Philliedelphia

The Chooch Train Rides Back Into Town: Carlos Ruiz Activated From Disabled List

At a time the Phillies are in desperate need of a pick-me-up, they are getting one.  Carlos Ruiz has been activated from the disabled list.  Ruiz appeared in games Saturday and Sunday in Lehigh Valley with the Iron Pigs.  Cameron Rupp caught last night's game against the Toledo Mud Hens.   In his rehab starts, Ruiz went 1 for 5 at the plate and caught one partial game and one full game.

Ruiz has been on the disabled list since May 19 with a hamstring strain.  The move comes slightly earlier than expected.  Just Sunday, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told MLB.com's Owen Perkins that he could be back in "four or five days".  Two days later, here he is.  Perhaps the team hopes for an offensive boost to their struggling offense.  The Phillies have lost seven of their last 10 games.

Brown Breaks Tie As Phils Walk-Off With Win

Domonic Brown notched his first major league walk-off hit as the Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals Monday night, 5-4.

The Phillies looked rather punchless in droping two of three against the Colorado Rockies over the weekend while being outscored 15-7 in the series' final two games. They'd lost seven of their last nine comming into today's showdown with Washington, another struggling team.

The Nationals, picked to win the World Series by many, came into the contest at 34-34, just two games ahead of the Phillies.  They had gone just 3-4 in their last 7.

Starting for the first time since a lopsided loss to the Reds on April 17th, John Lannan looked like he had to shake off some rust to begin the game, as he began the first inning by issuing a walk to Anthony Rendon, hitting a batter (Ryan Zimmerman), and allowing an RBI single to Jayson Werth that put the Nats up 1-0.

The Phillies, though, were quick to answer. After going down 1-2-3 to start the first inning, Ryan Howard sent an absolute blast into the second deck in right field, a solo shot that tied the game at 1.

In the bottom of the third, Michael Young led off with a triple. Jimmy Rollins followed up by working a walk and subsequently stealing second base, and Howard walked right after him to load the bases with one out. Domonic Brown struck out, but Delmon Young hit a double past a diving Werth to score Rollins and Young. Howard attempted to score on the play, but was thrown out to end the inning. The damage was done, though: 3-1 Phillies after three.

In the fourth, Washington's Kurt Suzuki and Stephen Lombardozzi hit consecutive one-out doubles to cut the deficit to just one run. Lombardozzi went on to steal third with two outs, but Lannan managed to strike out Jeff Kobernus to end the inning.

In the fifth, Ben Revere singled and then stole second, continuing his strong play in the month of June. His average now sits at .274, a marked improvement his April mark of .200. Ryan Howard drove him in with a single to collect his second RBI of the game, putting the Phils up 4-2.

Things got quiet towards the end, and one might have thought that the Phillies relievers would actually come in and handle the normally weak-hitting Nationals without much fuss. But, of course, the Nats had different plans. Mike Adams came in and allowed a run on two hits before Charlie Manuel gave him the hook in favor of Antonio Bastardo. Bastardo sat down Adam LaRoche to end the inning, with the Phillies up 4-3.

Howard and Brown both hit singles in the bottom of the eigth, but the Phillies failed to score a single run. So, in the ninth, in came Jonathan Papelbon, who entered the game a perfect 13-for-13 in save opportunities. It looked like he would remain perfect, too, until, with two outs, pinch hitter Chad Tracy hit an 0-2 pitch from Papelbon into the right field seats to tie it up.

Revere stepped up to the plate and delivered again, singling to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Jimmy Rollins, with one out, moved Revere over to third with a single to put men on the corners. Pinch hitter Steven Lerud struck out for the second out, putting the hopes for a comeback on (who else?) Dom Brown. Brown didn't strike out this time, instead hitting a ball into center field to score Revere and walk the Nationals off. The final: 5-4.

It was nice to see a game where the Phillies didn't look completely helpless at the plate, but what was even better was the timliness of the hits. The Phillies usually strand a ton of guys on base, like they did Saturday, so it was great to see guys like Howard and Brown producing in clutch situations.

