Game Recap:
Trying to obviously score before the rain set in, the Phillies scored four runs in the first and five in the fifth to provide all the offense they would need for Jamie Moyer to pick up his second win of the season. Pedro Feliz had his best game of the year, picking up three hits and adding his first home run of the season.
What went right?
As previously mentioned, Pedro Feliz had a great day at the plate, going 3-4 with 3 RBI and his first long ball of the season. The game upped his average to a very nice .359 through the first dozen games of the year.
While Chase Utley only had one hit and one RBI, he did show some great patience at the plate, walking three times and scoring once.
Jamie Moyer had his best start of the year, by far. He started the game with back to back strikeouts, and aside from Ryan Braun, who no one could stop tonight, held the Milwaukee offense in check for six innings. He picked up his second win of the season and dropped his ERA to 6.35.
Jayson Werth went 2-5, including a two run double in the first inning that started the scoring spree for the Phillies.
Shane Victorino is starting to look like he might be coming out of his slow start with a 2-4 night, including two runs scored and an RBI.
What went wrong?
Ryan Howard didn't have the best of nights, going 0-4 with three strikeouts. The big man is still hitting .313 on the year, however.
While Moyer did pitch well, he had problems with Ryan Braun all night, allowing two home runs from the former Rookie of the Year.
The weather decided to delay the end of what was a blowout, keeping me from getting to write this up before I should be getting ready to go to sleep.
Game Analysis:
In a matchup of last year's NLDS, the Phillies picked up right where they left off. The offense, which has started to look better, really came to life today, battering Milwaukee starter Manny Parra for four runs in the first, then adding five more in the fifth off of Jorge Julio.
This is the Phillie team that I remember watching from last season. While they may not score all the time, scoring runs in bunches can be just as, if not more effective than scoring a run each inning. While the Phillies have let some big innings slip through their fingers so far this year, they were able to put two such innings together today, and that ended up leading to a very happy, if also very wet, crowd at Citizen's Bank Ballpark tonight.
If the Phillies are going to continue on this little offensive tear they've got going, the Brewers are a perfect team to do it against. They lost both CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets during the offseason, and their pitching is quite thin. For players like Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, this is a perfect time to get their licks in against subpar pitching. These series are the ones that the Phillies were able to take control of last year, as they played average teams with poor rotations. That trend is going to have to continue for the Phils, and it hopefully should.
Next Game
The Phillies send Joe Blanton (0-1, 9.00 ERA) to the mound to try and get over the .500 mark for the first time this season. Opposing him will be Braden Looper (1-0, 3.27 ERA) as the Brewers attempt to even the series.
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