Game Recap:
Roy Halladay struck out six in six innings of work, but it took six hits and three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Phillies to get their Opening Day win. John Mayberry Jr. had the game winning single for his first ever Opening Day hit.
What went right?
Jimmy Rollins went 2-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base.
Ryan Howard was 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Ben Francisco was 1-3 in his first Opening Day start with the Phillies, driving in a run and scoring the game winning run.
Wilson Valdez went 2-4 and drove in a run.
John Mayberry Jr. had the game winning hit with a single in the bottom of the ninth inning off of Brandon Lyon.
Roy Halladay made his second straight Opening Day start, pitching six innings and allowing one run on five hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out six.
Ryan Madson and Danys Baez worked scoreless eighth and ninth innings, with Baez getting the first win of the year.
What went wrong?
Shane Victorino was 0-3.
Raul Ibanez drove in a run in the seventh inning with a ground out, but was 0-4 in the game, and recorded the only out of the ninth inning.
You see all of those things that went right? Most of them didn't come until the ninth inning. The Phils got six of their ten hits in the ninth. Brett Myers needed only 85 pitches to get through seven innings.
J.C. Romero and David Herndon looked a bit too much like their 2010 models, with Romero allowing a run without recording an out, and Herndon giving up two runs on two hits in the seventh inning.
Game Analysis:
It wasn't nearly as pretty as last year's 11-1 blowout win over Washington on Opening Day, but the Phillies did what they had to do in the bottom of the ninth inning to take care of the Houston Astros and start their 2011 season with a win. Roy Halladay pitched six innings of one run baseball, but it came down to some clutch hitting when it mattered the most, and that's how the Phillies ended up with a win today.
Halladay pitched well in his second straight Opening Day start, but he got no run support in his six innings of work. Honestly, save for the run that he gave up, Halladay looked in midseason form already. He struck out five of the first eight batters he faced, and Brett Myers had two of the five hits that he allowed. You can't argue with those results, especially in the first game of the season. Pitchers are almost always ahead of hitters at this time of the year, but Halladay looked just like the same guy that won the Cy Young Award last season. He didn't pick up the win, but he pitched like he should have. That's what matters. He's going to be just fine this year.
However, once Halladay left the game, the bullpen ran into some issues. Both J.C. Romero and David Herndon pitched the seventh inning, and by the time three outs had been recorded, three runs had crossed the plate. Romero gave up a hit to the only batter he faced, and he came around to score. Meanwhile, Herndon gave up two more runs on two hits and a sacrifice fly. That's not the kind of results that the Phillies need to see out of their seventh inning pitchers. Despite whatever you want to believe about the pitching staff this season, the Phillies still need their seventh inning pitchers to record three outs. They need to be able to set the table for Ryan Madson and whoever the closer is going to be this year. It's that simple. Today, it hurt the Phils, and if not for a great comeback in the ninth inning, would have cost them the game.
The offense today had its good and bad moments. Against Brett Myers, the Phils were ok at the plate, walking three times, but Myers only needed 85 pitches to get through seven innings. That's only a little over 12 an inning. At least for me, a team should make a starting pitcher throw at least 20 pitches an inning. That puts them at the 100 pitch mark by the end of the fifth inning, and gets a team into the middle relief part of the bullpen, which is normally the weak point of any pitching staff. Today, the Phils didn't do that. They weren't that patient against Myers, even though he didn't have a swinging strike against him for almost the entire game. The Phils were swinging early and often at his pitches, and it can't be that way throughout the entire season. This team has to be more patient at the plate this year. That's what did them in last year, and it could do the same thing this year. I don't care who you have pitching for you. If you swing at the first or second pitch every time up, you will lose.
The good moments today were based around how the Phillies scored their runs. Today, there were no home runs, no long doubles into the gap or anything like that. To score their runs today, the Phillies did something they haven't done in quite some time: they played small ball. Their first two runs of the season came on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Howard and an RBI ground out from Raul Ibanez, and then in the ninth inning, the Phillies strung together six hits, all of them singles. Jimmy Rollins reached base twice, and scored twice. That's the way it should be for a player like Jimmy. Ben Francisco, Wilson Valdez and Johh Mayberry Jr. all had RBI in the ninth. When you look at the Phillies, those aren't the players that you expect to come up with game winning hits, but they did today. It's just the first game of the season, but it's a good sign. It's certainly what this team is going to need this year to make it to the playoffs and win their fifth straight National League East Championship. With all of that being said, this is just the first game out of 162 that will be played this season.
There will be more walk-off wins and walk-off losses for this team. The pitching staff will have great games and bad games. The offense will drive in ten runs one day and none the next. Do you know why? That's how baseball works, that's why. A lot of people like to say that every baseball team will win 60 games and lose 60 games during their season. It's the other 42 that will make the difference. Time is going to tell whether today was just another win, or one of those 42, but one thing is certain: that was a good way to start the season.
Tomorrow, the Phillies trot out Cliff Lee for his first start of the year. Houston is countering with Wandy Rodriguez.
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