Young, promising Phillies lefthander J.A. Happ, who pitched a brilliant 5 hit, complete game shutout of the Toronto Blue Jays in his last start, was again excellent on Thursday, only giving up a 1 out, 2 run fourth inning homer to Atlanta’s 1st baseman Casey Kotchman in seven innings of work.  But the Phils offense continued in deep-sleep, no-pop mode against starter Javier Vazquez and the Braves bullpen.  Last season’s reliable set-up man Ryan Madson came on in the eighth but was pounded once again as has happened with increasing frequency this season, this time for 3 runs including a 2 run pinch homer by Garret Anderson, as the Braves completed their sweep of the Phillies with a 5-2 win wasting Happ’s fine outing.

With this latest bummer, the Phillies find themselves reduced to a virtual tie with the Florida Marlins, who had Thursday off and have 2 more wins but 2 more losses as well, for 1st place in the NL East division.   The Mets, who slipped past the Pittsburgh Pirates in ten innings are only a game off the lead.  Those Braves are now only 2 back in 3rd place in the now bunched-up NL East race.

Happ was again brilliant, fighting through only a 1 out, bases-loaded jam in the second inning and a 1st and 3rd base 2 out pickle in the seventh while again staying ahead in the count throughout his seven innings, just as was the case in his previous start — the complete game shutout.  Happ’s only mistake was on that 2 run shot by Kotchman, only his 3rd homer of the season.

But the offense couldn’t get untracked despite a 2 for 4 night by leadoff hitter shortstop Jimmy Rollins who ended an 0 for 28 drought.  The offense had their chances; Happ trying hard to help his cause in the fifth inning with a 2 out single to right centerfield followed by Rollins’ single to center with centerfielder Shane Victorino lining out to shortstop for the final out.  With the Phils having just tied the game at 2-2 and with 2 out in the sixth, catcher Carlos Ruiz came up with a runner at 3rd base but grounded a full-count pitch to 2nd base to end the inning.  In the seventh, Victorino slammed a 2 out double to centerfield but 2nd baseman Chase Utley followed flying out on a 1-2 pitch to end another threat. 

In the eighth inning with the score still knotted at 2-2 and no clutch hitting is sight, rightfielder Jayson Werth tried to take matters into his own hands after drawing a 1 out walk from reliever Mike Gonzalez.  Werth stole 2nd base, and took 3rd on catcher Brian McCann’s errant throw. Then, with a 2-1 count on 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz, Gonzalez uncorked a pitch way over McCann’s head back to the screen.  Werth broke for home on a play which even Braves manager “Cox said he thought Werth would be safe when he took off from third.”  But as AP sports reporter Charles Odum wrote for Yahoo sports:

McCann recovered quickly and threw back to Gonzalez (3-0), who made the tag on Werth’s headfirst slide.  

 Phillies Nation’s Amanda Orr recounts what happened next:

After that, everything fell apart [in the eighth] for Ryan Madson, who continues to struggle. Matt Diaz hit a RBI double, but Garrett Anderson gave the Braves insurance on a 2 run bomb.

It is the first time since 2005 that the Phillies were swept at Turner Field, where they were 9-0 last season.

Vasquez wen 5 1/3 innings and was lifted in the sixth when the Phils tied the game.  He gave up 2 runs on 7 hits while walking none and striking out 5 and throwing 109 pitches.  Happ went seven full innnings throwing 104 pitches while giving up 2 runs on 7 hits while walking 2 and striking out 5.

Gonzalez, who was nearly the goat of the game for his eighth inning wild pitch, ending up credited with the win.   Madson, who was pounded for the winning runs in the eighth inning, was tagged with his 4th loss.

For the scores of all of Thursday’s games, click here.
 
So the Phillies come home, battered and wounded by an abominable 2-6 road trip and after having lost 17 of their last 21 games.  They have to reverse their fortunes and right the ship before All Star break or it could mean that they end up tanking the season.  And it won’t get any easier during their 3 game series with their NL East division rival Mets even though the boys from Flushing are themselves beset with injuries and their bullpen has been shaky.   The Phils called up 33 year old minor league pitcher  Rodrigo Lopez (What happened to calling up Carlos Carrasco??) who will start his first game as a Phil against the Mets on Friday.  Lopez, who had Tommy John surgery 2 years ago, is 5-4 with a 3.91 ERA in 13 starts with the Lehigh Valley minor league affiliate, having allowed only two earned runs in his last three starts.  He’ll face Livan Hernandez. 

