesome.
Oh yeah, and it would also be good for the team.
Velociraptors are really good at:
a) making diving catches
b) stealing bases
c) eating people
d) all of the above --correct!
by LeepinLizardz on Jul 26, 2010 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions
The homer left a bad taste in my mouth
Ruiz called something like 7-8 fastballs in a row and not a single off-speed pitch, or even anything other than a 4-seamer. Why would he do that?
by benderbrodriguez on Jul 25, 2010 10:37 PM EDT reply actions
That doesn't explain the first 7 fastballs though
by benderbrodriguez on Jul 25, 2010 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Was it just me, or were 3 of Happs 4 BBs unintentional 4 pitch walks?
by philiafan14364 on Jul 25, 2010 11:01 PM EDT reply actions
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