The Phillies, who had won 9 of their last 10 games, suffered a rare stretch run loss to the Washington Nationals. Ace lefthander Cole Hamels made his second start since coming off of the DL and went 5 innings giving up 1 run on 2 hits while walking 2 and striking out 6 in a 76 pitch performance.  He was pulled for a pinch hitter in the 6th inning as the Phillies took a 2-1 lead in the inning, a lead which the bullpen was unable to hold.  Neither starter was in on the final decision.  Nationals’ rookie starter Joel Hanrahan pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits while walking 3 and striking out 7 in a 103 pitch outing.

It came down to the bullpen and Charlie Manuel chose not to use the A-Team; J.C. Romero, Tom Gordon and Brett Myers who had pitched in the previous 5 consecutive games.  Antonio Alfonseca and Kane Davis cost the team dearly as the offense took the night off resulting in the loss by a 5-3 score.

With the Phillies loss, they dropped to 2 1/2 games behind the NL East leaders Mets who took 3 of 4 games from Florida, this one by a 7-6 score in 11 innings. The Phils remained 1/2 game behind the NL wild card leading San Diego Padres who lost their game to the the Colorado Rockies by a  7-3 score.

AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich recaps the game from here for Yahoo sports;

Hamels made only his second start since being on the disabled list with a strained pitching elbow… He gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the first inning. His line the rest of the way? Four innings, zero runs, zero hits, six strikeouts.

When Hamels was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth, Manuel said the decision was an easy one. No need even to consult the All-Star lefty.

“We had it set up pretty good,” the manager said.

The Nationals went right to work on Alfonseca (5-2).

D’Angelo Jimenez led off with a double and took third when right fielder Jayson Werth failed to pick up the ball cleanly, drawing an error. A walk and an out later, Austin Kearns grounded a single up the middle to tie the game at 2. Alfonseca walked another batter to load the bases, and was lifted in favor of [Geoff] Geary.

How did Geary fare? He hit the first batter he faced, rookie  Jesus Flores, to force in a run and put Washington ahead 3-2. Flores left the game with a bruised left elbow and was listed as day to day.

Nationals’ reliever Luis Ayala, who gave up the Phils 2nd run, was credited with the win as Washington scored two in the bottom of the 6th to go up by 3-2.  Alfonseca, who was touched for the 2 run 6th, was charged with the loss.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on this and on all of Sunday’s games, click here.

The Phillies have the day off on Monday before heading home for the final 6 games of the season.  They open a 3 game series with Atlanta on Tuesday and finish up with 3 games against these Washington Nationals on Friday thru Sunday.

On Tuesday, the Atlanta series opener is a battle of lefthanders with Jamie Moyer going for the Phillies against 25 year old Chuck James.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Monday’s games, click here.

Phillies 1st baseman Ryan Howard struck out 4 times and was 1-2 in the count in the 10th before singling to centerfield to drive in the winning run.  Starter Kyle Kendrick threw 1 run, 6 hit ball for 6 innings while striking out 6, the bullpen was again 1 single short of perfection over the last 4 innings while pitchers’ indifference; Nationals’ reliever Jesus Colome’s failure to cover first base on Shane Victorino’s ground single to first cleared the way for the Phillies final 2 runs in their 4-1 10th inning win over the Washington Nationals.    

With the Phillies win, they continued to keep pace with and maintain pressure on the Mets who again defeated Florida by a 7-2 score as  lefthander Oliver Perez won his 15th game of the season going 8 innings and allowing 2 runs while striking out 8.  The Phils remained 1 1/2 games behind the NL East leaders. The Phils did gain ground on the NL wild card leading San Diego Padres who lost to the Colorado Rockies by a 6-2 score.  The Phils are now 1/2 game behind the Padres in the wild card chase and remained 2 games up on the 3rd place Rockies.

