Cubs Pound Moyer, Bullpen to End Phillies Streak at 10 Games
|
|
|
|
|
Phillies veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer was pounded for 4 runs in the fourth inning and 1 more in the fifth. The Phils bullpen didn’t let the offense get close although they reached Chicago’s ace Carlos Zambrano for 5 runs through 6 2/3 innings. Holding an 8-3 lead when the Phils came to bat in the seventh, the Phils scored 2 in the seventh but closer Brad Lidge was raked for 2 ninth inning runs on Wednesday as the Cubs salvaged the series final by a 10-5 score ending the Phils winning streak at 10 games.
By losing, the Phils dropped a 1/2 game off of their NL East division lead over 2nd place Atlanta which now stands at 6 games with Braves, Florida and the Mets playing later. The Marlins are close behind the Braves in 3rd place at 6 1/2 games out. The Mets are 9 1/2 games off the pace in 4th place.
All winning streaks eventually have to end. AP recaps the game for Yahoo sports:
Zambrano (7-4) won his third straight start for the Cubs, who avoided their first three-game sweep in Philadelphia since 1999.
The NL East-leading Phillies lost for only the second time in 16 games and fell to .500 at home (24-24)…
Coming off his strongest outing of the season, 46-year-old Jamie Moyer (9-7) was tagged for five runs in five innings as his ERA jumped to 5.65.
Moyer has put together a few strong starts in a season filled with erratic performances. The left-hander has allowed five or more runs six times this year. This one led to his first loss to the Cubs, the organization he made his major league debut with in 1986, in four career decisions.
Chicago backed Zambrano with a four-run fourth. Alfonso Soriano hit the last of four consecutive singles to open the inning, driving in Derrek Lee to make it 1-0. Baker followed with a double to center, and a mishandled throw by All-Star second baseman Chase Utley allowed another runner to score.
Milton Bradley, back in the lineup after taking a few days off to work on his hitting, had an RBI single in the fifth. Ramirez came up with his big hit in the seventh and Jake Fox added a sacrifice fly that stretched Chicago’s lead to 8-3.
Aramis Ramirez and Jeff Baker each had a two-run double.
Sean Marshall replaced Zambrano with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh, and promptly surrendered a two-run single to Greg Dobbs that cut Chicago’s lead to 8-5. Angel Guzman then came in and retired Pedro Feliz on a fly ball to left, another missed shot for Philadelphia at preserving its longest winning streak since it won 13 in a row from July 30 to Aug. 12, 1991.
Philadelphia loaded the bases with two out in the eighth but Kevin Gregg got Ryan Howard to ground out to first to preserve the Cubs’ 8-5 lead. Gregg also worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save.
The Cubs scored twice in the ninth against Brad Lidge.
Manuel decided not to start All-Star outfielder Raul Ibanez (.310, 25 home runs, 68 RBIs) in a game that began only hours after the Phillies won in 13 innings. Ibanez grounded out as a pinch hitter in the eighth.
Both teams blew numerous other oportunities as Chicago stranded 12 runners and the Phillies left 11 on base.
For the scores of all of Wednesday’s games, click here.
The Phils entertain the San Diego Padres on Thursday for a single game as ace lefthander Cole Hamels is opposed by Kevin Correia.
For all of Thursday’s games, click here.
del.icio.us |
digg |
Furl |
Reddit |
YahooMyWeb |