Phillies Beat Marlins Again, Increase Division Lead
|
|
|
|
|
Veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer pitched six innings of 1 run ball while 2nd baseman Chase Utley and 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz both hit 2 run homers on Sunday as the Phillies took the series final from the Florida Marlins by a 5-2 score.
The Phillies increased their first place lead to 1 1/2 game in the NL East with their win Sunday as the Mets lost again to the 4th place Atlanta Braves. The 3rd place Marlins dropped to 6 1/2 games off the pace in the division. Meanwhile, the Mets lead over the Brewers dropped to 1 1/2 games in NL Wildcard race. The Brewers pounded the Cincinnati Reds in their Sunday game. The marlins are in 4th place in the NL wild card chase, 5 games behind the Mets.
The Phillies got on the board in the third inning against rookie Chris Volstad when 2nd baseman Chase Utley followed shortstop Jimmy Rollins’ leadoff double with his 32nd homer, his first in 30 days. The Phils added their 3rd run in the fourth on a single, an outfield fielding error and an RBI single by Rollins who went 3 for 5 for the game.
Rookie pitcher Volstad, who was charged with the loss, lasted through the fifth inning having thrown 97 pitches while giving up 3 runs on 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3. 3 Marlins relievers held the Phillies hitless and runless in the sixth and seventh innings as only 1 Phillie reached base, that on a walk.
After the Marlins scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to cut the Phils lead to 3-2, Pedro Feliz belted a none out 2 run shot off of reliever Joe Nelson in the eighth inning after having replaced Greg Dobbs at 3rd base when Dobbs left the game with a cramp in his right calf. The Phillies incidentally set a franchise mark by homering in their 17th consecutive game.
The Marlins had runners on in every inning against Moyer and every inning of the game except for reliever Ryan Madson’s 1-2-3 eighth inning in which he got the side out on 9 pitches. They had Moyer on the ropes several times by the veteran came through with big outs and the defense chipped in with a 3rd-to-first doubleplay to get out of a touchy situation in the 2nd inning.
Moyer threw 94 pitches through 6 innings while giving up 1 run on 6 hits and walking 1 and striking out 4 to gain his club-leading 15th win. The 45 year old lefty seems a bonafide candidate for the Cy Young Award although I’ve seen no ink on the matter in the media.
In the seventh inning, the Marlins mounted their most serious threat loading the bases with 2 out after having scored a run off the combination of Chad Durbin and J.C. Romero. But Clay Condrey saved the day getting rightfielder Cody Ross to ground out to retire the side. This may have been THE biggest out of Condrey’s career to date.
Closer Brad Lidge got himself into a dicey spot in the ninth as catcher John Baker led off with a single to leftfield. It was Baker’s 4th hit in 5 ABs. He was rubbed out on 3rd baseman Jorge Cantu’s fielder’s choice grounder. Cantu advanced to 2nd on fielder’s indifference before Lidge struck out the final 2 Marlins’ hitters to record his 40th save in 40 opportunities.
The Phils had perhaps their best short road trip of the season, at a time when they needed it most, going 5-1 and ending with a road record of 44-37. In my judgement, the Phils need 4 of their final 6 games to nail down the NL East title for the 2nd straight season.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Sunday’s games, click here.
The Phillies head home on Monday to finish out the regular season with 3 games against the Atlanta Braves followed by 3 against the Washington Nationals.
In Monday’s series opener, young lefthander J.A. Happ, who pitched six innings of 3 hit shutout ball against the Braves to complete the sweep in Atlanta last week, opposes Jair Jurrjens for the 2nd time in a week.
Important to note: the Mets are stuck with their last 7 games against dangerous teams; 4 games against the NL Central clinching Chicago Cubs and 3 vs the wild card contending Milwaukee Brewers as the NL East race reaches its climax.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Monday’s games, click here.
del.icio.us |
digg |
Furl |
Reddit |
YahooMyWeb |