Phillies ace lefthander Cliff Lee pitched seven solid innings while Yankee starter A.J. Burnett was chased with none out in the third inning as the Phils piled up 6-1 and later 8-2 leads. 2nd baseman Chase Utley had another multi-homer series game driving in 4 runs and leftfielder Raul Ibanez doubled and solo homered.  The Yankees chased Lee with 3 runs in the eighth with the big blow being 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez’s 2 run double.  But Phillies relievers Chan Ho Park and Ryan Madson, despite ninth inning travails, made the deficit too much for the Yanks to overcome as Utley and Ibanez led the Phillies over Yanks by an 8-6 score bringing on a game 6 back in New York.

Lee cruised after giving up a first inning run retiring 10 of next 11 Yanks as the Phils rang 3 runs each in the first and third innings.  It seems to me that there must be some World Series records involved for a team who has had 3 instances of a player having multi-homer games as well as for a player who has multi-homered twice.  Utley did it in game 1 as well as this one and rightfielder Jayson Werth did in game 3.  At any rate, AP sports reporter Ronald Blum notes for Yahoo sports:

Utley hit a… three-run homer in the first inning off A.J. Burnett and added a solo shot in the seventh to join Reggie Jackson as the only players to hit five home runs in a single World Series.

The Phillies took control of this game early to force a trip back to the Bronx for game 6, and hopefully a game 7.

AP’s Blum recaps the game:

While the Phillies have outhomered the Yankees 10-5 in the Series, Ryan Howard is suffering a power outage. He went 0 for 2 with two walks and two strikeouts and is hitting .158 (3 for 19) with 12 strikeouts, tying the Series record set by Kansas City’s Willie Wilson in 1980.

New York scored in the first inning for the second straight game.  [Johnny] Damon singled to left-center and came home when Rodriguez doubled into the right-field corner with two outs. It was his franchise record 16th RBI of the postseason.

It took just eight pitches for Burnett to give up the lead, giving Phillies fans reason to wave those white rally towels.

Jimmy Rollins singled up the middle on the sixth pitch of his at-bat and, with Rollins running, [Shane] Victorino squared and was hit in the hand by a pitch. Utley put the next pitch into the right-field seats.

Burnett got in more trouble in the third, when he walked Utley and Ryan Howard, then gave up run-scoring singles to Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez that put Philadelphia ahead 5-1 and finished Burnett’s night. Carlos Ruiz added an RBI grounder against David Robertson.

New York made it 6-2 in the fifth, helped by a strange decision by Howard. Pinch-hitter Eric Hinske—who homered… in last year’s Series— walked with one out and took third on  [Derek] Jeter’s single. Damon hit a slow roller in front of first and Howard gloved it as Hinske held, then retreated to the bag for the putout as Hinske scored.

Utley… added a solo shot in the seventh.  Raul Ibanez set off fireworks from the Liberty Bell one last time, adding a second solo shot in the seventh off Phil Coke that made it 8-2.

Lee… settled in until A-Rod chased him with a two-run double in the eighth.  Robinson Cano drove in Rodriguez with a sacrifice fly, and New York gave Philadelphia a scare when Jorge Posada doubled and Hideki Matsui singled at the start of the ninth against Ryan Madson.

Derek Jeter hit into a run-scoring double play, Johnny Damon singled and Madson struck out slumping Mark Teixeira for the save.

For Lee, it was his 4th win in 5 post-season outings. He threw 112 pitches through the eighth inning giving up 2 runs on 4 hits through seven until being chased and charged with 3 eighth inning runs giving up a single and 2 doubles.  Madson, who was credited with his 1st save of the series to go along with his playoff win against Colorado, had a dicey ninth inning until coaxing Jeter to ground into a shortstop-to 2nd-to-1st base doubleplay on a 1-2 pitch and wasn’t yet home-free as Damon followed with a single and took 2nd base on fielders’ indifference.  But Madson fanned Teixeira on 5 pitches to end it, stranding Damon at 2nd base.

