Phillies, Marlins Split First Two Games, Hamels Back Throwing
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The Florida Marlins jumped on Phillies starter J.D. Durbin early with 4 runs in the 2nd inning aided by 2 defensive miscues. Phillies leftfielder
Pat Burrell clubbed his 26th homer, a 3 run shot to leftfield off of Marlins’ starter Byung-Hyun Kim in the 3rd inning to narrow the gap.
But, Florida picked up a 5th run off of Durbin in the 4th and an insurance run in the 8th off reliever Kane Davis in the 8th inning to defeat the Phillies by a 6-3 score.
On Saturday, the Marlins scored 1st on shortstop Hanley Ramirez’s homer leading off the game but could plate no further runs off of starter John Ennis and 4 relievers as the Phils again pounded Rick VandenHurk and the Marlins bullpen, this time for 4 homers as the Phils routed the Marlins by a 9-1 score. Ennis, replaced Adam Eaton in the rotation for this start. Eaton, according to MLB.com’s Ken Mandel, is being pushed back until the coming Mets series as he is 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA in six career outings against them.
The Phillies dropped another game behind the Mets who won their Friday and Saturday games over the Houston Astros. The Phils now trail New York by 6 games.
The Phils now trail the San Diego Padres in the NL wild card race by 3 games and are 1/2 game behind the 2nd place L.A. Dodgers.
The 8th inning Marlins run scored on reliever Kane Davis on Friday was the only run scored on the much maligned Phillies’ bullpen in 9 2/3 innings of work in the two games.
AP Sports Writer Rob Maaddi recaps Friday’s game for Yahoo sports;
Miguel Olivo homered, Byung-Hyun Kim struck out seven over six innings and the Florida Marlins beat the freefalling Phillies 6-3 Friday night.
Pat Burrell’s three-run homer was the only offense for Philadelphia.
When the Phillies left Citizens Bank Park after sweeping a four-game series against the Mets last week, they were only two games out of first place. They’re 2-5 since.
A fielding error by left fielder Burrell and throwing error by first baseman Ryan Howard led to three unearned runs in a four-run second inning for Florida.
Kim (9-6) gave up three runs and seven hits. Three relievers held the Phillies scoreless over two innings, before Kevin Gregg worked the ninth for his 29th save in 32 chances.
“Once again, he gave us an opportunity to win the game,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Kim. “When he throws strikes, he’s tough.”
J.D. Durbin (6-5) allowed five runs — two earned — and five hits in 4 1-3 innings. He surpassed his last outing when he struck out Hanley Ramirez to start the game. Durbin didn’t retire a batter in his previous start, a 12-6 loss at Florida last Saturday. He faced seven hitters, allowing seven runs and five hits.
Coming off a devastating 9-8 loss at Atlanta on Thursday in which setup man Tom Gordon and closer Brett Myers blew a six-run eighth-inning lead, the Phillies were hoping to start a crucial seven-game homestand with a win.
Durbin retired the side in the first inning, but the Marlins went ahead 4-0 in the second with some help from Philly’s shoddy defense.
Miguel Cabrera singled to start the inning and went to third on Mike Jacobs’ base hit with one out. Cody Ross doubled down the left-field line to score Cabrera and Jacobs came in when Burrell bobbled the ball in the corner.
After Olivo walked, Kim bunted toward first base. Howard tried for the force at third instead of the easier out at first and threw the ball down the left-field line for his team-leading 11th error. Ross and Olivo scored to give the Marlins a 4-0 lead.
“The ball started to slip, tried to overcompensate and it got away,” Howard said. “We had a couple mishaps and they cost us. The margin for error is slim.”
With two outs in the third, Burrell delivered again. He lined his 26th homer just inside the left-field foul pole to cut it to 4-3.
Burrell, who was booed during pregame introductions on opening day, got a standing ovation from fans in the bleachers when he went out for the fourth.
Olivo’s solo shot gave the Marlins a 5-3 lead in the fourth. His RBI double off reliever Geoff Geary made it 6-3 in the eighth.
