Philliedelphia

Phillies Hook Marlins, Win 7-3.

It was a good night for Phillies and ex-Phillies alike. The bats were quiet until the seventh inning when there were a few Miami defensive mistakes. Phils ended up with 15 hits.

Rollins started the game with a single, moved over to second on a wild pitch, and was able to tag up on a Revere fly ball, but was stranded on third. Revere’s fly ball would have been a homerun in Citizens Bank Park (he has never hit a major league homer). Second inning was much the same. Two Phils were left on base.

Delmon Young hit a one-run home run to make the game 1-0. Phillies strand another in the fifth.

Polanco scores on a flyball, 1-1.

Delmon Young scorches another ball in the 6^th. Howard on third and Young on second, one out. Dom Brown grounds out, brings home Howard. 2-1, Phillies.

Top of the 7^th, Michael Young hits what should have been a double play, but the Marlins missed both outs to load the bases. Ryan Howard gets a two run hit, 4-1 Phillies. Delmon Young gets an RBI, 5-1. Domonic Brown gets a double, bringing in Howard, 6-1. Juan Pierre hits a single, scoring Polanco. 6-2, Phillies.

Top of the 8^th, Howard gets his third straight hit, bringing home Revere to make the game 7-2.

BJ Rosenburg came in to pitch the 9^th inning. He gave up one run. Mayberry makes a fantastic diving catch for the third out to end the ballgame. Final score, 7-3.

Cloyd pitched a great 7 innings, 8 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 5 strike outs.

Bastardo pitched the 8^th, earning two strikeouts. 

Christine Schramm is a writer for Philliedelphia. You can follow her on Twitter @schrammalot

Phillies Win on Walk Off Heroics from Galvis and Kratz

It was shaping up to be another shut out. For seven innings,Reds starter Homer Bailey kept the Phillies off the scoreboard. It wasn't quite as pathetic as it sounded. They were hitting the ball hard, they were just going into gloves. Still, it was starting to get ugly.

The unsung heroes of this game were the pitchers. Jonathan Pettibone pitched his best game yet, going seven strong innings of two run ball (just one earned). Justin DeFratus and Antonio Bastardo held Cincinnati to the pair of runs.  It's no easy task. This team can rake with the best of them, which we saw yesterday.

Then there was the bottom of the ninth. Aroldis Chapman just spells game over to me and most everyone watching the game. Delmon Young works a walk to make things interesting, Cliff Lee pinch runs, and then gets picked off. I felt like that was the end of the game right there. Then Erik Kratz tied it up with a home run. The look on Lee's face in the dugout said it all. It should have won the game. Then leave it to Freddy Galvis to hit a home run to walk it off.

A perfect example of why you don't leave early in a close game was given today. It's why it's my favorite game really.

Ben Revere gets a gold star today too. After nearly a week on the bench, he went 3-4 today with a run scored in the eighth.

Carlos Ruiz was injured early in this one with a hamstring strain. Day to day as of right now. A DL stint certainly wouldn't be shocking either. You can't really play with just one catcher.

Freddy Galvis has earned everyday playing time in my opinion. He's become one of my favorite players. You can't do better defensively, he's surprisingly versatile, he plays like a veteran, and now we see the bat coming around. It doesn't matter to me how it's done but he deserves to be out there everyday.

So impressive win off a really bad loss to take the series. Phillies head to Miami for three tomorrow. It will be Cole Hamels vs. Alex Sanabia who is quite hittable. No reason to not go down there and take all three. Time to start something.

 Watch Freddy's home run here.

Reds Thrash Phillies in a 10-0 Loss

I really saw this one coming. Kendrick did what he could with a potent line up but they were able to handle him for four runs over six innings. He definitely got his work in and he battled but in the end, he wasn't a match for them today. Niether was the bullpen. Over the last three innings, they were tagged for six more runs, including a two run blast from Joey Votto off Chad Durbin in the 9th to add a cherry on top of a a pretty brutal loss.

Offensively, the Phillies were lifeless. Chase Utley was horrendous today against Bronson Arroyo including two first pitch flyouts to left. Arroyo was really on today but it makes a whole new statement. Historically, Arroyo is bad against the Phillies. He was the kind of pitcher the Phillies would shell five years ago. Here in 2013, the team that's a shell of what they used to be has no answer for his junk.

