Happ’s Shutout, Werth’s 2 HRs Power Phillies to Split With Toronto
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Manager Charlie Manuel finally held a Phillies team meeting after another moribund offensive effort on Friday and after ace lefthander Cole Hamels was pounded for 4 runs over the fourth and fifth innings. Hamels left with 2 out in the fifth while the Blue Jays’ Ricky Romero was 1 walk shy of pitching perfect ball through 6 innings enroute to a 6-1 Toronto win in the series opener. Manuel’s team meeting apparently bore fruit as rightfielder Jayson Werth’s 2 homers, 3 RBIs and 4 for 4 game led Saturday’s offensive barrage and young lefthander J.A. Happ’s masterful 5 hit complete game shutout on Saturday powered the Phillies to a split of the first 2 games with the Toronto with 10-0 win.
The Mets, who had come to within 1/2 game of the Phillies on Thursday, fell to 1 1/2 games back in the NL East division race after being pummelled by the Yankees on both Friday and Saturday and scoring but 1 run in 18 innings. The Florida Marlins also fell to 2 games back losing Friday and Saturday games to their cross-state rival Tampa Bay Rays. The Atlanta Braves dropped off of the challenge for 1st place dropping both Friday and Saturday’s games to the Boston Red Sox.
I guess that manager Manuel just couldn’t take it anymore after Friday’s game and it is good that he made the move to have a team meeting. One can view the pitch-by-pitch on Friday’s debacle by clicking here. Phillies Nation’s Amanda Orr describes Friday’s latest offensive short-circuit:
Ricky Romero no-hit the Phillies for six innings before Chase Utley broke up the no-hit bid with a single in the seventh. He pitched seven shutout innings allowing only two hits and one walk. He struck out seven.
Cole Hamels struggled and was ejected for arguing balls and strikes after he left the game in the fifth inning. In 4.2 innings, Hamels allowed four earned runs on eight hits and two walks.
The bullpen continues to have its woes. Chan Ho Park left the game with a knee contusion. Brad Lidge gave up two earned runs in 0.1 innings.
Tip of the cap to Ricky Romero who pitched a terrific game by keeping the Phillies off-balanced, however, it is always embarrassing when a potent lineup like the Phillies is no-hit for six innings.
Another member of Phillies Nation’s growing staff of writers penned a piece on Cole Hamels’ continuing woes this season:
…Another disappointing Cole Hamels start. His effort Friday night was mediocre at best, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits in a loss to the Blue Jays. But the most disheartening aspect of Friday’s outing was his inability to take the team deep into the game. A string of foul balls and just-outside pitches forced his pitch count over 100 before Charlie Manuel took him out of the game in the fifth inning.
…Hamels (4-4, 4.44 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) …has nibbled around the strike zone far too often, seemingly eager to induce swing-and-miss strikeouts rather than simply get batters out. He consistently spots his fastball inches off the plate, begging hitters to take a hack at a pitch they cannot reach. And in return, they sit and watch as his pitch count rises. While his fastball desperately tries to paint the black, Hamels’ grade-A changeup becomes an afterthought. If batters don’t need to worry about his fastball, the changeup loses effect, instead becoming a tantalizing, but resistible, pitch.
…Hamels shouldn’t be so afraid to ask for help with a few groundballs. For Hamels to last deeper into ballgames he must begin to attack the strike zone with his fastball, getting ahead early in counts and inducing easy outs. J.A. Happ did this to perfection today against the same Blue Jays team, earning himself quick innings by going after hitters early. After 14 starts Hamels has gone 7 innings or more just three times. Whether due to injury or inability, he has gone 5 innings or less five times now.
Until Hamels is able to re-think his pitching strategy, he will continue to labor through long innings, and as the summer heat rolls in his starts will be cut shorter and shorter.
Losing pitcher Hamels threw 105 pitches while being rapped for 4 runs on 8 hits and walking 2 and striking out 4. Romero went 7 shutout innings giving up only 2 hits while walking 1 and striking out 7 in winning his 5th game vs 3 losses.
