Game Recap:
Ryan Braun hit a walk off two run home run to push the Brewers past the Phillies for the second straight night.
What went right?
Ryan Howard went 3-4 with a home run and two runs scored.
Pedro Feliz went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Paul freaking Bako was 2-4 with a two run home run.
What went wrong?
Jimmy Rollins went 0-5 and missed a catch in the sixth inning that allowed the Brewers to tie the game.
Raul Ibanez was 0-3.
Kyle Kendrick lasted just four innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits. He walked two and struck out four.
Jamie Moyer pitched four innings, but allowed two runs on three hits. That's not as bad as...
Tyler Walker, who gave up the walk off home run without recording an out. He allowed two runs on two hits in the ninth inning.
Game Analysis:
Ok, I've had it. That is enough. After last night's horrible performance, I don't know what the Phillies are up to right now. They can't hit, they can't field and their pitching is falling apart. They picked a hell of a time to go into one of these cold streaks. It's not good right now, especially with the Braves having an easier schedule right now than Penn State did to start off the season.
It's pretty clear that the Phillies are tired on offense at this point. You can't go day in and day out in a 162 game schedule without having a few guys get tired at the end. The only problem is that most of the guys are tired right now, and without a day or two off, they're not going to get any better. Their swings are slow right now, they don't seem to be reading the ball well, and everything that was going well for them in July and August is now going for the other team. It wasn't like the Brewers deserved to win that game last night, neither team did. Both teams played sloppy baseball, with errors and bad swings and poor pitching. It's just that the Brewers got the breaks that the Phillies have been getting in September the last two seasons. They scored in the sixth inning thanks to a walk, a flare that turned into a ground rule double and a base hit that Jimmy Rollins should have caught. It wasn't pretty, but it's the same thing that happened to the Phillies the last two years. They've caught the breaks that pushed them over the edge, and this year, it's not happening the same way.
The important thing is that there are just eight games left in the season, and two wins by the Phillies, coupled with two Atlanta losses, will still give them the division. I'm not saying it's a sure thing right now, but something's got to give either way. The Phillies have seen this happen to the Mets two years in a row...there's no damn way their going to let it happen to them.
Today, Joe Blanton (11-7, 3.82 ERA) can hopefully salvage a split in this series, as he goes against Dave Bush (5-8, 6.22 ERA).
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