Kendrick, Bullpen Toss Shutout; Phillies Beat Marlins
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2nd year starter Kyle Kendrick pitched 6 shutout innings despite walking 5 to equal his 2007 win total of 10. The Phillies offense awakened to score 4 runs, including 1st baseman Ryan Howard’s solo shot, off of Anibal Sanchez on the way to a 5-0 win to knot the series with Florida at 1-1.
With the win, the Phillies regained the game they lost off of their 1st place lead in the NL East on Tuesday. The Marlins dropped back to 2 1/2 games behind and the Mets, who lost to the San Diego Padres, dropped back to 3 games back in the divisional race. The 4th place Braves dropped again to 10 games back with their loss to the San Francisco Giants.
The Marlins managed to get 2 runners on base in each of the second and third innings against Kendrick, and loaded the bases with 2 outs in the fourth, but Kendrick was up to the task and managed to elude each threat. Kendrick went clean in the fifth and gave up a single in the sixthas the Marlins never threatened after the fourth. Kendrick threw 106 pitches through six innings givingt up 4 hits, walking 5 while striking out 4.
Kendrick went 10-4 in his rookie year after having been brought up last June a was an important cog in the Phillies September charge to the NL East championship.
AP Sports Writer Rob Maaddi reports these comments from the batterymates concerning Kendrick’s outing for Yahoo sports;
“You get in those situations (with runners on) and you have to make your pitches,” Kendrick said. “I don’t want to get beat. Maybe I make better pitches.”
Kendrick matched his win total from his rookie year when he came from nowhere last season and bailed out a depleted staff to help the Phillies win the division.
“Every team needs a guy like him,” catcher Chris Coste said. “You’re not going to have five Cole Hamels. He pitches differently. He’s a pure sinkerballer. It’s good to have a guy like that on your staff.”
Meanwhile, 2nd baseman Chase Utley got the Phils on the board quickly in the first inning with a 1 out double driving in centerfielder Shane Victorino who reached on a Sanchez walk, 1 of 3 issued by the young South American hurler in his 5 inning outing. Utley’s double stretched his current hitting streak to 11 games.
After the 1st 2 Phillies reached, on Sanchez’s fielding error and on a hit batsman, 3rd baseman Eric Bruntlett drove in a run with a double to left. With runners at 2nd and 3rd bases, Kendrick helped his own cause by being credited with an RBI on a groundout to shortstop driving in the 3rd Phillies run.
Howard solved Sanchez to lead-off the third inning with his 32nd homer, a shot to left-centerfield for the Phillies 4th run.
In the sixth inning, after Bruntlett singled to right leading off against reliever Doug Waechter, he stole 2nd and took 3rd on 2nd baseman Dan Uggla’s fielding error on the catcher’s throw to 2nd. Pinch-hitter Mike Cervenak, a utility infielder, batted for Kendrick and singled to left driving in Bruntlett to cap the Phillies’ scoring.
Reliever Chad Durbin replaced Kendrick to open the seventh and pitched 2 scoreless innings allowing only 1 hit while striking out 2. Ryan Madson threw a clean ninth inning to seal the win.
Losing pitcher Sanchez’s record knotted at 1-1 for the season. He went 5 innings giving up 4 runs on 5 hits while walking 3 and striking out 2.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Wednesday’s games, click here.
The Phillies hope to take the series as they send staff ace Cole Hamels against 22 year old Chris Volstad in the series final. Hamels will try to rebound from two poor starts and hints of an elbow injury.
The Pittsburgh Pirates follow the Marlins into Citizen’s Bank Park on Friday for 3 games.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Thursday’s games, click here.
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