Staff Blog
About Last Night – September 15th
The Brewers dropped four in a row to the Phillies, and lest we get too Philly-centric, don’t forget that that is the morning’s headline.
For the second straight year the opponent standing in the Phillies’ path
to the playoffs is in the midst of collapse, and while for the second straight
year the Phillies are playing no small part in ensuring that collapse happens,
lets not forget that from an outsider’s perspective, this one still looks a lot
more about Milwaukee than about the Good Guys.
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Games One and Two
We’ll discuss the games as one long victory
that counts double towards the standings.
The Game: Behind Joe Blanton and Ryan Howard the Phillies took the
first game 7-3, and then breezed through the nightcap when Brett Myers needed
only 95 pitches to finish the complete game two-hitter, 6-1. The Phillies came back in the first game and never trailed in the second. The Brewers are floundering and the the Phillies took advantage of it.
The Heroes: Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino were the heroes of the first game, as both hit home runs to give the Phils the support they needed. After a shaky first Joe Blanton settled in and gave the bullpen the rest they thought they were going to need (they didn’t). As for the second, Brett Myers really stepped up, shutting down the Brewers completely and efficiently and saving the entire bullpen from work. Letting the pen work just two out of 18 innings and then have a full day off today is a godsend this time of the year.
Also, Jimmy Rollins managed to reach base all five times he came to the plate. I’m not breaking news when I say that the team’s offense goes as Jimmy goes, and when Jimmy goes like that good things happen.
The Race: One back from the Metros and tied for the Wild Card lead the Phillies control their destiny and face nothing but winnable games from here on out.
Other Notes …
- Shane Victorino also had four hits – a season high
- The Phillies are a season-best 16 games above .500
- Utley was hit by a pitch for the 26th time, setting a team record. He leads the majors this year in HBP
- In the opener, Burrell snapped out of a recent slump with the go-ahead single in the eighth inning
- Myers had a two-out RBI single in the second inning, then scoring from second on Jimmy Rollins’ two-run single
- The Mets, whose bullpen blew another game last night, go the rest of the season without an off day
- After the game Scott Eyre said he would welcome a one-year deal with the Phillies. No one would be happier than me if the Phils gave it to him.
- Jayson Dos Ocho
Myers is such a freaking enigma.