On Saturday, ageless veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer is opposed by  Fernando Nieve.

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

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Atlanta’s  Jair Jurrjens flirted with a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Wednesday before Phillies 3rd string catcher Paul Bako broke up the attempt with a 2 out single, 1 of only 2 hits the enemic Phils offense would register for the game.  Meanwhile, after 2 1/3 easy innings, the Braves, spurred by Jurrjens 1 out single, lit into lefthander Cole Hamels for 3 runs in the third inning and another 4 runs in a fifth inning where Hamels retired noone with the Braves scoring 2 more in the inning off of reliever Tyler Walker.  The Braves pummelled the Phillies by an 11-1 score on Jurrjens’ 7 inning 1 hitter.

With this latest ugly debacle and having lost 16 of their last 20 games, the Phils now-tenuous lead in the NL East division shrunk to a mere 1/2 game over the 2nd  Florida Marlins who again beat the hapless Washington Nationals and to 2 games over the 3rd place Mets who beat the  Milwaukeee Brewers by only 1-0.  And as the Phils have skidded into free-fall, those Braves find themselves in the midst of the NL East race at 3 games back.

After retiring 7 of the first 8 Braves he faced through 2 1/3  innings, Hamels fell apart in a heap in the third.  The lefthander who won MVP in the 2008 post-season giving up but 7 runs in 6 division, league and World Series outings gave up 7 runs into a fifth inning where he was pulled having retired none. The Phillies offense was dead-and-buried in this one. For those who are into masochism, the pitch-by-pitch on this bummer can be viewed by clicking here.  But for the rest of us who want quick and speedy closure, Phillies Nation’s Amanda Orr offers a quick and concise recap:

Jair Jurrjens, the Braves starting pitcher, started with a soft hit to right field.  Gregor Blanco and Martin Prado did serious damage to the Phillies pitching staff on Tuesday and continued today. Blanco followed Jurrjens with a single and Prado doubled them both in.

Cole Hamels was lifted in fifth inning, but not before  Chipper Jones and Brian McCann each drove in runs. A couple inherited runners scored, finishing off an ugly performance by Hamels.

The only thing worse than Hamels’ performance was the offense. The lone run came without a hit, on a sacrifice fly. It wasn’t until the seventh inning that the Phillies recorded their first hit, a single by Paul Bako. Just days after a near no-hitter by the Blue Jays’ Ricky Romero, Jurrjens threw 6.2 hitless innings.

For the scores of all of Wednesday’s games, click here.
 
The Phillies hope to salvage Thursday’s final after Wednesday’s brutal debacle as young lefthander J.A. Happ, who pitched a brilliant 5 hit, complete game shutout of the Toronto Blue Jays in his last start, takes the mound.  He faces Atlanta’s veteran Javier Vazquez.

For all of Thursday’s games, click here.

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Starter Joe Blanton held the Phillies in the game through 5 innings on Tusday as Atlanta’s Derek Lowe clung to a 3-2 lead through six innings.  After back-to-back eighth inning 2 out homers by pinch hitter John Mayberry Jr. and 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz off of lefthanded reliever Mike Gonzalez put the Phils up by 4-3, reliever Ryan Madson promptly blew the lead in the bottom of the inning.  The game went to extras and 2nd baseman Martin Prado, who killed the Phils throughout the game, tagged  Chan Ho Park for the winning run as the Braves edged the Phillies in 10 Innings by a 5-4 score on Prado’s walk-off single.

With the loss, the Phillies NL East lead over 2nd place Florida shrunk to 1 1/2 games as Florida beat Washington in a seven inning rain-shortened game.   The 3rd place Mets remained 3 games back dropping their game to the Milwaukee Brewers.

