Phillies Recap: Phillies-7, Marlins-6

Game Recap:
Paul Hoover's RBI single in the bottom of the tenth inning allowed the Phillies to close out their regular season with a win.

What went right?

Miguel Cairo went 2-4 with a home run, a triple and two runs scored. It was his first home run since 2005.

Greg Dobbs was 1-5 with an RBI.

Jayson Werth was 1-4 with a run scored.

Ben Francisco went 2-3 with an RBI.

Eric Bruntlett managed to go 2-4 with an RBI.

Shane Victorino was 1-1 with an RBI.

Paul Hoover finished the game and the regular season with an RBI single.

After the first two pitchers, the bullpen was solid, allowing one run on four hits in 5.1 innings of work.

What went wrong?

J.A. Happ didn't look that sharp, allowing two runs on four hits in two innings of work. He walked one and struck out one.

Kyle Kendrick was ok until the fifth inning, when the real Kyle Kendrick showed up. He allowed three runs on three hits in 2.2 innings. He walked three and struck out three.

Matt Stairs went 0-4 with three strikeouts.

Ben Francisco was caught stealing three freaking times.

Game Analysis:

I guess if you're going to close out the regular season by having most of your bench players get some starting time, this is how you want it to end. Despite an average showing from both J.A. Happ and Kyle Kendrick, the Phillies came back to beat the Marlins on the last day of the regular season. Paul Hoover drove in his only run of the season with a single in the bottom of the tenth inning, and the Phillies finished off the year in walkoff fashion.

For the fourth straight game, a starting pitcher wasn't at the top of his game. Today, it was J.A. Happ, whose shot at Rookie of the Year may have taken a hit with his below average showing today. Though the Phillies were certainly being careful with all of their pitchers over the last four games, it still seems weird to see Cole Hamels, and J.A. Happ all leave the game before the fourth inning. Either way, the Phillies still managed to fight out a win today, and with it, they finished the 2009 season with the most wins since 1993.

There isn't much else that can be said about the game today. Jayson Werth just missed his 100th RBI of the season, finishing instead with 99. Even though he finished just short, it was a hell of a year for Jayson, and his name should certainly get a little more recognition around baseball now. The only thing left to do at this point is sit back over the next two days and see who Charlie names as his starter for Game One of the NLDS against the Rockies. The smart money is on either Cliff Lee or Cole Hamels, with the other starter pitching in Game Two. After that, it looks like it will be Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ going, since Happ ate up the Rockies the last time he pitched against them, and Colorado does not hit left handed pitching that well.

There's no baseball for the Phils until Wednesday, but that doesn't mean it's not going to be interesting. It's almost certain that the Rockies will be sending Ubaldo Jimenez to the hill for Game One, so it's time to sit back and see what happens. If it's anything like last year, it's going to be one hell of a ride.