Phillies Recap: Rays-7, Phillies-1

Game Recap:
A close pitchers duel came undone in the bottom of the eighth inning, as a Jimmy Rollins fielding mistake broke the game open for the Rays.

What went right?

Jayson Werth went 2-4 with a home run and an RBI.

Joe Blanton pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out ten.

What went wrong?

The top four hitters in the lineup tonight (Jimmy, Shane, Chase and Ryan) went 0-12 with three walks.

Aside from Jayson Werth, the Phillies only managed two other hits.

Jimmy Rollins made a huge fielding mistake in the eighth inning that pretty much sealed the loss for the Phils.

The bullpen got lit up, thanks to that mistake. J.C. Romero allowed three runs on one hit and a walk, while Chan Ho Park gave up two runs on two hits.

Game Analysis:

Just when you thought the Phillies had turned the corner on their bad play, they end up right back there. With the bases loaded and Pat Burrell batting in the eighth inning, Chan Ho Park got Burrell to ground right to Jimmy Rollins. A throw to first would have ended the inning, and with the heart of the lineup coming up in the ninth, there would have at least been a chance for a run or two to score. Instead, Jimmy threw to second, and Ben Zobrist was safe. A run scored, then four more followed as the Rays kicked the door in.

I'm not putting all the blame on this loss on Jimmy. Trust me, there's plenty to go around. The offense didn't help Joe Blanton out at all, and that's a shame, because ten strikeout outings from Joe Blanton shouldn't be wasted. Since his poor start, the big boy has looked good. Now, if only he could get the offense to help him win some of these games.

It was not a good night for the Phillies at all. Their bullpen couldn't stop the Rays when they had to, their offense didn't exist and their fielding went to hell in the eighth inning. All of that led up to another loss that probably could have been avoided if just one or two mistakes had not been made. This isn't how the Phillies played last year, and they need to get back into that groove, or they're not going to get anywhere close to the World Series again this year.

Tomorrow, Antonio Bastardo (2-2, 5.21 ERA) takes on Andy Sonnanstine (5-7, 6.60 ERA). Apparently, Joe Maddon likes to keep Sonnanstine in a lot during games. Hopefully, the Phillies can take advantage of that and win the series.