Game Recap:
Roy Halladay pitched eight innings of two run baseball, and the bullpen did just enough to make sure that the Phils made it out tonight with a win over the Florida Marlins.
What went right?
Juan Castro went 2-3 with three RBI.
Placido Polanco was 1-5 with a home run.
Chase Utley was 2-3 with a solo home run.
Ryan Howard went 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Jayson Werth was 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Roy Halladay pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on eight hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out four.
What went wrong?
David Herndon made things much closer than they should have been in the ninth inning, giving up four runs on five hits while recording only one out. It was not a good night for the Rule 5 draft pick.
Game Analysis:
Boy, once Roy Halladay left, this game got interesting, didn't it? Halladay only gave up two runs in eight innings, but David Herndon allowed four runs in one third of an inning, and by the time Ryan Madson got warmed up, the game tonight had turned from a blowout into a dangerous save situation. Luckily, Madson got the job done, and the Phillies came out on top tonight.
It was another great effort from Halladay, in a season that has seen him pitch like the Cy Young winner than he is. Aside from a home run to Dan Uggla, Halladay pitched great tonight, getting the hard hitting Marlins out without much trouble. While he gave up eight hits, he was able to get out of trouble when he had to, and the runs that the Phils put up had to help that situation. It's hard to see someone else pitching as well as Halladay has been so far this season, and his home debut was just as good as anyone thought it could be.
The offense got back on track after an off night last night. Chase Utley hit his fifth home run in four games, while Juan Castro had three RBI batting out of the number seven spot tonight. Ryan Howard added two RBI of his own with an opposite field single in the first inning and right now, this team just seems to be locked in on offense. I've been preaching for years that the Phillies need to show more patience at the plate and make the opposing starters throw about 20 pitches an inning, and the Phils are making that happen this year. Anibal Sanchez walked three batters in the first inning, and by the time the fifth inning came around, Sanchez was closing in on 100 pitches. Everyone knows that the middle relief of just about every team isn't very good, so to get to that early means a lot to a team, especially in the first game of a three game series. That's what this team needs to keep doing. With the patience that they've been showing so far, things have been very good at the plate for the Phillies so far. In their first ten games, the Phillies have walked 37 times and struck out 39, compared to 16 walks and 53 strikeouts for their opponents. That's the kind of ratio that wins a lot of ballgames, and that's what the Phillies need to keep up.
The only problem that I had tonight was with the bullpen David Herndon came in to finish the game off, but he couldn't get it done. Instead, he turned a six run lead into a two run lead, and let the go-ahead run make it to the plate. Luckily, Ryan Madson did his job as the closer, and the Phillies got out of the game with a win. However, performances like this can not be allowed as the season goes on. Herndon had done well up until this point, but this one showing might be enough to put his roster spot in jeopardy once J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge come back from the DL. He has to pitch better than he did tonight, though a lot of it wasn't his fault. The Marlins hit a lot of bleeders and seeing eye singles that allowed runs to score, but the fact is that Herndon shouldn't have let that happen. There's a reason the Angels left him open for the taking in the Rule 5 draft, and this might be it. It goes back to what I was saying last night: this bullpen can't always be trusted, especially when it's been used the day before.
Tomorrow, the Phils go for their second straight win against the Marlins. Jamie Moyer (1-0, 7.50 ERA) takes on Ricky Nolasco (0-0, 5.68 ERA).
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