2nd baseman Chase Utley solo homered off of Nationals starter Tim Redding in the 1st inning to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead which held up until the 6th inning behind Kyle Kendrick’s pitching.  Kendrick went clean on the Nationals in the 1st and 3rd innings.  He gave up 2 two out singles in both the 2nd and 4th innings but emerged unscathed.  In the 5th inning, opposing pitcher Redding reached and advanced to 2nd base on leftfielder  Pat Burrell’s fielding error with 1 out, but Kendrick evaded that spot too getting a ground out and a centerfield line out.

In the 6th inning, with one out and runners on 1st and 2nd base, 2nd baseman Ronnie Belliard grounded into fielder’s choice which scored the tying run on Utley’s errant throw.

In the 7th inning, relievers J.C. Romero and Geoff Geary evaded trouble despite catcher Brian Schneider’s single to center where he went to 3rd base on centerfielder Aaron Rowand’s fielding error. 

Tom Gordon took over in the 8th and went clean on a ground out and two strikeouts.  Closer Brett Myers took over in the 9th and also went clean to gain the win when the Phils rallied in the 10th. 

Meanwhile, the Phillies amassed 13 hits but couldn’t mount a threat against either Redding, who went 6 2/3 innings, or the Nationals bullpen until the 10th inning.

The AP report for Yahoo sports decribes the 10th inning scene;

Howard has never struck out five times in a game, but found himself in a 1-2 hole and fouling off pitches before hitting a fastball from Chris Schroder (2-3) to center that scored  Chase Utley and gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead.

“With a couple of pitches, I just couldn’t pull the trigger,” Howard said. “I went up there in my last at-bat, trying to be aggressive.”

Schroder said he didn’t get confident because Howard had yet to put the ball in play.

“He is one of the best hitters in the game. The longer they go ‘ohfer,’ the more they are due,” Schroder said.

Howard’s big hit followed a single by Utley and a walk by Pat Burrell.  Aaron Rowand, who had four hits, followed Howard by hitting into a fielder’s choice, with third baseman Ryan Zimmerman going home to get pinch-runner Michael Bourn.  Shane Victorino followed with a grounder to Robert Fick at first, but reliever Jesus Colome didn’t cover and the bases were loaded.

Jayson Werth walked to score Howard and pinch-hitter Carlos Ruiz added an insurance run with a single to left.

Before the game, Manuel said he’d never used a reliever in five consecutive games. But he didn’t promise he wouldn’t.

Philadelphia’s bullpen allowed just two hits in four innings and has given up only two earned runs in the past 30 2-3 innings.

“I got three outs. That’s all that matters,” Myers said. “I don’t have time to feel tired. When that phone rings, I’m ready to go.”

Clay Condrey worked a scoreless 10th for his second save.

“I’m getting tired of hearing people say our bullpen isn’t good,” Myers said.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on this and on all of Saturday’s games, click here.

On Sunday, Phillies ace lefthander Cole Hamels faces rookie Joel Hanrahan.  The Phillies have the day off on Monday before heading home for the final 6 games of the season.  They open a 3 game series with Atlanta on Tuesday and finish up with 3 games against the Washington Nationals on Friday thru Sunday.

The Atlanta series opener on Tuesday is a battle of lefthanders with Jamie Moyer going for the Phillies against 25 year old Chuck James.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Sunday’s games, click here.

Phillies 1st baseman Ryan Howard, leftfielder Pat Burrell and 2nd baseman  Jimmy Rollins all homered off of losing pitcher Shawn Hill.  Howard had a perfect 4-4 day with two RBIs and lacked only a triple to hit for cycle as  Adam Eaton won ugly in 5 innings of work as the Phillies beat the Washington Nationals in the 2nd game of their 4 game series by a 6-3 score.

With the Phillies win, they kept pace with the Mets who defeated Florida by a 9-6 score on 6 Marlin errors as Pedro Martinez won his 3rd game without a loss since returning from the DL. The Phils remain 1 1/2 games behind the NL East leaders. The San Diego Padres NL wild card lead over the Phils was reduced to 1 1/2 games as the Padres lost to the Colorado Rockies by a 2-1 score in 14 innings.  The Phils remained 2 games up on the 3rd place Rockies.