Girardi’s 3 day short-rest failed miserably in game 5 as losing pitcher Burnett was battered for 6 runs early retiring noone in the third.

The 2 teams have Tuesday as the venue shifts back to the Bronx for game 6 on Wednesday.  Pedro Martinez is slated to oppose lefthander Andy Pettitte who goes on 3 days rest, both pitching their 2nd games in this World Series.  In the event game 7 is necessary, the Yanks have slated lefthander C.C. Sabathia, again on short rest.  The Phils have yet to announce who their game 7 starting pitcher would be.

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World Series game 4 began as another pitchers’ duel as both Yankee starter ace lefthander C.C. Sabathia and Phillies starter Joe Blanton battled on Sunday as the Yanks led 4-2 in the game through six innings.  When 2nd baseman Chase Utley cut into the Yanks lead with a 2 out solo homer on Sabathia’s 1-2 pitch in the seventh, manager Girardi pulled immediately C.C. for bullpen relief.  The Phils got new life on tying the game in the eighth inning on 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz’s homer off of Joba Chamberlain on a 2 out, full-count pitch.  Closer Brad Lidge got the first 2 outs in the ninth before giving up a full-count base hit to leftfielder Johnny Damon. What occurred after was an apparent mental lapse which cost the Phils the game, and quite possibly the series, which the Yanks now lead by 3 games to 1, as Damon went on to steal 2nd and 3rd on the same play as the Yankees beat the Phillies in the ninth by a 7-4 score after A-Rod’s winning double in World Series game 4.

Writers such as Yahoo’s Jeff Passan have taken to second-guessing manager Charlie Manuel for not starting Lee in game 4, although I am totally in agreement with Manuel with holding Lee back for game 5 on a full 4 days rest. Blanton’s performance retiring 9 Yanks in order from the second through fifth innings, after being touched for 2 first inning runs,  vindicates Manuel’s decision.  Further, Blanton, like Lee in game 1, kept the ball in the park and struck out 7 in his six innings of work.

The far bigger question these writers ought to be asking is how the NL pennant winners either suffered collective mental lapse or weren’t prepared with a coverage scheme in their shift on Teixeira. 

A talk-backer responding to AP sportswriter Ben Walker’s game recap for Yahoo sports had this take:

The game–and perhaps the entire 2009 World Serious–boiled down to Damon’s heads-up double-steal on the same play. The shift was on against Teixeira with Feliz covering second base. So who was covering third base? NOBODY! And Damon noticed. Afterwards, Phillie manager Charlie Manuel said either the pitcher or the catcher HAVE to cover third base on that play. In fact, Manuel said the catcher (Ruiz) should’ve gotten to third base … but, personally, I think Lidge should’ve been there. After all, the pitcher is closer to third base than the catcher! 

 The lack of coverage at 3rd base is more responsible than anything else, for how the Phils lost game 4 and why they now sit with a 1-3 deficit to the Yankees.  Damon doesn’t reach 3rd and Lidge isn’t flustered and probably doesn’t hit Teixeira.  And maybe, the game doesn’t get to A-Rod and a Yankees lead.  Of course, maybe Teixeira goes ballpark on Lidge, or maybe any number of other things.  But again, to repeat what the talk-back cited here noting: “Lidge should’ve been there. After all, the pitcher is closer to third base than the catcher!”

I would agree with the talk-back.  Lidge cooked his own goose on the play.  He started 1st baseman Mark Teixeira with a ball after Damon’s single.  After Damon stole the two bases on the same play, perhaps due to Lidge’s own mental lapse, he got sooo flustered that he hit Teixeira on his next pitch — runners on 1st and 3rd base.  Now he’s facing dangerous 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez who Blanton managed to confound through 3 at-bats, striking him out once.  A-Rod took a strike and then nailed Lidge’s next pitch for a double driving in the game-winning run as the Yanks took a 5-4 lead. 

