Atlanta’s starter Javier Vazquez rebounded after 2 sub-par starts to vanquish a Phillies offense punched-out after scoring 10 runs on Friday.   Joe Blanton had another sub-par start although Manuel left him in through eight innings.  2nd baseman Chase Utley went 2 for 4, including a solo homer, and leftfielder Raul Ibanez homered, but Vazquez and the Braves beat an otherwise punchless Phillies offense by a 6-2 score on Saturday.

The Phillies loss, coupled with wins by the Mets and the Florida Marlins brought about a flip in the NL East race with both the Mets and Marlins now tied for first place 1/2 game ahead of the Phils.

A total of 4 Phillies reached against winning pitcher Vazquez in 7 2/3 innings; 2 on homers and a paltry 2 base hits.  That’s all she wrote for the Phils folks.   Vazquez struck out 7, threw 115 pitches and his remaining outs came evenly — 8 by grounders and 8 fly balls.  Phillies Nation’s Tim Malcolm said it best:

The Phillies made Javier Vazquez look like Cy Young.

Utley solo homered to leftfield with 1 out in the fourth inning and Ibanez led off the eighth with a homer.  The Phils garnered a total of 5 hits for the game with Utley’s 2 out, ninth inning double to center coming against the Braves lefthanded closer Mike Gonzalez.

Meanwhile, Blanton, who deserved his being charged with the loss, threw 110 pitches through eight innings giving up 6 runs on 8 hits while walking 1, striking out 5 and giving up 2 homers — a  2 run fifth inning shot to left centerfield by shortstop Yunel Escobar amidst a 3 run uprising which broke a 1-1 tie and a 2 out 2 run shot to right centerfield by catcher Brian McCann in the eighth inning.

AP sports writer Rob Maaddi provided this note on the Phillies’ starter:

Blanton’s shaky start was the latest in a slew of rough outings for a rotation that played a vital role in helping the Phillies win the World Series last season. Philadelphia’s starters are 7-10 with a 6.47 ERA.

A few more shaky performances like exhibited Saturday by Blanton or previously by Jamie Moyer and it would seem apparent that we won’t only see young lefthander J.A. Happ in the starting rotation, but rookie Carlos Carrasco as well.

Among the Phillies taking a collar for the game were shortstop Jimmy Rollins (0-for-4), centerfielder Shane Victorino (0-for-4), 1st baseman  Ryan Howard (0-for-4) and the Phillies starting 3rd baseman Greg Dobbs (0-for-3).   When Rollins, Victorino and Howard go hitless, expect anemic Phillies run production.  Victorino, who had his 16 game hitting streak broken on Friday, has now gone hitless, without even a walk, in 9 plate appearances.

To make a short story even shorter on this one, Blanton — another homer-prone starter and the Phillies offense — listless and inept.

For all of the results of Saturday’s games, click here.

The Phillies hope to at least take 2 of 3 games from Atlanta by winning Sunday’s series final.  Brett Myers tries to find the velocity and placement that marked his 2008 second half.  He is opposed by 33 year old rookie Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.

The Phillies have an off-day on Monday before entertaining the Manny Ramirez-less Dodgers for 3 games beginning on Tuesday.

For all of Sunday’s games, click here. 

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This entry was posted on Sunday, May 10th, 2009 at 4:54 am and is filed under Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary
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