2nd baseman Martin Prado just killed the Phillies going 4 for 5 with a fifth inning solo homer and 4 RBIS as the Phillies had Lowe on the ropes in the second, third and sixth innings but couldn’t deliver the clutch hit to put some runs on the board and couldn’t continue their mastery over the Braves.  Check out the pitch-by-pitch on another poor offensive showing by clicking here.

The other guy who killed the Phils was light-hitting leadoff hitter centerfielder Gregor Blanco who came into the game hitting a “lusty” .148 but upped his batting average to .219 with a 3 for 6 game scoring 2 runs.

Blanton held the Phils in the game for five innings as Atlanta held a 3-2 lead through seven as 1st baseman Ryan Howard’s 2 out ground-rule double to rightfield drove in the Phils’ 1st run in the third inning and 2nd baseman Chase Utley’s 17th homer in the fifth gave the Phils a momentary 2-1 lead.  But Prado’s bat was ever-present throughout to nail down the Phillies.

When Blanton left after five innings having throwing 93 pitches and giving up 3 runs on 8 hits, including Prado’s homer, while walking 3 and striking out 3, reliever Chad Durbin came on in the sixth inning to retire the next 6 Braves he faced in order after Blanco opened the sixth with a single to center. 

Lowe finished 6 innings leaving the game with a 3-2 lead.  He threw 103 pitches giving up 2 runs on 7 hits while walking 3 and striking out 4.   Neither starter figured in the final won-lost decision.

But after Mayberry and Feliz dramatically put the Phils up by 4-3 with back-to-back 2 out eighth inning homers, Ryan Madson, who had been good and bad lately, promptly blew the lead in the bottom of the eighth walking Blanco, who took 2nd base on Madson’s errant pick-off attempt.  Prado, working in tandem with Blanco, doubled him home on a 1 ball, 2 strike pitch.  Lefthanded reliever J.C. Romero replaced Madson and got the final out in the eight and the first 2 outs in the ninth before being relieved Park who notched the final out in the ninth.

The Phils were put down in order in the ninth and Howard singled to right with 1 out in the tenth but was rubbed out on a doubleplay grounder by rightfielder Jayson Werth. 

Park got the first out in the tenth before 2 singles put runners at 1st and 3rd bases.  The count on Prado went to 2-2 before his walkoff single to leftfield ended the game.  Reliever Peter Moylan, who retired the final 2 Phillies in the tenth inning notched his 2nd win and Park was charged with the loss.

For the scores of all of Monday’s and Tuesday’s games, click here and here.
 
In Wednesday’s game 2, the Phils hope to even the series as lefthander  Cole Hamels faces Atlanta’s Jair Jurrjens.

For all of Wednesday’s games, click here. 

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Toronto jumped out early on Phillies’ 46 year old veteran Jamie Moyer as 2nd baseman Aaron Hill hit first and third inning solo shots and leftfielder  Jose Bautista clubbed a 2 run shot in the second inning to stake 32 year old lefthander Brian Tallet to 3-0 and 4-1 leads through three innings.  But the Phils rallied for 4 runs to take the lead in the fourth inning led by 2nd baseman Chase Utley’s bases-clearing 2 run triple.  Once the Phils gained the lead, Moyer had no problem shuting down the Blue Jays in the fourth and fifth innings and the bullpen held on to the 1 run lead despite shaky eighth and ninth innings as Utley’s triple rallied the Phillies past Toronto by a 5-4 score and to a 2 of 3 game series victory in Sunday’s final.
 
The Phillies NL East division lead is back up to 2 1/2 games as the Mets were beaten again and swept by the Yankees on Sunday. Florida lost again to their state rival Tampa Bay but are still breathing hot down the Mets’ necks at 3 games back in the division.

AP’s recap describes the game for Yahoo sports:

Moyer (6-6) allowed four runs and five hits in five innings to win consecutive starts for the first time since April 21 and 26. He won just one of his following nine starts before beating Tampa Bay last Tuesday.

“Probably the brightest side for me was go out in the fourth and put up a zero after we came back and scored some runs,” Moyer said.

Utley went 2 for 4 with a walk as the Phillies won a series for the first time since taking two of three from the New York Mets on June 9-11.  Philadelphia had lost four straight series and has won just four of its past 15 games.

