Game Recap:
The Mets scored five runs off of Kyle Kendrick and Chad Durbin in the seventh inning to put an end to the Phillies 11 game winning streak.
What went right?
Ryan Howard was 1-3 with a walk and a two run home run. He did, however, have an error in the seventh inning that allowed things to snowball. That's bad.
Chase Utley was 1-3 and scored a run.
What went wrong?
Shane Victorino was 0-3.
Placido Polanco went 0-4.
Raul Ibanez went 0-4 with two strikeouts.
Carlos Ruiz was 0-4.
Chad Durbin only got tagged for one run in the seventh inning, but he allowed three inherited runners to score to give the Mets the lead. In two thirds of an inning, Durbin allowed a run on two hits while striking out two.
Game Analysis:
It had to come to an end eventually, and most people figured that it would with Kyle Kendrick on the mound. However, the end of the Phils' 11 game winning streak wasn't all Kendrick's fault. Kendrick pitched well through six innings, but couldn't avoid the big inning in the seventh. By the time all was said and done, the Mets had scored five times off of Kendrick and Durbin, and the winning streak was over.
The offense struggled yesterday against Dillon Gee, who, after a first inning home run by Ryan Howard, settled down and kept the Phillies from scoring again. The Phils could only manage five hits in seven innings off of Gee, and they didn't even reach base against the New York bullpen. The offense has been down a bit of late, but the pitching has been there to bail them out most nights. Yesterday wasn't one of those nights, though. There are still going to be times this year and during the playoffs that the Phillies are going to need their offense to come through for them. If they want to make it back to the World Series again, they're going to have to get that performance from their bats, because pitching isn't always everything. Remember, no one thought that the Braves should have lost in the playoffs with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, but they almost always did. The offense couldn't always keep up with the team that they were playing, and there are some good offenses left in the National League.
You can't pin this loss on Kyle Kendrick. Through six innings, Kendrick looked just as good as the other pitchers in the rotation have of late, but he ran into some trouble in the seventh inning that he couldn't get out of. Things might have been different had Ryan Howard not committed an error with two on and one out, but that's in the past now. In the end, pitchers still need to be able to get out of innings like that, and Kendrick and Chad Durbin couldn't get it done. In the long run, though, this game shouldn't be that important. Yes, the Phillies lost, but they still have a six game lead on the Braves with just seven games left, and the magic number is just two. While anything could still happen, it's quite unlikely that the Phillies will be doing anything but celebrating in the next few days.
Today, the Phils wrap up their regular season at home with one last game against the Mets. Cole Hamels (12-10, 2.93 ERA) will pitch for the Phillies against Pat Misch (0-4, 4.44 ERA).
No comments:
Post a Comment