The whole Damon play was reminiscent of leftfielder Jayson Werth’s steal of home on the Dodgers back in May.   That play occurred when Werth noticed catcher Russell Martin’s nonchalant slow tosses back to his pitcher.

Catcher Jorge Posada followed slamming Lidge’s 2-2 delivery for a single to left centerfield plating 2 insurance runs.  Future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera took care of the rest shutting down the Phillies on 8 pitches; 2 grounders and a pop up — all to 1st base.

The Yankees had Blanton on the ropes in the first inning as shortstop  Derek Jeter opened the game with an infield single and Damon followed with a double to rightfield putting Jeter on 3rd base.  Teixeira grounded out to 1st base with Jeter scoring on the play and Damon moving to 3rd.  A-Rod was hit by Blanton’s next pitch and Posada followed with a sacrifice fly scoring Damon with the 2nd run.  Blanton finally retired the side on a fly ball to centerfield and cruised thru the second through fifth innings.

The Phils got a run back against Sabathia in their first inning on back-to-back doubles by centerfielder Shane Victorino and 2nd baseman Chase Utley.  They tied the game in the fourth inning as 1st baseman Ryan Howard finally connected, after a string of strikeouts, leading off the inning with a single to centerfield.  On a 2-1 pitch to Werth, Howard stole 2nd base. Werth grounded out to 3rd on the ensuing pitch.  After Leftfielder  Raul Ibanez flied out for the 2nd out, Feliz singled to leftfield scoring Howard.  Feliz took 2nd base on an error by catcher Posada on the relay.  Sabathia intentionally walked catcher Carlos Ruiz but both were stranded as Sabathia struck out Blanton to end the inning.

The tie didn’t last long as Yanks regained the lead scoring twice on a walk and 3 singles.  With the score 4-2 Yankees, Utley solo homered with 2 outs in the seventh ending Sabathia’s night.  Feliz duplicated in the eighth inning with a solo blast after Chamberlain got Werth and Ibanez on strikes.  With the game knotted at 4-4, the scene was set for Lidge, the mental lapse resulting in Damon’s 2 stolen bases on the same play and the Yankees’ winning 3 run rally.

Chamberlain, who blew the save on Feliz’s homer in the eighth inning, was credited with the win while Lidge, who came unglued in the ninth, was charged with the loss.

In Monday’s game 5, Phillies ace lefthander Cliff Lee will make his 2nd World Series start and will try to keep the Phils alive.  Lee is opposed by  A.J. Burnett, who like Sabathia, will be going on 3 days rest.

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Yankees starter Andy Pettitte was battered early on Saturday as the Phillies scored 3 second inning runs, including the first of 2 solo homers by rightfielder Jayson Werth.  But starter Cole Hamels couldn’t hold a 3-0 lead as the Yankees charged back, boosted by a controversial 2 run homer fourth inning homer by 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez, scoring 2 in the fourth and 3 in the fifth to take the lead.  The Yanks notched a run in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings off of 3 Phillie relievers.  Werth pounded his 2nd homer in the sixth and catcher Carlos Ruiz solo homered in the ninth against reliever Phil Hughes but it was far short of enough as the Yankees won game 3 by an 8-5 score despite three Phillies homers.

Hamels began the game by cruising through the Yankees lineup retiring 9 of the first 10 hitters he faced, only hitting A-Rod on his 1st pitch in the second inning.

Meanwhile, shortstop Jimmy Rollins stroked Pettitte’s 1st pitch of the game for a single to leftfield but was left stranded when centerfielder Shane Victorino popped out to 3rd base and when Pettitte struck out both 2nd baseman Chase Utley and 1st baseman Ryan Howard.   The two struck out a total of 5 times for the game and Howard has now struck out 9 times over the 3 World Series games. 

