» Phillies Belt 3 Homers, Pound Minnesota in Series Opener

Phillies Belt 3 Homers, Pound Minnesota in Series Opener

Phillies starter Joe Blanton was staked to an 8-0 lead after two innings on Friday as 2nd baseman Chase Utley broke out of a hitting and homer slump in a big way with a first inning RBI single and a 3 run 2nd inning homer off of Minnesota starter Nick Blackburn. 1st baseman Ryan Howard followed right after Utley in the second inning with a solo shot off of Blackburn as the Phils mounted their lead. Howard added a fifth inning solo homer off of lefthanded reliever Ron Mahay as Blanton coughed up a run in the sixth before being chased in Minnesota’s 2 run seventh inning. The Twins scored 2 more runs in the ninth off of reliever Scott Mathieson in his first appearance in 4 years after Tommy John surgeries. Once again, closer Brad Lidge nailed down the win getting the final out on 3 pitches as the Phillies belted 3 homers while pounding Minnesota by a 9-5 score in their series opener.

With the win, the Phils remained 3 1/2 games behind NL East-leading Atlanta and 3 games behind the 2nd place Mets who both also won their Friday inter-league games.

Both Utley and Howard had huge break-out games accounting for 7 of the Phils’ 9 runs and 6 of the Phils’ 11 hits as they won their 3rd straight game and 4 of their last 5 games. Howard had a perfect 4 for 4 game with his 2 homers, a double and a triple. 3rd baseman Placido Polanco and rightfielder Jayson Werth provided support with an RBI each as Polanco also had 2 hits. Twins starter Blackburn only lasted 1 2/3 innings while giving up 8 runs and throwing 50 pitches.

Blanton threw 110 pitches while cruising through the 1st four innings retiring 12 of the first 14 Twins he faced and carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning when rightfielder Jason Kubel broke through leading off by slamming a triple to right centerfield. Kubel was thrown out by Utley’s great relay throw while trying to stretch the triple into an inside-the-park homer.

With the Phils up 9-0 after five inning, the Twins got 3 consecutive singles off of Blanton in the sixth to score their 1st run. But, with runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out, the righthander got Kubel to ground into an inning ending doubleplay.

The first 2 Twins to face Blanton in the seventh singled and homered and reliever Chad Durbin to retire the next 3 Minnesota hitters. lefthanded reliever J.C. Romero came on to have an easy eighth inning, only giving up a 2 out single.

In came Mathieson to pitch the ninth and he was greeted with 2 singles before getting the 1st out — a pop out to the catcher. But, after a 3rd single, Mathieson’s wild pitch plated the Twins 4th run. The Twins’ 5th run scored on a ground out to shortstop. Then Lidge came on to retire dangerous Twins catcher John Mauer on fly out to rightfield to nail down the win.

AP sports writer Rob Maaddi notes in the game recap for Yahoo:

Chase Utley told everyone he wasn’t hurt and backed it up with a strong all-around performance.

…First base coach Davey Lopes told Baseball Prospectus that Utley “has been hampered by a little bit of a knee injury.”

Utley admitted he has occasional pain in his right knee, but emphasized it’s not serious and isn’t the reason for a terrible slump that has plagued him since late April.

The four-time All-Star second baseman showed no signs of any injury running the bases or playing defense. He made a diving grab to rob …a hit in the third, and turned a nifty double play after barehanding shortstop Wilson Valdez’s toss in the sixth.

“He comes to the ballpark and works as hard if he gets no hits,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “I know he’s going to hit because he works so hard.”

Utley had gone 88 at-bats since his last homer on May 20 against Chicago. It was the second time in three games and second time all season the Phillies had consecutive homers.