Phillies lefthander Antonio Bastardo kept the Dodgers mostly at bay retiring 9 of the first 11 Los Angeles hitters he faced in his 2nd start since his call-up from the minors.  Former Phillie lefthander Randy Wolf gave up 3 Phillie runs.  But when the Dodgers got close at 3-2 in the sixth inning, the Phillies called out the heavy lumber on Wolf and 24 year old reliever  Travis Schlichting in his debut appearance. 3 Phillies homers nailed down a series split with Dodgers winning the final by a 7-2 score on Sunday.

The Phillies retained their 3 game 1st place lead over the Mets in the NL East although the Mets rebounded from their Saturday humbling to shut out the Washington Nationals.

Bastardo, coming off of an excellent debut, retired the first 6 Dodgers he faced before walking shortstop Rafael Furcal on 5 pitches to open the third inning.  Bastardo gave up 7 hits into the sixth inning, 6 of them singles and evaded difficulty in the third and fourth (at the cost of 1 run) before finding himself in a 1st and 3rd, none out situation in the sixth. 

Reliever Chan Ho Park bailed Bastardo out of the jam at the cost of only a run-scoring doubleplay.  Park went on to post a fine relief effort pitching through the eighth inning allowing only 2 Dodgers to reach, both in the seventh on leftfielder Juan Pierre’s double and a hit batsman.

Bastardo threw 107 pitches in going into the sixth.  He gave up 2 runs on 7 hits while walking 1, striking out 4 and keeping the ball in the park to record his 2nd win in as many outings.

Meanwhile, the Phils took a second inning 1-0 lead against Wolf on 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz’s RBI sacrifice fly to centerfield.  The Dodgers tied the score at 1-1 in the fourth getting 2 singles and the run scoring on centerfielder Matt Kemp’s RBI single to left centerfield.  But Bastardo worked out the 1 out, runners-at-the-corners jam putting the Dodgers down on a pop out and a fielder’s choice grounder.

The Phils went out to a 3-1 lead in the fifth as catcher Carlos Ruiz and centerfielder Shane Victorino, again batting in the leadoff spot, each had RBI singles.  The Phils could have had more in the fifth.  With runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out, Wolf struck out 2nd baseman Chase Utley, who took an 0 for 4 collar only walking once, and retired Jayson Werth on a fly to centerfield.

After the Dodgers narrowed the score to 3-2 in the sixth inning, the Phils at long last decided to bring out the heavy artillery. 

Feliz singled off of Wolf to open the seventh and Ruiz followed lining a 1 strike pitch out to leftfield — 5-2 Phillies.  ! out later, Victorino slammed a 2 ball Wolf offering out to leftfield for the 6th run as Wolf was lifted for lefthanded reliever Brent Leach.  Leach then retired Utley on a liner to 1st base and Werth on a grounder to 3rd base.

Losing pitcher Wolf threw 101 pitches in 6 1/3 innings giving up 6 runs on 8 hits while walking 1, striking out 4 and coughing up 3 Philies round-trippers.

Schlichting, in his MLB debut relief effort, came on to pitch the eighth and 1st baseman Ryan Howard greeted in with a leadoff homer, his 17th dinger of the seson to cap the Phillies scoring.

Reliever Ryan Madson finished off the Dodgers in the ninth getting 2 strikeouts.

Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino each had 2 hits apiece as the “Flyin’ Hawaiian” drove in 2 runs and Ruiz drove in 3.

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

The Phillies have Monday off before beginning a 3 game series in New York against the Mets on Tuesday.   The series opens with a battle of lefthanders as undefeated J.A. Happ faces Mets ace Johan Santana.

For all of Tuesday’s games, click here.

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Recently called-up 23 year old Phillies lefthander Antonio Bastardo was impressive in his MLB debut outing against San Diego. Leftfielder Raul Ibanez had another huge game, his most productive as Phil, with 2 homers and 5 RBIs as the Phillies tattooed an ailing Jake Peavy and 3 other Padres relievers.  Despite Chan Ho Park nearly letting San Diego back into the game in seventh, Bastardo’s gem debut and Ibanez’s big game powered the Phillies past the Padres by a 10-5 score in Tuesday’s series game 2.

With the win, the Phils managed to put 2 1/2 games distance between themselves and the 2nd place Mets in the NL East.  Mets ace Johan Santana was bested by Zake Duke and the Pittsburgh Pirates by a 3-1 score on Tuesday in a classic duel of lefthanders.  With the win, the Phillies upped their record to a season-best 30-20, 10 games above the .500 mark.