These are the worst losses. When it's all on one side. We've seen far too many of them this season.  My biggest gripe so far is the pre-Adams bullpen. Antonio Bastardo is really struggling. Phillipe Aumont can't throw strikes. Durbin and Jeremy Horst both throw batting practice. You feel it falling apart when you see them warming up.

The only bright spot so far is Justin DeFratus who is exclusively the big out getter in the late innings right now. One has to think we'll see more of the Lehigh Valley crew soon enough because what they have now is really hurting this club.

The Phillies get a shot at winning the series tomorrow at 1:35. Jonathan Pettibone goes to the mound and faces Homer Bailey. Another tough task tomorrow. I can't honestly say I feel optimistic about that one either.

Phillies pounded by Indians in series finale

Cole Hamels looks on after allowing a two-run home run to Nick Swisher in the fifth inning of the Phillies' 10-4 loss to the Indians.

There's something about the top three in the rotation. There's something about the Cleveland Indians. Whatever the reason, the Phillies just can't play well on the days when Cole Hamels pitches. For whatever reason, the Indians have the Phillies' number this year.

Hamels battled deep counts and a tight strike zone all day, managing one of his worst outings of the season. Even with that, the game was still close enough for the Phillies to rally back. But the bullpen failed the Phillies as well, never really stopping the bleeding.

In the end, the Indians posted their third rout of the Phillies on the season, winning the series finale on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 10-4 at Citizens Bank Park. 

Hamels labored through the first two innings, somehow keeping the game scoreless despite stranding three runners and throwing 51 pitches.

Finally, in the third, the Indians capitalized. Mark Reynolds managed the first blow, a two-out, two-run double to put the Indians on the board.

The Phillies answered in their half of the inning. A two-out single by Jimmy Rollins scored John Mayberry Jr. to get the Phillies on the board.

But Hamels surrendered the run right back, giving up a solo home run to Mike Aviles. 

Nick Swisher made his mark on the game in the fifth, hitting a two-run home run down the left-field line to increase the lead to four.

Again, the Phillies managed an answer. Carlos Ruiz and Mayberry reached base for Kevin Frandsen, hitting in place of Hamels. Frandsen popped out in foul territory for the second out.

But Rollins came through again, delivering a two-run double to cut the lead to two.

With Hamels finished after five innings - he allowed five runs on six hits - Chad Durbin quickly retired the first two batters of the sixth before the inning spiraled out of control. A walk to Indians' starter Corey Kluber led to an infield single and a walk to load the bases. Durbin was pulled for Jeremy Horst after the infield single.

Horst couldn't escape the inning, giving up a two-run single to Asdrubal Cabrera, putting the lead back at four.

Raul Valdes entered in the eighth inning and allowed a three-run home run to Jason Kipnis. Kipnis had three extra-base hits on the day.

The Phillies went quietly from there, aside from an RBI double for Ruiz in the ninth, as the Indians managed their third win against the Phillies this season and snapped a three-game winning streak for the Phillies.

The Phillies get a day off on Thursday before opening a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. Cliff Lee gets the start against Tony Cingrani.

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

Have A Night, John: Pettibone, Mayberry, Papelbon key Phils third straight win

Carlos Ruiz scores on John Mayberry Jr.'s two-run double in the fourth inning of the Phillies' 6-2 win over the Cleveland Indians. (Kevin Durso/Philliedelphia)

Jonathan Pettibone started the game for the Phillies on the mound and led the pitching. John Mayberry Jr. lifted the offense. Jonathan Papelbon closed the door. 

The three Johns - or Jons - were the leaders on a night when everything seemed to click for the Phillies. They hit consistently once again, scattering 10 hits. They pitched well, led by Pettibone, despite having to use three pitchers in a crazy eighth inning. And finally, Papelbon finished the job again.

It all resulted in the completion of the Phillies' second three-game winning streak of the season as they started their revenge on Ohio with a 6-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Chase Utley got the night off for the Phillies. His replacement in the lineup was Kevin Frandsen. Frandsen started the game off in a strong way, belted a 1-2 pitch from Scott Kazmir just deep enough to left for a solo home run.

