Phillies Blow Big Lead, Edged by Padres
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The Phillies escaped the 1st two innings unscathed for the first time this season while jumping out to a 5 run first inning off of Chris Young. They added single runs in the third and fourth inning for a 7-1 lead. But lefthander Cole Hamels was solved by San Diego for a solo homer in the fourth and a pair of 2 run blasts, 1 in the fifth inning and another in the sixth. Usually reliable set-up man Ryan Madson was belted for 3 eighth inning runs as the Padres came all of the way back to edge the Phils on Friday by an 8-7 score.
It was the Padres’ first comeback win in nearly 3 seasons, since July 9, 2006 when they edged the Washington Nationals by a 10-9 score and went on to eek past the L.A. Dodgers for the NL West Division title.
The Phils offense pounded Young for 7 runs on 9 hits through 3 2/3 innings as 2nd baseman Chase Utley wasted no time lighting into Young while capitalizing on first inning singles by shortstop and leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins and centerfielder Shane Victorino to give the hometeam a 3-0 lead. After Young got 1st baseman Ryan Howard on strikes, leftfielder Raul Ibanez singled and stole 2nd base. After 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz walked, catcher Chris Coste drove them both in with a double to leftfield for a 5-0 Phillies lead. Ibanez was a perfect 3 for 3 for the game while walking twice.
Shortsop Luis Rodriguez got the Padres on the board with a leadoff homer to begin the third inning. But the Phils got the run back in their third inning on an RBI single by Feliz to leftfield. The Phils took a 7-1 lead in the fourth on Howard’s RBI double. It was the last run the Phils would score as Young left with 2 outs for reliever Luis Perdomo. Perdomo walked Ibanez and rightfielder Jayson Werth before getting Feliz to line out to centerfield to end the inning.
From there, the Phils offense went into deep freeze getting but 5 hits over the last five innings as San Diego climbed back into the game.
Centerfielder Scott Hairston pounded a 2 run homer off of Hamels in the fifth and catcher Nick Hundley followed suit with a 2 run shot in the sixth as Hamels left after six full innings with the Phils still holding a 7-5 lead. Hairston, who did the most damage and drove in the tying and winning runs in the eighth off of Madson, went 3 for 5 with 4 RBIs for the game.
AP sportswriter Rob Maaddi describes the Padres eighth inning and the Phillies attempt to tie for Yahoo sports:
Madson had tossed four hitless innings before entering with a 7-5 lead. Headley singled to start the eighth, but Madson retired the next two batters. He then walked Rodriguez on a 3-2 pitch and pinch-hitter Jody Gerut hit an RBI single to get the Padres within a run.
Hairston followed with a two-run double down the left-field line to put San Diego ahead 8-7. Madson was charged with the loss.
Cla Meredith (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the win. Duaner Sanchez worked the eighth and Heath Bell finished for his sixth save.
Padres leftfielder Chase Headley threw out Greg Dobbs trying to score from second base on Utley’s single to end the eighth and preserve the lead.
For all of the results of Friday’s games, click here.
On Saturday, the Phils send Brett Myers to even-up the series. And Myers hopes to be able to keep the ball in the yard as he’s been plagued with having given up 6 homers in 13 innings in his first 2 starts. He is opposed by Shawn Hill who has yet to have been taken yard.
For all of Saturday’s games, click here.
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