Game Recap:
Roy Halladay had his roughest outing as a member of the Phillies, and Tim Wakefield shut the Phils out for eight innings as Boston took the final game of this interleague series.
What went right?
I guess you could say that Ross Gload did something right with a two run home run, but it came in the ninth inning, when the Phillies were down 8-1. That's not so good.
What went wrong?
Greg Dobbs was 0-4 and had an error that allowed two runs to score.
Ryan Howard was 0-3.
Paul Hoover was 0-3.
Roy Halladay had his worst outing with the Phillies, allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in just 5.2 innings. He walked two and struck out one.
Game Analysis:
When you have your best pitcher on the mound, going up against a 43 year old pitcher who doesn't throw anything faster than 80 miles an hour, you expect to win. However, as the Phillies proved earlier this season when Jamie Moyer beat Johan Santana, that doesn't always happen. That was the case today, as the Boston Red Sox beat up on Roy Halladay, and Tim Wakefield shut the Phils out for eight innings before giving way to the bullpen in an 8-3 Boston win.
There isn't much to say about the offense right now, except for the fact that it hasn't been very good at all in the past two games. Today, the Phils at least managed to get a few hits off of Tim Wakefield, but they couldn't do anything with them, leaving seven men on base during the course of the game. Wakefield only struck out a single batter and walked two, but the Boston defense was stellar for the second straight game, keeping the Phillies from scoring a run until the ninth inning. The Phils need to get their offense going again, and fast. Jimmy Rollins isn't going to be back for a few weeks, at least, and their pitching staff isn't going to be able to win every game for them if they can't score runs. Luckily, this team can bounce back on offense and make these last two games seem like just a bump in the road. With Jayson Werth, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in the lineup, anything is possible.
Roy Halladay had a bad start today, it's as simple as that. Some people are going to blame his showing on the fact that he pitched an unnecessary complete game in a loss against Pittsburgh on Tuesday, but I don't think that's the case. Boston has always hit Halladay pretty hard, and many of their hitters have a fair bit of experience against him. Plus, Halladay should have gotten out of the fourth inning without much trouble, had Greg Dobbs been able to not commit a key error that allowed two runs to score. After that, the Red Sox had all the momentum, and it carried through the rest of the game. The sixth inning falls all on Halladay, however. He didn't have his best stuff, and Boston was on him early and often. It happens to every pitcher, so it's nothing to worry about. Remember, Cliff Lee got lit up in a few starts after he came out with his guns blazing for the Phillies, so a bad start here or there is nothing to be concerned about. If it becomes more of a habit, then it might be something, but it's not going to get that far. Halladay is too good for that.
While losing two out of three games is nothing to be happy about, the fact of the matter is that the Phillies lost to a good team, even though their record isn't as good as it usually is. Boston has one of the best offenses in baseball, and plays in the toughest division as well. Right now, the Red Sox are 24-21, and in fourth place in the American League East. That's not an excuse, that's just the way it is. Boston has been plagued with poor pitching this year, but against the Phillies, their pitching took over. The Phils will get better again on offense, it's just a matter of time. For now, it's back to the National League again, as interleague play takes a break until the end of June.
The Phillies have an off day tomorrow, and then travel to New York for the first time this year to take on the Mets. Jamie Moyer (5-3, 4.30 ERA) goes for the Phillies, and R.A. Dickey (0-0, 3.00 ERA) looks to be starting for New York.
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