But the Phillies had Pettitte on the ropes in the second inning as Werth worked Pettitte to a full-count before slamming a solo homer to leftfield to open the ining.  With 1 out, 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz doubled to rightfield, Ruiz walked and Hamels reached on a bunt single to the catcher to load the sacks.  Pettitte walked Rollins on 5 pitches forcing in the 2nd Phillies run and Victorino hit a sacrifice fly to plate the 3rd run.   Utley again struck out leaving 2 runners tranded but the Phils had given Hamels a cushion which he was unable to hold.

Pettitte, however, settled down in the third inning and went clean on a strikeout and 2 flyouts.

Hamels started the fourth inning by getting leftfielder Johnny Damon to fly out to rightfield.  But then after getting ahead 1-2 in the count, Hamels walked 1st baseman Mark Teixeira and got a strike on Rodriguez before A-Rod belted his next pitch for a much-discussed 2 run homer off of the camera near the foul pool in the lower-level rightfield stands.  The smash was originally called a double before the umpiring crew viewed it’s first-ever instant replay of a potential homerun call.  It took only a moment for the umpires to reverse the ruling of a double to that of a homer as the Yankees closed to 3-2.   Had the original call of a double stood, the Yanks would probably have come away with nothing as Hamels then retired the side on a ground out and a foul out to the catcher.

In the fourth inning with 1 out, Pedro Feliz reached on a ground ball and a throwing error by A-Rod at 3rd base and was rubbed out as Ruiz’s fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop.  Hamels sacrificed to the catcher as Ruiz took 2nd base on the play.  But Rollins flied out to end the inning leaving Ruiz stranded at 2nd base as Pettitte had little trouble with the Phils in the fourth and fifth innings.

Hamels fell apart in the fifth inning as the Yanks scored 3 runs, including the tying run on Pettitte’s single to centerfield.  Shortstop Derek Jeter followed with a single and Damon plated them both with a double as the Yanks took a 5-3 lead.  Saturday’s loss charged to Hamels seemed the culmination of a truly down season for the young lefthander who won the MVP award in both last season’s NLCS as well as World Series.

The Yanks added single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings as rightfielder Nick Swisher pounded a 1 out, 2-2 pitch by reliever J.A. Happ out to leftfield in the sixth, catcher Jorge Posada knocked in a run with a single off of Chad Durbin in the seventh and pinch hitter Hideki Matsui blasted a 2 out solo shot off of Brett Myers in the eighth.

With the Phils down by 6-3 in the sixth, Werth reached Pettitte again with a leadoff solo shot for his 2nd homer of the game.  He joined Utley, who multi-homered in game 1 as the only Phils to ever score multi-homer games in the World Series.

The Yankees bullpen went clean on the Phils in both the seventh and eighth innings before reliever Phil Hughes took over to open the ninth.  Hughes got Feliz to ground out to 3rd base but Carlos Ruiz nailed a 1-1 pitch for a solo homer to left centerfield for the Phils’ 5th run.

At that point, Girardi didn’t mess around any further.  He brought in closer  Mariano Rivera.  Rivera, had struggled through 2 tough innings against the Phils in game 2, went right to work getting pinch hitter Matt Stairs to ground out to 2nd base on an 0-2 pitch and got Rollins, 2nd-pitch hitting, to pop out to 3rd base to end the game.

For winning pitcher Pettitte, Saturday’s six inning outing and win upped the lefthander’s major league record for postseason wins to 17.

Joe Blanton hopes to knot the series at 2-2 in Sunday’s game 4 at Citizens Bank Park.  He is opposed by the Yankees game 1 starter lefthander C.C. Sabathia who will be going on 3 days rest as Yanks manager Joe Girardi takes a huge risk of being second-guessed and criticized for going with a 3 man starting rotation on short rest against the Phillies.  On Monday’s game 5, Phillies ace lefthander Cliff Lee will make his 2nd World Series start opposed by A.J. Burnett, who like Sabathia, will be going on 3 days rest.

