Phillies Open Homestand Beating Dodgers, Lose Hamels to Elbow Strain
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The good news is that the Phillies opened the crucial 10 day homestand with the Dodgers with a 5-4 win behind 6 2/3 innings from Kyle Kendrick and that 2nd baseman Chase Utley may return to the lineup by next week’s series with the Mets. Also good news was manager Charlie Manuel’s quick 7th inning hook given reliever Jose Mesa after facing one batter — a two-out walk to shortstop Rafael Furcal. The result of Manuel’s awareness was that relievers J.C. Romero, Tom Gordon and closer Brett Myers shut down the last 7 Dodger hitters in order.
But the bad news is that ace lefthander Cole Hamels (14-5) joined the multitude of Phillies injuries, going down with elbow strain and the Phils figure him to miss at least 2 starts.
With the win, the 2nd place Phillies remained 5 games behind the NL East leading Mets who won and stayed a game ahead of the 3rd place Braves who lost. The win brought them to a tie with the NL Wild Card leading San Diego Padres who also lost.
Unlike his 7th inning snooze leaving Kyle Lohse in the game two hitters too long in Sunday’s loss in Pittsburgh, Manuel pulled Kendrick for Mesa after 6 2/3 innings and 101 pitches and was bright-eyed, alert and bushy-tailed in yanking Mesa at the first sign of trouble. So, after 1st baseman James Loney’s 7th inning leadoff homer which narrowed the Phils’ lead to 5-4, they emerged from the 7th inning with no further damage done as Romero, Gordon and Myers retired the last 7 Dodgers faced in preserving the win.
AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston recaps the scoring for Yahoo sports;
The Dodgers staked Brett Tomko (2-11) to a 3-0 lead after two innings. Andre Ethier and Luis Gonzalez each had run-scoring hits in the first, and [Russell] Martin led off the second with his 15th home run.
Martin became the first catcher since Ivan Rodriguez in 1999 with 15 homers and 20 stolen bases.
Kendrick settled down from there and the highest-scoring offense in the National League got going against Tomko, winless since July 15.
Carlos Ruiz hit an RBI double into the left-field corner and [Jimmy] Rollins added a sacrifice fly in the third that made it 3-2. [Aaron] Rowand’s two-run shot in the fourth, his 21st, put the Phillies ahead 4-3.
Pat Burrell walked with the bases loaded in the fifth for a 5-3 lead, chasing Tomko, who gave up five runs in four-plus innings. He jawed with plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth on the mound for a few moments before trudging back to the dugout.
“In my eyes, one of those pitches was a strike, but he called them balls,” Tomko said. “But it’s still my job to get them out.”
Loney homered off Kendrick leading off the seventh.
“Kendrick kept competing and he hung in long enough to get a win,” Dodgers manager Grady Little said. “That’s all you can ask for from any pitcher.”
AP’s Gelston also picked up on comments from Phillies’ closer Brett Myers regarding this injury-plagued season and the club’s often successful efforts to overcome the rash of injuries and stay in the division and wild card races;
“Every time you turn around, someone else is getting hurt,” said Phillies closer Brett Myers, who earned his 12th save.
Myers, Tom Gordon, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Freddy Garcia, Adam Eaton and Jon Lieber are only some of the key Phillies who have spent considerable time on the disabled list this year. Even with three-fifths of their expected rotation out, and the middle of the lineup in flux, manager Charlie Manuel has found a way to keep the Phillies in the playoff hunt.
“We have heart, man,” Myers said. “This team’s got that edge. Teams that have been here the last four years really haven’t had that edge. The will to win is here more than it has been in the past.”
Utley took some practice cuts for the first time since his right hand was hit by a pitch nearly a month ago and could be ready by the weekend for a short rehab assignment.
With Garcia, Eaton and Lieber all on the DL, the Phillies were forced to use a patchwork rotation anchored by Hamels and veteran lefty Jamie Moyer. Kendrick (6-3) has been a nice surprise since he was called up in mid-June, and this start was no exception.
For the boxscores and recaps on this and all of Tuesday’s games, click here.
In Wednesday’s game 2 with the Dodgers, J.D. Durbin, another pleasant pitching surprise, is opposed by Derek Lowe.
Following the Dodgers, the Phils play a 3 game weekend series with the San Diego Padres followed by the much-anticipated 4 game confrontation with the NL East leading New York Mets.
For the scores, boxscores on all of Wednesday’s games, click here.
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