The Phillies made things relatively easy for young Antonio Bastardo from the outset by scoring 4 first inning runs of an ailing Jake Peavy who was suffering the effects of a viral upper respiratory infection.

After shortstop Jimmy Rollins flied out, centerfielder Shane Victorino walked and stole 2nd base.  2nd baseman Chase Utley walked as well and both were driven in by 1st baseman Ryan Howard’s ringing double to rightfield.  Ibanez followed by doubling in Howard with the 3rd run.  Rightfielder Jayson Werth singled putting runners at the corners.  Greg Dobbs, getting a rare start spelling Pedro Feliz at 3rd base, drove in the 4th run with a sacrifice fly to leftfield.  Peavy managed to get catcher  Carlos Ruiz to fly out to centerfield.  Ruiz was the last hitter that Peavy would face on the night.

Peavy threw 33 pitches in the inning giving up 4 runs on 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out none to lose his 6th game of the season.

The Phils continued their bombardment by pounding Padres relievers scoring 2 runs in the third on the 1st of Ibanez’s 2 homers and a run in the fourth on Utley’s ground out following a Victorino triple. Dobbs solo homered in the fifth staking Bastardo to an 8-0 lead. 

The young lefthander was excellent in facing only one jam, in the Padres third when leadoff hitter and centerfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. and 2nd baseman David Eckstein both singled to start the inning.  But 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez grounded an 0-2 pitch into a doubleplay but advancing Gwynn to 3rd base.  This was the only time that Gonzalez was retired in the game, having walked 3 times and homering.  Bastardo worked out of trouble by getting leftfielder Scott Hairston to fly out to rightfield on a full-count pitch for the final out of the inning.

The only Padres score against Bastardo was Adrian Gonzalez’s 1 out solo shot in the sixth inning.  It was Gonzalez’s MLB-leading 22 homer of the season.

Bastardo, in scoring his 1st MLB win in his 1st start, threw 102 pitches in six innings as the Phils let the 75 pitch limit fall by the wayside.  Good thing they did!  Bastardo gave up 1 run on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 5.

Ibanez extended the Phils lead to 10-1 with his 2nd homer, a 1 out, 2 run shot to rightfield.  Ibanez now has 19 homers and 51 RBIs while hitting at a .340 clip through 50 games — quite a pace.

Reliever Chan Ho Park took over from Bastardo to begin the seventh inning.  Park was abominable beyond words in nearly letting San Diego back into a game which should have been way out of reach.  Check out the ESPN pitch-by-pitch on an inning too disgusting to describe.  Another couple of performances like that and Park’s unconditional release would be in order.  The short version of this disaster: The Padres load the bases, pinch hitter Edgar Gonzalez singles in a run — bases still jammed.  Park walks Adrian Gonzalez forcing in the 3rd Padres run.  Late game replacement in leftfield, Chase Headley singles to left centerfield scoring 2 more as suddenly, it is a 10-5 game.  Park did manage to get out of the inning with no further damage.

Chad Durbin was sent in to pitch the eighth inning and retired the side on 10 pitches.  Durbin opened the ninth getting the first 2 outs with little difficulty on a pop out and a full-count strikeout of Tony Gwynn.  But then the Padres loaded the bases on a single and 2 walks.  Manager Charley Manuel then went to Ryan Madson to pitch to 3rd baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff with the sacks jammed.  Kouzmanoff bit at Madson’s 1st offering grounding into a fielder’s choice to end the game. For his 1 pitch final out, Madson was credited with his 2nd save of the season.

Madson’s save had me puzzled and I went back 3 years ago to a Blogging Baseball post as to “What is a Save?”:

Credit a pitcher with a save when he meets all three of the following conditions: (1) He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his club; and (2) He is not the winning pitcher; and (3) He qualifies under one of the following conditions:

• (a) He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning; or
• (b) He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, or at bat, or on deck (that is, the potential tying run is either already on base or is one of the first two batsmen he faces)…

Note: citing from MLB official rules.

In other related news, the Phillies Nation blog reports that lefthanded reliever J.C. Romero, who has been working out in a minor league rehab assignment, has completed his 50 game suspension and is expected to join the Phils for Wednesday’s series final with the Padres. Young lefthanded reliever Sergio Escalona back down to their triple-A Lehigh Valley affiliate.
 
For all of the scores of Tuesday’s games, click here.

Hopefully, the Phillies are thinking sweep as young lefthander J.A. Happ is matched against Chris Young in Wednesday’s series final.

From San Diego, the Phils head to Los Angeles to begin a 3 game series with the Dodgers.  Ace Cole Hamels faces Clayton Kershaw in a series opening battle of lefthanders.