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The last time the NL had won an All-Star game was in Philadelphia in 1996.  The string remained intact as AL pitchers retired 17 straight NL hitters from the third inning through the first 2 outs in the eighth.  Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino singled and scored a run amidst the NL 3 run rally against AL starter Roy Halladay in the second inning, but pinch-hitter  Ryan Howard struck out on a Joe Nathan slider in the eighth inning with runners on 2nd and 3rd foiling a chance for the NL to tie or take the lead.  Each team used 8 pitchers and the AL went up early with 2 runs in the first inning against NL starter Tim Lincecum and single runs in the fifth and eighth innings in another drab, boring All-Star affair in which the AL edged the NL by a 4-3 score as their unbeaten string hits 14 seasons.

A lot of pitchers and players were used but very little can be said about  All-Star game #80.  The most valuable player, AL leftfielder Carl Crawford went 1 for 3 with a fifth inning single only to be rubbed out on outfielder Ichiro Suzuki’s fielder’s choice grounder.  Crawford’s main claim to MVP fame was his leaping, homer-robbing grab over the 8-foot leftfield wall to bring down a Brad Hawpe drive in the seventh inning.  Had the drive landed over the wall, the NL would have taken a 4-3 lead.  Perennial MVP Suzuki also went 1 for 3 with a first inning single and was not involved in the scoring having been rubbed out by a fielder’s choice grounder.

Beyond Crawford’s seventh inning heroics, the most entertaining part of this All-Star game may have been President Obama’s ceremonial first pitch which fluttered, barely making it to the glove of Albert Pujols.

There were no classic, dramatic match-ups such as a Dizzy Dean or a Carl Hubbard striking out Lou Gehrig or Joe DiMaggio, or the 1958 All-Star game where Dick Farrell struck out 5 out of 7 AL stars he faced in 2 innings, the last 4 in a row.   And there were no heroics like in the 1964 All-Star game where Phillies’ pitching great Jim Bunning fanned 4 AL stars in his two innings of work and where rightfielder Johnny Callison blasted his memorable game-winning 3 run walk-off homer.

And there were no apparent managerial blunders by either NL manager Charlie Manuel of the Phillies or AL manager Joe Maddon of Tampa Bay.

Beyond the game itself, possibly the most interesting news to watch is the apparent signing by the Phillies of free agent pitcher Pedro Martinez who has passed his physical.  A Yahoo sports report indicates that the Phillies signing of Martinez is to be made official at press conference which is expected to be held in Philadelphia later on Wednesday.  According to Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Andy Martino:

…Martinez has signed a one-year contract with the Phillies.

According to a baseball source, the contract is worth about $1 million, and Martinez could make an additional $1.5 million in incentives based on starts and time on the active roster.

A baseball source also said Martinez could join the Phillies in Miami later this week to work out with the team before beginning a minor-league assignment.

The money reports seem to somewhat jive with a series of Metsblog.com Twitters from last week which indicate that a $4 million figure for Martinez could be pro-rated.  One of the Twitters indicates that “any deal is likely to be around $1.75 million, which sounds like $4 million pro-rated over two or three months…”  We ought to know more specifics about the money in coming days.  We’re not talking about huge, make-or-break bucks such that blogging about the money may be superfluous.

Martino’s report continues:

Martinez is 214-99 with a 2.91 earned run average in 17 seasons. Last year, he was 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA for the New York Mets.

“If we were to bring him in, it would not preclude us from doing other things,” said Amaro, who is engaged in efforts to acquire Toronto righthander Roy Halladay, among other pitchers.

Martinez likely would need several minor-league starts before joining the Phillies.

Meanwhile, the Phillies resume play on Thursday travelling to Florida to open a big 4 game series with the Marlins.  In Thursday’s opener, ageless lefthander Jamie Moyer is opposed by Chris Volstad.

For all of Thursday’s games, click here.

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This blog has noted various Baseball oddities such as a reliever credited with a save in a 30-3 game, the impressive minor league prospect who, in his lone MLB appearance, took an 0-for-3 collar accounting for 6 outs; a strikeout‚ double play‚ and triple play.  Also blogged about was a pitcher who went 4 for 4; 4 starts, 4 homers — three of them leading off innings.

