Phillies Offense Snoozes in Split With Oakland Athletics
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The Phillies offense came up flat again on both Friday and Saturday, and for the 3rd straight game having scored but 4 runs in their past 22 innings. Luckily, on Friday, pinch hitter Ben Francisco’s ninth inning walkoff RBI single was the game winner as Vance Worley dueled with Oakland starter Guillermo Moscoso for six innings giving up but 1 hit while walking 4 and striking out 4. 3 relievers held the A’s to 2 base runners over the final three innings and Francisco’s walkoff made a winner of reliever Michael Stutes who went clean on the A’s in the ninth striking out 2. The Phils were held to 4 hits on Friday. On Saturday, 23 year old Trevor Cahill outdueled lefthander Cole Hamels into the eighth inning as Oakland held a 2-1 lead on single runs in the third and fourth innings after the Phils took an early lead on catcher Carlos Ruiz’s RBI single. The A’s scored 2 insurance runs in the ninth off of Stutes, only the 4th and 5th runs scored on the rookie reliever in 24 3/3 innings. Cahill and the A’s bullpen held the Phils to 4 hits as the Phillies offense snoozed in their split with the Oakland Athletics winning 1-0 on Friday and losing 4-1 on Saturday.
Despite the loss, the Phils’ NL East lead remained 4 games over the 2nd place Atlanta Braves who also split their games. The 3rd place Washington Nationals and the 4th place Mets both split their games to remain 8 1/2 and 9 1/2 games off the pace.
These were both terrible offensive games for the Phils as the Phillies Nation blog notes here:
Worley took a no hitter into the sixth inning before Hideki Matsui doubled with two outs. He finished the inning and was finished for the game. The… righty had thrown 105 pitches after six innings, allowed only one hit while walking and striking out four hitters.
Unfortunately for him, Oakland starter Guillermo Moscoso would not be out done. Moscoso also took a no hitter into the sixth inning tonight before giving up a single to the hit machine Placido Polanco with one out. Just as Oakland couldn’t capitalize with a runner on the Phillies, too, stranded Polanco after Chase Utley flew out and Ryan Howard grounded out to second base.
Aside from some nice fielding by Howard this game was remarkably unexciting. Shane VictorinoBrian Fuentes, who took the loss. After Raul Ibanez flew out to left, Domonic Brown singled up the middle. Brown reached base all four times he came to the plate. He walked twice and had two singles. led off the ninth inning with a walk against Oakland relief pitcher
A groundout to the left side from Brian Schneider moved the runners over and an RBI single from Ben Francisco scored Victorino for the walk off win.
The game in general was boring, but a win is a win.
And here:
The offense seemed in a daze for the majority of the night tonight mustering only three hits off Oakland starter Trevor Cahill. Cahill does have a lot of movement on all his pitches and did a good job keeping the Phillies hitters off balance.
Charlie Manuel will have lots to discuss in the locker room after tonight’s game. Shane Victorino took his time and gingerly threw a ball into the infield with Coco Crisp tagging up from second base. Crisp would score on Sizemore’s single later in the inning. Crisp would probably have scored anyways, but for Victorino to have a brain fart like that is very uncommon.
Domonic Brown will most likely get an earful as well. Brown failed to run out a ground ball that would have been closer had he been running straight out the box. Manuel, who has benched Jimmy Rollins in the past for lack of hustle, kept Brown in the game. Brown would ground into a game ending double play as the Phillies lost at home for the first time in the last nine games 4-1.
As Phillies fans, we know how notorious this team is at getting streaky hot and streaky cold. After the 1-0 walk off win last night you could sense a cooling off of a team who had won 14 of their last 22 games. They still have the best record in the majors at 48-30 but the Braves are slowly creeping up the standings.
A’s reliever and Former Voorhees, NJ resident and Phillies fan Andrew Bailey notched his 5th save of the season after working out of 1 out 1st and 2nd base trouble in the ninth. Click here and here for Friday’s and Saturday’s AP game recaps for Yahoo.
For all of Friday’s and Saturday’s scores and recaps, click here and here.
The Phils hope to generate some offense on Sunday to support ace Roy Halladay as he goes for his 10th win. ” The Doc” is opposed by young lefthander Josh Outman for Oakland. Meanwhile, Roy Oswalt goes onto the DL with a “a mild bulging disc” and pain travelling “lower and lower down toward the knee.” He’s not expected to return before August according to AP reporter Dan Gelston. Also, Gelston notes regarding reliever Ryan Madson:
…Madson has swelling on the back of his pitching hand. He took a liner off his hand May 20 against Texas, but kept pitching and has 15 saves. He had a cortisone shot Friday and won’t throw again until Monday or Tuesday.
Regarding Madson, the Phillies nation blog adds this scary report:
Charlie Manuel said he expects Ryan Madson to be unavailable for the next few games due to numbness in his throwing hand. Jayson Stark of ESPN.com says it may link back to an infield single on May 20 from the bat of Rangers OF David Murphy, when the ball struck Madson.
The Phils have the day off on Monday before entertaining the Boston Red Sox for 3 games next Tuesday through Thursday.
For all of Sunday’s and Monday’s scheduled games throughout MLB, click here and here.
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