The Phillies broke out the heavy offensive artillery, for the first time in a while, on Wednesday against the Cubs’ Jeff Samardzija in staking Pedro Martinez to a 12-1 lead. Centerfielder Shane Victorino, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and leftfielder Raul Ibanez each homered as the Phils pummelled Chicago’s Samardzija and reliever Sean Marshall for 8 fourth inning runs. Pedro sputtered in the fifth giving up 2 runs but made it through the inning to win his first game as a Phil. Reliever Chan Ho Park tossed three perfect innings as the Phillies pounded the Cubs by a 12-5 score in Martinez’s debut.

With the win, the Phillies extended their NL East division to 4 1/2 games as Florida lost to Houston and fell into a tie for 2nd place with the Altanta Braves who won. The 4th place Mets won and remained 11 1/2 games behind the leaders.

The 37-year-old Martinez, who had not pitched in the big leagues since last season with Mets, looked sharp early getting ahead or staying even in the counts through the first and second innings, although the Cubs managed to dent an early 2-0 Phillies lead by scoring a second inning run on a double and and a single. However, Martinez started falling behind in the counts in the third.

While the Phillies charged out to score 2 runs in the third, on Victorino’s rightfield homer, and 8 more in the fourth featuring 3 run homers by both Rollins and Ibanez, by the end of the fifth Martinez’s pitch count stood at 99 as the Cubs managed to push in 2 runs.

Martinez, victorious in his Phillies debut, threw five innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits while walking 1 and striking out 5.

AP sports reporter Rick Gano records Pedro’s comments on his first Phillies start in the game recap for Yahoo sports:

Martinez looked like his old self. Mixing speeds and pitches and keeping hitters guessing, the three-time Cy Young Award winner made a successful return to the majors…

“I’m feeling good. A little bit excited about just getting my feet wet out there,” Martinez said on the Phillies’ television network after exiting.

“This is the first game, I’m looking forward to the next one and hopefully I’ll correct some of the things that I didn’t do today,” he said.

His fastest pitch was clocked at 92 mph.

Reliever Chan Ho Park came on in the sixth inning and tossed a perfect three inning stint retiring the 9 Cubs hitters he faced on, get this>>>; 26 pitches.

Everyone in the Phillies’ starting lineup got at least 1 hit. 2nd baseman  Chase Utley, who led the 14 hit parade going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, was rested as utility man Eric Bruntlett replaced him at 2nd base in the seventh inning. Rollins and Victorino each had 2 hits apiece as did rightfielder Jayson Werth, who had been slumping of late, and 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz.

Losing pitcher Jeff Samardzija, making his first major league start, lasted 3 1/3 innings throwing 74 pitches and giving up 7 runs on 8 hits while walking none, striking out 4 and coughing up Victorino’s second inning homer.

Reliever Chad Durbin pitched the ninth inning and gave up 2 garbage-time runs.

In related news, AP’s Gano also reports:

Brett Myers threw two simulated innings with no problems in a workout at Clearwater, Fla. Myers, who had hip surgery on June 4, threw 32 pitches. He said he hopes to pitch in a rehab game soon.

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

In Thursday’s final, newly acquired ace lefthander Cliff Lee goes after his 3rd win as a Phillie. He opposes Ryan Dempster who has been pounded in 2 of his last 3 starts.

For all of Thursday’s games, click here.

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Newly acquired Phillies lefthander Cliff Lee again lived up to his newly annointed ace billing on Thursday by pitching seven fine innings as catcher  Paul Bako clubbed a fifth inning solo homer off of Colorado’s Aaron Cook to break a 1-1 tie.  2nd baseman Chase Utley and centerfielder Shane Victorino each collected an RBI while Brad Lidge recorded his 21st save striking out 2 in the ninth inning.  Lee was impressive in his home debut as the Phillies beat the Rockies by a 3-1 score to take 2 games of their 3 game series.

With the win, the Phils lead both Atlanta and Florida by 7 full games on the NL East division race.  The Marlins dropped into a 2nd place tie by blowing a 6-0 lead over Washington as the Nationals scored 4 eighth inning runs to break an 8-8 tie enroute to a 12-8 win.  Both the Braves and the 4th place  Mets, who are 10 1/2 games behind the Phils, play later on the West Coast.