Howard's breakout game was also a welcome sight, but maybe not a complete suprise to all.  Right as Howard came to the plate,  announcers Tom McCarthy and Chris Wheeler discussed the favorable circumstances for him to break his 67 at-bat homerless draught, including Dan Haren's homer-happy ways, the home crowd, and Charlie's mentioning seeing improvement from him over the weekend. And then, as if on cue, Howard hit one out. Nice.

The two teams play again tomorrow night as Cliff Lee, looking for his ninth win of the season, takes on Ross Detwiler.

John Lannan Returns to Face Washington For First Time After Two Months On DL

Yesterday afternoon the Phils fell 5-2 to the Rockies and lost their second straight game. Jonathan Pettibone was shelled and the Phillies were unable to mount any offense against Jhoulys Chacin. The Phillies are finally back home after a 3-7 road trip in Milwaukee, Minnesota and Colorado. Having won just three of their last 10, the Phillies are back 8 1/2 games in the NL East as well as four games under .500. Tonight the Phils will open a six-game home stand with the Washington Nationals. John Lannan (0-1, 6.14 ERA) will return after two months on the DL and will take on Dan Haren (4-8, 5.70 ERA).

Six earned on eight hits along with a walk in an inning and two-thirds. That was the last line John Lannan had in a major league game before he landed on the disabled list for two months with a left-knee injury. Exactly two months to the day, Lannan will return to the mound to make his fourth start of the year and it will be against his former team. After allowing two runs on seven hits through seven innings on Wednesday for Reading, Lannan was offically activated from the DL this afteroon. The only National Lannan has faced is Jayson Werth (when he was with Philadelphia). Werth is hitting .333 in 24 at bats with 4 home runs.

Dan Haren is coming off of his third straight loss in as many starts. On Monday against Colorado, Haren was tagged for five earned runs on eight hits through five innings. In his last three starts Haren has allowed 12 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings (6.61 ERA). Haren has struggled all season long with preventing runners to score. Haren will be making his second start against the Phillies this season tonight. Back on May 25th he allowed three earned on four hits through six innings. He took the no-decision as a result. In his career Haren has never won a game against Philadelphia, owning an 0-3 record with a 5.79 ERA in 28 career innings.

Game Notes:

• Back home - Start fresh.
• John Lannan is facing his former team for the first time in his career.
• Third baseman Michael Young is two RBIs shy of 1,000 for his career. There are only 18 active players in Major League Baseball in the 1,000-RBI club.
• Ben Revere, who is hitting .321 in his last 40 games, has a seven-game hitting streak (.438).

Phillies lineup:

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Michael Young 3B
3. Jimmy Rollins SS
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Domonic Brown LF
6. Delmon Young RF
7. Kevin Frandsen 2B
8. Humberto Quintero C
9. John Lannan P.

Nationals lineup:

1. Jeff Kobernaus CF
2. Anthony Rendon 2B
3. Ryan Zimmerman 3B
4. Jayson Werth RF
5. Ian Desmond SS
6. Chris Marrero 1B
7. Kurt Suzuki C
8. Steve Lombardozzi LF
9. Dan Haren P.

First Pitch Forecast: Scattered T-Storms - 83° - 40% PoP

TV: CSN
Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT

Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter. 

Jeremy Horst Is Disabled As Phillies Activate John Lannan

Jeremy Horst is 0-2 with a 5.55 ERA and has allowed plenty of inherited runners to score.  Could he have been hurt all along in addition to hurting the team?  Despite no indication (aside from poor pitching) previously that something was wrong with Jeremy Horst, the Phillies placed Horst on the 15-day disabled list today with a "left elbow strain".

The disabled list move comes at a convenient time for the Phillies, who needed to clear space today.  John Lannan takes the roster spot vacated by Horst.  Lannan faces the Nationals tonight, his first start back from the disabled list and his first start against his former team.

