Phillies rightfielder Jayson Werth went 3 for 5 with a second inning leadoff solo homer and 4 RBIs, 3rd baseman Placido Polanco and catcher Carlos Ruiz each went 3 for 4 driving in a run each as the Phils scored a run in the first inning, 3 runs in the sixth on Monday KO’ing Washington lefthander  John Lannon, and 4 more runs in the ninth off of former Phil prospect Joe Bisenius.  Staff ace Roy Halladay really only needed that first inning run as  Halladay tossed a masterful 97 pitch complete game 2 hit 8-0 shutout of the Nationals while the Phillies clinched their 4th straight NL East crown.

With the Phils winning the division title, the Atlanta Braves are now tied with the San Diego Padres for the NL Wild Card spot with the Colorado Rockies now 4 1/2 games behind.  The magic number for either the Braves or Padres is 7 games.

The celebration in the Phils lockerroom was wild after the game and their ace “The Doc” Roy Halladay was at the very center of it being doused with bubbly Champagne by rightfielder Jayson Werth.  This will be Halladay’s first trip to the post-season in his 12 year career.

Halladay was masterful, by any measure, on Monday against the Nationals — even though they are last in the division and undoubtedly will lose over 90 games.  It was Halladay’s 4th shutout, including the perfect game against Florida, and his 9th complete game of the season.  And Werth led the offense with his second inning leadoff solo shot as well as a 2 run double in the sixth off of Lannon and an RBI single in the ninth knocking in the Phillies 8th and final run.

For the game highlights, click here for the AP recap for Yahoo.

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

In Tuesday’s game 2, the other Roy, Roy Oswalt faces Jason Marquis for the Nationals.  Marquis lasted but 1/3 of an inning in his previous start against the Phils.

This blog will be periodic for the remainder of the regular season as the remaining 5 Phillies games will be anti-climatic with the Phils undoubtedly giving exposure in the lineup to a number of September call-up prospects while resting regulars for the playoffs.

To view the schedule of all Tuesday’s games, click here.

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Phillies club chairman Bill Giles kiddingly razzed manager Charlie Manuel before Tuesday’s All Star game telling Manuel that “his job was on the line if the NL didn’t win.”  Apparently, the razzing did the trick as NL pinch hitter catcher Brian McCann erased a 1-0 AL lead by slamming a seventh inning 1 out, bases-clearing 3 run double off of reliever Matt Thorton after the NL got 2 men on against Phil Hughes and after Thornton issued a walk to load the sacks.  3 NL pitchers held the AL scoreless on 2 hits and a walk over the final 3 innings as the Charlie Manuel-managed NL All Stars beat the AL by a 3-1 score, snapping the NL’s losing string.

By winning the 2010 All Star game, the NL is assured of the home-field advantage in the upcoming World Series in October.  Here’s hoping the Phils make it once again to the “Big Stage.”

The AP game recap provides All Star game highlights:

Cano and his fellow Yankees All-Stars wore black armbands after the death of longtime New York owner George Steinbrenner from a heart attack earlier Tuesday in Tampa, Fla., at age 80. Pictures of The Boss showed on two video screens before a pregame moment of silence, and flags hung at half-staff.

…Young starters David Price and Ubaldo Jimenez set the tone - and got even more help from the tricky shadows.

Jimenez, Colorado’s 15-game winner and first-time All-Star, came out of the gate with two scoreless innings. Price… matched that. Then came Marlins ace Josh Johnson, two more.

Robinson Cano’s fifth-inning sacrifice fly stood as the lone run in a game expected to be decided by the loaded pitching staffs on each side…

The NL squandered its best early opportunity with runners on the corners and one out in the fifth. Justin Verlander struck out Corey Hart and got McCann on the long fly to right.

McCann’s deep fly ball to the warning track in right gave the NL hope in the fifth. When he made good with that bases-loaded double off Matt Thornton, Atlanta’s steady catcher hit second base and pumped his right fist. The three guys who scored headed to the dugout with a renewed swagger.

