Tagged: St. Louis Cardinals
Swept By The Cardinals, Lose 5 Straight, Now What?
Swept By The Cardinals, Lose 5 Straight, Now What?
Well that was fast, the Phillies have now matched their longest losing streak of the year with 5 in a row after getting swept by the St. Louis Cardinals last night losing 3 to 1. The loss drops the Phillies 4 game below .500. It was actually the best game since Friday that they played. With that, that is not saying much. The Phillies offense just couldn’t mustard enough offense. The Phillies managed only 7 hits and were 1 for 5 with RISP. The Phillies look lost at the plate and the field. The Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 3rd inning and proved that is all they needed to win. The only Phillies run came on an Eric Kratz single to left scoring Laynce Nix who got the start in leftfield. After the RBI, the Phillies managed to get just 3 hits of Lance Lynn and the Cardinals bullpen. The Phillies need help and now they have to win 4 straight just to be .500 at the trading deadline which is approaching fast, July 31st. Kendrick after the game spoke about the team’s performance this year, “We’re in a rough patch right now,” he said. “We haven’t been consistent all year. We’ve looked good at times, but not consistent with everything. Hopefully we can start playing better. We have a short time to turn it around. I have faith in these guys. That’s for sure” (1). The Phillies do not get a break, they will travel to Detroit tonight and face the AL Central leading Tigers at Comerica Park. The Phillies swept the Tigers in there only series in Detroit, that was in 2002. Cole Hamels who is coming off a disappointing loss Saturday against the Mets, will face against Doug Fister. The series will make or break the Phillies this year, and probably determine their fate come the trading deadline. The game will start at 7:05pm and be featured on Comcast SportsNet and MLB Network.
Phillies Hit Rock Bottom Last Night
Phillies Hit Rock Bottom Last Night
About a week ago, all of Philadelphia was thinking maybe these Phillies can actually make it to the playoffs? Well after losing two out of three to the New York Mets, and now on the verge of getting swept by the St. Louis Cardinals after losing last night 11 to 3, it look likes that won’t happen. The biggest problem the Phillies have had this year has been bullpen pitching. John Lannan did not exactly pitch the greatest game either. He pitched 4 innings, 4 ER, 8 H and 2 BB. But between Ramirez, Diekman and De Fratus, they gave up a combined 7 runs. The Cardinals struck first and did not look back, the got out to a 9 to 1 lead after 5 innings. The Phillies played a sloppy game but did not have an error, the Cardinals had an error. The Phillies looked like a little league team last night. They were making bad throws, bad plays in the field and not being patient at the plate. The Phillies were 2 for 10 with RISP and the Cardinals were 9 for 20. The Phillies went a combined 9 for 34 at the plate, and just looked lost in St. Louis. The Phillies got their 3 runs by John Mayberry, Carlos Ruiz and Michael Martinez. How terrible is that? No RBI’s from Rollins, Utley, Ruf, Delmon Young and Michael Young. The Phillies need something to kick them in the butt. They can not go into the August and September with this roster. Charlie Manuel after last night’s game spoke about his team’s performance, “We’re standing there, and we’re trying just as hard as we can try,” Manuel said. “That’s just kind of how it went. We had trouble in the outfield, we had trouble all over the place, really” (1). The Phillies were having trouble with Jake Westbrook who is about as mediocre as you can get. The Phillies need to go back to the basics and find themselves. Despite the 4 straight losses, the Phillies are still in 2nd place in NL East and are 8 games behind the Braves, and 8.5 behind the Reds for the NL Wild Card. The Phillies look to salvage at least one game against the Cardinals and look to Kyle Kendrick to save them. The Cardinals will counter with Lance Lynn who is 11 and 5. The game is at Busch Stadium and will be at 7:15pm. The game will be on Comcast SportsNet and MLB Network.