Where to Re-Start

The 33-37 Phillies are a non-contender. They'll probably be a seller, at least nominally. The thing is, teams that can run routinely a $150 million plus payroll shouldn't be bad, and certainly not for very long. This team needs to re-build quickly, and should be looking to put an improved product on the field in 2014 at the very least, and a contender in 2015. How would I go about doing that?

Here is the key to me on evaluating any player:

1. Is there a market for said player?
2. Can I get at least some talent that will help me in the next two years? I don't badly need salary relief with the money coming off the books, but if I'm dealing away a big contract, I will expect some salary relief too. Basically, I want fair value back for anything I deal.
3. Can I replace said player reasonably with either a talent I have/get in return, or that I can reasonably expect to sign on the open market?
4. Can I get a look at one of my minor league talents now by clearing the player out?

Now, based on those criteria, let's move forward. We'll start with the absolute keepers:

• Dom Brown- He's 25, and emerging as the best player here. Self-explanatory.
• Cole Hamels- I can't get fair value with his season as is, nor can I replace him.
• Freddy Galvis- For what purpose do I trade him?
• Ben Revere- Given his age, and recent hot streak, let's see the whole year.
• Cliff Lee- If you offered Jurickson Profar and paid him, maybe he's possible, but short of that, you shouldn't deal him. You again, can't replace him easily on the market.

This brings us to the group where you have to receive a very good offer to consider trading. This group is considerably smaller.

• Jimmy Rollins- Would I like to move Jimmy's contract? Yes, but i'm not dying to. If the offer's good, trade him, but if not, he's still a nice piece to bridge the gap going forward.
• Kevin Frandsen- Not that there is a market here, but he's useful enough.
• Antonio Bastardo- I'm not ready to hand him over to someone, but I'm willing to see his value on the market. 
• Pettibone, De Fratus, Diekman, Savery, Stutes, Aumont- They're all young and cheap, and should stay, unless their presence somehow helps unload some dead weight.

Now, the people who should be totally available for a fair price.

• Jon Papelbon- Paps is a great closer, which means some GM will overpay for him. You can unload his huge contract, and you can easily get a closer on the market that is adequate this winter. Remember, the '09 team reached the World Series with bad Lidge.
• Kyle Kendrick- Let's be serious, he's been better than we thought, but he may get $8-10 million in arbitration. That's crazy, trade him while he has value. You can replace him.
• John Lannan- If he can show he's healthy and throwing well, and someone wants him, why not take that trade.
• Chase Utley- I know a lot of fans will hate this, but it's a no-brainer. If Utley can show he's healthy, and you can get something back, move some of his money, not go through the agony of not re-signing him, and get a look at Galvis/Hernandez for a while, you do it.
• Michael Young- Pretty much the same for him as Utley, but with Asche instead of Hernandez. Someone may want these guys for their track record.
• Carlos Ruiz- Chooch? Yes, Chooch. He's a 34 year old catcher approaching free agency. I don't want to sign him for his 35, 36, and 37 year old years. Move him for some value now or let him walk.
• Jeremy Horst- I'd be willing to move him, and he may have value, as he still has some upside.
• John Mayberry Jr.- You want him, you make an offer, you have him. His value is over-stated by many fans, and while I'm not willing to give him away for a bucket of balls, I'd gladly send him somewhere that needs a righty bat.
• Laynce Nix- Take everything I said on Mayberry, and just substitute lefty for righty.

And now, the all-dump team if at all possible, though it's highly unlikely:

• Ryan Howard- I'd gladly dump him, though absolutely no one would be buying right now.
• Mike Adams- This two year deal suddenly looks worse than it ever did before. I hold slim hope out that a stupid GM will want him.

Now that I've just turned this team into a flea market, and I know that not all of these players will be gone, the question is what will next year's team look like? Well, I want to use August and September to figure that out as well as possible. My take right now is that we'll need a corner outfielder, second baseman, third baseman, and catcher for next year's line-up. We'll need at least two right-handed starters, and a third starter to fill in the rotation. We'll pretty much need to entirely re-tool the 8th and 9th innings, and maybe up to five relievers. I'm content re-starting my bench with Frandsen and Kratz on it too.

