Happy Returns: Phillies 9, Astros 4
by dajafi on Apr 2, 2011 10:16 PM EDT
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PrintShort of catching a line drive with his cap, there wasn't much more Cliff Lee could have done to live up to the hype in his triumphant return to the mound at Citizens Bank Park. The prodigal lefty won the inaugural start of his second Phillies go-round with seven superlative innings, holding the Astros to four hits and no walks while striking out eleven.
Meanwhile, the Phillies hitters picked up early where they'd left off late on Friday, banging out fourteen hits against Wandy Rodriguez and four Houston relievers. Once again, the Phils generated their offense without recourse to the long ball, scoring in five of their eight innings with a barrage of singles and doubles. Every starter had at least one hit, and Placido Polanco, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Ben Francisco and Raul Ibanez all had multi-hit games. Francisco, Ibanez and Shane Victorino each had two RBI on the night.
But there was no doubting the star of the show. From his dominant first inning--when he induced a Michael Bourn groundout and struck out Angel Sanchez and Hunter Pence--Lee was in control. He flashed the arsenal fans remembered from the 2009 stretch run: low-90s running fastball, vicious cutter, sharp curve, nasty change. The Astros didn't manage a hit until the fourth, when Sanchez singled and came around to score two batters later on a Carlos Lee smash to the gap that fell for a triple when Francisco and Victorino both dove for it and missed. That brought the Astros within a run at 2-1 and the tying run at third with one out, but they got no closer as Bill Hall struck out and Chris Johnson grounded back to Lee.
The Phillies got those runs back in the bottom of the inning on Victorino's two out, two-run single, and essentially put the game away with three more in the fifth as Francisco, Ibanez and Wilson Valdez all registered run-scoring hits. Carlos Lee struck again with a two-run homer in the sixth, but Cliff Lee put an exclamation point on his return with a 1-2-3 seventh that included two strikeouts. Danys Baez and Jose Contreras finished up for the Phils, whose pleasant night was blemished slightly with Victorino's departure from the game in the sixth with a calf strain.
Roy Oswalt makes his first start against his former team in Sunday's series finale, facing Bud Norris.
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Hopefully Victorino’s injury isn’t a bad one. I don’t really like the idea of an Ibanez/Mayberry/Francisco outfield defensively. They’re all rather decent hitters, but ye gods… I don’t want to cringe every time a ball goes into the outfield.
My guess is you’d see a lot of Michael Martinez in CF. Whether or not that’s a good thing, I have no idea.
It didn’t look like his “fall” was that bad. Francisco was the one who looked pretty beat up. My thought was that, with a 6-1 lead in Game 2, they were just not going to take chances and make sure.
Just read on another site that Vic says he’s fine and will be ready to go tomorrow. But apparently they’re going to evaluate him then, so I doubt he’ll play.
With the off day on Monday, that probably sounds like a good plan to rest him.
by WanderingMoses on Apr 2, 2011 10:43 PM EDT up reply actions
So I am was at the game tonight. Second game in as many days. Only Phillies tickets I have for the season and since I live in Harrisburg I don’t anticipate going to many more games this year. Especially with having 5 weddings to attend this summer.
That being said, and I am probably going to sound like a huge b*tch for saying this, but the standing O that Cliff Lee got when he was announced as the starter and walked to the dugout made me tear up a bit. It was truly amazing to see people so excited for an athlete. It was indescribable.
"You can commit no mistake and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." - Jean-Luc Picard
Hopefully I’ll get to see Cliff pitch in one of the games when they come here to Coors. So far, I’ve only seen games started by Park, Kendrick, Blanton, and Doc.
Go figure that the Halladay start was the one game that they lost.
Only saw the man pitch in game 4 of the Colorado frozen tundra series in 09, and a few times for the Mariners. I still regret my decision to go to game 2 of the 09 series…
Of the current starters I’ve seen Lee, Cole, and Blanton pitch for the Phils. I’m hoping to see Doc and Oswalt when they come up to Seattle later. Or when they pitch in San Fran around August.
There too. It was rousing. All that was needed was ticker-tape and the Phillies putting him in a convertible and giving him a corncob pipe. Then we could properly honor him for being the liberator of the Philippines that he is.
In all seriousness, it was a thrill, and he obliged with a great performance. But if the Phils don’t fix the TV in the Phanatic Phun Zone, imma hurt someone.
Interested in seeing how Oswalt does, if he can keep pace with the other 3, it’s gonna be game over… can we say World Series Champs already.. Or is it too early… Alrite, I’ll wait till we go thru the rotation at least once… I just have this feeling… 110 wins, w.s. champs.. there, i couldn’t wait…
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, no one can help you as much. - Dhammapada
Socrates in his last days said, 'When I was young I thought I knew much. When I became old, ripe in wisdom, I came to understand that I know nothing."