Lee spotted the Rockies a first inning run as the lead-off and 2nd hitters doubled and singled to place runners at the corners.  1st baseman Todd Helton made the game’s first out by sacrificing in the run on a flyout.  Then Lee got a strikeout and a fielder’s choice groundout to end the inning.  From there, Lee cruised through the next six innings, only working up a sweat in the fifth inning as opposing pitcher Cook reached on his [Lee’s] own fielding error and a 2 out single which put runners on 1st and 2nd base.  But Lee got Helton on a grounder to shortstop to retire the side.

Meanwhile, in the bottom of the first, shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who missed hitting for the cycle for lack of a homer, doubled.  Victorino grounded out moving Rollins to 3rd base where Utley drove him home with the tying run on a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Bako led off the fifth by breaking the tie with his solo shot, his 1st homer as a Phil and his 1st of the season.  After Lee grounded out, Rollins tripled to right centerfield.  He scored as Victorino reached on a fielder’s choice when 2nd baseman Clint Barmes threw wild to the plate after fielding Victorino’s bouncing grounder.  Amazingly, Barmes and the Rockies were not charged with an error on the play.

Nursing a 3-1 lead, Lee retired the last 6 Rockies’ hitters he faced after shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s lead-off single in the sixth.

Lee’s line for the game was 112 pitches over seven innings.  He gave up the first inning run, 6 hits, walked 1 and struck out 9 to record his 2nd win as a Phillie and to even his season record at 9-9.  Cook also provided the Rockies with a five inning quality outing throwing 73 pitches and giving up 3 runs, including Bako’s homer, on 7 hits.  He walked none, but didn’t strike out anyone either.  However the Rockies provided him no offensive support.  Rockies relievers held the Phils off the bases over the final 3 innings, except for a 2 out seventh inning walk issued to pinch hitter Ben Francisco.

Reliever Ryan Madson and closer Brad Lidge each threw a scoreless inning, each giving up a single, but nothing else to preserve the win.

AP sports writer Rob Maaddi’s game recap indicates that Happ’s complete game shutout on Wednesday has had it’s impact on the Phillies’ front office:

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said J.A. Happ isn’t going to the bullpen to make room for Pedro Martinez. Amaro also indicated the team could employ a six-man rotation when Martinez comes off the DL.

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

Next into Philly are those Florida Marlins for a 3 game weekend series.   In Friday’s opener, a sizzling hot Joe Blanton is opposed by Ricky Nolasco.  Saturday’s game 2 is an all-too-frequent battle of lefthanders as Cole Hamels is opposed by Sean West.

For all of Friday’s and Saturday’s games, click here and here.

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Newly acquired Phillies lefthander Cliff Lee lived up to his projected ace status on Friday by sparkling in his NL debut  going the full nine innings against San Francisco and giving up but 1 run on 4 hits.  Rightfielder  Jayson Werth solo homered in the second inning off of Ryan Sadowski and drove in 2 more runs in the seventh while the 2008 Cy Young winner, himself, singled twice and scored his 1st career run as Lee dazzled in his debut and Phillies beat the Giants by a 5-1 score to draw even in their series at 1 game apiece.

With the win, the Phils maintained a 6 game lead over 2nd place Florida in the NL East as the Marlins won.  Atlanta lost and dropped to 8 games back in 3rd place while the Mets lost and dropped to 10 1/2 back in 4th place.

Lee carried a no-hitter through 5 1/3 innings as the only Giants who reached did so on walks.  At one stretch he retired 11 Giants in a row between centerfielder Aaron Rowand’s second inning doubleplay grounder and 2nd baseman Juan Uribe’s one out sixth inning double which broke up the no-hit bid.

AP sports writer Janie McCauley noted Lee’s comments on his debut performance in recapping the game for Yahoo sports:

“I’m kind of glad I didn’t throw a no-hitter…. If I did that the first time, I’d have to live up to some high expectations.”

Jayson Werth homered to put Philadelphia ahead early and added a two-run single in the seventh,  Raul Ibanez drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh for an insurance run and Lee did the rest.