For all of Wednesday’s games, click here.

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As previously noted on this blog, when the Phillies released outfielder  Geoff Jenkins, they also initiated contacts with veteran outfielder and AL DH Gary Sheffield in their search for another righthanded hitting bat off of the bench.  MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki indicates that the Phils are also looking at  Texas Rangers’ outfielder Andruw Jones but, IMHO, Sheffield, with his 499 career homers and career BA in the .290’s is by far the preferable choice.

Zolecki rpeorts:

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said he spoke with Sheffield and his representative, Rufus Williams, after the the slugger’s release was announced Tuesday morning. Sheffield, who will make $14 million this season, can sign with any team once he clears waivers. And the team that signs him would have to pay only the league-minimum $400,000.

The Phillies want Sheffield, but would Sheffield want to play for the Phillies?

It seems like a long shot. He played just 18 games in the outfield over the past two seasons with the Tigers, while playing 225 games as a designated hitter. Obviously, Sheffield would not have that option with the Phillies.

“I can go out there on an everyday basis and play in the outfield,” Sheffield said. “That’s what I yearn for. I want to be in the outfield. At the same time, it kind of puts you in a box when you accept the DH role, because people start labeling you as that’s all you can do. And that’s not the case.”

But even if Sheffield can play in the outfield, he would not be an everyday player with the Phillies, who have Raul Ibanez,  Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth in the outfield. Sheffield has just 34 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter in his career, hitting .360 (9-for-25) with one homer and 10 RBIs. Would he accept a reserve role?

“We had a very productive conversation with the Phillies,” Williams said Tuesday evening in a telephone interview. “We’ll take the next couple days to see where we are. It’s a hard question to answer at this point. We’ll have to see the opportunities that present themselves, and see where he wants to go based on those opportunities.”

But it is clear the Phillies prefer another right-handed bat for their bench.

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Righthander Brett Myers provided a quality pitching performance giving up 1 run, a homer, and 3 hits while striking out 3 in 4 innings, leftfielder   Raul Ibanez and rightfielder Jayson Werth put on a hitting clinic and 5 relievers pitching an inning apiece gave up but 2 hits while walking none for the Phillies as they breezed past the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday at Clearwater by a 9-1 score.

The Phils scored single runs in the 1st and 3rd innings before scoring 2, 3 and 2 more in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings.  Shortstop Jimmy Rollins, Werth, Ibanez and 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz each picked up 2 hits as Ibanez drove in 3 runs and Werth collected 2 RBIS.    Myers won his 2nd game of the spring while Toronto’s lefthander Brad Mills, against whom 7 of the 9 Phillie runs scored in 5 1/3 innings of work, was charged with the loss.

MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports that the Phils have released outfielder  Geoff Jenkins, who pounded a clutch pinch hit double which led to the World Series winning run in the 6th inning of the 5th game of last season’s post-season classic against the Tampa Bay Rays.  Zolecki notes:

While Jenkins had one of the biggest pinch-hit at-bats in Phillies’ history, Philadelphia did not think he could be as effective a pinch-hitter as Matt Stairs, and the club unconditionally released Jenkins on Tuesday — paving the way for an additional right-handed bat off the bench.

Jenkins said that the move is tough to take but Zolecki reports:

“What’s there to be mad about?” Jenkins said. “I picked a great year to be here. I wish it worked out better and I could be with them, but I don’t regret one minute. I wouldn’t change a thing being with these guys, going through what we went through last year.”

At the same time that the Phils released Jenkins, they have apparently had contacts with veteran outfielder Gary Sheffield who had just been released by the Detroit Tigers, but more about that in separate post.

The Phillies also announced the news that Chan Ho Park beat out J.A. Happ in the competition for the No. 5 starter behind Myers, Cole Hamels,   Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton.

For all of Tuesday’s results of spring training play, click here.

It’s official that Myers will be the opening day starter for the 3rd consecutive year according to this report by MLB.com’s Zolecki:

Myers allowed three hits and one run in four innings against the Jays on Tuesday. He struck out three en route to finishing the spring with a 3.52 ERA.

“The way he’s pitched here, he was the logical choice,” Manuel said.

Left-hander Jamie Moyer will start next Tuesday against the Braves. Right-hander Joe Blanton will pitch April 8.  Hamels, who will make an exhibition start Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park, is scheduled to pitch April 10 against the Rockies in Denver. Myers would then be slated to pitch the 11th, and right-hander Chan Ho Park would toe the rubber on the 12th.

