Myers Pounded Again, Phillies Lose 2 of 3 to Braves
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It seems that the old Brett Myers showed up on Wednesday and was pummelled again, this time for 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings. Despite early inning solo blasts by 2nd baseman Chase Utley and 1st baseman Ryan Howard off of lefthander Jo-Jo Reyes, the Phillies took a 10-4 pasting losing 2 of their 3 games with the distant 4th place Atlanta Braves.
Although the Phillies lost 2 of 3 to Atlanta, they remain in first place lead in the NL East by 1 1/2 games with Mets’ 2nd loss to the NL Central Division Champs, the Chicago Cubs in their 4 game series. The 3rd place Marlins, now 5 games behind in the NL Wild Card but largely out of the running in the East division, beat the Washington Nationals.
In a game which recalled the worst memories of earlier season slumps, the offense went flat in the clutch, like Israeli lafa (without all the goodies rolled up inside). Myers’ performance also evoked memories of why he was sent for a tour in the minors.
4 of the first 5 Braves to face Myers in the first inning reached and 2 runs scored before Myers coaxed a doubleplay grounder to the pitcher to end the inning.
Myers looked like he settled down in the second inning allowing 2 hits but no runs. Meanwhile, in the second inning 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz drove in the Phils 1st run after leftfielder Pat Burrell got the Phils first hit off of lefthander Jo-Jo Reyes, a double to center with 1 out and advanced to 3rd base on a fielding error on centerfielder lefthander Shane Victorino’s grounder to 2nd base. However, Reyes evaded bigger trouble as catcher Chris Coste grounded into a shortstop-to-2nd-to-1st doubleplay ending the inning.
In the third inning, the Braves tacked on a 3rd run but things could have been much worse for Myers. 3rd baseman lefthander Martin Prado opened the inning with a single to rightfield. But then Prado tried to score from 1st base on catcher Brian McCann’s double to rightfield and was nailed at home on a relay from rightfielder Jayson Werth. McCann advanced to 3rd on the throw and scored on 1st baseman Casey Kotchman’s ground out to 1st base. Shortstop Omar Infante then doubled to leftfield but was stranded as Myers got the 3rd out on a grounder to 3rd base.
The Phils got their 2nd run in the third as Utley belted his 33rd homer, a 2 out solo shot to rightfield. The Braves went down in order in the fourth inning before Howard led off the Phillies fourth with his 47th homer of the season, a shot to straight-away centerfield followed by a double to rightfield by Burrell. Victorino then flied out to deep right-centerfield with Burrell advancing to 3rd base. After a homer, a double and a long fly out, that was it for Reyes who was replaced by lefthander Buddy Carlyle who struck out Feliz and got Coste to ground out to shortstop to end the inning. Carlyle was credited with the win as the Braves fifth inning rally was while he was pitcher of record. Game tied 3-3.
In the fifth, the roof totally caved in on Myers and the Phillies. One can follow the play-by-play on the game by clicking here and the pitch-by-pitch by clicking here. AP Sports Writer Rob Maaddi describes the game from there;
Myers got knocked out in the fifth after the Phillies had tied it at 3. He walked Martin Prado with one out and Brian McCann’s RBI double gave the Braves a 4-3 lead. After Casey Kotchman was intentionally walked, Chad Durbin replaced Myers.
Omar Infante hit a grounder to first baseman Howard, whose errant throw to second allowed McCann to score. Howard leads the Phillies with 18 errors. Brandon Jones’ two-out RBI single made it 6-3.
Scott Eyre came in to face Chipper Jones, who drove one to the seats in left for a 9-3 lead. Jones passed Duke Snider for 42nd on the career list with 408 homers.
“I did some hitting in the cage and told them if we had a chance to break it open, I’d be ready,” said Jones, who hasn’t started the last five games because of a shoulder injury.
The Phillies have to be concerned that Myers could be reverting to his first-half form after pitching like an ace for the past 2 1/2 months. Myers, the team’s opening-day starter, was demoted to the minors on July 1 after he went 3-9 with a 5.84 ERA in his first 17 starts. He was 7-2 with a 1.80 ERA in 11 starts before facing the Marlins last Friday.
The Braves scored their 10th run in the eighth inning off of J.C. Romero on a 2 out RBI single by Prado. The Phils scored their 4th and final run on a 1 out passed ball with runners on 2nd and 3rd base. But reliever Julian Taveras struck out pinch hitters Greg Dobbs and Matt Stairs after striking out Ryan Howard to open the inning.
The Phillies also had runners on 1st and 3rd with one out and couldn’t plate runs. Howard is at 196 strikeouts for the season with 3 more games to play but has only struck out 7 times in his last 35 ABs over the last 10 games.
Reliever Manny Acosta retired the Phils in order in the ninth to preserve the win.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Wednesday’s games, click here.
The Phillies have Thursday off before the Washington Nationals come to town for the final 3 games the regular season. In Friday’s opener, Joe Blanton opposes 24 year old lefthander John Lannan.
Lefthanders 45 year old Jamie Moyer and Cole Hamels oppose lefthander Odalis Perez and 21 year old Shairon Martis on Saturday and Sunday.
Important to note: After losing to the Cubs again on Wednesday, the Mets will put up Pedro Martinez opposes Rich Harden in their final with the guys from the windy city. The Mets play their final 3 games against the Marlins with the dangerous Milwaukee Brewers breathing heavily down their necks for the wild card spot as both the NL East and Wild Card races come down their climactic home stretches.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Thursday’s games, click here.
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