Game Recap:
After blowing an early lead to the Mets, the Phillies came back with a Raul Ibanez home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, then won the game on a bases loaded walk by Shane Victorino in the tenth, giving the Phils their first win against the Mets this season.
What went right?
The previously mentioned Shane Victorino batted in the lead off spot and went 2-5 with a lead off triple and the game winning RBI.
Raul Ibanez continued to make people forget about Pat Burrell, tying the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with his eighth home run of the season, and putting the Phils on the board in the first inning with a sacrifice fly that plated Victorino.
Jimmy Rollins batted in the fifth spot and drove in his seventh run of the year with a single in the first inning.
The Philadelphia bullpen was again excellent, throwing four and 1/3 shutout innings in relief of Jamie Moyer, with Jack Taschner picking up the win.
What went wrong?
Jamie Moyer was squeezed at the plate by the umpire while he was in the game, and he gave up five runs in five and 2/3 innings, including two home runs in the top of the sixth that allowed the Mets to take the lead.
If you're a Mets fan, Oliver Perez only lasted two and 1/3 inning, walking six and allowing four runs. He's really earning that big money contract, isn't he?
Game Analysis:
Now, this is being pieced together from box scores and highlights, since I wasn't able to watch the game yesterday. I was a little busy watching two of my friends get married, and while the groom is a Mets fan, it was a good time.
Even though it's early in the season, you had the feeling that yesterday's game was a must win for the Phillies. They had already dropped the first game of the series to the Mets, and losing the second would have put them back at .500 and given the Mets confidence that we don't want them to have. Instead, the Phils jumped on Oliver Perez early and often, bringing in four runs in the first three innings. I've always said that Perez is either really good, or really, really bad, and yesterday, he was the latter.
Of course, that wasn't enough, as Jamie Moyer wasn't getting his corner pitches called for strikes. That's nothing to worry about, it just happens to be the way the umpire was calling the game yesterday. Jamie will have games like this throughout the season, it's up to the offense to make sure things don't get out of hand. They were up to the task yesterday, even with Chase Utley getting a day off. Charlie Manuel shook up the lineup, moving Jimmy Rollins down to fifth and batting Shane Victorino in the lead off spot, and it worked like a charm. Both Shane and Jimmy had RBIs, and Shane led off the game for the Phils with a triple, then won the game on the oh so exciting walk off walk in the tenth inning. It doesn't have to be fancy, a win is a win, and these are oh so sweet against the Mets.
I'm still concerned about the use of the bullpen this early in the season, though. Brad Lidge was able to pitch, but he walked two batters in his inning of work, as did Ryan Madson. Meanwhile, Clay Condrey has already pitched in 14 games, and while he's only thrown 14.1 innings, you have to wonder if he's going to end up like Chad Durbin did at the end of last year. This team needs J.C. Romero back in the worst way, just for that extra arm in the bullpen. Only 28 more games until he can pitch again!
Today, the Phils go for the series win with Joe Blanton (0-2, 8.41 ERA) opposing John Maine (1-2, 5.40 ERA). Nothing would top this weekend more than beating the Mets two days in a row.
Go Phils!
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