The Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays split a doublehheader by identical (here and here) 3-0 scores in two classic pitching duels, the latter game ending in ten innings.

But that’s not the major news. 

In the fifth inning of the second game, after the first two Blue Jays singled, 1st baseman Lyle Overbay lined out to 2nd baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, whereupon Cabrera turned an unassisted triple play. 

Readers might recall that about 1 1/2 years ago, this blog posted about a famous unassisted triple play turned in 1992 by then Phillies 2nd baseman Mickey Morandini in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  But Morandini’s triple play ball somehow went MIA after he tossed it to the mound.  The story goes that a Phiilies hitter fouled it off and it was never seen again.  Morandini’s was one of 12 unassisted triple plays in MLB history prior to the 2007 season.

But regretfully, the 13th, turned last season by Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki on April 29, 2007, against Atlanta went unnoticed by this blog.  The 13 unassisted triple plays recorded, prior to Monday’s by Cabrera, are listed by Baseball Almanac under fabulous feats.  Tulowitzki went on to top MVP shortstop Jimmy Rollins for best fielding percentage in the NL in 2007 and secured a lucrative multi-year deal from the Rockies prior to this season.  Unfortunately, after a slow start in 2008, Tulowitzki is on the DL with a torn tendon of the left quad.

Both games of the Toronto/Cleveland doubleheader were tightly contested pitching duels.

The AP report for Yahoo sports describes the fifth inning with Toronto at bat;

The nightcap featured terrific pitching by Toronto’s Shaun Marcum and Cleveland’s Cliff Lee, who got a big assist from Cabrera in the fifth inning.

With Kevin Mench and Marco Scutaro on with singles and running on the 1-0 pitch, Cabrera made a diving backhand catch of a line drive by Lyle Overbay, touched second base to force Mench and then tagged out Scutaro.

The only miscue by the 22-year-old Cabrera was that he didn’t keep the ball.

“He flipped it into the stands and right as he did cried out, ‘Oh, no!’ ” first-base coach Luis Rivera said, serving as the Venezuelan’s interpreter.

“I knew it was pretty special,” Cabrera said.

So just as with the case with Morandini’s triple play, this ball as well may be lost for posterity, that is unless it turns up validated and with a price on it.

Add to:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. | del.icio.us | digg | Furl | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |

While the Phillies had the day off for travelling back to Philadelphia from the West Coast, the Mets managed to get pounded by the cellar-dwelling  Washington Nationals by a 10-4 score in the opener of their 4 game series.   Starter/Reliever Nelson Figeroa got bombed in his second straight outing after 5 previous solid appearances.

The Florida Marlins in turn, were edged by the Cincinnati Reds by an 8-7 score in the opener of a 4 game series as a Florida eighth inning comeback attempt fell one run short.  Three Marlin homers were of no avail.  The Reds added two dingers of their own.

The Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates split a doubleheader netting no change in Atlanta’s 4th place position in the NL East, but gaining a 1/2 game on both Florida and the Phillies.  The Pirates shutout the Braves in the opener by a  5-0 score although Atlanta outhit the Pirates by 8-5 and couldn’t capitalize on 4 Buc errors.  The Braves pounded the Pirates 8-1 on 14 hits in game 2 as winning starter Tim Hudson went 7 innings allowing only 1 run on 2 hits to run his record to 6-2 with Braves bullpen shutting down the Bucs allowing only 3 more hits over the eighth and ninth innings.

For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Monday’s games, click here.

The Phils open a 6 game homestand on Tuesday beginning with an important 3 game series against Atlanta who has lost 3 of it’s last 4 games after beginning May by winning 6 straight. The Phils must wake up their offense and get hitterish real fast and in a consistent way in order to rebound from a 3 and 4 roadtrip so as not to fall into a losing funk. After the Braves, the Toronto Blue Jays come to town for 3 games as interleague play begins.  

On Tuesday, two youngsters meet as Kyle Kendrick is opposed by lefthander  Jo-jo Reyes.  On Wednesday Brett Myers hopes to return to form in opposing 42 year old lefthander Tom Glavine.  In Thursday’s final, ace Cole Hamels faces Chuck James in a battle of young lefthanders.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Tuesday’s games, click here.

