Utley Breaks Hand; Phillies Lose Finale to Nationals on Three Run 9th Inning
|
|
|
|
|
It seems like Phillies’ reliever Mike Zagurski always manages to find himself in the middle of late-inning bullpen adventures, usually resulting in Phillies losses. Today’s loss to the Washington Nationals is a prime example.
In the 7th inning, starter Adam Eaton managed to get himself into a one out, 2nd and 3rd pickle. Reliever J.C. Romero was inserted and got the 2nd out. But then shortstop Felipe Lopez singled off of Romero to drive in 2 runs and narrow a 5-2 Phillies lead to 5-4.
After Jose Mesa managed to extract the Phils from the 7th with no additional damage, he got himself into his own 2 on, 1 out pickle in the 8th inning. Enter Zagurski, who got leftfielder Ryan Church to fly out to leftfield for the 2nd out. But then, Zagurski served up a plum which catcher Jesus Flores took ballpark driving in 3 runs to give the Nationals a 7-5 lead. The Phillies got a run in the 9th, but left late-game leftfielding replacement Michael Bourne stranded on 3nd base and catcher Carlos Ruiz on 1st as 3rd baseman Abraham Nunez grounded out to 2nd base to end the game giving Washington a 7-6 win in what should have been a Phillies sweep.
Fortunately, Pittsburgh, the Phils’ next opponent helped out by beating the Mets. And Atlanta was defeated again by San Francisco. Thus the Phillies maintain position, 5 games behind the NL East leaders and 1 game behind the 2nd place Braves..
Washington scored first with 2 runs in the first inning off of Eaton, the 2nd run scoring on 3rd baseman Wes Helm’s fielding error.
2nd baseman Chase Utley singled in a run for the Phils in the 1st. In the Phillies’ 3rd, 1st baseman Ryan Howard gave them the lead at 3-2 on a two out, 2 run blast to centerfield. It was Howard’s 29 homer and 84th and 85th RBIs of the season.
The Phillies loaded the bases in the 5th inning as rookie lefthander John Lannan was ejected from the game for hitting Utley and Howard consecutively. After the game, X-Rays found that the All Star 2nd baseman suffered a broken hand as a result of being hit. The AP recap for Yahoo sports reports more;
Utley finished the game, going 2-for-4, but X-rays afterward showed he broke a bone in the hand.
Utley planned to see a specialist on Friday to determine the first step in his recovery.
“As breaks go, it’s not that bad of a break,” Utley said. “It’s definitely disappointing.”
Utley, batting .336 with 17 homers and 82 RBIs, didn’t think he’d be sidelined for a month.
“I think it will be sooner than that,” he said.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Abraham Nunez likely will replace Utley at second base.
“Chase is a big part of this team,” Manuel said. “He’s one of our best players, both on defense and offense. We’re going to fight our way through this.”
Following the two hit batsmen, centerfielder Aaron Rowand was safe at first on a fielding error, loading up the bases on reliever Chris Schroder. Leftfielder Pat Burrell then drove in 2 more runs with a single to center and Eaton and the Phillies had a short-lived 5-2 lead which would evaporate in the 7th inning. Burrell was 3 for 4 for the game.
Nationals’ reliever John Rauch who held the Phils scoreless in the 7th and 8th innings was awarded the win, his 6th against 2 losses. Closer Chad Cordero racked up his 20th save. Jose Mesa, to whom 2 of the 3 runs were charged on Flores’ homer, was charged with the loss.
Adam Eaton was rocked in the 1st inning, but settled down retiring the Nationals in order in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings before running into trouble in the 7th inning.
The burning question now is, will Utley’s injury derail the Phillies’ chances of catching and overtaking the Mets. Manager Charlie Mamuel is determined to fight through this. And Nunez is not the same no-hit player that he was in 2006. Looking back at his stats, in 2005, he actually hit .285 in 431 at bats for St. Louis. But he in no way approaches the power and potential of Chase Utley. But hopefully, someone like leftfielder Pat Burrell, who has been hot over the last 17 games
In order for Manuel to continue to challenge the Mets and Braves, job one is to tighten up in the bullpen. With the imminent return of Brett Myers to the active roster, Mesa and Zagurski MUST GO and Romero may not be far behind. Hopefully someone like leftfielder Pat Burrell, who has been hot of lately hitting .440 (22-for-50) with 15 RBIs in his last 17 games, can step up and pick up the mantle to help Ryan Howard carry the team until Utley’s return.
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on this and on all of Thursday’s games, click here.
On Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates come to town for a 3 game weekend series. In Friday’s opener, veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer is opposed by winless John Van Benschoten in the opener.
On Saturday, J.D. Durbin is opposed by lefthander Shane Youman.
In Sunday’s series and home finale, rookie Kyle Kendrick goes for his 5th win facing Pirate ace Ian Snell.
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Friday’s games, click here.
del.icio.us |
digg |
Furl |
Reddit |
YahooMyWeb |