Game Recap:
The Phillies pounded the Reds, scoring in seven of nine innings on their way to winning the series against Cincinnati.
What went right?
Jimmy Rollins went 4-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. He also stole his 300th career base in the second inning.
Chase Utley went 3-4, finishing a triple short of the cycle. He hit his 11th homer of the season in the fourth inning and finished with four RBI.
Raul Ibanez went 2-5 with his 15th home run of the season and had three RBI.
Ryan Howard went 1-5 with a home run.
Greg Dobbs went 1-2 with his first home run of the season. He also walked twice and scored twice.
Pedro Feliz went 1-2 with a double and two RBI.
The bullpen was again excellent, allowing no runs and just two hits in four innings.
What went wrong?
Joe Blanton came close to giving the game back to the Reds in the fifth inning, allowing five runs. He finished the game with those five runs allowed in five innings. He gave up seven hits, struck out four and walked one.
That's about it.
Game Analysis:
Now that's how you make up for a shaky pitching performance. Though Joe Blanton was great through four innings, he came apart in the fifth, giving up five runs and making what was a 6-0 Phillies lead a very tight 6-5 lead. Fortunately for him, the Phillies weren't done scoring runs yet. Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez added to their home run totals on the season, and the Phils tacked on six more runs to win their sixth game on their road trip. Maybe they should play away from Citizen's Bank Park more often?
Aside from Blanton's fifth inning, this game went about as well as a baseball game in May can go. The top of the lineup was excellent, as Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez went a combined 9-15 with five runs scored and eight RBI. When the top three guys in your lineup are doing that well, you're more than likely going to win any game you play, regardless of your pitching. The only problem is that is how the Phillies have had to play a lot of games this year. With Blanton, Jamie Moyer and Chan Ho Park all struggling in the starting rotation, the Phillies have had to win a lot of games in spite of their pitching, not because of it. So far, the offense has been up to the challenge, but if they happen to hit one of those dry spells that gets to every team during the season while their pitching is still shaky, it could be a long run of losses.
Today though, that didn't happen. The Phillies were clicking on all cylinders, and if Blanton doesn't have that one bad inning, he probably pitches into the seventh inning. Aside from the fifth, Blanton was solid, and he threw 68 of his 97 pitches for strikes, which is a very good ratio. If he can stay away from the big inning, he'll be fine. Regardless, the Phils are playing excellent baseball right now, and are back in first place in the National League East, which is exactly where I want to see them.
The Phillies close out their road trip with a series against the Yankees this weekend, as interleague play starts up. Brett Myers (3-2, 4.50 ERA), makes the first start for the Phillies in new Yankee Stadium, as he goes up against A.J. Burnett (2-1, 5.02 ERA). The way the Phils have been scoring runs, that short porch in right is going to look mighty inviting to some of the bats in that lineup...
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