I'd like to get extended looks at Cody Asche, Cesar Hernandez, and Freddy Galvis. I think the three could fill in two holes in this infield, and maybe a bench slot too for next year. Darin Ruf could get a look then too, as he's getting hot right now. I'd like to see if he can play both first and outfield in the majors, and do both regularly. If Roy Halladay can heal up and come back to throw this season, perhaps he could be re-signed at a steep discount for next year to fill one slot as well. I'd also like to see this team promote minor league prospects such as Jesse Biddle, Maikel Franco, Cameron Perkins, and Aaron Altherr just to get a good look at them against better competition. The idea should be that at the end of the season, you have enough of a sample size to make some educated decisions about who can play on a winning team in 2014 and 2015, and who can't. It's another good reason to fire sale.

I'd expect for us to need at least an outfield, starting pitcher, and catcher on the free agent market. We will have money though- we shed somewhere in the $50-60 million territory in free agency even if we do nothing. It's important that we actually know where that money needs to be spent, and not that we just throw it around on the name of the week.

Phillies Weekly Preview, 6/17-6/23

Los Phillies es muy mal. No, seriously, we suck. After a losing week against mediocre to poor competition, the Phillies come home to play the Nats. That should, um, be exciting.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (34-34, NL East-2) @PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (33-37, NL East-3)
WHEN: Monday-Wednesday, 7:05
WHERE: CITIZENS BANK PARK, Philadelphia
TV: CSN Monday and Wednesday, PHL 17 Tuesday
PITCHING MATCH-UPS:

Monday- Danny Haren (4-8, 5.70) vs. John Lannan (0-1, 6.14)
Tuesday- Ross Detweiler (2-4, 3.02) vs. Cliff Lee (8-2, 2.55)
Wednesday- Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.40) vs. Kyle Kendrick (6-4, 3.76)

ON THE NATS- Well, they're the biggest disappointment in the NL this year so far, and they're just 2 games ahead of the Phillies. Their offense is putrid. With that said, they should be a lot better than this, and did beat the Phillies 2 of 3 in their only meeting.

ON THE PHILLIES- We're counting down to the sell-off in South Philly. This series, which was supposed to be fun and matter, is just a couple of disappointments.

PREDICTIONS- Well, first off, the Nats still have a shot this year, despite only being two games better. The Nats haven't hit well at all, but with a younger team, you can hope. With that said, they've sucked too. The first game should be a slugfest, then the teams split. I'll be wrong on that though, of course. Either way, NATS 2 OF 3.

NEW YORK METS (25-39, NL East-4) vs. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

WHEN: Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:35, Sunday 1:05
WHERE: CITIZENS BANK PARK, Philadelphia
TV: PHL 17 Friday and Monday, CSN Saturday
PITCHING MATCH-UPS:

Friday- Jeremy Hefner (1-6, 3.96) vs. Jon Pettibone (3-3, 4.40)
Saturday- Dillon Gee (5-6, 4.84) vs. Cole Hamels (2-10, 4.40)
Sunday- Matt Harvey (5-1, 2.04) vs. Lannan

ON THE METS- Yes, their season is hopeless, but this week marks the arrival of one of their top prospects (Wheeler), and so it's a big week. He and Harvey are supposed to be their future.

ON THE PHILLIES- Newsflash- they play a team in the division worse than them.

PREDICTIONS: Well, someone has to win. It's going to be fun getting to see Harvey this weekend, he's as good as advertised (although teams will inevitably hit him better the second time by, good teams at least). The Mets are really bad, so although i'm down on the Phillies, PHILLIES 2 OF 3.

*************************************************
I just want to offer an aside about the season going forward, or whatever you want to call the rest of this summer. Yes, I know that this team is not in the hunt, and they're not good, and it's disappointing. A week with the hated Nats and hated Mets coming to town should be more exciting than this, but this is the reality, the cards, we've been dealt now. As much as I hate to watch bad baseball, it's still professional baseball, nice weather, and fun times. I hope we can all deal, and still enjoy the road forward.