Well, here’s the latest oddity: a reliever credited with a win without making a pitch.

The Colorado Rockies scored an eighth inning run without a hit to break a 4-4 tie as Washington’s reliever Joe Beimel threw to the wrong man on the wrong side of 2nd base on an attempted force play as the Rockies went on to defeat the Nationals by a 5-4 score.  But Beimel’s wrong-way throw is not the oddity of note here.

Rockies’ lefthanded relief pitcher Alan Embree entered the game with 2 outs in the eighth inning and pinch hitter Austin Kearns on 1st base having just singled to rightfield.  With Nationals leadoff hitter centerfielder Nyjer Morgan at bat, Kearns was caught attempting to steal second, pitcher to first to shortstop to pitcher for the final out of inning.  The Denver Post describes the play:

[1st baseman] Todd Helton caught Embree’s throw, then slipped. But he was not penalized, because Kearns tripped as he burst for second base. Eventually, the ball ended up back in Embree’s glove for the putout.

“I am not sure if I will be available (today). I am beat,” joked Embree, who had the baseball waiting in his locker afterward in a Ziploc bag. “It was a fun play for me because you just never think that’s going to happen.”

The AP recap of Tuesday’s game cites a stat on such occurences for Yahoo sports:

According to STATS LLC, it was the first time a pitcher had gotten a win without throwing a pitch since Baltimore’s B.J Ryan also had a pickoff against Detroit on May 1, 2003.

Not so oddly enough, Ryan is also a lefthanded reliever and I’ve heard since long ago, as a youngster, that lefthanders have an edge over righthanders on pick-off plays.  And the Orioles ended up taking both ends of the a doubleheader that day by scores of 5-2 and 6-4.

There are 2 other known cases of a reliever winning a game without throwing a pitch. 

California Angels lefthanded reliever Greg Garrett also accomplished the feat on a pick-off play in a July 1, 1970 4-3 win over the the then-AL   Milwaukee Brewers.

The other case dates back to September 7, 1914 in the defunct Federal League when the Brooklyn Feds defeated the Pittsburgh Feds in both ends of a doubleheader as righthanded reliever Jim Bluejacket performed the feat in the nightcap which Brooklyn won by a 12-11 score.   Baseball Library cites a Brooklyn Eagle report describing what went down:

Blue jacket (sic) did not pitch a single ball to a Pittsburgh batter‚ but even at that he gets credit for winning the second game. He entered the fray in the eighth inning‚ with Monasky on third and Yerkes on first. Bringing his Indian cunning into play‚ he caught Yerkes napping off first and ended the inning. In the last half of the same round the local team scored the five runs that won the game.”

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Phillies ace lefthander Cole Hamels got more than he bargained for on Monday; his own 2 hits and 2 RBIs, a 7 inning, 1 run, 3 hit gem as well as being beneficiary of a 10 run first inning pounding of Cincinnati starter  Johnny Cueto who lasted 2/3rds of an inning giving 9 of the runs.  Hamels was treated 4 Phillies homers including an eighth inning grand slam by rightfielder Jayson Werth to cap the Phils massive scoring.  When the scoring onslaught mercifully subsided in the eighth inning with 1st baseman Greg Dobbs and 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz going down to end the inning, the Phillies had crushed the Reds by a whopping 22-1 score. 

With the one-sided win, and the Florida Marlins’ loss to the San Francisco Giants, the Phillies NL East division lead jumped to 2 games over the Marlins.  The Mets, who had Monday off, dropped to 4 1/2 games back and Atlanta who lost to the Chicago Cubs dropped to 5 games off of the pace.

One has to wonder though about what the next games will bring after the Phils pumped this many runs into one game.    AP sports writer Rob Maaddi, who’s recap for Yahoo sports read like a lengthy dissertation rather than a recap, notes what happened last season after the Phils lumped this many runs into one game:

They hadn’t scored more than 15 runs since a 20-2 victory at  St. Louis last June 13. After that game, the Phillies went 3-11 and scored a total of 38 runs.