Photo- http://www.wpxi.com/ap/ap/pennsylvania/westbrook-helps-cardinals-beat-phillies-11-3/nY3fM/
Matt Harvey Shuts Down Phillies
Matt Harvey Shuts Down Phillies
Before the All-Star Break we all thought the Phillies were going to get on a roll and get back atop the NL East, but after yesterday’s loss, it may be a big up-hill climb. The Phillies had their best pitcher on the mound against the Mets best pitcher Matt Harvey, game went to Harvey. The Phillies managed 4 hits and 10 strikeouts against Harvey, meanwhile Lee gave up 3 Home Run’s, 5 runs and 7 hits. The Phillies looked terrible and could not figure out Harvey all day. The Phillies went a combined 4 for 31 and only had 3 runners in scoring position all day. And as All of the home run’s hit by the Mets came on two outs. I wish I had more things to say but this game was atrocious and the Phillies just looked pathetic against a bad NL team, the Phillies should of won the series. After the game, Lee spoke about his performance, “I’ve got to find a way to make better pitches in those situations. They’re all with two strikes, and they’re all with two outs. That’s the part that’s frustrating for me. But what’s done is done. You’ve got to give Harvey a lot of credit today” (1). It was Lee’s second straight loss and looks to be struggling a bit with the location of his pitches. The Phillies have the night off, but face the NL best St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis. Jonathan Pettibone will take the mound, the Cardinals will counter with Shelby Miller. The game starts at 8:15pm at Busch Stadium and will be featured on Channel 17 WPHL.
Phillies Close But Just Can’t Capitalize!
Phillies Close But Just Can’t Capitalize!
Phillies Close But Just Can’t Capitalize!
It is getting very frustrating to watch the Phillies recently, especially this past week. The Phillies continued their losing streak, now at 4 games after last night’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Phillies loss 4 to 3 but had plenty of chances to capitalize and end the streak but failed to do so. Cole Hamels who is the supposed to be the ace of the staff has been making strides in his last 3 starts (including last night) to become the pitcher the Phillies desperately need at this moment but he failed to do so again last night. He did pitch decent and kept the Phillies in the game but his efforts were put to the waste side. The Phillies were down 2-0, when the Phillies offense actually showed some life, Jimmy Rollins who was back in the leadoff spot last night doubled off Adam Wainwright, and Freddy Galvis who playing leftfield for the injured Domonic Brown doubled also to score Rollins and cut the lead to 2 to 1. Chase Utley who has been the only coincident Phillies hitter singled up to middle and helped Galvis score on the play, and the Phillies are back in it, 2-2. But every time the Phillies tied the game, the Cardinals had an answer. Next inning David Freese doubled to right field and next hitter John Jay bunts to let Freese go to third and he scores on a Pete Kozma sac fly to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. But the Phillies looked like the old Phillies chipping away and getting back in the ballgame. The bottom of the 7th, the Turkey Bacon connoisseur Eric Kratz singled to left field and let’s John Mayberry who singled to start the inning scored after Revere sacrifice him over. The game is tied 3-3! Maybe we can win this, well the setup man Mike Adams comes in who has been pitching great all season only giving up one run failed to keep the tied for the Phillies, he gives up a Home Run to Carlos Beltran on a ball that just keep carrying, and in any other ballpark would have been an out. The game is now 4 to 3 Cardinals. It is the bottom of the 9th and it’s up to the Phillies now to win this. Ben Revere and Kratz both single giving the Phillies runners at the corners with NO OUTS! Well, that is where it would stop, Kevin Frandsen swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short, Jimmy Rollins who looked more interested in what to do after the game then the game itself, carelessly swings and misses on a pitch that was in the dirt, then Galvis grounds out to second base and ends the game. Another game where the Phillies failed to capitalize and failed once again the get a walk, in their 4th straight game! After the game Charlie Manual said “I felt like tonight we hit the ball good,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “We had runners on base. That’s the best we’ve hit in a while.” (1). The Phillies continue their series against the Cardinals and send old ace Roy Halladay to the mound, Halladay is coming off his best start of the season, where he went 8 innings of one run ball and got the win a against the Miami Marlins. The Cardinals will counter with Jaime Garcia, who is 1 and 0 and has a 1.86 ERA this season. The game starts at 7:05pm and will be featured on Comcast SportsNet.
Photo- http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20130419_Phils_competitive_but_lose_again.html
Phillies News and Notes
John Lannan who is coming off his worst performance in a Phillies uniform has been placed on the 15 day DL with a strained quadriceps tendon in his left knee. He said he suffered the injury in his start against the New York Mets and it continued to bother him in yesterday’s debacle. A roster move will be made tomorrow and rumors have the Phillies calling up pitcher Adam Morgan to take Lannan’s spot in the rotation. Morgan is 1 and 0 with a 1.29 ERA for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.
Photo-http://aeryssports.com/view-from-section-116/
For tonight’s game Charlie Manual has shaken up the lineup to try to get some offensive oomph from a lackluster team that just doesn’t want to score runs. Here is tonight’s lineup:
1) Rollins SS 6) Mayberry RF
2) Galvis LF 7) Revere CF
3)Utley 2B 8) Kratz C
4) Howard 1B 9) Hamels P
5) Young 3b
PhilliesTime 