Hill hit two solo homers, giving him his first career multihomer game, and Jose Bautista added a two-run shot for the Blue Jays, who finished interleague play at 7-11.

Hill has a career-high 19 home runs this season to break the Blue Jays record for homers by a second baseman that he shared with Roberto Alomar.  Alomar hit 17 in 1993 and Hill tied the mark in 2007.

Philadelphia took the lead with a four-run fourth against left-hander Brian Tallet (5-5).  Carlos Ruiz hit a bases-loaded fielder’s choice, Shane Victorino followed with a sacrifice fly and Utley capped it with a two-out triple to right-center.

Tallet allowed five runs, four earned, and eight hits in six innings. He struck out six but his six walks were a career high.

Following two perfect innings from Chan Ho Park, the Phillies gave the ball to Ryan Madson and survived a scare in the eighth. A single, an error and a two-out intentional walk loaded the bases for pinch-hitter Russ Adams, who popped out.

[Closer] Brad Lidge’s knee… faced a big test Sunday.

Activated off the disabled list last week after being out since June 9 with a sprained right knee, Lidge had to move quickly when Blue Jays catcher Raul Chavez bunted to begin the ninth, reaching safely when Lidge’s throw pulled Ryan Howard off first base.

“They probably know why I came off the DL and they tried to test it,” Lidge said. “Unfortunately he laid a perfect bunt down, too. I was able to get to it and grab the ball and throw it and no damage. I walked around the mound just to take inventory, make sure everything felt all right, and it did. That was huge for me.”

John McDonald ran for Chavez and Lidge walked Marco Scutaro. But he got Aaron Hill to pop out, then tested his knee again by spinning off the rubber and catching McDonald in a rundown between second and third.

“I kind of thought if there was something I would feel it on, it would be those (fielding plays),” Lidge said. “I didn’t and thank goodness.”

Two pitches later, Lidge got Vernon Wells to ground out, giving him his 14th save in 20 chances.

“At the end there, we were hanging on for dear life but it worked out,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

Lidge said having full strength in his knee made him feel he had “control of the game.”

“Being able to use my back leg and drive off that really helped my fastball stay on line,” Lidge said. “That’s the biggest thing for me, being able to throw that pitch and being able to locate it better.”

Rightfielder Jayson Werth has now reached safely in 10 consecutive plate appearances having singled to leftfield in the fourth and been walked 4 times on Sunday.  He scored the 1st of the 2 runs which scored on Utley’s game-winning 2 run triple and was 4 for 4 with 2 homers and 3 RBIs on Saturday.

Winning pitcher Moyer threw 82 pitches through five innings giving up 4 runs, on the 3 homers, on 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out 4. Losing pitcher Tallet, plagued by wildness, threw 110 pitches through 6 innings while giving up 5 runs on 8 hits while walking 6 and striking out 6.  Lidge’s save was his 14th in 20 opportunies.

In related news, Phillies young lefthander Antonio Bastardo will miss his next rotation turn with a strained shoulder and is scheduled for a doctor’s look-over on Monday.

Phillies Nation reports on coming Phillies roster additions or changes:

…The Phillies will call up young righthanded [thank goodness!] pitcher Carlos Carrasco to make his season debut on Thursday. Carrassco struggled early on this season in the minors but has gotten better as of late.

Earlier it was announced that Jimmy Rollins would be starting Tuesday and will be leading off. Rollins as well as the rest of the line up have a tough test Tuesday against Lowe and have not hit well against him. Also this week, the Phils hitters will have to face one of the games best pitchers in Johan Santana [9-5, 3.08 ERA]. On a brighter note the Phillies will be receiving an injection of life when Raul Ibanez returns in time for the weekend showdown.

3rd baseman Scott Rolen did no damage to the Phils in this one despite going 2 for 3 and extending his career-high hitting streak to 16 games. The other Phillies nemesis, catcher Rod Barajas is still nursing a sore hamstring and didn’t play.  He’ll take batting practice on Monday and try to run before the Blue Jays decide whether or not he goes on the DL.

For the scores of all of Sunday’s games, click here.
 
The Phillies have Monday off before ending June and beginning July with a 3 game series in Atlanta.