AP Sports Writer Joseph White recaps the game for Yahoo sports;

The victory was the majors-best 48th come-from-behind win for the Phillies. Washington’s only lead Friday was 1-0 after one inning, and it was erased when Howard led off the second with his 42nd homer, an opposite field shot that barely cleared the left-field fence.

[Chase] Utley singled through a drawn-in infield to score Rollins in the third, and Burrell followed with a two-run homer, his 29th, to give the Phillies the lead for good.

Rollins kept pace with his teammate by also hitting No. 29, a solo homer in the fifth. Howard had an RBI double later in the fifth to spot Eaton a 6-1 lead.

Eaton labored early, but the only run he allowed through four innings came on a first-inning bases loaded walk to Austin Kearns. He gave up two more in the fifth on Robert Fick’s bases-loaded single and was gone after walking pinch hitter  D’Angelo Jimenez on four pitches to start the sixth.

Geoff Geary, J.C. Romero, [Tom] Gordon and [Brett] Myers held the Nationals scoreless the rest of the way. Philadelphia’s bullpen has allowed only two earned runs over 26 2-3 innings.

Manager Charlie Manuel said he was concerned about using Gordon and Myers for the fourth straight day, but both told him they were fine.

“There’s no time to be sitting around, sitting back saying ‘I can’t pitch today,” said Myers, who threw a perfect ninth for his 19th save. “There’s no time to be sitting around wondering whether you’re arm’s going to fall off. Because that’s when I’ll quit throwing — when it falls off. We’re not going to refuse the ball.”

The on-again, off-again Phillies bullpen as been on for a long time and was of particular note in this game; 1 Marlins base-runner in 4 innings of work, that on rightfielder Austin Kearns’ 7th inning single past 3rd base.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on this and on all of Thursday’s games, click here.

On Saturday, Kyle Kendrick faces Tim Redding.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Saturday’s games, click here.

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins has been backing his boasts of February with action — over the entire season.

Check out the stats; 28 homers, 89 RBIs and counting, .294 batting average, 199 hits, 37 stolen bases and 86% stolen base percentage, OBP .344, slugging percentage .525, fielding percentage .984, only 11 errors for the season — Jimmy’s done it all.  And during the Phillies’ current hot, streaking stretch drive to overtake the Mets, almost every game has seen a different hero in red pinstripes. 

With catcher Carlos Ruiz at 2nd base having walked and stolen second as outfielder Jayson Werth struck out, Rollins stepped up to face losing pitcher Jonathan Albaladejo with two out and ripped a double to rightfield to drive in the winning run.  The Phillies came back from a 6-2 deficit to nip  Washington by a 7-6 score in the opener of their four game series.  It was the Phillies 47th come-from-behind victory, the most in both leagues.

The Phillies win, combined with the Mets 8-7 extra-inning loss to Florida left the Phils 1 1/2 games behind the NL East leaders. They remained 2 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres in the NL wild card race.  The Padres defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates by a 6-3 score.  The Phils remained 2 games up on the 3rd place Colorado Rockies who pounded the Dodgers by a 9-4 score.

The Phils got on the scoreboard first with 2 runs in the 1st inning on 1st baseman Ryan Howard’s 41st homer and 121st and 122nd RBIs off of starter Jason Bergmann.  The Nationals got a run back in their half of the 1st inning but then pounded starter Kyle Lohse for 5 runs in the 2nd.  Catcher Brian Schneider, 2nd baseman Ronnie Belliard and centefielder  Ryan Church all doubled as 5 runs scampered home as the Nationals took a 6-2 lead and Lohse was through for the night. 

Six runs was all that the Nationals could put on the board however, as the 6 Phillies relievers held the Washington scoreless the rest of the way.

AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich recaps the rest of the game for Yahoo sports;

Philadelphia looked on its way to blowing an opportunity against the lowly Nationals, though, thanks in part to a poor outing by starter Kyle Lohse. When he left after only 37 pitches… His line: two innings, six runs, six hits, two walks, no strikeouts, one hit batter.

The Phillies trailed 6-2 entering the seventh, but Jayson Werth delivered a pinch-hit, three-run homer and Chase Utley’s grounder tied it.

In the eighth, Jonathan Albaladejo (1-1), Washington’s fourth pitcher, walked Carlos Ruiz, who stole second.

With two outs, Rollins lined a shot just inside the first-base bag to drive in the tiebreaking run and draw chants of “M-V-P!” from a loud group of Phillies fans in the crowd of 19,966 — probably the same folks who chanted “Let’s go, Marlins!” while walking out of the ballpark.

“Everything he does sets the table for us,” Manuel said about Rollins. “He plays shortstop like Ozzie Smith, so why can’t he be the MVP?”

J.C. Romero (1-2) earned the win by escaping a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh, getting pinch-hitter Tony Batista to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. Romero hopped off the mound, and first baseman Ryan Howard pumped a fist.

Tom Gordon came in to get two outs with a man on second in the eighth, and closer Brett Myers worked around a one-out single in the ninth for his 18th save.

It all added up to the Phillies’ seventh victory in eight games…

“I just sit there and watch and concentrate on pitchers getting people out,” manager Charlie Manuel said.

“It’s fun, and it’s about time for everything to even out,” he added, referring to how his team fell just short of qualifying for the playoffs in 2005 and 2006.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on this and on all of Thursday’s games, click here.

In Friday’s game 2, Adam Eaton, the $24 million bust who badly needs to be sorted out, opposes Shawn Hill and on Saturday, Kyle Kendrick faces  Tim Redding.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Friday’s and Saturday’s games, click here and here.

Veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer and Adam Wainwright, both with identical 13-11 season marks, dueled for 5 innings before each team notched a run in the 6th inning. 

Although both starters combined to walk 9 hitters, Moyer walking 5 in 6 innings and Wainwright walking 4 in 8 innings, the game went to extra innings as the Phillies bullpen held them in the game, only giving up 2 hits over the 3 innings.

But with two outs and a runner on 2nd base in the 10th, closer Brett Myers was tagged for the game-winner on catcher Yadier Molina’s walk-off RBI single to leftfield, his 3rd hit of the game as the Cardinals edged the Phillies in their series finale by a 2-1 score.

The Phillies loss ended a 6 game winning streak. Combined with the Mets‘  8-4 win in their finale with the Washington Nationals, the Mets got a little breathing room by increasing their lead to 2 1/2 games over the hard-charging 2nd place Phillies.  The Phils also dropped to 2 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres in the NL wild card race.  The Padres rallied on leftfielder Scott Hairston’s 3 run walk-off homer to squeek past the  Pittsburgh Pirates by a 5-3 score.  The Phils remained 2 games up on the 3rd place Dodgers who lost again to the Colorado Rockies.

AP sports writer R.B. Fallstrom recaps the scoring for Yahoo sports;

Scott Spiezio flied out to the right-field wall against Brett Myers (4-7) for the first out in the 10th, with Shane Victornio making a leaping catch.  Miguel Cairo beat out an infield hit, stole second and pinch-hitter Russell Branyan struck out.

Molina, who left Tuesday’s game with flulike symptoms, bounced a single through the left side of the infield. It was the third hit of the game for the slow-footed catcher — and it came on Yadier Molina Bobblehead night.

the Phillies went ahead on Pat Burrell’s RBI double in the sixth only to have pitcher Adam Wainwright tie the score for St. Louis with a run-scoring single in the bottom half.

