Atlanta Braves shortstop Edgar Renteria couldn’t square to sacrifice bunt in 2 tries in the 10th inning and reliever Ryan Madson got ahead in the count.  Then, Renteria straightened up and belted his 2nd homer of the game, a 2 run shot to put Atlanta ahead in what turned out to be the game winner as Atlanta defeated the Phillies in the season opener by a 5-3 score.

This was not the first time that the Phillies were victimized by Renteria after he couldn’t get a sacrifice bunt down. 

AP sports writer Rob Maaddi reports for Yahoo sports;

Last July, Renteria hit a tiebreaking RBI double off Myers after he failed to bunt in the ninth inning of a 5-1 win in Philly.

“I’m a bunting guy,” said Renteria, who has 82 career sacrifices. “I’ll try and move the guy to second every time. That’s my game. Sometimes you hit the ball good and the ball goes out.”

Starters Brett Myers and John Smoltz threw zeros over the first 3 innings with Myers only allowing a 2 out, 1st inning walk and a leadoff double in the 2nd inning, neither consequential.  Smoltz allowed 2 base hits over the 3 innings, a 2 out single to 1st baseman Ryan Howard in the 1st and a 2 two out single to centerfielder Aaron Rowand in the 2nd.

The Braves jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 4th inning as 3rd baseman 
Chipper Jones walked.  Then, with one out, catcher Brian McCann slugged a 2 run homer.

The Phils got on the scoreboard in the 5th inning on shortstop Jimmy Rollins’ two out solo homer.  They followed with 2 more runs in the 6th inning to go ahead 3-2 as 3rd baseman Wes Helms drove in leftfielder Pat Burrell with a 2 out double and Rowand followed with a single to drive in Helms.

Smoltz left the game after 6 innings and the Braves bullpen shut down the Phillies the rest of the way on 2 hits and despite 3 walks.  Smoltz gave up 3 runs on 8 hits, including Rollin’s homer, while walking 1 and striking out 7.

Maaddi’s report on Yahoo sports continues;

The Phillies missed a chance to add an important insurance run in the seventh after Rollins doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs against former Pirates closer  Mike Gonzalez.  But Gonzalez fanned Shane Victorino and Howard, and retired Utley on a grounder to shortstop to keep it at 3-2.

The Braves tied the game in the 8th inning as Renteria clubbed his first homer, a solo shot off of Myers.  The Phils then replaced Myers with lefthanded reliever Matt Smith who retired the switch-hitting Chipper Jones for the final out in the 8th inning.

Myers pitched 7 2/3 innings, giving 3 runs on 4 hits, including 2 homers, while walking 2 and striking out 9.

Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Todd Zolecki comments and received reactions regarding Myers’ pitch selection;    

For openers, Myers made just a few mistakes in an otherwise fine performance. He walked Chipper Jones twice, and Jones scored in the fourth when Brian McCann hit a two-run homer to right to hand the Braves a 2-0 lead.

And there was the pitch to Renteria in the eighth.

“You don’t want to throw a pitch that a guy can rear back on and hit over the fence,” catcher Rod Barajas said. “You want to throw it where they can’t hit it. It was one bad pitch in the game, and he took advantage of it. Pitch selection to me isn’t a big deal there. It’s a pitch execution. If that pitch is two or three inches off the plate, he doesn’t hit it.”

Myers agreed.

He said he would throw the pitch again in that situation.

Closer Tom Gordon pitched the 9th inning and, despite 2 Braves hits and a 2 out fielding error by Ryan Howard, emerged unscathed as 2nd baseman Chase Utley’s diving stop of leftfielder Ryan Langerhans’ infield single up the middle prevented the go-ahead run from scoring.

Madson was sent in to pitch the 10th inning and issued a leadoff walk to 2nd baseman Kelly Johnson.  Then Renteria tried two unsuccessful bunting attempts to move the runner before belting the game-winning homer.

Zolecki adds these comments regarding Renteria’s homer off of Madson;

Madson walked Johnson to lead off the 10th. Renteria tried to bunt Johnson over but fouled off two attempts. Instead, he took a 2-2 cutter and hit a two-run homer to right.

“It just stayed up,” Madson said. “It’s very disappointing, especially to be the guy that did it. I just feel bad for my teammates for letting them down. Hopefully, it’s the last time I do it this season.”

Myers and his teammates expressed confidence in a bullpen that has had the Phillies’ front office concerned since the off-season.

They also tried to keep yesterday’s loss in perspective.

“You’ve got to hang loose,” Myers said. “We’re going to be all right.”

The Braves got 7 hits for the game and left 6 runners stranded.  The Phillies got 10 hits for the game and left 10 on base.

Closer Bob Wickman pitched the 9th inning for Atlanta giving up one hit and was awarded the win.  Reliever Chad Paronto pitched aperfect 10th inning and was credited with a save.  Madson was charged with the loss.

The Phils added a new wrinkle to their starting lineup batting Howard 3rd and Utley in the cleanup spot.

Inquirer columnist Jim Salisbury comments;

Manuel had several explanations for his lineup configuration. He spoke about wanting to get Howard to the plate more frequently. He said he wanted to utilize Utley’s ability to steal bases while Burrell was at the plate. At first, Manuel was reluctant to say the lineup was designed to offer Howard more protection. Finally, he admitted just that.

“I like Utley hitting behind Howard,” he said. “It gives me more options, and [opponents] are more inclined to pitch to Howard.”

Some opponents. But not smart ones. Not the Braves yesterday. They proved that a dangerous hitter like Howard is going to be pitched around with the game on the line regardless of who is behind him.

That’s what happened in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth. Shane Victorino slashed a two-out double, bringing up Howard with first base open. Braves righthander Bob Wickman tried to bait Howard into getting himself out with two pitches off the plate, then catcher Brayan Pena’s arm went out - intentional walk. Utley came up and popped out to third baseman Chipper Jones in foul territory to end the threat. Moments later, Edgar Renteria hit his second homer to help the Braves win, 5-3, in 10 innings.

The irony of Manuel’s lineup configuration is that if Utley had been hitting third, in front of Howard, he might have seen some heart-of-the-plate fastballs as Wickman tried to prevent Howard from batting. But there’s no room for ifs and buts in the big leagues. Manuel made out his lineup, and it’s not a bad one, especially against a righthander. You walk Howard late in a game, you’ll face the Phillies’ most talented overall hitter, Utley, who swings from the left side.

“I like our chances with Chase trying to win a game,” Howard said.

It seems that Manuel had to make a move to solidify his lineup and to have the right man up in potential run-scoring situations.  For, as Rob Maaddi writes in a different commentary, “A strong April is crucial for Phillies.”

As previously cited on this blog, reliever Joe Bisenius made the final 25th spot on the Phillies’Opening Day Roster.

The Philadelphis Inquirer report states;

Bisenius, the team’s 12th-round pick in 2004, has never pitched higher than the double-A level, but he went 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in nine appearances this spring to prove to the Phillies he deserved a chance.

The scores, boxscores and recaps for for this and all Monday games can be found by clicking here.

Tuesday is an open date for the Phils and they continue their series with Atlanta on Wednesday as young lefthander Cole Hamels is opposed by  Tim Hudson.

The scores, boxscores and recaps for this and all of Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games can be found by clicking here and here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007 at 4:17 pm and is filed under Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, Phillies and NL East, Analysis, Predictions, etc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.