Moyer, Phillies Shut Out Marlins in Final
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The Phillies, who badly needed to salvage Thursday’s final to avoid a sweep, won in another battle of lefties as veteran 45 year old Jamie Moyer flirted with a no hitter for 5 1/3 innings and combined with closer Brad Lidge to shut out Florida. The offense scored 2 sixth inning runs on a wild pitch and catcher’s throwing error and another in the eighth while keeping offensive pressure on the Marlins throughout the late innings to win by a 3-0 score.
The win, combined with losses by the Braves and Mets, left the NL East first place Phillies 3 games up on the 2nd place Marlins and 7 1/2 games up on both the Atlanta and the Mets.
Moyer outpitched youngster Scott Olsen to win his 7th game against 3 losses and to remain undefeated for his career vs the Marlins. Olsen’s record dropped to 4-3. The veteran lefthander allowed but 3 base runners, 2 singles and a walk, while striking out 3 in a brilliant 102 pitch eight inning performance. It was easily Moyers best performance of the 2008 season. AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds describes Moyer’s gem for Yahoo sports;
He befuddled the Marlins with an array of off-speed offerings good enough to silence the team that has hit more homers so far this year than any team in baseball. Moyer struck out Robert Andino to end his night, getting him to flail at a 71 mph curveball.
Moyer had thrown eight or more innings of shutout, two-hits-or-less ball only twice before.
As a rookie with the Chicago Cubs in 1986, he no-hit the Montreal Expos for 6 1-3 innings before settling for a two-hitter. Nearly 20 years later, he matched that feat, throwing another two-hitter June 2, 2006, for the Seattle Mariners against the Kansas City Royals.
Olsen threw seven innings, allowing two runs—one earned—and six hits while striking out seven.
He simply got outpitched Thursday by a man 21 years his senior.
Entering the bottom of the sixth, the 45-year-old Moyer was 1-for-2 at the plate, while the Marlins were a combined 0-for-15.
Moyer’s bid for history ended by an inch, maybe less.
With one out, Olsen—an .077 hitter against left-handers in his career to that point—hit a liner to Utley at second base. Utley leaped and simply wasn’t high enough; the ball skipped off the very top of his glove, falling in for a hit.
The Phillies offense got a bounce in their direction, for a change, in this series to go along with 2 hit games for 2nd baseman Chase Utley, leftfielder Pat Burrell, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz. AP’s Reynolds again describes;
With runners on second and third and two out in the top of the sixth, Olsen got ahead 0-2 against Ryan Howard. But his third pitch was in the dirt and hopped away from catcher Matt Treanor, who scurried to retrieve the ball—which he tossed over Olsen’s glove and toward the Phillies’ dugout.
Rollins and Shane Victorino scored on the play, giving the Phillies a 2-0 lead.
Olsen struck Howard out swinging on the very next pitch, then screamed into his glove as he walked off the mound.
The Phillies made it 3-0 in the eighth, when Jayson Werth’s two-out single off Matt Lindstrom drove home Utley.
Closer Brad Lidge pitched the ninth inning, recording his 18th save in 18 attempts, striking out 2 and allowing but one hit.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Thursday’s games, click here.
The Phils head into an important 3 game series with the NL Central 2nd place St. Louis Cardinals with whom they share identical 40-28 records. The Cards are without 1st baseman Albert Pujols who is on the 15 day DL with a strained left calf.
Kyle Kendrick faces former teammate Kyle Lohse in Friday’s opener. On Saturday, Adam Eaton is opposed by 30 year old Todd Wellemeyer. In Sunday’s final, Brett Myers tries again to get his act together and is opposed by young 24 year old rookie Mitchell Boggs.
After St. Louis, the schedule gets no easier as the Phils come home to entertain the Boston Red Sox and L. A. Angels in inter-league competition.
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Friday’s and Saturday’s games, click here and here.
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