Game Recap:
The Phillies took a 3-2 game and broke it open in the seventh and eighth innings to earn a split with the Dodgers.
What went right?
Antonio Bastardo picked up his second straight win, going five innings and striking out four while walking one and allowing two runs.
Chan Ho Park looked great in relief, throwing three scoreless innings while striking out one.
Shane Victorino went 2-5 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored.
Ryan Howard went 1-5 with a home run.
Jimmy Rollins went 2-4 with a run scored.
Carlos Ruiz went 2-3 with a home run and three RBI.
Pedro Feliz went 1-2 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored.
What went wrong?
Chase Utley went 0-4, ending his hitting streak at 11 games.
Jayson Werth was 0-4.
Game Analysis:
After two stomach punch games, the Phillies managed to man up last night and put a bit of a pounding on the Dodgers. Antonio Bastardo looked solid once again, though he still had to throw a lot of pitches to get through five innings. He hasn't shown much other than a fastball, and once teams see him a few more times, they'll be able to hit that. An off speed pitch is going to be completely necessary for him to succeed up at the major league level, but for now, he's 2-0 with an ERA of 2.45, so all is well with him. Plus, Chan Ho Park came in and actually managed to hold a lead. I consider that to be a small miracle.
After three straight games of scoring less than four runs, the Phillies finally broke out their big bats last night with a trio of homers. Carlos Ruiz has quietly bounced back from a horrible start to look like a very good eight hole hitter. Seriously, he's hitting over .300 with 13 RBI and a .435 OBP...those are great numbers. Shane looked good in the leadoff spot tonight, and even Jimmy got to hitting out of the six hole, picking up two hits, and he looked like he was finally starting to get his swing back. It's about time, since he and Brad Lidge are about the only things that look off with the Phils right now.
While this series could have, and possibly should have, been a sweep for the Phillies, I'll take a split against the team with the best record in baseball in their house. The Phillies just keep rolling along on this road trip, going 5-2 out on the west coast. Now, they head to New York...and the real fun begins.
Tomorrow, J.A. Happ (4-0, 2.48 ERA) looks for his fifth win of the season against Johan Santana (7-3, 2.00 ERA). Let's go Phillies!
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