He [Lee] dazzled from the start… tossing his 11th career complete game, fourth this season and third in four starts.  Lee’s line: one run, six strikeouts, two walks, 109 pitches and 78 strikes. He was done in 2 hours, 39 minutes, getting a hug from catcher Paul Bako afterward and tucking the game ball in his back pocket as a keepsake.

He struck out Randy Winn looking on a 93 mph fastball on his third pitch of the game and was through that [first] inning on all of nine pitches.

His defense also was spot on, with Lee hustling forward on  Edgar Renteria’s eighth-inning sacrifice bunt and quickly firing to first.

Lee doubled in the eighth for his first career extra-base hit and that gave him his first multihit game—and doubled his previous career hit total.

“I got the first hit and I was pretty pumped about that but you get a double off the wall in the opposite-field gap, I totally never expected that,” Lee said.

…All-Star CF Shane Victorino was held out of the lineup for the second straight game with a bruised left knee. The injury forced him to leave Wednesday’s 4-0 loss at Arizona in the seventh inning.

Fittingly, it was [subbing centerfielder] Ben Francisco—who also came to the Phillies from the Indians on Wednesday—whose sacrifice fly helped Lee score his first career run.

Lee faced only two three-ball counts until the seventh on a cool night at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark, where an eerie mist hovered over the field for much of the game. He had thrown only 13 balls among his first 54 pitches.

Giants starter and losing pitcher Sadowski completed four innings giving up only 1 run, on Werth’s second inning solo shot, while giving up 3 hits.  He walked 3 and struck out 3 while throwing 83 pitches.  5 Giant relievers gave up 4 runs on 5 hits while walking 3 and striking out 3 through the rest of the game.

Phillies Nation’s Amanda Orr adds these comments about Lee:

After a 4-6-3 game ending double play, Cliff Lee was handed the baseball and stuck it in his back pocket. In his much anticipated Philadelphia Phillies debut, Lee absolutely dominated the San Francisco Giants.

He located and mixed his pitches very well and wasn’t afraid to throw any pitch in his repertoire…. Lee put on a show that kept everybody on the east coast awake.

As centerfielder Shane Victorino’s bruised knee woes continue, the acquisition of Ben Francisco in the deal for Cliff Lee couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.  It kinda brings back memories of 2007 when 2nd baseman Chase Utley went down for a month and Tadahito Iguchi was  acquired and came on replacing Utley at 2nd base hitting .304 as the Phils scarely skipped a beat at 2nd base.

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

Joe Blanton, bumped by lefthander Cliff Lee’s great debut, goes on Saturday opposing Giant ace Tim Lincecum.

For all of Saturday’s games, click here.

Hat tip to Phillies Nation for the Cliff Lee picture.

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The Phillies shifted gears away from Toronto’s Roy Halladay because the asking price, J.A. Happ and top minor league prospect Kyle Drabek, was too high.

Instead, sources cited in a number of places online report that the Phils traded with the Cleveland Indians acquiring 31 year old reigning AL Cy Young Award winner lefthander Cliff Lee and righthanded hitting outfielder  Ben Francisco in exchange for Triple A minor league prospects; pitcher  Carlos Carrasco, infielder Jason Donald, catcher Lou Marson and Single-A pitcher Jason Knapp.  Sources say that, pending results of physicals, this is a done-deal.

So the Phillies not only get key piece for their pitching rotation and up their World Series chances dramatically, they also get a big bench insurance policy in Francisco who has shown power and an ability to get on base, leaving the Phils free to send outfielder John Mayberry Jr., with his .189 BA in 35 games, back to Triple-A for more seasoning.  Francisco provides insurance should leftfielder Raul Ibanez go down again with injury and also adds additional potency to a bench where, unil now, only outfielder Matt Stairs and utilityman Greg Dobbs get it done in the clutch.

AP Sports Writer Rob Maaddi reports on the Lee deal for Yahoo sports:

The deal is pending medical reviews. Those reviews could take a while because three of the players the Indians are getting from Philadelphia have dealt with recent injuries.

Lee turns 31 next month and his contract includes an $8 million club option for next season.

The left-hander is 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA in 22 starts this season after going 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA last year.

Nothing else has been reported yet as to the money side of the deal.