The Phils scored their only run in the ninth inning off of the Toronto bullpen as centerfielder Shane Victorino, still taking the benched Jimmy Rollins’ leadoff spot, walked with 1 out. 2nd baseman Chase Utley followed with single to centerfield with the Flyin’ Hawaiian taking 3rd base and Utley advancing to 2nd on the throw and attempted play on Victorino. With runners at 2nd and 3rd base, rightfielder Jayson Werth drove in the run with a sacrifice fly to rightfield. However, 1st baseman Ryan Howard fanned to end the game. It was Howard’s 91st strikeout thru 72 games as the Howard strikout watch circa 2009 begins in earnest.
But Saturday’s game reflected a seeming overnight transformation — let’s hope that it takes hold in the upcoming games. AP provides the game recap for Yahoo sports:
J.A. Happ pitched a five-hitter…
In the first complete game of his career, Happ (5-0) struck out four and didn’t walk a batter to win for the first time in four starts.
“(Happ) stayed right with his game plan and they were swinging at him,” Manuel said. “He did a good job, a super job.”
Happ threw 100 pitches, 64 for strikes.
“I didn’t always get strike one but we were trying to focus on getting ahead in the count,” Happ said. “That’s something I’ve struggled with the last few games. It all kind of came together today.”
the Phillies used the long ball to jump ahead quickly, homering twice in the top of the first.
Werth hit a towering two-run drive into the upper deck, his 14th, and Pedro Feliz added a two-out homer to left.
Toronto left-hander Brad Mills (0-1) allowed eight runs on eight hits in four-plus innings, striking out seven in his second career start.
Werth’s upper deck blast was the 14th in the 20-year history of Rogers Centre, formerly SkyDome…
“When I hit it, I didn’t know if it was going to stay fair,” Werth said of his drive. “I watched it a little bit longer than I usually but. It stayed pretty straight. When I first hit it, I thought it was going to hook a little bit but it stayed straight just inside the fair pole.”
Happ said he lost track of Werth’s homer as it climbed toward the upper deck.
“You watch him in batting practice and he puts on a show,” Happ said. “He’s got impressive pop in that bat.”
Werth singled in the third, doubled and scored in the fifth and hit a solo homer off reliever B.J. Ryan in the sixth. Needing a triple to complete the cycle, Werth walked in his final plate appearance. he has eight career homers against Toronto.
“We’ll kind of be glad to see the last of him,” Toronto manager Cito Gaston said. “He’s hit us well over the last couple of years.”
Carlos Ruiz hit an RBI double in the fourth before the Phillies pulled away with a four-run fifth. Shawn Camp replaced Mills after Ryan Howard’s single, then allowed an RBI single to Chris Coste, Eric Bruntlett’s sacrifice fly and an run-scoring single by Ruiz, making it 9-0.
Rollins, stuck in an 0 for 19 slump, sat out for the third straight game. Manuel said Rollins likely won’t play again until Tuesday, the opener of a three-game series in Atlanta.
Thankfully, the Phils have not had to face catcher Rod Barajas who pounded them recently in Philadelphia. Barajas is nursing a strained right hamstring. 3rd baseman Scott Rolens, who also killed the Phils last time, hit a 2nd inning double on Friday to increase his hitting streak to a career high 14 games. He’s apparently being platooned at 3rd base and did not see action on Saturday.
For the scores of all of Friday’s and Saturday’s games, click here and here.
Sunday’s decisive series final is another of the recent all-too-frequent lefthanders’ battles as 46 year old veteran Jamie Moyer is opposed by nearly 32 year old Brian Tallet and the Phillies hope for a series win on the road after having lost 11 of their last 14 games, including 3 of 4 on this current road trip.
The Phillies have Monday off before ending June and beginning July with a 3 game series in Atlanta before coming home for a 9 game stand beginning with a 3 game weekend series with the Mets.
For all of Sunday’s games, click here.
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