Lefthander Cliff Lee, with his 4th team in a year having been traded a from Seattle to the Texas Rangers in the week before All Star break, threw a scoreless inning.  Phils ace Roy Halladay gave up 2 hits while pitching 2/3rds of the sixth inning before Washington reliever Matt Capps came on to get David Ortiz on strikes to end the sixth.  One of the hits Halladay gave up was rubbed out on an attempted steal of 2nd base.  As the NL scored their 3 runs in the seventh, Capps emerged as the winning pitcher.   L.A. Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning allowing 1 hit, notched the save.

The AL’s Phil Hughes, who was charged with 2 of the 3 NL runs on McCann’s bases-clearing double off of Thornton, was charged with the loss.  Thornton picked up a blown save.  AL rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who has terorized the NL in several previous All Star games, was set down in his 2 ABs on a pop out to leftfield by Jimenez and a strikeout by Johnson.

McCann won the All Star game MVP award for his seventh inning game-winning 3 run double.

The season now continues on Thursday with the Phillies opening a 4 game series in Wrigley Field with the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs have slated Ryan Dempster to open the 2nd half of the season.  The Phils have yet to name their starter.

To view all of Thursday’s games, click here.

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Am I dreaming, or did Phillies ace Roy Halladay throw a perfect game at  Florida?  Marlins starter Josh Johnson threw a brilliant seven inning 1 run, 7 hitter at the Phils on Saturday, but 2nd baseman Chase Utley reached in the third inning on centerfielder Cameron Maybin’s fielding error as shortstop Wilson Valdez scored from 1st base giving The Doc the only run he needed in an 11 strikeout, 115 pitch masterpiece as the Phillies’ Halladay goes perfect in a 1-0 win over the Florida Marlins.

With the win, the Phils held on to their 1 1/2 game lead over 2nd place Atlanta in the NL East division as the Braves kept pace by defeating Pittsburgh.  The  Mets and Washington both lost and fell to 4 games back.  The Marlins are now 5 games back in last place in the division.

Halladay’s el-perfecto was the 20th in MLB history and the 2nd this month.   Oakland’s Dallas Braden went perfect on the Tampa Bay Rays on May 9th.  It was the first time in modern MLB history that there were 2 perfect games in the same season and the first perfect game by a Phils hurler since Jim Bunning’s 1964 Father’s Day gem against the Mets. 

AP sports writer Tim Reynolds recaps the game and Halladay’s landmark performance for Yahoo:

At 9:23 p.m., when he got pinch-hitter Ronny Paulino to hit a grounder to third for the 27th out, only then could Halladay bask in his moment—breaking into a big smile and wrapping his arms around catcher Carlos Ruiz before disappearing in a joyous, jumping gray-and-red mob of teammates.

“It’s never something that you think is possible,” Halladay said. “Really, once I got the two outs, I felt like I had a chance. You’re always aware of it. It’s not something that you expect.”

Halladay struck out 11, and was cheered by a crowd of 25,086 throughout much of the night. Another fan called later—Vice President Joe Biden dialed up the Phillies’ clubhouse to offer his congratulations when it was over.

“Early in my bullpen I was hitting spots more than I have been. I felt like I just carried that out there,” Halladay said.

While there were a couple of good plays behind him—shortstop Wilson Valdez went deep into the hole for a grounder, backup third baseman Juan Castro went to his knees for another, second baseman Chase Utley ranged well to his left for another fine play—Halladay didn’t need any great defensive work in this gem.

“I think everybody knows you have to have those kind of plays to do something like that,” Halladay said.

Yes, but on this night, the 33-year-old righty known as Doc was a veritable one-man show.

“You’ve got to take your hat off to Doc,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “That’s why he is who he is. That’s what they got him for.”

Steely-eyed, standing tall and always working swiftly, Halladay (7-3) broke into a big smile as his teammates rushed in to congratulate him.

The Marlins said they would give Halladay the pitching rubber as a souvenir…  Working in the dark, four men went to work on the mound, digging up the slab where Halladay made history.

“Look who’s pitching,” Marlins outfielder Cody Ross said. “It’s Roy Halladay, the best pitcher in baseball. It’s not embarrassing.”

Halladay faced three Marlins pinch-hitters in the ninth.  Mike Lamb led off with a long fly ball, but Shane Victorino had plenty of time to backtrack in the super-spacious outfield at Sun Life Stadium and squeeze it for the first out.

