Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Phillies Recap: Mets-1, Phillies-0

Game Recap:
Johan Santana out dueled Chan Ho Park, striking out ten as the Mets managed to squeak a single run across for a 1-0 win against the Phillies.

What went right?

Chan Ho Park was terrific, going six innings without giving up a single run. He struck out six and walked just two, and got two walks at the plate himself.

Shane Victorino extended his hitting streak to a career high 15 games.

Honestly, that's about it.

What went wrong?

The Phillies were helpless against Santana, striking out ten times in seven innings and only recording three hits on the game.

Ryan Howard went 0-4 with three strikeouts.

Jayson Werth went 0-4 with three strikeouts.

Pedro Feliz went 0-3 and committed the error that cost the Phillies the game.

The Phillies committed three errors after coming into the game with five errors on the season.

Game Analysis:

After bashing Chan Ho Park, just like everyone else, following his last start, I was amazed to see what he had to offer tonight. The man was pitching like his job was on the line, and to go toe to toe with Johan Santana is certainly quite good. Not only that, but Park managed two walks off the New York ace, which is quite impressive, seeing how Santana had only walked nine batters coming into play tonight. Unfortunately for Park, the Phillies couldn't get anything across the plate, and he didn't pick up the win.

What he got instead was a big no decision, thanks to Pedro Feliz's error in the seventh inning. First, Carlos Delgado has a hip injury, you can't let him score from first base regardless. Second, don't throw the ball away when you're supposed to be our best fielding infielder, especially when the game is tied 0-0. That one error cost the Phils the game, but they had three in the game. Considering they only had five coming into tonight for the season, that's a serious concern, but you can write it off as just a fluke for the time being, just as the Philadelphia bats going silent against Santana is.

That being said, the Phillies need a win tomorrow against the Mets. It's only a two game series, so a split is key. Without it, the Mets gain momentum, and we don't want that. We saw what happened when the Mets had momentum last August, and that was without Francisco Rodriguez. The Phils need to win these games, and now, especially when their fifth pitcher is putting up an effort like he did tonight. They can't lose 1-0 games, I don't care who the opposing pitcher is.

Tomorrow, Jamie Moyer (3-1, 5.65 ERA) takes on Mike Pelfrey (3-0, 6.00 ERA). It looks like the game will be a shootout, so if you want to invade Citi Field, I'd do so early.

No comments:

Post a Comment