The Indians' powerful offense answered quickly. Pettibone threw a 1-2-3 inning in the first, but allowed a single to Nick Swisher and a softly hit double to Carlos Santana. He got Mark Reynolds to pop out on the infield for the first out, but Michael Brantley followed by hitting a two-run single up the middle, giving the Indians the lead.

Pettibone would work out of trouble in the second and in the third as well, loading the bases on a walk and two hit batters for Reynolds. A close call on a foul ball helped the Phillies as Pettibone forced another infield pop up from Reynolds.

The Phillies capitalized on a scoring chance in the fourth. With two on and one out, Mayberry ripped a double to left-center field, scoring Domonic Brown and Carlos Ruiz.

Brown would provide more pop in the sixth. He belted a solo home run to right, his seventh of the season, to increase the Phillies' lead to two.

Pettibone pitched into the seventh, getting the first two outs of the inning before being removed. He finished with 6 2/3 innings allowing two runs on four hits with two walks, two hit batters and three strikeouts.

Antonio Bastardo allowed a single in the seventh before getting the final out of the inning. He returned in the eighth. And that's when the Phillies had to protect the lead.

Asdrubal Cabrera tripled off the right-center field fence to lead off the inning. The ball had caromed away from Ben Revere and Mayberry, nearly resulting in an inside-the-park home run. Cabrera put on the breaks at third.

Bastardo then struck out Nick Swisher before walking Santana. That brought Justin De Fratus into the game. De Fratus only faced one batter in getting the win on Sunday. He needed just two pitches to retire the only batter he faced on Tuesday, getting Reynolds to pop out to second again.

Finally, Jeremy Horst entered with two outs and runners at the corners. Horst needed four pitches to do his job, striking out Brantley to end the inning.

Mayberry added his third hit of the night in the eighth, scoring Ruiz. Freddy Galvis, who entered for Frandsen in the eighth, followed with an RBI single as well, capping the scoring on the night.

Papelbon entered for the ninth and allowed a lead-off, bunt single to Drew Stubbs. But Stubbs would be erased on a double play by Mike Aviles and Michael Bourn grounded out to shortstop the end the game.

The Phillies improved to 19-21 with their third straight win. They can finish a two-game sweep of the Indians on Wednesday afternoon. Cole Hamels faces Corey Kluber in the series finale.

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

Three is Enough: Phils halt losing streak behind Lee

Cliff Lee picked off A.J. Pollock in the third inning. Lee picked up the win pitching seven shutout innings. Pollock struck out with the tying run on second to end the game.

In his last start on Monday, Cliff Lee was asked to play stopper. He did just that.

Saturday night was no different. Lee was out to halt a three-game losing streak. Runs came at a premium, but when all was said and done, it was the Phillies making the return to the win column.

Lee pitched seven shutout innings and the Phillies managed to outscore the D'Backs in a pitcher's duel, beating the D'Backs and snapping a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win on Saturday night at Chase Field.

Lee and D'Backs starter Trevor Cahill traded scoreless innings through four innings. Finally, in the fifth, the Phillies managed a run.

Ben Revere led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lee. A wild pitch moved Revere to third, allowing Jimmy Rollins to bring him home with a sacrifice fly.

The same scenario played out in the seventh. Revere singled and stole second. Lee bunted him to third. Rollins drove him in with a little more flare, hitting an RBI single.

An insurance run scored in the eighth as Domonic Brown added an RBI single.

Lee finished after working out of a jam in the seventh. After allowing two hits and a walk to load the bases with two outs, Lee got Wil Nieves to ground out to short to end the inning.

Lee finished with seven shutout innings allowing six hits. He walked two and struck out three, throwing 114 pitches.

Antonio Bastardo entered for the eighth and worked himself into trouble. With one out and runners at the corners, the Phillies turned to their closer.

Jonathan Papelbon had recorded two five-out saves in 2012. For his first one of 2013, he have to work around two jams. The first came easier. 

Papelbon finished the eighth allowing a sacrifice fly to Cody Ross - getting the D'Backs on the board - and a strikeout of Miguel Montero. 

Papelbon put the tying run on second with one out in the ninth. But he followed that with back-to-back strikeouts of Eric Hinske and A.J. Pollock to end the game.

