Game Recap:
Down 9-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Phillies scored eight runs in two innings, including four off of Jonathan Broxton, to give them the series win over the Dodgers.
What went right?
Placido Polanco was 2-4 with two runs scored.
Mike Sweeney went 2-4 and scored twice.
Jayson Werth went 2-4, scored three times and had two RBI.
Ben Francisco was 1-5, but drove in two and scored twice.
Carlos Ruiz went 3-5, had the game winning double, scored once and had three RBI.
Wilson freaking Valdez went 2-4 with an RBI.
What went wrong?
Jimmy Rollins walked twice, but went 0-3.
Raul Ibanez was 0-5, ending his hitting streak at 18 games.
Do I have to mention the pitching? Ok, I guess I do.
Joe Blanton had a horrible night, allowing four runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings. He also walked four and struck out three.
Chad Durbin did even worse, allowing two runs on two hits in a little over an inning.
J.C. Romero managed to continue his run at sucking, giving up two unearned runs in two thirds of an inning.
Jose Contreras gave up three hits, but only allowed a run, so that's progress, I guess.
Game Analysis:
Wow. Just wow. There's no simple way to explain tonight's game, but I'm going to try. Simply put, this might be the ignition for the rest of the season for the Phillies. The Phils were down seven runs with just six outs to play, but managed to score four times in the bottom of the eighth, and then managed to win the game without recording a single out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Sure, Casey Blake let a sure double play ball go through his legs, but that's not what matters tonight. What matters is that the Phillies showed that same heart and determination that has gotten them to back to back World Series.
Of course, there was some bad pitching tonight. Joe Blanton didn't make it out of the sixth inning, and only recorded two 1-2-3 innings while he was on the mound. It was typical Blanton tonight. He just hasn't had his best stuff this year, and while the offense has been able to bail him out at times, he has got to settle down at least of the rest of the season. Of course, the bullpen didn't do much better tonight. Every last pitcher that entered the game, save for Danys Baez, allowed a run to cross the plate, and J.C. Romero allowed a run to score for the fourth straight game. Romero has got to do better than that. It's the only way that the Phillies are going to be able to pitch well at the end of the season. For the last year and a half, he's been outstanding, but lately, he's been horrible. Romero looks more like the pitcher the Red Sox put on waivers than the pitcher the Phillies plucked from the scrap heap and salvaged. That has to change.
Even with the pitching issues tonight, the Phillies still managed one of their best comebacks in recent history. Clayton Kershaw kept the offense quiet, but once he left the game, the Phils worked over the Los Angeles bullpen. Raul Ibanez saw his hitting streak come to an end, and Jimmy Rollins didn't record a base hit, but the rest of the offense was on point in the later innings. Mike Sweeney hasn't played that much since coming over from the Mariners, but when he has, he's made an impact. His two runs scored tonight were clutch, as were the at-bats from Jayson Werth, Ben Francisco and Carlos Ruiz in the late innings. Werth scored three times and drove in two, while Francisco had the biggest at-bat of the game, driving a ball between the legs of Casey Blake for a two run single. Even though it was scored an error, without that situation, it's likely that the Phillies would have lost tonight. Carlos Ruiz won the game with a double right after the error, so the Phils caught a break tonight. It doesn't matter, though. At this time of the season, every run and each win matters, so it doesn't matter how it happened. It just matters that it happened.
This win tonight showed the heart and determination that the Phillies have shown over the last few years, only at another level. When a team is down by seven runs headed into the eighth inning, the game should be over. In 98 out of 100 cases, the game is over. With the Phillies of late, however, the game is not over. The Phils have taken Jonathan Broxton to the woodshed twice in the playoffs, and now they've done it in the regular season. The only thing that was missing from the end of tonight's game was Matt Stairs. After scuffling through much of the season, tonight was a game that this team can look back on and see as a turning point. At this moment, the Phillies are just two games back of the Braves in the National League East, and a single game back of the San Francisco Giants for the Wild Card. This showing tonight is exactly what the fans have been expecting all year. These are the Phillies that show heart, that never-say-die attitude, and the level of play that we've gotten used to over the last few years. It's a good feeling to see them back again.
Tomorrow, the Phils head to New York to take on the Mets. Cole Hamels (7-8, 3.45 ERA) can hopefully get his eighth win of the year. He'll take on R.A. Dickey (7-5, 2.65 ERA).
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