Phillies Recap: Marlins-3, Phillies-2

Game Recap:
Three early runs by the Marlins were enough for Ricky Nolasco, who shut down the Phils to move Florida six games back.

What went right?

Ben Francisco was 1-4 with a two run home run.

Raul Ibanez was 2-4 with a run scored.

That's it.

What went wrong?

Joe Blanton lasted 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits. He walked one, struck out four and gave up two home runs.

I'm not going to break down all the 0-fers tonight, so I'll just say aside from Francisco and Ibanez, the Phillies had one hit.

One...hit.

Game Analysis:

On a night where the Phillies honored the late great Harry Kalas by inducting him into the Wall of Fame, you would have expected the team to come out with a little extra fire tonight. That wasn't the case at all, as the Phillies managed just four hits in a rather poor showing. For the second straight start, Joe Blanton pitched well enough to win, but the offense let him down. I'm still concerned about the home runs that he gives up, as they've come in bunches this year, but he's only allowed four in the past month and a half, including tonight.

That being said, the focus tonight is on the offensive failures. The Phillies didn't have many chances to score, and even when they did, they didn't do a whole lot with them. They had runners on the corners and nobody out in the bottom of the second inning, and couldn't manufacture a run. That would be important, considering they lost by a single run. Aside from that situation and the Ben Francisco home run, the Phils had just one other chance to really score some runs. They had two on and one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, but a Ryan Howard strikeout and Raul Ibanez ground out ended that threat. The Florida closer only needed five pitches to get through the ninth inning, but I don't even want to talk about that. I don't care if people don't like watching the first pitch, you have to at least see what the pitcher has each time he's out there before you go hacking away. That free swinging mentality cost the Phils tonight, and in games against a division opponent, you can't be losing games like this.

Tomorrow, Cole Hamels (7-6, 4.68 ERA) looks to even the series against Sean West (3-4, 4.91 ERA). Hopefully, the Phils will get the 2008 Cole Hamels in a big game.