Phillies Nation’s Amanda Orr adds these comments on the deal:

Francisco is the right-handed bat that the Phillies have been looking for. Francisco is batting .250 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs…

OPINION: This is a great deal for the Phillies. They keep Kyle Drabek, J.A Happ, Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown, their top prospects. Knapp has a lot of potential, but Marson and Donald were being blocked anyway, and Carlos Carrasco has been falling off the radar. Not only do they get a former Cy Young winner, but a bat off the bench.

The deal gives the Phillies a potent, yet lefty-heavy starting rotation with optons down the stretch with lefthanders Cole Hamels, Lee, Happ, Jamie Moyer along with righthanders Joe Blanton and Pedro Martinez — when he becomes operational on the roster.

Now the Phils need to pick up a piece or 2 of bullpen protection to back up closer Brad Lidge.  Hopefully, the quicker-than-expected rehabbing Brett Myers could help out there.

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Phillies ace lefthander Cole Hamels turned in a seven inning quality outing on Thursday as rightfielder Jayson Werth and 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz garnered 3 hits each leading the rest of the heavy lumber in laying seige to San Diego starter Kevin Correia for 8 runs in 3 1/3 innings.  The Padres rallied briefly to cut the deficit to 4-3. But after the Phils put some distance between themselves and the Padres with a 4 run fourth inning, Hamels cruised through his final 3 innings.  Catcher Carlos Ruiz capped Phillies scoring in the seventh inning with a leadoff homer to leftfield.  The Padres managed a run against recalled reliever Andrew Carpenter in the eighth but Chan Ho Park came to the rescue going 1 2/3 innings retiring the 4 Padres he faced on 13 pitches as Phillies bats supported Hamels and pounded out a 9-4 win over the Padres.

With the win, the Phils now lead both Atlanta, who lost to San Francisco, and Florida, who didn’t play, by 6 1/2 games and lead the 4th place Mets, who had an off day, by 10 1/2 games.

The Phils, who have won 11 of their last 12 games won their 15th of 17 games to maintain distance on their NL East opponents.  AP Sports Writer  Rob Maaddi recaps the game for Yahoo sports:

Hamels (6-5) allowed three runs and four hits, striking out six. The struggling ace won for just the second time in nine starts.

The Phillies jumped on Padres starter Kevin Correia (6-8) early and didn’t let up. Correia allowed eight runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings. It was his shortest outing in 20 starts this season.

The Phillies scored three runs in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth. Werth led off the second with a double and scored on Feliz’s single up the middle. With two outs, Jimmy Rollins lined an RBI double and Chase Utley singled him in after Shane Victorino was hit by a pitch.

Werth hit a one-out double in the third and scored when second baseman Oscar Salazar threw wild to first after making a backhanded grab on Feliz’s infield single.

Hamels got in trouble with two outs in the fourth. Chase Headley’s RBI double scored [Adrian] Gonzalez, who walked.  [Kyle] Blanks followed with a shot over the left-field wall that cut it to 4-3.

Rollins started the fourth with a walk, stole second and scored on Ryan Howard’s single.  Raul Ibanez doubled in two runs to chase Correia. Werth’s RBI single made it 8-3.

Carlos Ruiz hit a solo homer in the seventh for the Phillies, who had 14 hits.

Rollins and Victorino had 2 hits apiece as each of the first 8 hitters in the Phils lineup had at least 1 hit.

Hamels threw 114 pitches in seven innings giving up 3 runs, including Blanks’ 2 run fourth inning homer, on 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out six.

Carpenter came on for Hamels to start the eighth and recorded the 1st out on a pop-up.  Then, after a double and a single, the Padres had their 4th run. After a stolen base and a walk, Chan Ho Park came on got a doubleplay to end the eighth and went clean on the Padres in the ninth to end it.

In related news, pitchers Carpenter and Tyler Walker were recalled from Triple-A Lhigh Valley to replace relievers J.C. Romero (strained left forearm) and Chad Durbin (strained back muscle) who “were placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday, a big blow to the Philadelphia bullpen.”

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

The Phils entertain the St. Louis Cardinals in a 3 game weekend series.   On Friday, undefeated lefthander J.A. Happ is opposed by Joel Pineiro.  In Saturday’s game 2, Rodrigo Lopez faces Kyle Lohse.

