Game Recap:
Pedro Martinez outpitched Tim Lincecum, and Ryan Howard's two out double in the sixth inning allowed the Phils to win their series against the Giants.
What went right?
Jayson Werth was 1-3 with a home run that reached the second deck out in left field.
Ryan Howard was 1-3 with an RBI double.
Chase Utley was 0-3, but did get hit by a pitch that allowed him to score the game winning run.
Pedro Martinez pitched seven innings, allowing one run on five hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out nine.
Brad Lidge got into some trouble, but worked out of it for his 28th save of the season.
What went wrong?
The Phillies managed only four hits as a team.
They also struck out 12 times.
Game Analysis:
Pick a game out of this series that you thought the Phillies would lose. Is everyone ready? I bet most of you picked this game last night. Pedro Martinez hadn't been bad for the Phils, but he had only pitched in four games, and two of them had been interrupted because of rain. Tim Lincecum is the defending Cy Young Award winner, and has been lights out all season. Hell, I would have picked the Giants in this game. Instead, Pedro turned the clock back about ten years and reminded the Giants, and Phillies fans, why he was considered one of the best pitchers in baseball for a while. Nine strikeouts and only one run allowed in seven innings, that's the Pedro Martinez the Phillies were hoping for when they took a chance on him. If he can pitch even close to that level for the rest of the regular season, then the Phillies might have one of the best rotations in the National League.
I am still concerned about the offense right now. Ryan Howard is still killing the ball, and drove in the game winning run in both games against the Giants, but the Phillies only managed to score three runs in the three games. It's a good thing they somehow won two of those games, because had they not, there would be a lot of upset Phillies fans right now. Instead, the Phillies have shown that they can win with their pitching and just a few runs. I'd still like to see them get back to ripping apart opposing pitchers, but I'll take wins however the Phillies want to provide them right now. Once this offense gets back on track, I wouldn't want to be a team in the National League heading into the playoffs, though. That's how good the Phillies can be.
Tonight, Cliff Lee (12-10, 2.83 ERA) looks to bounce back from his first bad start in Philadelphia against Wandy Rodriguez (12-9, 2.93 ERA) and the Houston Astros.
No comments:
Post a Comment