We get a break from constant lefthanders on Tuesday as Joe Blanton takes the mound in the series opener.  He is opposed by 34 year old Japanese righthander Kenshin Kawakami who beat the Phils in their only previous encounter.  Blanton has a 1-1 mark against the Braves in 2009.

For all of Monday’s and Tuesday’s games, click here and here. 

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Manager Charlie Manuel finally held a Phillies team meeting after another moribund offensive effort on Friday and after ace lefthander Cole Hamels was pounded for 4 runs over the fourth and fifth innings.  Hamels left with 2 out in the fifth while the Blue Jays’ Ricky Romero was 1 walk shy of pitching perfect ball through 6 innings enroute to a 6-1 Toronto win in the series opener.  Manuel’s team meeting apparently bore fruit as rightfielder  Jayson Werth’s 2 homers, 3 RBIs and 4 for 4 game led Saturday’s offensive barrage and young lefthander J.A. Happ’s masterful 5 hit complete game shutout on Saturday powered the Phillies to a split of the first 2 games with the Toronto with 10-0 win.

The Mets, who had come to within 1/2 game of the Phillies on Thursday, fell to 1 1/2 games back in the NL East division race after being pummelled by the Yankees on both Friday and Saturday and scoring but 1 run in 18 innings.  The Florida Marlins also fell to 2 games back losing Friday and Saturday games to their cross-state rival Tampa Bay Rays.  The Atlanta Braves dropped off of the challenge for 1st place dropping both Friday and Saturday’s games to the Boston Red Sox.

I guess that manager Manuel just couldn’t take it anymore after Friday’s game and it is good that he made the move to have a team meeting.  One can view the pitch-by-pitch on Friday’s debacle by clicking here.  Phillies Nation’s Amanda Orr describes Friday’s latest offensive short-circuit: 

Ricky Romero no-hit the Phillies for six innings before Chase Utley broke up the no-hit bid with a single in the seventh. He pitched seven shutout innings allowing only two hits and one walk. He struck out seven.

Cole Hamels struggled and was ejected for arguing balls and strikes after he left the game in the fifth inning. In 4.2 innings, Hamels allowed four earned runs on eight hits and two walks.

The bullpen continues to have its woes. Chan Ho Park left the game with a knee contusion. Brad Lidge gave up two earned runs in 0.1 innings.

Tip of the cap to Ricky Romero who pitched a terrific game by keeping the Phillies off-balanced, however, it is always embarrassing when a potent lineup like the Phillies is no-hit for six innings.

Another member of Phillies Nation’s growing staff of writers penned a piece on Cole Hamels’ continuing woes this season:

…Another disappointing Cole Hamels start. His effort Friday night was mediocre at best, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits in a loss to the Blue Jays. But the most disheartening aspect of Friday’s outing was his inability to take the team deep into the game. A string of foul balls and just-outside pitches forced his pitch count over 100 before Charlie Manuel took him out of the game in the fifth inning.

…Hamels (4-4, 4.44 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) …has nibbled around the strike zone far too often, seemingly eager to induce swing-and-miss strikeouts rather than simply get batters out. He consistently spots his fastball inches off the plate, begging hitters to take a hack at a pitch they cannot reach. And in return, they sit and watch as his pitch count rises. While his fastball desperately tries to paint the black, Hamels’ grade-A changeup becomes an afterthought. If batters don’t need to worry about his fastball, the changeup loses effect, instead becoming a tantalizing, but resistible, pitch.

…Hamels shouldn’t be so afraid to ask for help with a few groundballs. For Hamels to last deeper into ballgames he must begin to attack the strike zone with his fastball, getting ahead early in counts and inducing easy outs. J.A. Happ did this to perfection today against the same Blue Jays team, earning himself quick innings by going after hitters early. After 14 starts Hamels has gone 7 innings or more just three times. Whether due to injury or inability, he has gone 5 innings or less five times now.

Until Hamels is able to re-think his pitching strategy, he will continue to labor through long innings, and as the summer heat rolls in his starts will be cut shorter and shorter.