Phils Score 2 Late, Fall to Rockies 5-2

A 33-36 record is a pretty good representation of how the Phillies have played in the last two weeks or so. 5 straight wins, 5 consecutive losses, then 2 wins and another loss leave the team in an awkward position. They're not completely out of the mix, but they aren't running away with it either. As one of my friend's put it, "They're playing just well enough so they won't trade for prospects, but bad enough to miss the second wild card." Today, Cole Hamels aimed to put the Phils on track to being well in the playoff mix. Standing in the way was Jhoulys Chacin, Coors Field, and a string of questionable defense. 

Chacin worked rapidly through the first inning, setting the Phillies down in order on just nine pitches. Hamels would have to throw a few more, 21 to be exact, but allowed just a single to Dexter Fowler before retiring the next three batters.

Domonic Brown would single with one out in the second, but no score would come of it. Wilin Rosario welcomed Hamels to the second inning by drilling the first pitch of the at bat to the right field seats. However, Hamels would use an inning-ending double play to leave the damage at just one run. 1-0 Rockies. 

From the top of the third through the bottom of the sixth, neither team reached base, as both Hamels and Chacin settled in and worked rapid frames. In less than 90 minutes, the game was already halfway through the seventh inning. In that seventh inning, both Kevin Frandsen and Ryan Howard would single. Frandsen would be erased on a double play, and Howard on a Brown ground out. Chacin sat at 64 pitches thrown after the inning.

Hamels would also allow baserunnes in the seventh. Carlos Gonzalez opened things up by reaching first when Frandsen couldn't make the play on a strong ground ball up the middle. Michael Cuddyer dunked a ball to right field, and it turned into a double. With two runners in scoring position and nobody out, Rosario shot a ball to Freddy Galvis at third. Galvis spun to make the play, and when Gonzales did not take off, Freddy made the play at first for out number one. Jordan Pachecho grounded another ball to Galvis. This time, Gonzalez took off, and Freddy had no play at the plate. A throw to first would record the second out. Nolan Arenado followed with a looping single to the right field gap, giving Colorado their third run of the game. Chacin would reach to load the bases when Jimmy Rollins could not get a grip on a bare handed play. However, Fowler would ground out on the next pitch to end the frame. 3-0 Rockies.

It is worth noting the inconsistent ball/strike calling of home plate umpire Marvin Hudson in the seventh inning. Hamels should have been out of the inning much earlier, and made it known by shouting rather loudly at Hudson as the inning ended. Now, this is not an excuse for the Phillies' awful lack of offensive production today, but officiating mistakes are not helpful in crucial situations.

Justin De Fratus would come on to pitch the eighth. Josh Rutledge took a walk to lead it off, allowing Carlos Gonzalez to crush a 2-run homerun. Now 5-0 Rockies. A Cuddyer single forced an early exit for De Fratus, and an appearance by...

Antonio Bastardo.

Bastardo did get Rosario to ground one, but Galvis failed to make the throw, and two Rockies were on with no one out. Pachecho followed by flying out to right field, Arenado popped out to Frandsen, and Chacin grounded out to end it. 5-0 Rockies lead.

Chacin would come on to finish the game, but allows Revere to single with one out. Rollins would be up with two away, and doubled to score Revere. The shutout was over, and a following Howard single would give them a second run. Chacin would be removed from the game after 8.2 innings pitched. Rex Brothers closed the game out by striking out Dom Brown. 5-2 Rockies win. 

No fault can be put on Cole Hamels for today's loss. He pitched extremely well, and really only gave up a single earned run in his seven innings of work. The offense was downright putrid in many fashions. A distinct lack of discipline allowed Chacin to head to the ninth with only 74 pitches thrown. Excellent pitching certainly helps win ballgames, but a missing offense does nothing but hurt. Now back to four games under the .500 mark, the Phillies must look to another struggling NL East squad. The Washington Nationals, a World Series contender heading into the season, has failed to live up o expectations. They'll head to Philadelphia for tomorrow night's 7:05 game that will pit Dan Haren against a returning John Lannan. 

