Ramirez Slams Phillies Bullpen in Cubs Comeback Win
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Cole Hamels pitched a seven inning gem while Ryan Dempster spent his six innings getting into jams. When the Phillies put 3 on the board in the sixth, the game seemed in the bag. But after 108 pitches, Charlie Manuel went to reliever Ryan Madson who gave up a homer, single and double in the eighth, and then to Chad Durbin who walked Derrek Lee and served up a grand slam to Aramis Ramirez as the Cubs rallied for a 6-4 win.
The Mets, who had Thursday off, increased their NL East division lead over the Phillies to 1 full game. The 4th place Atlanta Braves beat the 3th place Marlins. The Marlins are now 6 games back and the Braves improved to 15 games behind.
Cole Hamels cruised through 4 innings giving up only 2 hits as the Phillies took a first inning 1-0 lead as centerfielder Shane Victorino’s single drove in 2nd baseman Chase Utley who had doubled.
The Cubs tied the score in the fifth on a 1 out RBI triple by 2nd baseman Mark DeRosa. But the Phillies charged out to a 4-1 lead in the sixth on an RBI single by catcher Carlos Ruiz, followed by a sacrifice fly RBI by shortstop Jimmy Rollins and an RBI single by Utley.
Hamels followed by retiring 6 of the last 7 hitters he faced. The young ace gave up 1 run on 5 hits, didn’t walk anyone and struck out 6. But with Hamels’ pitch count at 108 after seven innings, Charlie Manuel’s “Holy Grail” dictated that he be replaced to open the eighth. The game then took an ugly turn. AP Sports Writer Rick Gano describes the rest for Yahoo sports;
The Phillies’ bullpen, which failed to hold an eighth-inning lead Wednesday night in a tough loss to the Mets, faltered again and a 4-1 lead evaporated.
Reliever Ryan Madson gave up three straight hits to start the bottom of the eighth. Pinch-hitter Mike Fontenot homered leading off to make it 4-2, Alfonso Soriano doubled and moved to third on Ryan Theriot’s single.
Durbin (5-3) relieved and walked Derrek Lee to load the bases with no outs. Ramirez then hit a 1-0 pitch deep into the seats—Philadelphia center fielder Shane Victorino hardly moved as the ball left the bat—to give the Cubs the lead with his 24th homer.
“(Fontenot) hit a homer and all of a sudden it’s a two-run game and we got the top of our lineup coming. Soriano got on base and Theriot got on base. … We got a good team,” Ramirez said.
Meanwhile, Dempster lasted six innings, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits while walking 4 and striking out 7. He threw 114 pitches. The Cubs bullpen followed by making short work of the Phils in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings with closer Kerry Wood working the ninth and earning his 28th save of the season.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Thursday’s games, click here.
These 10 road games shape up as perhaps the most important games of the season; 3 more against the Central division leading Chicago Cubs to finish off August, followed by 3 vs the Washington Nationals and 3 at Shea stadium, their final 3 regular season games against the Mets.
On Friday, former Oakland Athletics teammates Joe Blanton and Rich Harden oppose each other. Harden has given up only 1 run in his last 3 appearances over 19 innings. It will be the first experience that the Phils have had with Harden who came to the Cubs in a deal which beat the trade-deadline.
On Saturday, Brett Myers, who hasn’t given up a run in 16 innings, is opposed by lefthander Ted Lilly. In Sunday’s final, 45 year old lefthander Jamie Moyer faces Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Friday’s amd Saturday’s games, click here and here.
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