Game Recap:
Despite a three run first inning, Kyle Kendrick allowed seven runs against St. Louis tonight, including three home runs, as the Phillies dropped their first game of a four game series against the Cardinals.
What went right?
Ryan Howard was 2-5 with a double and an RBI.
Jayson Werth was 2-3.
Shane Victorino went 1-4 with two RBI.
What went wrong?
Wilson Valdez continued to start and went 0-4.
Kyle Kendrick somehow walked twice, but didn't have his best stuff on the mound, allowing seven runs in five innings on seven hits. He walked three and struck out two.
The Phillies left nine men on base.
Game Analysis:
When Kyle Kendrick is starting, you can not waste a three run first inning. Yet, that's what the Phillies did tonight, as they dropped the first game of their series to the Cardinals and continued to slip closer to the .500 mark with their overall record.
Tonight, however, the loss can not be pinned on Kendrick alone. As much as I love to pile on Kendrick, he really shouldn't have come out for the fifth inning. He hadn't had his best stuff all night long, and in the fifth, the Cardinals figured him out to the tune of three home runs and five runs total. Why Charlie Manuel left him in the game for all of that is beyond me, because once Kendrick starts to struggle, he should be lifted from the game. It doesn't mean that tonight would have had a better outcome, but it might have been a bit easier to come back from a one or two run hole than the four run deficit that the Phillies had to face after the sixth inning. Kendrick didn't even pitch that badly, but when he made mistakes, the Cardinals were able to hit them, and that's what this St. Louis team can do. When pitchers leave pitches over the plate, they hit them. That happened tonight against Kendrick, but it wasn't all his fault.
After a series where they couldn't get much going, the offense got started tonight, with Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino driving in runs in the first inning. It just wasn't enough against the Cardinals, though. After scoring three runs in the first inning, the Phillies needed to keep the pressure on St. Louis, but they let the Cardinals get back into the game, and that's one of the reasons why they lost tonight. Without being able to put more runs on the St. Louis pitching, the Phillies just couldn't keep up with the Cardinals, and after their five run fifth inning, things were firmly in the pocket of St. Louis. This team can score runs with the best of them, but when they can't do anything, it doesn't matter much. They need to score more runs when they have the opposing team on the ropes, that's just the way it works. That's not even me preaching common sense. Without being able to score more runs, they won't win many games.
As I said before, tonight's loss falls more on Charlie Manuel that it does Kyle Kendrick. Charlie should have pulled Kendrick before the fifth inning, regardless of how he said he felt. Kendrick didn't have his best pitches tonight, and the Cardinals tagged him in the fifth inning. Why he was allowed to stay in for the entire inning is beyond me, but he did, and the Phils paid for it. Now, they're six games behind Atlanta for first place in the National League East, and the way things are going, it's not going to get any easier.
Tomorrow, Jamie Moyer (9-9, 4.88 ERA) tries for his tenth win of the season as he goes against former Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter (10-3, 3.16 ERA). Dammit.
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