Game Recap:
Jamie Moyer pitched a complete game to get his 100th win past the age of 40 and the Phillies finally woke up on offense to win their second straight against the Padres.
What went right?
Shane Victorino was 2-4 with a run scored.
Placido Polanco scored a run and was 2-4.
Chase Utley went 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Ryan Howard was 2-4 with two runs scored and a two RBI double.
Jayson Werth went 1-4 with a two run home run.
Jamie Moyer pitched his second complete game of the season. He allowed two runs on seven hits. He struck out just one and walked one.
What went wrong?
Honestly, nothing. Every Phillies player, save for Raul Ibanez, had a base hit, and Ibanez had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. So, nothing went wrong tonight. It's been a while since I could say that.
Game Analysis:
On May 17, the Phillies beat the Pirates by a score of 12-2. Since then, the Phils have gone 5-10, been shut out five times and dropped out of first place in the National League East. Tonight, it looked like the first time that the Phillies have actually tried to get back all of those games that they've lost. For the first time in three weeks, the Phillies scored more than five runs, and they used another solid pitching outing from Jamie Moyer for their second win in a row against a very good San Diego team.
For the last two games, the Phillies have taken San Diego's supposed vaunted pitching staff and worked it over. Tonight, it was Jon Garland that felt the sting. Though he pitched seven innings, he allowed six runs and ten hits, and didn't look right out there at all. Shane Victorino led off the Philadelphia first inning with a triple, and though he didn't score, it set the tone for the rest of the day. Every Philadelphia position player either had a hit or drove in a run, and it was a combined team effort tonight that got the job done. The Phillies have had enough problems scoring runs of late, but everything looked good tonight.
That's not to say that this took long enough. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth have all been scuffling since the one Pittsburgh game, but they all came through tonight with possible slump busters. All three had a run scored and at least one RBI, and Werth had a two run home run in the fifth inning that broke the game open. Howard's two run double gave the Phils their first four run plus inning since May 17, and it looked like this offense got back on track a little tonight. It's really nice to see, considering this team hasn't been good at all since that Pittsburgh game.
It's still a little early to be reading into everyting that happened tonight, but the key remains that the Phillies came out and scored some runs tonight. San Diego has the best pitching staff in the National League, so to come out and score nine runs in two games is certainly something else. Tonight, Jamie Moyer didn't need any help, as he overcame a shaky start to pitch his second complete game of the season. While this one wasn't a shutout, he did manage to work through trouble, and a two run second inning was all that Moyer had to deal with during the entire game. When he did let men get on base, his control did what it had to do, and kept them from getting any closer to home plate. Tonight, Moyer was as good as a 47 year old can be, and he earned his 100th win since the age of 40. I don't know how he does it, but he keeps on keeping on, and that's all that matters.
After almost three weeks of struggling, it looks like the Phillies are back on track. The offense got going tonight, and Jamie Moyer helped contribute with another solid pitching effort. As long as the offense can match what this pitching staff is doing right now, then everything is going to be fine. However, if anything changes too much, there might be an issue.
Tomorrow, the Phillies take on the Padres in the afternoon for Game 3. Joe Blanton (1-4, 5.68 ERA) can hopefully improve on everything as he takes on Kevin Correia (5-4, 4.55 ERA).
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