Add to:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. | del.icio.us | digg | Furl | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |

Lefthanded reliever J.C. Romero relieved Chad Durbin to start the seventh inning.  Durbin retired the side in the sixth after the first 2 Giants got on against starter Adam Eaton.  With the Phillies leading 3-2 in the seventh, Romero retired the first 2 hitters he faced.  Then rightfielder Randy Winn singled to center and was followed by defensive replacement catcher Steve Holm who pounded Romero’s first pitch out to leftfield giving the Giants the winning run in edging the Phils by a 4-3 score.

AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley describes the scene for Yahoo sports;

The guy who made the Giants by surprise came up with a most surprising home run against a pitcher who rarely surrenders them.

Steve Holm entered the game as a defensive replacement at catcher, then delivered the biggest hit of the day. His mom, Bobbie, was in the stands to see it, too.

Holm hit a go-ahead, two-run shot in the seventh inning for his first major league homer…

“What I got was a fastball a little up. You’re just going to try to be as aggressive as you can be when you come off the bench,” said Holm…

Romero had allowed only one homer in his previous 61 appearances and came in with an 0.63 ERA over his first 17 outings of 2008.

The percentages always say that even the best pitcher, the best reliever is going to eventually be solved in a giving situation.  That Romero coughed up the winning homer and was tagged with the game loss is not the problem.  The problem is the Phillies suddenly enemic offense which has scored but 5 runs in two games after their 7-4 comeback win in the series opener.

The Phillies got a mere 4 hits in 4 1/3 innings against young lefthanded starter Jonathan Sanchez who walked 5.  They could not push home more than 3 runs as no one had multi-hit games.  The Giants bullpen was lights-out over the final 4 2/3 innings allowing only 2 hits. Reliever Jack Taschner, the pitcher of record when Holms homered, was awarded the win.  Closer Brian Wilson notched his 11th save, his 2nd of the series, in closing down the Phils in the ninth.

With the loss, the Phils fell to a statistical tie with the Mets, who won, for 2nd place in the NL East, both clubs are 3 games off the pace as frontrunning  Florida who also won.  Atlanta is but one game below the Phils in 4th place making this week’s 3 game series between the Braves and the Phillies real important early in the season.

In the second inning, 1st baseman John Bowker drove an RBI single to left as the Giants got on the board first. 

The Phillies tied the score at 1-1 third inning.  After 1st baseman  Ryan Howard struck out, Sanchez walked leftfielder Pat Burrell.  Rightfielder Jayson Werth struck out followed by a double by 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz putting runners at 2nd and 3rd.  Catcher Carlo Ruiz was intentionally walked to get to Eaton, thus loading the bases.  But Sanchez walked Eaton to force in the tying run.  However Sanchez escaped further damage by getting shortstop Jimmy Rollins to fly out to centerfield.

The Giants took a 2-1 lead when, with none out and the bases jammed, 3rd baseman Jose Castillo grounded into a 2nd base-to-1st base doubleplay as the lead run scored.

2nd baseman Chase Utley, Howard and Burrell teamed up in the fifth as the Phils took a 3-2 lead.  With one out, Sanchez walked Utley and Howard answered with an RBI triple to right centerfield sending Sanchez to the shower.  Burrell then drove Howard in with a sacrifice fly to rightfield off of reliever Billy Sadler, the run being charged to Sanchez.  Werth ended the inning by fouling out to shallow rightfield.

The Phils remained on top until Holm’s 2 run shot off of Romero in the eighth.

Eaton gave up only two runs while pitching into the sixth although his 5 walks stamped the performance as anything but efficient.  Sanchez largely held the Phillies offense in check, even with walking 5.

6 Phillies got hits, with no one having a multi-hit game.  Howard, who is in the midst of his annual spring slump, notes that he “isn’t tracking pitches well, yet the problems should be temporary” as in previous seasons.

For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Sunday’s games, click here.

The Phils get a much needed day off before returning home Tuesday for 6 games; an important 3 game series against Atlanta where they must wake up their offense in a consistent way in order to rebound from a 3 and 4 roadtrip so as not to fall into a losing funk, and 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays with the beginning of interleague play.  

On Tuesday, two youngsters meet as Kyle Kendrick is opposed by lefthander Jo-Jo Reyes.  On Wednesday Brett Myers hopes to return to form in opposing 42 year old lefthander Tom Glavine.  In Thursday’s final, ace Cole Hamels faces Chuck James in a battle of young lefthanders.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Monday’s and Tuesday’s games,  click here and here.