Another pinch-hitter, Wes Helms, struck out, and the crowd… simply began to roar.

From there, it was all up to Paulino, who fouled the first pitch into the seats along the first-base side, took ball one, swung and missed for strike two, and then stabbed at Halladay’s 115th and final offering. Castro ranged to his left to get it and threw across to first baseman Ryan Howard, who caught the ball and jumped in the air.

…Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “We gave him one run. He made it stand up. That was good. Super for him.”

Halladay credited catcher Carlos Ruiz for a smooth ride.

“We felt like we got in a groove early and about the fifth or the sixth I was just following Chooch,” he said. “I can’t say enough about the job he did today. Mixed pitches. For me it was really a no-brainer.”

The NL East leaders’ lone run off Josh Johnson (5-2) came in the third, and fittingly in this battle of aces, it was unearned. Valdez singled, then scored when Chase Utley’s fly to center skipped off Cameron Maybin’s glove for a three-base error.

“It’s one of those things where everything has to go right and it did,” Maybin said. “J.J. did a great job of competing. Unfortunately, one play … that was the ballgame.”

Valdez scored easily. And Halladay had all the support he needed.

Phillies 3B Placido Polanco (bruised left elbow) was sidelined again, Castro getting the call to start for the second straight night. Polanco is expected to undergo an MRI exam on Sunday to see if the problem is more serious than originally thought.

To view the scores of all of Saturday’s MLB games, click here.

The Phils go for a sweep in the series final as ancient veteran lefthander  Jamie Moyer is opposed by Anibal Sanchez for the Marlins.

The Phils head for Atlanta following Sunday’s game for a 3 game series with the Braves to end the 9 game road trip.

To view all of Sunday’s games, click here.

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Two lefthanders, Mets starter Johan Santana, St. Louis Cardinals starter  Jaime Garcia and 14 other relief pitchers racked up a lot zeros, eighteen innings of them, before the Mets finally broke through for a run, on a bases loaded sacrifice fly, off of outfielder Joe Mather in the nineteenth. The Cards came back with a double and an RBI single off of Mets closer  Francisco Rodriguez in their nineteenth.  In the twentieth inning, 2 singles put runners at the corners and shortstop Jose Reyes drove in the winning run off of Mather with a sacrifice fly scoring Angel Pagan as the Mets nipped the Cardinals by a 2-1 score in twenty innings with outfielder Mather charged with his 1st MLB career pitching loss.

The AP recap for Yahoo sports decribes what a wild and wacky game this was:

Jose Reyes needed 20 innings to get something done at the plate.

Reyes hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly to help the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 in 20 innings on Saturday night in the longest game in the majors in two years.

“That’s the happiest 0 for 7 I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “I played good defense, got the RBI, and we won the game. And finally, it’s over.”

Francisco Rodriguez (1-0) got the win despite yielding the tying run in the 19th and starter Mike Pelfrey finished for his first career save in a game that included 19 pitchers and lasted 6 hours, 53 minutes.

It was the longest game in the majors since Colorado beat San Diego 2-1 in 22 innings on April 17, 2008.

“This was crazy,” Pelfrey said. “I’ve been involved in some wild games but this was really something. I thought it was never going to end.”

Rodriguez said he threw as many as 100 pitches in the bullpen. He began warming up in the eighth and spent the next three hours getting up and then sitting down.

“I got up more than 10 times,” he said. “Pretty much every inning.”

Jeff Francoeur also had a sacrifice fly for New York in the 19th, snapping a scoreless tie, but Yadier Molina singled in Albert Pujols with two out in the bottom half.

St. Louis left the bases loaded in the 10th, 12th and 14th and stranded 22 runners, including 14 in extra innings. Molina caught the whole game and went 3 for 9.

Santana started the game for New York and struck out nine in seven innings, allowing just four hits.

“I spent more time as a spectator than I did pitching on the mound,” Santana said.

Rookie left-hander Jaime Garcia gave up just one hit in seven innings for St. Louis—a bloop single by Pagan leading off the sixth.

Infielder Felipe Lopez also pitched a scoreless inning for the Cardinals, and starting pitcher Kyle Lohse played three innings in left field.

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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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