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Hunter Pence, Placido Polanco, and Cliff Lee put on a show for everyone tonight as the Phillies beat the Giants 3-0. These late games are always tough, and the middle innings were slow going with Lee and Madison Bumgarner each retiring a long string of opposing hitters. The game got off to an inauspicious start, with Bumgarner allowing straight singles to Jimmy Rollins and Polanco. Jimmy would be caught stealing, and after Shane Victorino walked, Ryan hit a liner to third and Polanco was doubled off. But everyone would shake off the first inning and get down to business. Here are some highlights:
Back to Back Jacks: Hunter Pence and John Mayberry Jr. each went yard in the second inning. It was the first time since Memorial Day that the Phillies had back to back home runs (those homers were hit by Dom Brown and Mayberry). It was also Pence's first home run as a Phillie.
Hunter Pence: And hey, speaking of Pence, he went 3-for-4 tonight, with the aforementioned homer and two singles. He brought in two of the Phillies three runs tonight. Guys, I think I'm in love.
Placido Polanco: Polly put on a one man show tonight at third base, making a cadre of impressive plays to save hits and runs. My favorite was in the seventh inning. He went totally vertical and just snatched a ball out of the air, preventing Orlando Cabrera from getting a hit.
Cliff Lee: Cliff threw his fifth shutout of the season, and the tenth of his career. He allowed seven hits on the night, just one for extra bases. He got out of a jam in the eighth with two on and one out by striking out Aaron Rowand (ha), and Jeff Keppinger grounded out to end the inning.
Cody Ross: Cody and his strange looking head struck out four (4) times tonight. If you don't know why this is worth mentioning...who am I kidding? Everyone has to know why this is worth mentioning. If it hadn't been for Pence whacking balls left and right, Cody's 4Ks would have been my favorite thing about this game.
Tomorrow, Vance Worley pitches against Jonathan Sanchez at 10:15pm. Back on July 26, Worley completely dominated the Giants, pitching a three hit, two run complete game -- his first CG in the majors. What a pleasant memory to end the evening with.