Add to:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. | del.icio.us | digg | Furl | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |

I saw a comment yesterday, in passing on another blog, opining that Phillies veteran 45 year old lefthander Jamie Moyer is about done careerwise.  Unfortunately, I cannot now locate the comment to link to it.  But if his performance Saturday against the Giants, a 6 run pounding in 4 innings leading to an 8-2 loss, is emulated in another couple of games, a lot of fans and Phillies bloggers are going to be drawing similar conclusions.

With the loss, the Phils now drop 2 games behind the Florida Marlins while maintaining a 1 game lead on the 3rd place Mets who split a doubleheader and maintained a 1 1/2 game lead on the 4th place Atlanta Braves who lost.

This game was not pretty.  Not only did Moyer get pounded, but the offense took another snooze, this time against young Tim Lincecum who opened on a tare string out the side in the first inning with heat approaching 97 mph. 

Moyer seemmed in control in the Giants first as he got three ground outs with a single by shortstop Omar Vizquel sandwiched in between.

1st baseman Ryan Howard opened the second inning with a leftfield homer and the Phillies took a 1-0 lead.  But the lead was short-lived as centerfielder and former Phillie Aaron Rowand tied the score with a homer to start the second inning.  Then after a single and a walk, Lincecum helped his own cause with an RBI single to center as the Giants took a 2-1 lead.

The Phils went 3 up, 3 down again in the third and the Giants were quickly back having at Moyer again in the bottom of the third.

The Giants loaded the bases with one out and shortstop Emmanuel Burriss got an RBI on a sacrifice fly to leftfield.  Then 1st baseman Dan Ortmeier pounded a bases-clearing 2 run double and Frisco was up 5-1 after three.

The Phils went down in order in the fourth as Lincecum was dominating, only allowing the 1 hit, Howard’s homer, to that point.   In the Giants fourth, leftfielder Randy Winn homered and the Giants increased their lead to 6-1.  Vizquel, Winn and Rowand all had 3 hits in the game.  3rd baseman Jose Castillo had a perfect 4 for 4 game scoring 3 runs and driving in 1.

Reliever Rudy Seanez replaced Moyer to start the fifth and the Giants scored single runs against him in the fifth and sixth innings as the lead swelled to 8-1.

For Moyer, who was pounded for 6 runs on 9 hits while throwing 80 pitches in his four innings of work, it was his 3rd loss vs 2 wins.  He walked 1, struck out 1 and coughed up 2 dingers.  Relievers Ryan Madson and Clay Condrey pitched the seventh and eighth innings for the Phils and shut down the Giants on 1 hit.

Lincecum allowed only 2 Phillies to reach base through seven innings, one on a walk and one single.  In the eighth, catcher Chris Coste added a second run for the Phils with a 1 out solo shot.  After a 2nd Phil reached on a single in the eighth, Lincecum retired the side.  In eight innings, Lincecum gave up the two solo homers, a total of 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 8 in winning his 5th game vs 1 loss.  The youngster threw 105 pitches, 74 of which were strikes.

Closer Brian Wilson replaced Lincecum to start the ninth and made short work of the Phillies.

For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Saturday’s games, click here.

In Sunday’s final, Adam Eaton opposes young lefthander Jonathan Sanchez as Eaton hopes to get back on track and the Phillies hope to take the series from the Giants rather than the other way around.  On Monday, the Phils have an open date before returning home Tuesday for 6 games; 3 against Atlanta and 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays with the beginning of interleague play.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Sunday’s  games, click here.

Add to:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. | del.icio.us | digg | Furl | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |

Baseball Library recalls that 28 years ago, former star Pete Rose, in the second year of a four year‚ $3.2 million contract with  the Phillies, stole 2nd base, 3rd base and home in the seventh inning against the battery of Mario Soto and catcher Don Werner as the Phils beat Rose’s old team, the Cincinnati Reds on May 11, 1980, by a 7-3 score.  The winning pitcher that day was righthander Dick Ruthven, who went on to have a career season garnering a 17-10 mark with a 3.55 ERA. 

Rose’s steal of home was a double steal with all-time great Phillies 3rd baseman Mike Schmidt also stealing 2nd base on the play.  This was one of the highlights where Rose sparked the Phillies to go on to win the NL East Division, then the NL pennant in the all-time classic NLCS series with the Houston Astros and finally, to defeat George Brett, another all-time great 3rd baseman, and the Kansas City Royals by 4 games to 2 in the 1980 World Series, the Phillies only World Championship.  Brett had his greatest season in 1980 with a .390 BA. 
 