For all of Friday’s and Saturday’s games, click here and here.

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Recent Phillies acquisition Rodrigo Lopez provided a six inning 1 run, 5 hit quality start on Monday and rightfielder Raul Ibanez, catcher Carlos Ruiz homered as the Phils scored 9 runs in the 1st four innings off of Cubs’ lefthander Ted Lilly.  1st baseman Ryan Howard capped Phillies scoring with an eighth inning solo shot as the Phillies routed the Cubs by a 10-1 score behind Lopez’s pitching and 3 homers to win their 9th straight game. 

With the win, the Phils maintain a 6 1/2 game lead over 2nd place Atlanta in the NL East division race.  Florida remains 7 games out in 3rd place with the Mets 9 games back in 4th place.

Lopez, who might get displaced from the starting rotation in August by a healthy Pedro Martinez, is keen on making the club’s decision as difficult as possible. 

AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston’s game recap for Yahoo sports discusses  Lopez’s status and the possible dilemma with Martinez:

The Phillies scored five in the first two innings to stake Lopez (2-0) to early lead and he never let the Cubs rally. Lopez, who left his last start with right shoulder inflammation, allowed one run over six innings.

His solid effort helped his cause to stay in the rotation once Martinez, a three-time Cy Young winner, is deemed healthy enough to join the Phillies. Martinez signed a free-agent deal last week and was medically cleared to pitch a simulated game on Tuesday. He might take Lopez’s turn in the rotation in August.

“I would think as long as I’m doing my job and everything, I think there’s going to be a spot open for me. Somewhere,” Lopez said. “I’m just going to work on that and be more consistent. I can’t control what will happen in the future. I’ve got worry about my next start.”

With Martinez signed to a $1 million deal loaded with incentives, manager Charlie Manuel realizes something’s got to give.

“I like decisions,” Manuel said. “When people are doing good, I like that.”

The Phils, who on July 2 were 13-22 at home, have evened their mark at Citizen’s Bank Park to 23-23 first by going 9-1 in the last homestand before sweeping Florida in Miami and opening their current homestand with Monday’s win.

Gelston’s game recap continues: 

Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a single, Shane Victorino followed with a double, and Ibanez connected off Lilly two batters later for his 25th homer, well over the 401-foot sign in dead center.

Ibanez moved into second place in the NL in homers, and Howard is right behind him with 24.

Lilly had pitched at least six innings in 14 straight starts and had allowed only six runs in his last three outings (21 1-3 innings). The All-Star lefty gave up five runs after two—Ruiz connected for a two-run shot in the second— then completely unraveled behind a defensive gaffe in the fourth.

Ruiz’s double and Rollins’ sacrifice fly stretched the lead to 7-0. Victorino hit a deep fly to the warning track in left, and the ball bounced off the heel of Alfonso Soriano’s mitt and onto the dirt for an error, and another run scored.

The catch would have ended the inning. Instead, Chase Utley followed with an RBI single for a 9-0 lead that capped the inning.

Two of the runs charged to Lilly in the inning were unearned. He gave up nine runs and eight hits in four innings.

Howard’s solo shot in the eighth made it 10-1.

Lopez threw 97 pitches in six innings giving up the 1 Cubs run in the
fifth inning.  He gave up 5 hits while walking 3 and striking out 5 in recording his 2nd win with the Phillies.  Reliever Chad Durbin came on in the seventh inning to throw three effective innings giving up only 1 hit while striking out 2 to record his 1st save of the season and his 2nd as a Phillie.

In other related news, Phillies Nation reports that the Phils are scouting Arizona’s reliever Chad Qualls and that Brett Myers’ recovery from right hip surgery is “way ahead of schedule” and that Myers may yet return this season in a bullpen role down the stretch.  Phils Nation’s Amanda Orr notes:

Myers has a bullpen session on Saturday, and if that goes well, he could report to Clearwater by Monday.

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

In Tuesday’s game 2 against the Cubs, Joe Blanton, who pitched 1 1/3 innings in Saturday;s rained out game against Florida, goes against Rich Harden.

For all of Tuesday’s games, click here.

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