Rain kept Vance Worley from going more than three innings, but David Herndon and John Mayberry did the heavy lifting last night, leading the Phils to their 80th win of the season.
What went right?
John Mayberry was 1-4 with a two run home run.
Chase Utley was 2-4 and scored a run.
Raul Ibanez went 2-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
Wilson freaking Valdez went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI double.
Jimmy Rollins was 1-3 with a walk and a run scored.
For the three innings that he pitched before the rain came, Vance Worley looked excellent. He didn't allow a run while giving up just one hit and striking out two.
David Herndon pitched extremely well after the rain delay. He pitched three shutout innings while allowing one hit and striking out four.
Antonio Bastardo needed just eight pitches to get through the eighth inning, striking out one.
Ryan Madson worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 23rd save of the season.
What went wrong?
Hunter Pence went 0-3 with two strikeouts.
Ross Gload was 0-4.
Brian Schneider was 0-3.
The Phillies left seven men on base.
Game Analysis:
In a game with a two hour rain delay, no Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz, Placido Polanco or Shane Victorino, you wouldn't have been too upset if the Phillies had taken a loss last night. Instead, using a lineup that resembled more of a Spring Training lineup and a bullpen pitcher that has struggled this season, the Phils took out Ian Kennedy with three early runs and won their 80th game of the season.
You can't really look into how Vance Worley pitched last night, because he only went three innings due to the rain delay. However, while he was in the game, he was solid. He struck out two and gave up just one hit and once again looked like a potential Rookie of the Year candidate. Last night's biggest story was David Herndon, the oft-maligned long relief pitcher who normally only comes into a game when the lead is too big for him to lose. Against Arizona last night, Herndon looked like a great pitcher, striking out the side in the fifth inning and working three scoreless innings of his own to keep the Phillies in front. It was very comforting to see Herndon pitch like that, because the Phils are going to need him more and more down this final stretch of the season. When other pitchers can't go, Herndon will need to step up again and again. Last night was a good start.
There's little else that needs to be said about Antonio Bastardo and Ryan Madson. The two of them have taken their roles as the eighth inning man and closer and ran with them this season. Bastardo has come into his own, allowing just seven earned runs so far this season while stranding 93% of inherited baserunners. Madson, meanwhile, has given up just ten earned runs this season and is 23/24 in save chances. When a team can have a rotation like the Phillies and then have the back of the bullpen like Bastardo and Madson, all the offense really needs to do is score three to four runs a night, and they're going to win. It's a good feeling seeing this pitching staff, especially compared to where they were not that long ago. The emergence of Bastardo and the dominance that Madson has had in the closer role this year have been two surprises that I'm very happy about.
The John Mayberry bandwagon got a few more supporters on it last night as well. Mayberry, who is an extra base hitting machine, had another one last night with a two run home run in the third inning. Since he was called up from AAA at the start of July, Mayberry has hit seven home runs in just 75 at bats. With Raul Ibanez struggling this season, there's going to be more of a ground swell for Mayberry to get more time in left field, and he probably should, but I'm not sure how well he can perform as an every day starter. For the moment, at least, he's a very good option off of the bench or in a spot start situation, like he had last night for Shane Victorino. He's going to get some more time as the season finishes up, and that's going to help him for the playoffs and going into next year. However, Ibanez can get hot over stretches, and he needs to play for those stretches to happen. Plus, the Phillies have won 80 games with him hitting under .240 for the season, so he's not hurting the team that much at the plate. His defense leaves a lot to be desired, there's no questioning that, though.
It's difficult to break down rain delayed games, especially one that was delayed by almost two and a half hours. The Phillies didn't go out there with a full deck at the plate last night, but they still got the job done. They've already reached 80 wins on the season, and are still holding an eight and a half game lead in the NL East over the Braves. Their series winning streak continued, as they took two out of three from Arizona and now they have to wait and see if they meet up with the Diamondbacks again in October.
Tonight, the Phils head down to Washington, D.C. for a three game series with the Nationals. Roy Oswalt (5-7, 3.84 ERA) will be on the hill for the Phillies. Livan Hernandez (7-11, 4.21 ERA) will go for Washington.
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