Phillies Win on Myers’ Gem, Homers by Werth, Howard
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Brett Myers, unscored upon in 17 innings, gave up single runs in the second and eighth innings before being bailed out by J.C. Romero. But rightfielder Jayson Werth clubbed 2 homers and 4 RBIs and 1st baseman Ryan Howard also homered as the Phillies knocked out lefthander Ted Lilly and battered the Cubs lefthanded reliever Neal Cotts enroute to a 5-2 win in Saturday’s 3rd game.
The win, coupled with the Marlins comeback win over the Mets loss enabled the Phils to reduce the Mets’ NL East division lead to 1 game. The 4th place Atlanta Braves lost again to the cellar-dwelling Washington Nationals, this time in 10 innings but remain 16 games behind.
Rightfielder Jayson Werth broke a 1-1 deadlock in the sixth inning with a 2 out, 2 run single to give the Phils a 3-1 lead. He had led off the fifth inning againt Lilly with a game-tying solo homer and followed 1st baseman Ryan Howard’s 37th homer in the eighth against reliever Neal Cotts with another solo homer of his own, number 20. Werth was the offfensive hero in a game the Phils really needed going 3 for 4 with 4 of the Phillies’ 5 RBIs.
Brett Myers pitched another gem to notch his 8th win vs 10 losses although he gave up 11 hits and broke down in the eighth inning as 3 straight Cub hits plated the 2nd run. But J.C. Romero came on with runners at 1st and 2nd base with none out and mowed down the Cubs striking out the side. Myers has won 4 of his last 6 starts and has only allowed 2 runs in 23 innings over 3 games.
After the Phils threatened in the ninth with 2 on and one out against Cub reliever Bob Howry, closer Brad Lidge came on in the Cubs’ ninth to retire the side in order to register his 32nd save.
The Cubs took an early 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning as catcher Geovany Soto followed 2 one out singles with an RBI single to centerfield.
Lilly made the lead stand up through four innings only allowing the first 2 Phillies to reach in the first inning before retiring the next 12 Phils in a row before Werth led off the fifth with his game-tying homer.
Phillies nation’s Tim Malcolm summed up the game;
It came down to the eighth inning yet again, but JC Romero was fearless, backing Jayson Werth’s big game and Brett Myers’ stellar performance.
Myers was stellar in limiting the Cubs from scoring. He gave up 11 hits — a common thread for his starts — but didn’t let the Cubs get one extra-base hit, the key to his victory. He got his outs when he needed them, eight for strikeouts. It mirrored his last start against the Dodgers.
Jayson Werth fueled the offense with two home runs and an RBI single (4 RBI). His presence in the lineup against a left-handed pitcher (especially with a struggling Pat Burrell) is of huge importance.
Arguably the clutch performance in the game was JC Romero’s.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Saturday’s games, click here.
The Phillies must win in Sunday’s game against the Central division leading Cubs to finish off August for a split of the series and to either keep pace with, or catch the Mets. On Monday, the Phils head to the Washington Nationals for 3 games followed by 3 at Shea stadium, their final 3 regular season games against the Mets.
In Sunday’s final, 45 year old lefthander Jamie Moyer faces Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Sunday’s games, click here.
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