Game Recap:
For the second night in a row, the Phillies came back against the Marlins in the 9th inning. Eric Bruntlett's RBI ground out in the top of the 9th inning tied the game, and Chase Utley's single in the 10th put the Phils on top to stay, despite the best efforts of Brad Lidge in the bottom of the inning.
What went right?
Chan Ho Park had his best game as a Phillie, throwing seven innings while striking out five and allowing four runs. He also hit his third career home run in the third inning.
Ryan Howard hit his third homer of the season in the fourth inning and finished the day 2-5 with no strikeouts.
Jayson Werth went 1-4 with an RBI in the 10th inning.
Brad Lidge picked up his fourth save in five tries, striking out the side despite loading the bases in the bottom of the 10th inning.
What went wrong?
The four runs that Park gave up came on back to back home runs by Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla in the fourth inning, giving the Phillies more homers allowed by their starting pitching.
Jimmy Rollins went 1-5 and his average is now a robust .162 for the season.
Charlie Manuel was ejected from the game in the 10th inning for arguing balls and strikes, though some people may think that was something that went right.
Game Analysis:
A win is a win, but it would be nice to actually hold a lead in a game for once. The Phils are back to .500 again, and all eight of their wins have been of the come from behind kind. However, there were some encouraging signs in this game. Chan Ho Park had easily his best outing as a Phillie, and other than two bad pitches to Uggla and Cantu, looked quite comfortable out there. He also hit his first Philadelphia home run, and his first since 2000 when he was with the Dodgers.
I've said it a lot this week, but the Phillies obviously still have some work to do. Their starting pitching is still giving up a ton of home runs, and if that doesn't stop, the offense is going to have to score more and more runs. Even with this lineup, I don't know how many 10-9 games the Phillies can win this year. It's still only April, but if this keeps going, there are going to be some major problems, especially with tired arms in the bullpen.
That being said, at least the Phils have shown signs of life this weekend against the NL East leading Marlins. They looked lifeless against the Brewers, and to take the first two in this series is a huge starting point for a good finish to April and start of May.
Today, Jamie Moyer (2-1, 6.35 ERA), takes on Graham Taylor (MLB Debut). It's on right now, so finish reading this, and go watch it!
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