The Phillies are now 17-21 with one game left on a week-long road trip against the D'Backs. Kyle Kendrick gets the start against Brandon McCarthy.

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

Late Heroics: Montero's homer in 8th downs Phils

Jimmy Rollins homered to lead off the game, but couldn't play hero as he grounded out with the tying run on third to end the Phillies' 3-2 loss to the D'Backs.

The Phillies entered Friday night's game with 20 losses on the season. Seven of them were charged to relief pitchers. The number reached eight on Friday.

An early lead slowly slipped away as the Phillies couldn't cling to a one-run lead for nine innings. Tyler Cloyd's debut was wasted and the Diamondbacks got some late heroics thanks to the backstop.

Miguel Montero's homer to lead off the eighth inning off Mike Adams proved to be the difference in a 3-2 D'Backs win on Friday night at Chase Field.

Jimmy Rollins started things off with a bang, belting the first pitch of the game to right for a solo home run. The Phillies would add another run in the inning on an RBI single by Domonic Brown.

The D'Backs added a run back in the first on an RBI double by Eric Chavez with two outs. 

That was all Cloyd would allow while on the mound. With a threat brewing in the seventh, the Phillies pulled Cloyd for Antonio Bastardo with one on and one out. A two-out single by Martin Prado scored Cody Ross to tie the game.

Cloyd finished with 6 1/3 innings allowing two runs on two hits. He walked three and struck out four.

Adams allowed the lead-off homer to Montero, giving the D'Backs the lead. After three straight days of pitching, Heath Bell - the D'Backs closer - was unavailable. Arizona elected to use David Hernandez.

The Phillies worked a rally with Brown and John Mayberry Jr. each picking up singles and Ben Revere bunting the runners to second and third.

But Laynce Nix lined out weakly to third and and Rollins grounded out to first to end the game and give the D'Backs the win.

The Phillies dropped to 16-21 as a result, suffering their third straight loss. They try to return to the win column on Saturday night against the D'Backs. Cliff Lee gets the start against Trevor Cahill.

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

Runs, Please?: Phils waste another Hamels' gem in loss to D'Backs

John Mayberry Jr. is thrown out at second on a force play after Kevin Frandsen drove in the lone run in the Phillies' 2-1 loss to the D'Backs. 

Cliff Lee may have had the most puzzling season for a pitcher in recent memory in 2012. He simply couldn't buy a win.

Cole Hamels can now sympathize.

The 1-4 pitcher fell to 1-5 after another solid performance on the mound went by the wayside as the Phillies suffered a 2-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night at Chase Field.

Hamels and D'Backs starter Patrick Corbin traded scoreless innings through four. The D'Backs finally managed a run in the fifth. It was Corbin getting the job done.

With one out, Corbin rolled a grounder to short. With the infield in, the Phillies may have had a play at home. But the Phillies had moved the infield back just one pitch earlier, allowing Martin Prado to score.

Cody Ross would score in the sixth on a safety squeeze by Geraldo Parra.

Hamels allowed two runs on six hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked five.

Phillippe Aumont and Jeremy Horst split the final two innings, with Horst working out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh.

The Phillies got on the board in the seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, Kevin Frandsen lined a hit up the middle to score Domonic Brown. But the ball was softly hit and all runners had to freeze on the play. That allowed the D'Backs to get John Mayberry Jr. out at second on a force play. Jimmy Rollins followed, ending the inning with a weak fly out to shallow center.

Brown doubled with one out in the ninth but was stranded there as Laynce Nix grounded out to short to end the game.

The top of the Phillies' order - consisting of Rollins, Chase Utley, Michael Young and Ryan Howard - combined to go 0-for-14 at the plate in the loss.

The Phillies are now 16-20 on the season and have lost two straight one-run games. They return to the field on Friday night for the second game in the four-game series with the D'Backs. Tyler Cloyd starts against Ian Kennedy.

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

Giants Closer Sergio Romo Blows Save, But Phillies Fall In Extras

On a day when Roy Halladay shared the good news that surgery may bring him back closer to his old self,  Jonathan Pettibone took the mound against Giants starter Barry Zito.   Pettibone would keep the Phillies in the game and allow them to tie the game late.

