Monday, October 12, 2009

Philly Sports 101

Posted: 12 Oct 2009 06:57 PM PDT

http://www.flickr.com/photos/loop_oh/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

The Phillies are never out of a game. That's what we learned today. Even after falling behind 4-2 in the 8th, the Phillies were not out of the game. Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth and Brad Lidge were the heroes of this 5-4 win. Here we come LA!

Our ace, Cliff Lee, was on the mound and he delivered 7 1/3 innings of 1-run ball. Cliff Lee is pitching in the 2009 playoffs like Cole Hamels did in 2008 playoffs. He was hitting his spots again tonight, absolutely dominating the Rockies.

Then in the 7th, Charlie pulled Lee in favor of Madson. He pulled off a double switch, placing Ben Francisco in left, which would prove vital. With the Phillies only up by one and with runners on 1rst and second, Madson got Tulowitzki to hit a shallow fly to left field. Ben Francsico made an amazing diving catch, saving a run. Madson did give up 3 runs in the inning, however.

So things looked bleak. The Phillies down by 2 in the 9th inning. I was gearing up for a Game 5, but the Phillies proved me wrong. Jimmy Rollins lead off the inning with an infield single. Victorino got to first on a fielder's choice. Utley walked to put runners on 1rst and 2nd with 2 outs...

Ryan Howard yanked one in right field. I thought it was gone off the bat, but instead it bounced up against the wall, TYING THE GAME. So with Ryan Howard on second, Werth was do up. He fisted one into center field, putting the Phils up by one. It was up to the bullpen....

Scotty Eyre entered the game, to the shock of us fans. Eyre rolled his ankle yesterday coming off the mound to field a bunt. But that did not deter this lovable lefty. He toughed it out and walked out to the mound in the 9th.

Eyre got the first 2 outs, but gave up 2 hits in the process. So with runners on 1rst and 2nd, Uncle Charlie called on Brad Lidge. Could Lidge get 2 saves in a row? The answer was yes, as he struck out Colorado fan favorite Troy Tulowitzki. Lidge is baaaaaaaaaack!

Phillies Pull Out CRAZY Game

Posted: 11 Oct 2009 11:25 PM PDT

The Phillies just recently finished up a victory, 6-5, over the Colorado Rockies in Game 3 of their NLDS series. That's right the game ended around 2:20am here on the East Coast. Brad Lidge actually can save games? Who knew? Carlos Ruiz's middle name is Clutch. Those are just some of the things we have learned from this game.

J. A. Happ started this game, but he didn't go very long. He really struggled in the 1rst inning, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs. He settled down a little bit but was never really hitting his spots. He had trouble throwing strikes, and really did not look well.

The back-end of the bullpen actually looked good today. Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin, and Brad Lidge all pitched scoreless inning in the 7th, 8th, and 9th. Scotty Eyre did roll his ankle while fielding a bunt. His status for the rest of the series is uncertain.

It was 5-5 heading to the 9th and the Phillies had to muster up a run. Jimmy Rollins started it all by knocking the ball to center for a single. The Flyin' Hawaiian bunted him to 2nd. Utley reached base on a "swinging bunt," Utley's hustle allowed him to beat that one out.

After replay, the ball should have been ruled a foul ball by the umpires. Instead Utley moved Rollins to 3rd and Howard hit a sac fly the next at-bat, giving the Phillies the winning run. The Phillies deserved that call. They had been cheated by the umps in the game up until that point. Matt Stairs, while pinch-hitting, had 2 balls called strikes against him when they were clearly outside. Also, Happ's strike zone was squeezed early in the game.

So the big story coming out of this game? No, it isn't the below 30° temperatures. It was Brad Lidge finally getting a save in a 1-run game, in a max-pressure situation. It wasn't easy though. Brad walked Carlos Gonzalez (aka "Philly Killer") with 1 out. Gonzalez toke second, and Lidge got Giambi to pop out.

So, with 2 outs, the Rockies best hitter, Todd Helton, had a chance to win the game. But Brad Lidge didn't give him that chance. So with 2 out and the winning run on first, Brad Lidge got Troy Tulowitzki to pop out and end the game.

Visits

Archive