Wainwright, a .310 batter who got his fourth pinch hit on Tuesday, tied it at 1 in the sixth with his second hit of the game. The Cardinals got two walks and two hits with two outs against Moyer but left the bases loaded when  David Eckstein popped out to shallow right, with Jayson Werth slipping as he tore out a chunk of turf before hauling in the catch.

Two days earlier, [Aaron] Rowand slipped twice in center and then fell while chasing Ryan Ludwick’s fly near the warning track, making the catch from the seat of his pants to preserve a one-run lead in a 13-11 victory.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on this and on all of Wednesday’s games, click here.

The Phillies now head for Washington D.C. for a 4 game series with the  Nationals beginning on Thursday.   Kyle Lohse opposes Jason Bergmann in the opener.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Thursday’s games, click here.

Phillies ace lefthander Cole Hamels made his return from the DL going 3 innings giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, but it took a 14th inning winning RBI single by pinch hitter Rod Barajas, rightfielder Jayson Werth’s 3 RBIs — 2 of them with his 14th inning triple, an unlikely 2 inning clutch relief effort by  Jose Mesa and a perfect one inning save by reliever Clay Condrey to nail down the Phils’ 7-4 extra-inning win over the St. Louis Cardinals.  The win was the Phillies’ 6th straight win.

With the win, combined with Washington’s 9-8 squeeker over the Mets, the Phils crept closer, to within 1 1/2 games of the NL East leaders.  This is the closest the Phils have been to the Mets since they lost on opening day.  They also remained 1 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres in the NL wild card race.  The Padres edged the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The Phils hold a 3 game lead over the 3rd place Dodgers who were swept in a doubleheader by the Colorado Rockies.

The Phillies were first on the board as 2nd baseman Chase Utley doubled with one out and scored as Cardinals starter Todd Wellemeyer retired leftfielder Pat Burrell and walked the next 2 hitters before walking 3rd baseman Greg Dobbs to force in the run.

After Hamels went clean on the top of the Cards lineup in the 1st inning, he gave up 2 runs in the 2nd and another in the 3rd as the Cards went up by 3-1.

The Phils tied the game in the 6th inning on Werth’s RBI triple, his first of two triples and 3 RBIs for the game.  Catcher Carlos Ruiz followed with an
RBI sacrifice fly to rightfield to tie the game. Both bullpens were solid through 9 innings before the Phils took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 10 inning.

AP sports writer R.B. Fallstrom recaps the game from here for Yahoo sports;

Second baseman Aaron Miles’ throwing error on Greg Dobbs’ bases-loaded grounder with one out allowed the Phillies to go ahead 4-3 in the 10th. Miles’ throw short-hopped catcher  Kelly Stinnett in a force attempt at the plate.

Miles helped the Cardinals tie it in the bottom half. He singled with one out off Brett Myers, who blew his third save in 20 chances, advanced to third on Miguel Cairo’s single and scored on Scott Spiezio’s sacrifice fly.

Pinch-hitter Rod Barajas singled home the tiebreaking run with two outs in the 14th inning, Jayson Werth added a two-run triple.

Mike Maroth (0-5) was the 11th pitcher used by the sagging but stubborn Cardinals, an NL record. St. Louis lost for the 12th time in 13 games. The Cardinals also tied an NL record with 28 players used in an extra-inning game. The combined 53 players used by both teams tied the NL mark for an extra-inning game.

Clay Condrey, who allowed five runs and got no outs in Monday’s 13-11 victory, earned his first career save. Jose Mesa (1-2) struck out two in two innings.

Albert Pujols was scratched just before game time with a strained left calf muscle.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Tuesday’s games, click here.

The Phillies go for possible sweep of the Cards on Wednesday as veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer faces Adam Wainwright, both with identical 13-11 season marks.

After St. Louis, the Phillies head for Washington D.C. for a 4 game series with the Nationals beginning on Thursday.  Kyle Lohse opposes Jason Bergmann in the opener.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Wednesday’s games, click here.