Game Recap:
The Phillies had their chances in the late innings, but a rough outing from Kyle Kendrick, followed by a three walk performance from Nelson Figueroa was enough to push the Nationals by the Phils and prevent the sweep.
What went right?
Jimmy Rollins went 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
Placido Polanco went 2-5 with a run scored.
Chase Utley was 2-5 with an RBI.
Ryan Howard went 2-4 with a walk and an RBI.
Jayson Werth was 3-5 with three doubles and a run scored.
Aside from Figueroa, the bullpen was solid, not allowing a run on two hits in two innings of work. Jose Conteras, Antonio Bastardo and David Herndon did the job for the Phils.
What went wrong?
Kyle Kendrick struggled in his first start of the season, allowing five runs on six hits. in four innings He didn't walk a batter and struck out two.
Nelso Figueroa pitched out of trouble in his first inning of work, but couldn't do so in his second frame, allowing the game winning RBI double for the Nationals.
Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino and Brian Schneider went a combined 0-11 at the bottom of the lineup.
The Phillies left 11 men on base.
Game Analysis:
Well, everyone knew that the Phillies weren't going to go 162-0, so a first loss on the season was going to happen. Today, the Phils looked more like the 2009 version of the team again, as they were unable to get base hits in late inning situations, and that eventually cost them the game. Luckily, it's only the third game of the season, so I wouldn't be too worried about anything yet.
Whatever magic Kyle Kendrick had during Spring Training apparently decided to stay down in Florida, as he was in trouble from the very first pitch, giving up a triple, a single and a double to start out the game. By the time he even recorded an out, the Nationals were up 2-0, and they would extend that lead to 3-0 by the end of the first inning. Though Kendrick settled down after that, he ran into trouble again in the fourth inning, and he was pulled after the inning. Kendrick's problem today wasn't his control: he didn't walk a batter and threw a lot of strikes. The problem was that he may have thrown too many strikes. This was the same problem he had in 2008 and part of 2009. Kendrick can pitch to contact, but the only problem is that he also throws too many pitches in the strike zone. He has to learn to work the outside corners more, and get batters to chase at more pitches. When he gets the hang of that, he could be a decent middle to back end of the rotation pitcher for an entire season.
I really can't get on Nelson Figueroa too much today, since the Phillies just claimed him off of waivers yesterday, and he's pitching for them today. He picked up the loss and had some control issues, walking two batters and a third intentionally, but he was really only one out away from getting out of the seventh inning without allowing a run. Hopefully, he can continue to be a decent long relief option for the Phils, as they really do need one at this point and time.
The main issue with the loss today comes from the batting order. The top five guys in the order did just fine, but after Jayson Werth, the 6-8 batters didn't record a single hit, and Raul Ibanez was the only one that reached base, and he did that on a walk. I know it's early in the season, but Ibanez still hasn't been able to rediscover the stroke that he had during the first part of last year. So far, he's hitting a robust .091, with one RBI and three strikeouts. This is somewhat similar to how he was hitting at the end of last season, and it may develop into an area of concern if it continues later into the season. For now, though, I'm willing to let it slide, as long as he can get back on his feet. The Phillies' ability to drive in runners in scoring position goes through the bottom part of the lineup, and if they can't produce, there will be more games like the one today.
I'm not too worried, though. This team has already scored 24 runs in three games, but I'd like to see Ibanez and Victorino get their acts together by this point next week. After going to Houston and hosting the Nationals, the Phillies have a rough end to April, hosting the Marlins, then going on the road to Atlanta, Arizona and San Francisco before coming back to Philadelphia for a series with the Mets.
Tomorrow, the Phils head down to Houston to visit their old friend Ed Wade and the Astros. J.A. Happ makes his first start of the season, and he'll be facing off against Bud Norris.
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