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On a night where Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel was relegated to the owners' box thanks to a one game suspension from the Commissioner's Office, things went almost exactly as they were drawn up.
The Phillies jumped on Red Sox starter Daniel Bard early, scoring four runs in the first inning and never looking back, as the Phillies topped the Sox by a score of 6-4. The two teams would combine for five solo home runs -- three for Boston, two for Philadelphia.
Phillies starter Cole Hamels pitched very well, his only major blemishes being a pair of long home runs to Mike Aviles in the third, and Cody Ross (Satan's Imp), in the sixth. Hamels would strike out nine and allow just one walk in seven innings.
Bard was erratic in the first, walking the bases loaded and then surrendering a two-run single to the red-hot Carlos Ruiz. The Phillies would add two more runs in the frame on a sacrifice fly by Ty Wigginton, and an RBI double down the left field line from John Mayberry.
The Phillies would score again in the fifth on a solo shot from Hunter Pence, his tenth on the season. The homers by Ross in the sixth off Hamels and Adrian Gonzalez off the struggling Chad Qualls in the eighth would cut the Phillies lead to 5-4, before Freddy Galvis would add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on his second home run of the season.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth off his old team for his twelfth save of the season.
There was a scary moment in the fifth inning, as Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was struck in the ear by a ball that ricocheted off Ty Wigginton, laying him out on the ground and causing a fair amount of blood. Saltalamacchia was removed from the game.
And an equally funny moment in the ninth, when Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine ran on the field to argue an out call at first base, only to have the umpire inadvertently spit his gum on him. I had a laugh.
Come back tomorrow as Jon Lester takes on Joe Blanton, and Pat Burrell triumphantly returns to Philadelphia.
Source: FanGraphs