The previous worst defeat for the Reds, baseball’s first professional franchise, was 26-6 on July 26, 1892. That also was against the Phillies.

That 20-2 win over the Cardinals came but 19 days after the Phils pummeled the Colorado Rockies by a a 20-5 score on May 26th.  After that game, the Phils went on a winning run so, I suppose, things could go either way after this one, although the Phils offense coming into the Cincinnati opener has not exactly been in high-gear.  But three 20 run games in 2 seasons — Wow! Keep in mind that between 1957 and 2007, the Phils had scored 20 runs or more in exactly 3 games, one of them being that wild-and-wooly 23-22 ten inning slugfest at Wrigley Field with the Chicago Cubs which the Phils won on Mike Schmidt’s tenth inning solo shot off of Cubs closer Bruce Sutter.

The Phils scored 22 runs on 21 hits and sending 13 hitters to the plate while scoring 10 runs in the first inning alone.  Phillies Nation’s Amanda Orr brings some historical stats in recapping the game:

It was the first time since 1900 that the Phillies beat an opponent by at least twenty runs.

The Phillies scored ten runs in the first inning, nine off Johnny Cueto, who lasted two-thirds of an inning, raising his earned run average from 2.69 to 3.45. The inning marked the fourth time in franchise history that the Phillies scored ten runs in the first inning. The last time the Phillies scored ten runs in the first inning was in July of 2002 against the  Montreal Expos.

Shane Victorino made his best “vote for me” campaign with a 4-for-5 night. He homered, drove in four runs, and walked. Greg Dobbs (4-for-6, 2 RBI) and Chase Utley (2-for-3, 4 RBI) also homered. Jayson Werth (2-for-5, 5 RBI) hit a grand slam in the eighth inning off Paul Janish, a shortstop, as the Reds were desperate to save their bullpen.

Every starter in the Phillies lineup had at least one hit, including Cole Hamels (2-for-4).  Jimmy Rollins (3-for-4) continued his hitting ways.  The only batter who did not get a hit was John Mayberry Jr. (0-for-1, BB), who came in as a substitute.  Matt Stairs had one plate appearance and walked. Other than that, six Phillies had a multi-hit night. Two Phillies (Victorino and Dobbs) had four hits. Every batter reached base at least once.

The last time the Phillies pounded 22 runs was in 1985 against the New York Mets. It is also the third most runs the Phillies scored in one game. Not only did the win make Phillies history, but Reds history, marking their largest margin of defeat, 21 runs.

The rout was sooo complete sooo early that manager Manuel gave both 2nd baseman Chase Utley and 1st baseman Ryan Howard some in-game rest in the fourth inning pinch-running Eric Bruntlett after Utley’s RBI single and pinch-running John Mayberry Jr. for Howard after his RBI single.

But while most of textual thunder has gone to the Phillies’ heavy lumber, Hamels deserves much credit as well.  After leftfielder Jonny Gomes’ second inning leadoff homer, Hamels went on to retire the last 18 of 19 Reds hitters he faced in evening his seasonal record at 5-5.  He walked no one while striking out 2.  The only other hits Hamels allowed were 2 out singles in the first and fifth innings in one of the finest outings he’s had this season.  

The bullpen  largely rested due to both the offensive explosion and Hamels’ performance.  The Big Bucks relievers; Ryan Madson, Chan Ho Park, J.C. Romero and closer Brad Lidge were all able to catch breathers as Tyler Walker and re-activated lefthander Scott Eyre, in a low-risk situation closed down the Reds in the eighth and ninth innings.

For the scores of all of Monday’s games, click here.

In Tuesday’s game 2, young, unbeaten lefthander J.A, Happ, fresh from 3 consecutive excellent outings including a complete game shutout, is opposed by Aaron Harang for the Reds.  Harang has been up and down so far this season.

For all of Tuesday’s games, click here.

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