Game Recap:
Brad Lidge blew his second straight save, and Chad Durbin gave up a walk off home run to Andre Ethier to send the Phils to their second straight loss.
What went right?
Joe Blanton was solid, going six innings, while allowing just one run on five hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Matt Stairs had a pinch hit, two RBI single in the seventh inning that gave the Phillies the lead.
Pedro Feliz was 2-5 with a run scored.
Raul Ibanez was 1-5 with a run scored.
What went wrong?
Brad Lidge blew his second save in row, giving up a home run to Rafael Furcal that tied the game.
Shane Victorino was 0-5.
Ryan Howard was 0-5.
The Phillies left seven men on base.
Game Analysis:
Another game, another Brad Lidge blown save. While last night's game could be blamed on a missed strike three call and a Pedro Feliz error, today's game was strictly on Lidge. All he had to do was get three outs, and the game was over. Instead, he gave up a pinch hit home run to Rafael Furcal, of all people, and the Dodgers were able to tie the game. This year has not been good to Lidge. His ERA is over 7.00, and he's allowed more runs and given up more home runs than he did all of last season. I don't know what the hell is wrong with him, but it's something that needs to be looked at. He seems to do well with the poor teams, like the Nationals and Padres, but when it comes to the teams that the Phillies could be playing in October, like the Dodgers and Yankees, he has trouble. It might just be because those teams are better, but he didn't blow a save last season, no matter who it was against. A year after going 41-41, Lidge has already blown six saves. This is Billy Wagner territory he's getting close to now.
Once again, the lineup wasted a solid start from a starting pitcher. When Joe Blanton gives you six innings of one run baseball, you need to be able to score enough runs to get him the win. Instead, the Phillies only managed two hits off of starter Hiroki Kuroda, and could only score after he was taken out of the game. Even so, the Phils left seven men on base, and just couldn't come through when they needed to, once again. I don't know if it's the Los Angeles pitching, or just the fact that the Phillies are going through a team slump, but it needs to stop, and quickly. Everything looked like it was coming together a few days ago, and now, I'm not sure. I hate baseball for this very reason, but it makes it more compelling through the season. The Phillies have to bounce back tomorrow night to at least earn a split in L.A. If they can't do that, then this series with the Mets is going to be very, very interesting.
Tomorrow, Antonio Bastardo (1-0, 1.50 ERA), goes up against Randy Wolf (3-1, 3.21 ERA). You might remember Wolf as one of those young pitchers that once had as much potential as Bastardo. Now, the Dodgers have him. Go Phillies!
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