“Obviously we’re not in a pennant race, but we still want to go out there and win,” Jacobs said. “We can play a spoiler role.”
But on Saturday, the Phils rebounded to trounce the Marlins aided by three players not normally in the limelight.
AP’s report recaps Saturday’s game for Yahoo sports;
Greg Dobbs and Chris Coste gave Philadelphia all the offense it needed, and Clay Condrey led a sparkling bullpen effort in a 9-1 win over the Florida Marlins on Saturday.
Dobbs tied the game with a two-out triple in the fourth and Coste lined the next offering from Florida starter Rick VandenHurk into the left-field seats as the Phillies snapped a two-game losing streak.
“That was a big game for us,” said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. “We needed to put up some runs, and the bullpen did a heck of a job for us.”
Manuel isn’t the least bit worried about his team’s recent mark of near-misses. The Phillies finished a game out of the wild-card hunt in 2005, led the wild-card chase in the final week of the season last year, and haven’t been to the playoffs since 1993.
“We’re not done yet,” said Manuel, who has guided the Phillies through a season where 18 players have spent time on the disabled list. “I say the more times you go to the post, one of these days you’re going to finish first.”
Condrey (5-0) pitched 2 1-3 innings of relief to earn the victory for the Phillies, as the bullpen allowed just three hits over five shutout innings. Condrey, who has spent the season shuttling back-and-forth to Triple-A Ottawa, now has as many wins as stints with the big league club this season.
He needed just 11 pitches to retire the first six batters he faced after entering the game with runners on first and second and nobody out in the fifth.
“That’s a sign (Condrey) is going well,” Coste said. “His ball has so much movement and he gets guys out early in the count.”
VandenHurk (4-6) took the loss for Florida, which fell to 5-18 in its last 23 games.
Hanley Ramirez hit a leadoff homer, his 25th of the season, but emergency Phillies starter John Ennis escaped further damage when right fielder Shane Victorino made a sliding grab to rob Mike Jacobs of an RBI single and end the first inning.
Ennis — a reliever at Ottawa for most of the season — pitched into the fifth inning, and the much-maligned bullpen slammed the door the rest of the way.
Philadelphia waited until the fourth to break through against VandenHurk. Dobbs’ triple hit off the wall just to the right of the 398-foot sign in right-center, while Coste ripped an 89 mph fastball well over the 374-foot marker in left-center.
Dobbs increased the lead to 4-1 with a home run off Harvey Garcia in the sixth inning, while Chase Utley’s RBI single in the seventh pushed the advantage to 5-1.
Florida put runners on the corners with one out in the eighth, but Philadelphia reliever Tom Gordon struck out Josh Willingham looking and Jacobs swinging to end the threat.
The Phillies put the game away with four runs in the eighth against Florida reliever Ross Wolf capped by Jimmy Rollins’ career-high 26th home run of the season, a two-run blast to right.
Rob Maadi notes this from Friday’s game;
Phillies CF Aaron Rowand left after four innings with a left hip strain. Shane Victorino, who isn’t starting in RF because of a calf injury, replaced him and made a running catch, tumbling into the wall on the first play the next inning.
Mandel of MLB.com reports on Hamels;
Team doctor Michael Ciccotti…. examined Hamels’ strained left elbow and informed the team that its ace can begin playing catch on Saturday. If Hamels progresses, he could be ready around Sept. 18. That would give Hamels the final two weeks of the regular season.
The AP report on Saturday’s game notes;
Hamels threw 45 tosses in the outfield before the game. Hamels (14-5, 3.50 ERA), who has been out since Aug. 16 with a strained left elbow, is also scheduled to throw before Sunday’s game. He hopes to return to the rotation within two weeks.
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on these and all of Friday’s and Saturday’s games, click here and here.
In Sunday’s series finale with the Marlins, Jamie Moyer opposes Dontrelle Willis in a battle of lefthanders. Following the Marlins into town on Monday are the Colorado Rockies with whom the Phillies play a 4 game set. Kyle Lohse opens for the Phillies against rookie Ubaldo Jimenez.
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Sunday’s games, click here.
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