Game Recap:
Brad Lidge blew his eighth save of the season thanks to some questionable defense, and the Phillies dropped the second game of their series against the Braves.
What went right?
Shane Victorino went 1-3 with a triple and scored a run.
Jayson Werth was 1-3 with a solo home run in the seventh inning.
Raul Ibanez went 2-4 with two doubles and a run scored.
Pedro Feliz went 1-4 with a triple and an RBI.
Carlos Ruiz was 2-4.
Cole Hamels pitched six innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He walked four and struck out two.
What went wrong?
Jimmy Rollins was 0-4.
Chase Utley went 0-4 and missed a ground ball that started the ninth inning failure.
Brad Lidge blew his eighth save of the season, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits. He walked two, struck out one and committed two errors on one play that pretty much cemented the game.
The Phillies had six extra base hits, but only scored four runs.
Game Analysis:
This was a game of missed chances that eventually came back to bite the Phils big time. After getting a decent effort from Cole Hamels, the Phillies had everything in place for Brad Lidge, who managed to have a pretty painless inning last night. Everything looked good, right?
Not so fast. First, Chase Utley couldn't get to a ball that Garrett Anderson hit. To be fair, it was a difficult play, but Utley normally makes that grab. After that, Matt Diaz had the best sacrifice bunt ever, thanks to two errors by Lidge on the same play. He bobbled the ball, then decided to throw it to first instead of just eating it and having two on with no outs. Ryan Howard missed the ball, Anderson scored, and Diaz ended up at third. I knew the game was over then. It wasn't even Lidge's pitching that did him in today...it was his defense.
Of course, the Phillies never should have been in that situation to begin with. The Phillies had men on third base with less than two outs three different times, and each time, they couldn't get the runner home. Missed chances like that will kill any team, especially when you have a very erratic closer waiting in the bullpen. The Phils can't let chances like that pass them by, and they certainly can't do it in a divisional game with a team they're trying to bury.
Cole Hamels looked ok. He still had some problems with his location, and actually walked more batters than he struck out, but he kept the Braves off the scoreboard with the exception of a Brian McCann home run and managed to get out of a few self manufactured jams. It's a good step, but I want to see more. He has to at least get partially back into 2008 form before I feel better with him.
Tomorrow night, J.A. Happ (8-2, 2.75 ERA) looks to get the series win for the Phils. He'll be opposed by Javier Vazquez (10-7, 2.90 ERA). It's on ESPN, so it should be a good one. Go Phils!
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