Game Recap:
Roy Oswalt pitched seven shutout innings, and the offense knocked out 12 hits to give the Phils the series win over the Nationals. With the win, they moved to two games over the Giants and Cardinals in the Wild Card.
What went right?
Jimmy Rollins was 2-5 with two runs scored.
Raul Ibanez went 1-4 with a two run home run.
Placido Polanco hit third and did well, going 2-3 with two RBI.
Shane Victorino was 2-4 and scored a run.
Wilson freaking Valdez even did well, going 1-4 with two RBI.
Roy Oswalt pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up just five hits. He walked one, struck out eight, and went 2-3 at the plate with a run scored.
Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero worked perfect eighth and ninth innings to finish off the game.
What went wrong?
The Phillies allowed three stolen bases.
Game Analysis:
It sure looks like Roy Oswalt has settled in nicely for the Phillies. After getting knocked around in his first start and getting hit with a no decision in his second, Oswalt has now won three starts in a row for the Phils, and has looked better and better in each one. Today, he shut down the Washington Nationals, allowing just seven men to reach base in seven innings of work before leaving due to rain.
With Oswalt in the fold, the Phillies believed that they had three starters capable of pitching lights out almost every time they pitched, as Oswalt joined Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. While Hamels has struggled a little bit lately with run support, Oswalt and Halladay have been everything that they're supposed to be, and more. Oswalt has been great of late, pitching seven innings in each of his last three starts while only allowing three runs in those three wins. Today was no exception. Roy got into a little trouble in the first inning, as the Nationals had a man on third base with just one out, but then Oswalt showed why he was so coveted at the trade deadline by striking out Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman to get out of the inning. From there, Oswalt was on another level. The Nationals wouldn't get that close to a run for the rest of the day, and the Phillies would take care of the rest on offense.
A good offense does start at the top, and today, Jimmy Rollins played the leadoff role to perfection. Rollins reached base twice in five at-bats, and both times that he did, he came around to score. That's exactly what a leadoff man should do, and the rest of the offense followed suit as well. Placido Polanco looked sharp and drove in two runs, and while Ryan Howard only went 1-4 with a strikeout, it's going to be a few games before he finds his swing again. He only had one rehab start before getting called back up to the Phils, so it might take another game or two before he really gets going. It's nothing to worry about, as long as the rest of the offense can hit, and they did that today. The Phils worked Scott Olsen over in six innings, picking up nine hits and three walks before he left the game. Any time you can have 12 men reach base against a starting pitcher, it's going to raise his pitch count, and that's only going to lead to better things for the offense. That's exactly what the Phils did today, and now that they're done with the Nationals, they have to look towards Houston.
It's the home stretch for the Phillies now as they start a four game series with the Houston Astros. Before they head out west for series with the Padres and Dodgers, the Phils have to take at least three of these four games. If they don't, they're going to let the Giants back into the mix, and allow the Braves to increase their lead in the division. The Astros are not that good of a team, and the Phils have Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels pitching two of the games. Those should be wins right there. All that's left is to have Joe Blanton or Kyle Kendrick win a game. That might be a little bit tougher.
Tomorrow, the Astros come into town. Joe Blanton (5-6, 5.64 ERA) is going for the Phils, while Brett Myers (8-7, 3.11 ERA) pitches for Houston. Yep, it's that Brett Myers, and he's pitching that well. Why couldn't the Phillies have kept him and let Blanton go to Houston?
No comments:
Post a Comment