Losing pitcher Hamels threw 105 pitches while being rapped for 4 runs on 8 hits and walking 2 and striking out 4.   Romero went 7 shutout innings giving up only 2 hits while walking 1 and striking out 7 in winning his 5th game vs 3 losses.  

The Phils scored their only run in the ninth inning off of the Toronto bullpen as centerfielder Shane Victorino, still taking the benched Jimmy Rollins’ leadoff spot, walked with 1 out.  2nd baseman Chase Utley followed with single to centerfield with the Flyin’ Hawaiian taking 3rd base and Utley advancing to 2nd on the throw and attempted play on Victorino. With runners at 2nd and 3rd base, rightfielder Jayson Werth drove in the run with a sacrifice fly to rightfield.  However, 1st baseman Ryan Howard fanned to end the game.   It was Howard’s 91st strikeout thru 72 games as the Howard strikout watch circa 2009 begins in earnest.

But Saturday’s game reflected a seeming overnight transformation — let’s hope that it takes hold in the upcoming games.  AP provides the game recap for Yahoo sports:

J.A. Happ pitched a five-hitter…

In the first complete game of his career, Happ (5-0) struck out four and didn’t walk a batter to win for the first time in four starts.

“(Happ) stayed right with his game plan and they were swinging at him,” Manuel said. “He did a good job, a super job.”

Happ threw 100 pitches, 64 for strikes.

“I didn’t always get strike one but we were trying to focus on getting ahead in the count,” Happ said. “That’s something I’ve struggled with the last few games. It all kind of came together today.”

the Phillies used the long ball to jump ahead quickly, homering twice in the top of the first.

Werth hit a towering two-run drive into the upper deck, his 14th, and Pedro Feliz added a two-out homer to left.

Toronto left-hander Brad Mills (0-1) allowed eight runs on eight hits in four-plus innings, striking out seven in his second career start.

Werth’s upper deck blast was the 14th in the 20-year history of Rogers Centre, formerly SkyDome…

“When I hit it, I didn’t know if it was going to stay fair,” Werth said of his drive. “I watched it a little bit longer than I usually but. It stayed pretty straight. When I first hit it, I thought it was going to hook a little bit but it stayed straight just inside the fair pole.”

Happ said he lost track of Werth’s homer as it climbed toward the upper deck.

“You watch him in batting practice and he puts on a show,” Happ said. “He’s got impressive pop in that bat.”

Werth singled in the third, doubled and scored in the fifth and hit a solo homer off reliever B.J. Ryan in the sixth. Needing a triple to complete the cycle, Werth walked in his final plate appearance. he has eight career homers against Toronto.

“We’ll kind of be glad to see the last of him,” Toronto manager Cito Gaston said. “He’s hit us well over the last couple of years.”

Carlos Ruiz hit an RBI double in the fourth before the Phillies pulled away with a four-run fifth.  Shawn Camp replaced Mills after Ryan Howard’s single, then allowed an RBI single to  Chris Coste, Eric Bruntlett’s sacrifice fly and an run-scoring single by Ruiz, making it 9-0.

Rollins, stuck in an 0 for 19 slump, sat out for the third straight game. Manuel said Rollins likely won’t play again until Tuesday, the opener of a three-game series in Atlanta.

Thankfully, the Phils have not had to face catcher Rod Barajas who pounded them recently in Philadelphia.  Barajas is nursing a strained right hamstring. 3rd baseman Scott Rolens, who also killed the Phils last time, hit a 2nd inning double on Friday to increase his hitting streak to a career high 14 games.   He’s apparently being platooned at 3rd base and did not see action on Saturday.

For the scores of all of Friday’s and Saturday’s games, click here and here.
 
Sunday’s decisive series final is another of the recent all-too-frequent lefthanders’ battles as 46 year old veteran Jamie Moyer is opposed by nearly 32 year old Brian Tallet and the Phillies hope for a series win on the road after having lost 11 of their last 14 games, including 3 of 4 on this current road trip.

The Phillies have Monday off before ending June and beginning July with a 3 game series in Atlanta before coming home for a 9 game stand beginning with a 3 game weekend series with the Mets.

For all of Sunday’s games, click here.