It comes naturally, I don’t even have to think about it :)
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, no one can help you as much. - Dhammapada
Socrates in his last days said, 'When I was young I thought I knew much. When I became old, ripe in wisdom, I came to understand that I know nothing."
by Eagladelphia on Apr 3, 2011 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
It’s a natural high…
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, no one can help you as much. - Dhammapada
Socrates in his last days said, 'When I was young I thought I knew much. When I became old, ripe in wisdom, I came to understand that I know nothing."
by Eagladelphia on Apr 3, 2011 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m just confident, why not dude ? Of course every team can have injuries or whatever, and the only reason to slow down is to not jinx your team, but I don’t believe in those superstitions. If you can’t be confident this year, then forget about it…
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, no one can help you as much. - Dhammapada
Socrates in his last days said, 'When I was young I thought I knew much. When I became old, ripe in wisdom, I came to understand that I know nothing."
by Eagladelphia on Apr 3, 2011 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions
Sometimes sports fanaticism inspires creativity with face paint
But then again, \m/ No Guts, No Glory \m/
It’s realistic, have some faith men.
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, no one can help you as much. - Dhammapada
Socrates in his last days said, 'When I was young I thought I knew much. When I became old, ripe in wisdom, I came to understand that I know nothing."
by Eagladelphia on Apr 3, 2011 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions
at the game
-The new scoreboard is fricken awesome and not at all over the top like the one in the Bronx
-Cliff Lee grounded out and received a standing O as he jogged back into the dug out…hilarious
-Howard is staying back on the ball and it isn’t even summer yet
-The place was so packed that I could not eat my primo at my normal spot in the standing area above my section (210) because it was overrun by standing room only ticket holders…that is a first during the regular season for me
-Beer, although served cold, provided adequate warmth
-When Danys Baez doesn’t throw his hook for a strike he has problems…see Carlos Lee AB
-Loved the “Charlie’s Aces” shirts sold on the street corner, even though my buddy came up with that design last year…not sure the guys selling shirts on the corner can be held accountable for breach of intellectual property
-Highlight of the night was a toss up between watching two drunk teens roll a half keg along the cross walk outside the stadium right in front of a cop car and the hottie with the massive plumber that sat right in front of me
"Francisco!...that's fun to say!" - Buddy
Was at the game tonight – freezing cold but the ovation for Cliff Lee was one of the most magical moments I have ever experienced….people around us were crying. He is so loved, I can’t describe the fans’ reaction to everything he did….and he was brilliant tonight. The ball that fell for a triple hung up long enough to be caught except I think Francisco scared Victorino when they met running full tilt. Only Carlos Lee’s linedrive HR marred a dominating pitching performance. I really like Halladay and enjoyed being at the opening game this year as well but I’m sorry, watching Cliff Lee pitch in Philadelphia is something beyond amazing. Dude is loved.
Turning down more dollars from the Evil Empire to return here has made him a Philly hero. When we win World Series title #3, we’ll be singing folk songs about him.
by 92-74-99-96 on Apr 3, 2011 7:30 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Let’s not get ahead ourselves here. It’s April and the Astros, for crying out loud. There are some really good teams in the NL who might differ with you.
Why look'st thou so?' -"With my crossbow
I shot the Albatross."
by RememberthePhitans on Apr 3, 2011 8:22 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Section 235, Row 9 is a damn fine place to sit for a early April game. It’s under the upper-deck overhang, and it’s immediately below and in front of the Hall of Fame Club, so there’s a concrete wall right behind the seats, so they’re very sheltered.
Downside is that the left field corner and the entire scoreboard are obstructed. Got a glimpse of the new scoreboard as we were walking through the park to our seats but didn’t get to see it at all during the game. This is my one pet peeve about the park – with all the video boards scattered around it would sure be nice if they actually had one or two that duplicated the info on the big board, like the lineups for instance.
Agreed
I was in sec. 230, Row 9. Food in HOF Club blows though. Man that stir fry was salty. I know, I’m an idiot for spending 13 bucks on it.
by Mace Chutney on Apr 3, 2011 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions
I noticed this trend when I was watching Lee during spring training, but if he gave up an extra base hit, he bounced back with quickly because of frustration when facing the next batter. I decided to look at the play by play from last night to see how he bounced back after the Carlos Lee triple, and he struck out Hall. Then the next time up and Carlos Lee homered, Hall K’d again.
Last night there was a discussion about what’s an “ace?” I believe that an “ace” is any pitcher who can give up an extra base hit and then refocus for the next batter and either record a SO or an out. I say this because I did the same for Lackey last night in the Sox game and after an extra base hit, he gave up either a double or a triple. Therefore, Lee is an “ace” in my opinion and Lackey isn’t because he couldn’t refocus. This doesn’t take into defensive issues (because I think the Carlos Lee triple is when Victorino and Francisco collided and Ellsbury dove too early leading to an extra base hit). But still, it’s an interesting trend/concept.
But not all of them do, I think that is his point.
"You can commit no mistake and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." - Jean-Luc Picard
reality...
Watching the game with my 4 year old last night, he looked at me and said “Cliff Lee is really good at pitching Daddy”. It was at that moment that the reality that Cliff Lee will follow roy Halladay all season long actually sank in. I’m sure this afternoon the reality that Roy Oswalt will follow Lee will also sink in.
It’s great to be a Phillies fan, for sure.
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