Marlins Beat Phillies, Mortal Mets Lose to Braves
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The Phillies jumped off to a 3-1 lead off of Florida’s ace lefthander Dontrelle Willis in the 3rd inning on Jimmy Rollins’ 3 run inside-the-park homer, but Brett Myers got clubbed by back-to-back-to-back extra base hits in the bottom of the 3rd as the Florida Marlins went on to an 8-5 victory over the Phils on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the Braves showed the New York Mets to be what they are, mere mortals as John Smoltz, with help from those two little buddies in the Atlanta bullpen, got the better of Tom Glavine and Atlanta defeated the Mets by a 5-3 score.
Leftfielder Josh Willingham got the Marlins on the scoreboard in the 2nd inning on a solo homer off of Myers. Willingham drove in 4 runs for the game getting an RBI triple in 3rd inning to cap the Marlins’ 3 run inning, and a one out, 2 run double in the 5th inning all off of Myers. Willingham missed being the first Marlin ever to hit for the cycle for lack of a base hit.
Myers was relieved by Joe Bisenius who got the side out in the 5th after walking rightfielder Joe Borchard. Marlins led 6-3. Losing pitcher Myers pitched 4 1/3 innings giving 6 runs, all earned, on 8 hits while walking 2,striking out 6 and surrendering Willingham’s solo homer.
Reliever Ryan Madson took over in the 6th inning and benefited from catcher Carlos Ruiz’s arm in retiring the side in the 6th. Alfredo Amezaga pinch hit for starting and winning pitcher Willis and was walked by Madson to open the inning. Ruiz nailed Amezaga attempting to steal 2nd base. Madson then retired the next two hitters to end the inning. Madson retired the Marlins in order in the 7th inning, but ran into 8th inning trouble.
Madson walked Borchard to open the 8th inning. Centerfielder
Alejandro De Aza followed with a double scoring Borchard. Madson was replaced by Clay Condrey who retired the next hitter on a sacrifice bunt moving De Aza to 3rd base. The Marlins went up by 8-3 as pinch hitter Jason Wood then doubled off of Condrey scoring De Aza with the run charged to Madson. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez flied out to right for the 2nd out. Condrey then plunked 2nd baseman Dan Uggla with a pitch but then got the final out of the 8th as 3rd baseman Miguel Cabrera flied out to left-centerfield.
In the meantime, winning pitcher Willis pitched 6 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits while walking 2 and striking out 9 and giving up Rollins’ homer. Marlin relievers held the Phils scoreless on 1 hit in the 7th and 8th innings. Renyel Pinto struck out the side in the 7th inning; Rollins, Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard, while stranding Chase Utley, who had doubled, on 2nd base. Howard was 0 for 5 for the game striking out 3 times.
In the 9th inning, things got kind of dicey for Marlins reliever Jorge Julio who had just blown a save against the Washington Nationals last Wednesday.
With one out, Greg Dobbs pinch hit for Condrey and doubled to rightfield. Rollins was walked. After Victorino fouled out, Utley doubled scoring Dobbs and moving Rollins to 3rd base. Rollins then scored on Julio’s balk. But then Howard ended the game by gounding out to second base as the shrunken heads rattled in Miguel Cabrera’s locker and Phillies fans eagerly await Howard’s big breakout.
AP sports writer Steven Wine gives background on Howard’s slump for Yahoo sports;
“That guy’s dangerous,” Willis said. “All he needs is that one, and here it comes. He’s a friend of mine, and I’m rooting for him, but not against us, because he’s a guy who can single-handedly carry a team into the postseason. I just pray he keeps struggling against us.”
The Phillies scored twice in the ninth off Jorge Julio and had a runner at third when Howard grounded out to end the game. That left him 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
“It’s just matter of him getting his timing,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “He’s not hitting the ball like he is definitely capable of. We need him to do it.”
Howard, the NL Most Valuable Player in 2006, has three singles this season and no extra-base hits. He drove in 149 runs to lead the league last year.
“He’s probably pressing a little bit and feels he has to live up to something,” Marlins first baseman Mike Jacobs said. “I hope he’s out of here before he starts turning it on.”
Inqurer staff writer Todd Zolecki adds these comments regarding the Phillies hitting slump;
Poor clutch hitting. The biggest culprits so far surprisingly have been the team’s two biggest weapons: Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.
Together, they have one RBI.
They are a combined 1 for 17 (.059) with runners in scoring position. Howard is 0 for 10. Utley is 1 for 7. Howard went 0 for 4 in those situations last night. Utley went 1 for 3.
“To win more games, we have to start hitting with guys in scoring position, and we haven’t done that yet this year,” Utley said. “Obviously, it’s disappointing. But we just have to battle through it. You’re going to have your ups and downs, but you have to stay positive and it eventually will come.”
The boxscores and recaps on all of Saturday games can be found here.
Rookie Zack Segovia makes his big league debut starting against Marlins lefthander Scott Olsen in Sunday’s get-away game.
The Phils head right to New York to open a 3 game series with the Mets on Monday afternoon with young lefthander Cole Hamels, fresh from his 7 innings of shutout pitching against Atlanta, facing John Maine who is fresh from his 7 inning, 1 hit shutout performance in the Mets’ 10-0 crushing of 2006 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals.
The scores, boxscores and recaps on all Sunday games can be found here.
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