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The Phillies jumped on Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine to stake young lefthander Antonio Bastardo to a 4 run first inning lead.  Bastardo, however, was shelled for 6 runs (including 2 homers) in the first 2 innings and the bullpen was shellacked for 4 more. Only 6 Phillies reached after the first, 3 of them on a walk, a hit batsman and an error, in another woeful offensive display as Tampa Bay pounded the Phillies by a 10-4 score on Thursday to take 2 of 3 games in their first post-World Series matchup.

Meanwhile, while the Phillies have lost 10 of their last 12 games, the NL East division race has tightened with the Phillies now clinging to a mere 1/2 game lead over the Mets who again beat St. Louis.  Rising fast and breathing down both the Phils’ and Mets’ necks are those Florida Marlins who pummelled the Baltimore Orioles by an 11-3 count extending their winning streak to 5 while winning 7 of their last 10 games.

The Phillies have the look of a team in trouble — Big trouble.  They were woeful on all cylinders on Thursday.  The offense died after scoring 4 in the first inning.  Bastardo couldn’t hold on to prosperity as the Rays battered him from pillar to post.  With a run already in in the first inning, 2nd baseman Ben Zobrist belted a 2 run shot out to leftfield off of Bastardo to cut the score to 4-3.  3rd baseman Willie Aybar led off the second frame homering to leftfield to tie the game. The Rays went on to score 2 more runs in the inning.

The depleted bullpen was inept showing once again that guys such as  Tyler Walker and Jack Taschner just don’t cut the mustard and that lefthander Scott Eyre and Clay Condrey are sorely missed.  The AP game recap for Yahoo sports notes that closer  Brad Lidge rejoined the active roster but was not used. 

Offnsively, there is no question that leftfielder Raul Ibanez’s big bat is sorely missed.  But Ibanez on the DL is only psrt of the problem.  The other guys on the top of the lineup are not hitting consistently and not coming through in the clutch.  One can click here to view the pitch-by-pitch on this latest ugly fiasco.

One can see things coming, that the learning curve on a pitching staff with 4 lefthanders of 5 starters has got to be short.  I frankly can’t understand what Charlie Manuel and the front-office are thinking regarding the 4 man lefthanded starting tandum.  Bastardo ought to be back in Triple A getting more seasoning.

Bastardo, charged with his 3rd loss besides 2 wins, threw 78 pitches in 3 1/3 innings giving up 6 runs on 7 hits, including the 2 homers, while walking 3 and striking out 4.  Sonnanstine recovered from the shakey first inning to go 5 1/3 inning to get the win.  From the second inning until his leaving the game with 1 out in the sixth, Sonnanstine retired 13 of the 16 Phillies he faced in an impressive display.  He threw 97 pitches giving up 4 runs on 6 hits, only 1 hit after the first, while walking 1 and striking out 7. The Tampa Bay bullpen totally closed down the Phillies over the final 3 2/3 innings.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins was bench-bound on Thursday replaced by Eric Bruntlett, presumably because of his (Rollins’) mental lapse on Wednesday along with a terrible hitting funk.  But, along with the Phillies hitting woes, Rollins is not the only culprit when it comes to mental errors.

With 1 out in the sixth inning, leftfielder Matt Stairs was hit by a pitch ending Sonnanstine’s outing.  With Sonnanstine out and reliever Grant Balfour in, 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz grounded into a fielder’s choice to shortstop with Stairs advancing to 3rd on a throwing error.  Phillies Nation’s Amanda Orr describes this game’s situational mental lapse:

Trailing 6-4 with one out and runners at the corners, the Phillies had a chance to rally in the sixth inning.  Eric Bruntlett hit a fly ball to center, deep enough to score the run. Stairs tug up, but Feliz lost track of the outs and was doubled off at first before Stairs crossed the plate.

For the scores of all of Thursday’s games, click here.
 
The Phils head to Toronto on Friday for 3 weekend games as the team has got to take things in hand and recover the season before it “fades away like an old soldier” amidst a torrent of losses.  Both Friday’s opener and Saturday’s game 2 are contests pitting lefties against each other as J.A. Happ is opposed by Ricky Romero on Friday.  On Saturday, ace Cole Hamels is matched up against Brad Mills.

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

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