Game Recap:
Joe Blanton stayed in one inning too long against the Cardinals last night, and the offense still couldn't do anything as the Phillies dropped their fourth game in a row.
What went right?
This won't take long.
Ryan Howard was 1-3 with a home run, his 22nd of the season. At least he's still hitting well.
What went wrong?
Placido Polanco was 0-4.
Ben Francisco was 0-4.
Jayson Werth went 0-3.
Joe Blanton pitched seven innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Game Analysis:
Every single baseball game has a turning point, and some are more important than others. Last night's turning point was in the top of the seventh inning. The Phillies had the bases loaded with two outs and the pitcher's spot coming up to the plate. Rather than remove Joe Blanton for a pinch hitter, Charlie Manuel allowed him to bat. Blanton struck out on three pitches, and it only took one pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning for Manuel to know what kind of a mistake he had made. Matt Holliday drilled a pitch into the left field seats for what would be the game winning home run, sending the Phillies to their fourth straight loss, and putting them seven games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
The second half of the season has not gone well for the Phillies so far. Their offense, save for Ryan Howard, is completely dead, and their pitching has failed them now as well. There is no easy answer for what's going on with this team at the moment, because no one really knows. There's talk of a trade for another big starting pitcher, but honestly, what kind of an impact would that make on this season? The Phillies are closer to fourth place now than first place, and are only three games over .500. Unless that pitcher can also hit third in the lineup, there's not enough ammunition on this team to get the job done right now. When Ben Francisco is hitting in the three hole, you know that something isn't right. Well, something isn't right.
Charlie Manuel has got to do a better job actually managing this team. For most of the past three seasons, the team has managed itself, and things have been good. This year, injuries are starting to pile up, and the team needs someone to manage them. Charlie hasn't been able to do that so far this season, and it's been a big problem. Just look at last night. With Joe Blanton coming up to bat in the seventh inning with the bases loaded, why would Charlie leave him in the game? Everyone knows Blanton should only go six innings, since he always gives up runs late. Rather than take that chance, why not pull him and give your team the chance to take the lead? It makes sense, which apparently wasn't enough for Charlie last night. Instead, it was a strikeout and another loss for the Phillies, which is becoming a way too common occurrence these days. Something has to be done to get this team back on track...the only problem is that it might already be too late for this season.
Today, Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.63 ERA) will try to prevent the sweep in St. Louis. He'll be facing Adam Wainwright (14-5, 2.02 ERA).
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