Game Recap:
The Phillies picked up nine hits, but could only score a single run as Joe Blanton dropped his second straight game and the Phils lost their four game winning streak.
What went right?
Placido Polanco went 3-4.
Shane Victorino was 1-4 with the lone RBI for the Phillies today.
Joe Blanton picked up the loss, but looked decent once again, allowing just three runs on five hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out three.
What went wrong?
Greg Dobbs was 0-3.
Jayson Werth went 0-3 with a walk.
Wilson Valdez was 0-4.
Danys Baez is quickly working his way toward David Bell territory (I hate David Bell), as he gave up a run on two hits in an inning of work.
The Phillies left nine men on base and walked six batters on the day.
Game Analysis:
In both starts that Joe Blanton has made so far this year, he's been victimized by poor run support. The Phillies have scored a combined four runs in his two starts, and have been outscored by six runs. While some of that does have to do with Blanton and his pitching, the offense does have to shoulder some of the blame for both losses. Against St. Louis, Blanton gave up just two runs while he was in the game, and got knocked for two more when the bullpen couldn't stop St. Louis. Today, it was more of the same, as he no hit the Braves through four innings, but gave up three runs in the sixth. The Phillies could only manage a single run with Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz not playing, and Blanton got tagged for his second straight loss.
Blanton's performance today made me feel good about the rest of the year with him. Though he's lost both starts so far this season, he pitched well against St. Louis and looked even better against the Braves. He's struck out seven in 12.2 innings and walked just three, which is a good sign for someone coming off of an oblique injury. Do I think he's going to get better as the month goes on? Of course I do. He's looked solid so far, having dropped both games due to a single big inning in each game as well as a lack of run support. I fully expect Blanton to get better as the month and season goes on, and he should be able to avoid the big inning that has been costing him in both starts so far. Of course you can only expect so much with Joe Blanton. He's a back of the rotation starter, and he's going to give up runs. If you can get someone like Joe Blanton to only give up three runs in a start, then something is going right. The offense has to pick things up at some point and help him get his first win of the year.
After playing very well for the last few games, the offense totally went to sleep today, wasting chances and being the main reason why the Phils lost. Placido Polanco played at second base for Chase Utley, and went 3-4, but the rest of the team could only manage six hits and four walks and left nine men on base. Those numbers aren't going to help to win many games, but for one game, its not anything to worry about. The offense was up for a poor showing after the last two series, and with Juan Castro sitting on the bench, another offensive weapon was missing from the lineup today. Sure, Castro is playing in place of Jimmy Rollins, but he's done a good job so far, and with Rollins hopefully coming back in a week or two, he can get back out there in the meantime. No one wants to see Wilson Valdez starting on a longterm basis, that's just the truth.
In all, there isn't that much to read into the Phillies' loss today. Joe Blanton pitched well, but the offense couldn't figure out Kris Medlen or the Atlanta bullpen to push more than one run across the plate. It's nothing to worry about, as this team has already proven that they can score runs, even without their leadoff hitter, but they need to worry about picking themselves up and playing better tomorrow. As long as they can do that, it's not going to be a concern.
Tomorrow, the Phils close out their three game series with the Braves. Cole Hamels (2-2, 4.42 ERA) will go against Kenshin Kawakami (0-5, 5.47 ERA). The Phillies had better not be the first team to lose to Kawakami...
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