Baseball Library notes;

It is the fifth time since 1928 that this has been accomplished: The last National Leaguer to pull this feat was Jackie Robinson in 1954.  Dusty Baker will do it in 1984.

Colorado Rockies 2nd baseman Eric Young would also accomplish the feat on  June 30, 1996 against the L.A. Dodgers.

Add to:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. | del.icio.us | digg | Furl | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |

With the Phillies trailing the Giants 4-1 with 2 out in the fifth inning, they once again did what they do best — get back in the game.  After ace lefthander  Cole Hamels singled to leftfield, shortstop Jimmy Rollins, just back from a month down with ankle injury, rocketed a 2 run shot to leftfield to narrow the score to 4-3.  Hamels’ pitching kept the Phils in the game as they tied the score in the sixth and scored 3 more in the eighth, including Rollins’ 3rd RBI, to emerge victorious in Friday’s opener by a  7-4 score.

With the win, the Phils kept pace, at one game back, with first place Florida who also won and extended their hold on 2nd place to 1 1/2 games over the  Mets, who were postponed by rain, and the Atlanta Braves who lost. 

Along with 3 RBIs, Rollins went 3 for 5 in his first game back, also garnering a single and a double, only missing the cycle for lack of a triple.

The Phillies scored a run early off of lefthander Patrick Misch in the second on catcher Carlos Ruiz’s singled to center scoring leftfielder Pat Burrell who was walked 3 times in the game as the Giants gave him nothing to hit.  The Giants tied the score in the third as leadoff hitter leftfielder Fred Lewis singled to centerfield to score shortstop Emmanuel Burriss.

Hamels, who meanwhile retired the first 8 hitters he faced before the Giants tied the game in the third, found himself in a two on, two out jam in the fourth.  With runners on 1st and 2nd base, 2nd baseman Eugenio Velez singled through the middle scoring rightfielder Randy Winn who had doubled to center to start the inning.  With two men on, following Velez’s RBI single, Burrris tripled off of Hamels to clear the bases and put the Giants up 4-1.

Hamels then settled down in the fifth and sixth innings.  Although the Giants had a 2 out runner on 1st base in the sixth, Hamels took care of that himself, picking Velez off of 1st base to end the inning.

In the fifth, Hamels helped himself with his 2 out single and scappered in on Rollin’s homer to get the game close.

3rd baseman Pedro Feliz victimized his old team with a 2 out RBI single to rightfield in the sixth inning to tie the game 4-4.  Feliz went 2-5 against the Giants.

Hamels put the Giants down in order in the seventh and was pulled for a pinch hitter Greg Dobbs who RBI singled in the middle of the 3 run rally off of reliever Tyler Walker in the Phils victorious eighth.

AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley describes the Phillies’ eighth inning rally for Yahoo sports;

Carlos Ruiz drove in two runs for the Phillies, including the go-ahead score in the eighth…

With one out, Ruiz chopped a grounder off Tyler Walker (1-1) to second baseman Eugenio Velez, whose throw home pulled  Bengie Molina off the plate and allowed pinch-runner So Taguchi to score after he advanced on a wild pitch.

Pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs followed with an RBI single that chased Walker.

Rollins capped the Phillies’ scoring with a double to rightfield scoring Ruiz.

Winning pitcher Hamels went seven innings giving up 4 runs on 6 hits while walking 3 and striking out 7 to earn his 4th win vs 3 losses.  Misch, who pitched 6 innings giving up 4 runs on 6 hits while walking 3, striking out 4 and giving up Rollins’ homer, didn’t figure in the final decision.  Tyler Walker, who was pounded for the 3 winning Phillies runs lost his first game of the year evening his mark at 1-1. 

Reliever Tom Gordon took over for Hamels to start the eighth.  Although, things got a bit dicey on on Gordon’s two walks, the Phils emerged from the inning unscathed.  In the ninth inning, closer Brad Lidge, continuing his shock and awe act, gave up a single but struck out the side on 14 pitches to earn his 9th save.

For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Friday’s games, click here.

In Saturday’s game two, veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer faces Tim Lincecum as the Phils try to go two up on the Giants.  In Sunday’s final, Adam Eaton opposes young lefthander Jonathan Sanchez.  On Monday, the Phils have an open date before returning home Tuesday for 6 games; 3 against Atlanta and 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays and the beginning of interleague play.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Saturday’s  games, click here.

Add to:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. | del.icio.us | digg | Furl | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |