Myers Pummelled; Marlins Pound Phillies
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It took Brett Myers 5 hitters and 5 Marlins runs scored before he retired the next 3 hitters to end a disastrous first inning. Myers settled down and retired the next 9 of 10 Florida hitters through the fourth inning before falling in taters during a 6 run Marlins fifth. The Phillies saw their 7 game winning streak fall. Florida saw their win streak hit 9 on Friday with a 14-8 win.
The Phillies’ dropped to a 1/2 game behind the Mets in the up-and-down NL East as the Mets pounded the ragged 4th place Atlanta Braves. The 3rd place Marlins are now 5 games behind in the division. The 4th place Braves, who dropped to 19 behind, are long out of the running. Meanwhile, the Phils lead the Brewers by 2 full games in NL Wildcard race. The Brewers were pounded by the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.
While the Phillies got to Josh Johnson for 2 first inning runs and kept pressure on him through the first 5 innings, Johnson held on for his 6th win thanks to the Marlins offense, led by young speedster centerfielder Cameron Maybin who solved Myers for an opening single in the 5 run first and went 4 for 5 for the game scoring 3 runs.
AP Sports Writer Steven Wine had these observations about Maybin for Yahoo sports;
Myers’ biggest problem was Maybin, recalled from the minors on Tuesday. One of the top prospects in the trade that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit, Maybin singled in his first four at-bats to hike his average to .900 (9-for-10).
He received a standing ovation from the crowd of 20,202 after he popped out in the eighth, ending a streak of eight consecutive hits to tie another franchise record.
“He made an out—how about that?” manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
Maybin led off all three innings in which Florida scored, stole two bases, scored three runs and finished the night batting .818.
The Marlins messing with Myers’ head regarding a barely visible tatoo on his glove hand didn’t help matters much either. Although Myers didn’t seem to be effected in the 2nd through fourth innings by the Umpires’ absurd demand that he wear long sleeves, only his shrink might know for sure if the incident played a roll in Myers’ fifth inning collapse with the Phils holding a 6-5 lead. This was easily Myers’ worst career start in a game that the Phillies needed. It can only be hoped that we haven’t seen the last of the ace-caliber outings Myers has had since his brief stint in the minors.
The Phillies got homers from 3rd baseman Greg Dobbs, in the second inning, 1st baseman Ryan Howard’s 46th homer, a 2 run shot in the fifth inning to put the Phils in the lead 6-5 with his 140th and 141st RBIs, and a solo shot from centerfielder Shane Victorino for the Phillies’ 8th and final run in the eighth inning with the game apparently out of reach.
The Marlins also hit 3 homers. For the play-by-play on this ugly game, click here.
The Phils could do very little with the Florida bullpen outside of scoring single runs in the seventh and eighth innings against lefthanded reliever Andrew Miller. (Boy, it irks me no-end that the Phils offense can do nothing with worthless Arthur Rhodes.) Meanwhile, with the game mainly out of control, the Phils rested their “A” relievers and threw Rudy Seanez, Les Walrond and demoted starter Kyle Kendrick out for some work and they were collectively pounded for 4 runs; 1 in the fifth mopping up after Myers, 2 in the sixth inning and 1 in the eighth.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Friday’s games, click here.
On Saturday, Joe Blanton is opposed by Anibal Sanchez in what is now the first of two must-win games. In Sunday’s final, veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer goes for a team high 15th win against rookie Chris Volstad. Fortunately, the Phils will not face Marlins ace Ricky Nolasco who always seems to be tough on them.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Saturday’s games, click here.
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