Pettibone gave the Phillies another decent start going 5 2/3 innings.  He allowed three earned runs and left two as he passed the ball to Jeremy Horst.  Horst would strand both runners and get the final out of the sixth inning.  Phillippe Aumont and Chad Durbin followed with a clean inning apiece.

Zito continued his resurgance with another strong start.  Before giving way to Santiago Casilla with one runner on and no outs in the eighth, Zito allowed just one run and four hits for a final line of 7IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 3K.  

In front of family and friends in his former City of San Francisco, Kevin Frandsen gave them something to see as he belted a solo home run to left field to put the Phillies on the board.  However, it would not be until the ninth inning that the Phillies would see any more offensive production.

The San Francisco offense once again featured (of course) a Hunter Pence solo home run.  Marco Scutaro and pitcher Barry Zito drove in the other two for San Francisco to give the Giants a 3-1 lead that would hold until the top of the ninth inning.

Jimmy Rollins led off the ninth inning with his second double of the day as Giants closer Sergio Romo came in for the save.   Rollins advanced to third on a Kevin Frandsen fly out.  Michael Young walked, giving the Phillies runners at first and third.  Chase Utley singled in Rollins and aggressively took second base on the throw to third base to pull the Phillies within one run and leaving runners on second and third.

Delmon Young would follow with a sacrifice fly to score Michael Young, tying the game at three.  This was Sergio Romo's second blown save in 24 opportunities since taking over the closer's role from the injured Brian Wilson.  Carlos Ruiz flew out and the game headed to the bottom of the ninth tied at three.

Mike Adams took the mound for the Phillies in the bottom of the ninth.  Gregor Blanco hit a ground ball to Kevin Frandsen to lead off the inning, and Frandsen was unable to field it cleanly for a hit.  The Giants would play hit and run with Marco Scutaro but Scutaro did not hit, and Blanco was thrown out at second base by catcher Carlos Ruiz.  That would be a good thing, because Scutaro followed with a double.  Pablo Sandoval hit a liner to right field that Delmon Young would grab for the second out.  Hunter Pence followed with a long drive just a few feet from the center field fence to send the game to extra innings.

In the tenth inning, Freddy Galvis would lead off by flying out to right field.  Ben Revere would then single in the infield, and be thrown out at second base trying to steal (though the replays would show that Revere was safe).    Domonic Brown would strike out and the Phillies and Giants would head to the bottom of the tenth.

Antonio Bastardo would take the mound for the Phillies in the bottom of the 10th inning.  Buster Posey would lead off in place of Brandon Belt and singled up the middle.   Pinch-hitter Joaquin Arias would bunt Posey to second, and he would move to third on a ball in the dirt.  Bastardo then walked Brandon Crawford, putting runners at first and third with one out.  Guillermo Quiroz would strike out for the second out.  Andres Torres then followed with a single to right field to score Posey.  Giants win 4-3.

The Phillies travel tonight to Phoenix, Arizona, where they will play four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Kendrick Dominant Once Again in 6-2 Win in San Francisco

Kyle Kendrick continued to dazzle tonight in San Francisco.Through seven strong innings, he held the home team to two runs, seven hits, striking out six, and walking none. His confidence is through the roof. It's as if every lesson he learned along the way and all the experience he's had is clicking.  He had a tough inning in the third and escaped it with little damage and continued to keep them off the board after allowing two runs.  He's on a really nice run right now.

The Phillies handled Tim Lincecum through seven inning, scoring five off him. Chase Utley collected two RBIs off him including a home run after it had become a one run affair. Laynce Nix proved to be a nice gamble too, collecting a pair of hits.  Ryan Howard would make it a 6-2 game in the 9th with a solo blast.

Mike Adams and Jonathan Papelbon would both combine for two perfect innings to close it out.

Great game overall and a much needed series win after a demoralizing split series against Miami. The series concludes tomorrow afternoon as Johnathan Pettibone squares off against verteran southpaw Barry Zito.

OTHER NOTES

Keep former Phillies pitcher J.A. Happ in your thoughts tonight. While pitching for Toronto earlier this evening in Tampa Bay, Desmond Jennings hit a line drive that hit him in the side of the head. It was an ugly scene. He was imobilized and taken to the hospital for tests. He did ackowledge the crowd as he was taken off the field which is always a positive sign.