Hamels starts as Phils go for series win in Colorado

The Phillies' two-game winning streak was wiped away rather quickly and easily, as the Rockies rode a six-run first inning on Saturday to a 10-5 win. Gone too were the Phillies recent gains in the division from Friday's comeback win with the Nationals and Braves both pulling out late victories.

The Phillies (33-36) now must rebound as the Rockies (36-33) look to continue their strong season so far in the series finale at Coors Field on Sunday afternoon.

Cole Hamels (2-9, 4.45 ERA) gets the start for the Phillies. Hamels allowed two runs in six innings in his last start against the Twins, taking a no-decision in the Phillies' 3-2 loss. Hamels faced the Rockies three times in 2012, going 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA. In his career against the Rockies, Hamels is 3-1 with a 2.37 ERA. At Coors Field, he is 1-1 with a 5.09 ERA.

The Phillies will face right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (4-3, 4.52 ERA). Chacin allowed two runs in five innings in his last start, picking up the win against the Nationals. Chacin is 1-0 in his career against the Phillies with a 1.21 ERA. At Coors Field, he is 16-17 with a 4.40 ERA.

Game Notes:

• On the Phillies' current 10-game road trip, which concludes today, they are averaging 3.8 runs per game. During that stretch, their pitchers also have an ERA of 4.90.
• Saturday marked a rare loss for the Phillies when scoring four or more runs. In their last 23 games scoring at least four runs, the Phillies have won 19 times.
• The Phillies had a six-game winning streak against the Rockies snapped yesterday. Since 2008, the Phillies are 27-7 at Coors Field. The Phillies also haven't lost a series against the Rockies in that time, going 10-0-1 in the last 11 series against Colorado.

Phillies lineup

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Kevin Frandsen 2B
3. Jimmy Rollins SS
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Domonic Brown LF
6. John Mayberry Jr. RF
7. Freddy Galvis 3B
8. Humberto Quintero C
9. Cole Hamels P

Cole Hamels will start today's game.

Rockies lineup

1. Dexter Fowler CF
2. Josh Rutledge SS
3. Carlos Gonzalez LF
4. Michael Cuddyer RF
5. Wilin Rosario C
6. Jordan Pacheco 1B
7. Nolan Arenado 3B
8. D.J. LeMahieu 2B
9. Jhoulys Chacin P

Jhoulys Chacin will start today's game.

TV: PHL17

Radio: 94 WIP/1210 WPHT

Kevin Durso is a contributor for Philliedelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.

Pettibone Lasts Just 3 as Rockies Roll Phills

Following Friday night's dramatic come-from-behind win, the Colorado Rockies absolutely pounded Phillies pitching en-route to a 10-5 loss  Saturday afternoon.

Phillies starter Jonathan Pettibone (3-2) looked bad from the beginning, showing poor control and making mistakes high, always a mistake at Coors Field. He has struggled in each of his last few starts, but this was probably his worst as he struggled to even make it out of the first inning.

The Phillies took the lead in the first with an RBI infield single, but Colorado quickly struck back when Carlos Gonzalez hit an RBI double off the wall in center to drive in Jordan Pacheco, tying it at one.  Michael Cuddyer hit an RBI single to give the Rockies a 2-1 lead.

Wilin Rosario followed Cuddyer's hit with a triple to right center after John Mayberryfailed to make a move on the ball initially. Nolan Arenado had an RBI single and Tyler Colvin smashed a two-run homer to put the Rockies up 5-1, but it was the next hit that caught most peoples' attention. 

Following DJ Lemahieu's steal of second, Tyler Chatwood hit a ground ball to Ryan Howard a bit past first. Howard, after struggling to handle the ball, threw to Humberto Quintero, whose throw to Michael Young at third was low and got away from him, allowing Lemahieu to score and Chatwood to reach third.  Josh Rutledge grounded out to end the inning, but the damage was done.

Revere singled to center again, scoring Quintero, who had reached after he too singled to center and advancing to third on a Pettibone groundout. The RBI cut the lead to 6-2.

