Game Recap:
Behind a four hit game from Ryan Howard, the Phillies scored seven runs and took their second game in a row from the Pirates. Cliff Lee pitched seven and two thirds innings for his tenth win of the season.
What went right?
Jimmy Rollins was 2-5, scoring two runs and hitting his 13th home run on the season.
Shane Victorino was 2-5 and scored twice.
Ryan Howard went 4-4, finishing a triple short of the cycle, and had three RBI.
Hunter Pence made his debut as a Phillie, and went just 1-5, but was robbed of a hit by the first base umpire and drove in an insurance run in the eighth inning.
Cliff Lee pitched seven and two thirds innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. He struck out 11, walked two and went 2-4 at the plate with a run scored.
Ryan Madson struck out the side in the ninth inning for his 18th save of the season.
Every starter reached base at least once.
What went wrong?
Cliff Lee was left in for one inning more than he should have been, but that's all.
Really, that's it. It's a nice day to start these things again.
Game Analysis:
Tonight was all about Hunter Pence and his debut with the Phillies, but the old guard decided to show up once again, as Ryan Howard went 4-4 with three RBI to pace the Phillies to their second straight win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cliff Lee pitched seven and two thirds innings to pick up his 10th win of the season, and the Phillies moved to 28 games over .500.
While the Phillies should have been able to take care of Pittsburgh by themselves, the fact of the matter remained that this weekend is the trade deadline, and someone was coming to play for the Phillies before everything was said and done. While the last three years had brought Joe Blanton, Cliff Lee (the first time) and Roy Oswalt, this year brought a position player, Hunter Pence, to the Phils. Tonight, he made his first start with the team. The spotight was shining on him, and he responded by loving the Philadelphia fans, but tonight ended up being about Ryan Howard.
Howard did was he does best tonight, and that's drive in runs, regardless of the situation. In the second inning, he hit his 21st home run of the season to dead center field to give the Phillies a lead that they would never give up. After Jimmy Rollins homered in the third inning, Howard answered with his 1,000th career hit, a double into left that scored another run and put the Phillies ahead 3-0. The next time he came to the plate, he singled to right, beating the shift and scoring Rollins, giving him 1,001 hits for his career and another RBI for tonight. It's just what the Phillies need. Hunter Pence is a nice addition, but without Howard and Utley putting up numbers in the middle, this team can not win at the plate. Tonight, it was Howard's turn.
Then, there was Hunter Pence. In his first at bat as a Phillie, Pence was robbed of a hit by the first base umpire, and almost threw his helmet. Charlie Manuel came out to argue, but there was no sense in losing your new right fielder and your manager in the second inning, so nothing happened. Pence went 0-4 to start the game before driving in a run in the bottom of the eighth inning for insurance purposes. Sure, the run wasn't needed, but it was Pence's first hit with the Phillies, a team that he's going to be with through 2013, at least. It's a good start.
The rest of the offense did well tonight also, putting out 16 hits and getting three walks and two errors as well. That's the kind of offense that this team should be putting up every night. Placido Polanco came back from the disabled list as well, and had two hits in the late innings, but now he needs to keep things up. Getting Polanco back is like getting another player in a trade without giving anything up, and that's amazing. You throw that in with Roy Oswalt coming back from his injury, and it's like the Phillies are getting two all-stars back in trades, and all that's happening is that they're coming back from injury.
Cliff Lee was solid tonight, but he was left in for an inning too long. He should have been taken out after the seventh inning, and the eighth inning did him in, as he allowed two runs in that inning and was relieved by Antiono Bastardo. Bastardo did get the last out, so everything worked out, but it never should have happened. In my mind, Bastardo should have been out there to start the eighth inning without Lee even coming out there. Charlie Manuel loves this starting rotation, and who can blame him? However, the starters have limits, and Lee had clearly reached his by the end of the seventh inning. Fortunately, the Phillies managed to hold on for a win, as Ryan Madson stuck out the side for his 18th save this season, but this is something that could come back to bite this team in the playoffs, as long as they make it.
Tonight is a good night, though. Hunter Pence got a hit and an RBI in his first game with the Phillies, Cliff Lee got his 10th win, and Ryan Madson pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save. Tomorrow, Vance Worley (7-1, 2.02 ERA) goes for his eighth win of the season against Jeff Karstens (8-5, 2.41 ERA).
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