The Phillies next play the Yankees on Wednesday at Steinbrenner Field. The Phils have yet not named a starter but it is reported that Brad Lidge, Lefthanded reliever Scott Eyre and Ryan Madson are scheduled to pitch against the Bronx guys.  The Phils close out their Florida exhibition schedule by entertaining the Washington Nationals at Clearwater on Thursday.

For all of Wednesday’s scheduled exhibition games, click here.

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A few days ago, Yahoo’s Big League Stew blogged about the financial bind in which Phillies reliever Scott Eyre finds himself.

Veteran lefthander Eyre came to the Phillies at the beginning of August and was nearly perfect in spelling JC Romero, the other lefthanded set-up man, and giving up only 3 runs on 3 hits, including 1 homer in 14 1/3 innings while going 3-0 during the Phils’ great stretch run to the division championship, the NL pennant and World Series Championship.  Eyre logged 3 innings of work in 5 post-season appearances, only giving up 1 run on 3 hits against the Milwaukee Brewers in the Phillies’ only division series loss.

But this spring, Eyre arrived in training camp carrying an extra external unwanted burden not of his own making or responsibility.
Eyre’s assets, as are those of several other MLB players and athletes from other sports, currently remain frozen due to the ongoing investigation into an alleged $8 billion Stanford Financial fraud case.

At one point, Eyre confided that, although having signed a 1 year, $2 million deal with the Phillies in the off-season, he had but $13 to his name and his family’s bills were going unpaid due to seizure of assets.

Fortunately, Eyre had a little money in another bank account and has been able to feed his family during the trying period.  Also, fortunately, Eyre is a member of a team with a heart.  Yahoo sports reports that  the Phillies have agreed to advance him and undisclosed amount on his $2 million pay for the season in order to see him and his family through this difficult ordeal.

The Yahoo report on the Phillies’ efforts to help notes Eyre’s comments;

“If we paid our bills, we wouldn’t have any money,” Eyre said. “I’ll pay (the Phillies) back whenever I can I invested in (Stanford) three years ago (and) thought it was too good to be true - and it was.”

Eyre isn’t alone. Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady of the New York Yankees and Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays also have been affected by the Stanford scandal.

All four major leaguers have had some of their assets frozen by federal regulators. The players said they’ve been told by federal officials that their money is safe, but access to it is being blocked temporarily while the investigation proceeds.

“It’s not just the big people - not that I consider myself big - but there are people out there without a voice,” Eyre said. “I didn’t want this to be the ‘Woe is Scott Eyre Story.’

“Thousands and thousands of people who invested their money in Stanford can’t use their money right now. (They) can’t pay their bills the only reason I said anything at all is because of the people that don’t have access to media, so the government can realize (this is happening).”

Eyre, who during spring training stays with his family at his offseason home in nearby Bradenton, Fla., said several teammates also volunteered to cut him a check to help out.

Even though the team stepped up to help him, Eyre questions why the government took an action that has made life difficult for so many honest investors.

“I don’t think they needed to freeze everything - that’s just stupid,” Eyre said.

Sports writer Todd Zolecki reports the Phillies view of the situation for MLB.com:

“We understand the circumstances,” Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said before Wednesday’s Grapefruit League opener… “Typically, our policy is not to advance dollars. That’s just not what we do, but this certainly is a different type of circumstance that several players are having to deal with.”

One can only hope that the other MLB clubs whose players find themselves in this situation, as well as teams in other sports with members in this bind, act as thoughtfully, responsively and from the heart as have the Phillies.

As for lefthanded reliever Scott Eyre, I’m looking forward to seeing him and the team not miss a beat in the lefthanded set-up role while Romero is on the shelf during his 50 game suspension.

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As the Phillies wait for All Star 2nd baseman Chase Utley and 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz to mend after off-season surgeries, they have signed to minor league contracts and invited to spring training a bevy of infield talent seeking depth at 2nd and 3rd base to begin the season.

Phillies Nation’s Tim Malcolm provides a fine report on  the Phils’ spring training fielding depth.

While I know nothing about their latest minor league acquisitions; Miguel Cairo or Pablo Ozuna or about minor league prospects Jason Donald or  Brad Harman, Marcus Giles and Eric Bruntlett seem to figure heavily in the equation.  In fact, intuition tells me that Giles, Bruntlett and Greg Dobbs could be the most realistic fill-ins at 2nd and 3rd base with Donald and Harman waiting in the wings should any one of them falter.

There is also talk of possible conversion of Dobbs to shortstop to backup  Jimmy Rollins.

All and all, the Phils open this spring in the envious position of not lacking for infield options and possible future trade-bait in exchange for depth in other positions as necessary.

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