It didn't get much better for the Phillies afterwards, though. Pettibone pitched a clean second inning, but Colorado collected three hits and a run in the third to increase their lead to 7-2. 

Pettibone was repaced by Jeremy Horst to start the fourth. Horst then proceded to do his best Jonathan Pettibone impersonation in throwing 41 pitches in the inning, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks to give the Rockies a 10-2 lead.

Joe Savery relieved Horst to start the fifth, and things got quieter from then on, though the Phillies bats failed to capitalize on it. The Phillies worked 7 base hits and two walks off of Chatwood, but only scored twice.

Ryan Howard and Laynce Nix doubled in consecutive at-bats, with Howard's drive making the score 10-3.  Mayberry hit a two-run home run to make the game 10-5, though there would be no comeback today. Chris Volstad, who gave up the runs, was replaced by Josh Outman to start the ninth and sat the Phillies down to end the game. Final: 10-5 Colorado.

Considering the circumstances, today's game was pretty bad, and that's not even considering Pettibone's poor performance. The fielding was poor, and the offense failed to capitalize on the friendly park conditions and opportunities with men on base. It was hard to watch.

The Phillies conclude the series tomorrow in Colorado in the decisive game of the series. Here's hoping they look a little better tomorrow.

After Comeback Win Last Night, Pettibone, Phillies Look To Gain More Ground At Coors Field

So Freddy Galvis was fantastic last night going 2-for-5 with two triples while driving in 4 RBI to help the Phillies win in comeback fashion. Kyle Kendrick was lit up for seven earned runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings. It was Kendrick's worst start of the year, but luckily he was given the no-decision. With last night's win the Phillies have pulled back within two games under .500. This afternoon they will attempt to make it three wins in a row as well as taking a series lead. Jonathan Pettibone (3-2, 3.70 ERA) and Tyler Chatwood (3-1, 2.14 ERA) will square off in an effort to shift directions in this series.

Jonathan Pettibone was hit hard his last time out. On Sunday against Milwaukee the righthander allowed four hits, six runs (four earned), two walks and struck out four in 5 1/3 innings. Although Pettibone has been struggling of late with a 4.96 ERA (9 ER in 16 1/3 IP) in his last three starts, it looks probable that he will stay in the starting rotation for the time being. John Lannan is slated to start Monday against Washington. This afternoon will be Pettibone's first career start against Colorado.

Tyler Chatwood hasn't pitched in nearly two weeks after suffering inflammation in his triceps back on June 3rd. In that start, against Cincinnati, Chatwood threw four innings allowing four hits and an earned run en route to a loss. In Chatwood's start prior to last Monday's, he struck out a career-high 10 hitters in a no-decision against the Astros. Chatwood has one career start against the Phillies, a no-decision back on September 9th. The Phillies scored two runs in five innings in a game that the Phillies would go on to win. 

Game Notes:

• Jake Diekman made his season debut last night, allowing a single to Carlos Gonzalez to start the bottom of the seventh inning. He stranded CarGo after getting two outs before being pulled.
•  With the win Friday, the Phillies have won 27 of their last 33 games against the Rockies.
• With his home run last night, Carlos Gonzalez tied Domonic Brown for the NL lead in home runs with 19.
• Has Charlie Manuel tired of Delmon Young? John Mayberry makes his second consecutive start in right field.

Phillies lineup:

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Michael Young 3B
3. Jimmy Rollins SS
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Domonic Brown LF
6. John Mayberry Jr. RF
7. Freddy Galvis 2B
8. Humberto Quintero C
9. Jonathan Pettibone P.

Rockies lineup:

1. Josh Rutledge SS
2. Jordan Pacheco 1B
3. Carlos Gonzalez LF
4. Michael Cuddyer RF
5. Wilin Rosario C
6. Tyler Colvin CF
7. Nolan Arenado 3B
8. D.J. LeMahieu 2B
9. Tyler Chatwood P

First Pitch Forecast: Partly Cloudy - 80° - 0% PoP

TV: CSN
Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT

Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter.