Moyer Finally Reaches 250

After 647 games pitched in the Major League's, Jamie Moyer finally got his 250th career victory. Jamie pitched six superb innings today and only gave up one run. The Phillies bats helped him out by a first inning double by Chase Utley that scored Shane Victorino. Then, in the second inning Chris Coste homered to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Jamie Moyer exited after six innings and he was in line for the win. Clay Condrey pitched the seventh and gave up a solo homerun to Josh Willingham. Then the bridge to Lidge was in effect. Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Brad Lidge is showing everyone that his rough patch last week was just a fluke with another save. After two months into the season the Phillies are in first place in the National League East. They are ahead of the Mets by only a half a game and plan on that lead growing as the season progresses.
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The Phillies will take a trip out to the West Coast to play the San Diego Padres. Joe Blanton will look to build off of his success from his last outing against the Florida Marlins. Blanton tweaked his mechanics in the stretch before his last start, and it helped him with runners on base. Kevin Correia will pitch for the Padres. Correia was roughed up in his last outing against the Diamondbacks. He allowed six runs in a 6-5 loss in Arizona. Correia is looking to bounce back from his bad outing and shut down the Phillies potent lineup.

Howard Showers Nats With Power

Ryan Howard is a beast. Everybody already knew that coming into tonight's game against the Nationals. Coming out of tonight's 9-6 victory, everybody thinks Ryan Howard is a superhero. Cole Hamels was off to a rough start. In the second inning he surrendered three runs. In the bottom of the second Ryan Howard got one back with an upper deck homerun. Then, in the third inning with bases loaded Ryan Howard hit a moonshot homerun that put the Phillies up 6-3. On a down note, Cole struggled pretty much all night. He gave up another run in the fourth, then two more in the sixth. He ended up going six innings and allowing six runs. Not a typical start for Cole. In his previous seven starts against the Nationals he posted a 0.39 ERA. Maybe there was a book on Cole, but I think Cole just had an off night. He was getting to cute with the lower part of the order, and leaving pitches up just waiting to be hammered. I expect Cole to bounce back to his regular form next start. The Phillies bullpen was perfect tonight in three innings of relief. Brad Lidge notched his 11th save of the season. Also, Ryan Madson got his 11th hold of the season. Brad Lidge looks like he's finding his 2008 form again. This was his second consecutive 1-2-3 save.
Antonio Bastardo
Antonio Bastardo will be called up from LeHigh Valley to fill in for Brett Myers. Bastardo appeared in 11 games between Reading and Lehigh Valley where he had 51 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings and posted at 1.90 ERA.
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Jamie Moyer will make his sixth attempt at capturing his 250th career victory. Last start against the Marlins he went six innings and gave up four runs. Jamie is 0-4 with a 9.62 ERA over his last four starts. John Lannan will go for the Nats. John Lannan was cruising for five innings on Monday against the Mets. Then in the sixth inning the Mets scored five runs against Lannan and went on to win 5-2

Phils Hold Off Nationals

Two outs in the ninth inning, fans on there feet, full count to Nick Johnson and Brad Lidge strikes him out looking to end the ballgame. Lidge let out a big roar of relief after securing the victory. You can just feel his intensity through your TV and at the ballpark. Let's retrogress back to the beginning of the game. J.A. Happ was making his second start of the season, he pitched well against the Yankees in a no decision and was looking for his fist win as a starter. In a 1-1 game in the bottom of the third and with Shane Victorino and Chase Utley on base Raul Ibanez delivered a single to center field to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead. They added one more run later in the inning, and the Phils were off to a solid start. The Nationals are a very tough ballclub. The have an underrated offense and are never out of any game. They showed that in the sixth inning. With rbi's from Josh Bard and Anderson Hernandez, the Nationals crawled to within one run of the Phillies. Scott Eyre, Ryan Madson, and Brad Lidge all threw scoreless innings out of relief and the Phillies went on to win 5-4.
Brett Myers
During Wednesday's game Brett had to leave the game with right hip inflammation. Yesterday a doctor recommended surgery, but Brett went to get a second opinion today and he said surgery was needed. Brett has elected to get surgery and could miss the remainder of the 2009 season. For right now the Phillies are looking to stay within the organization to fill Brett's spot in the rotation. The most likely candidates are Kyle Kendrick, Antonio Bastardo, Andrew Carpenter, and possibly 2008 third round pick Vance Worley.
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Tomorrow Cole Hamels will face Shairon Martis. Last Sunday, Cole allowed two runs in six innings. He could not get the win because Brad Lidge blew a save in ninth, but Carlos Ruiz captured the team and lead them to vicotry in the tenth. Martis had a rough outing last time. Martis went six innings and gave up five runs. Martis really struggled with his command the whole time and is looking for a more positive result tomorrow.

Phillies Can't Come Up In The Clutch

Coming into tonight's rubber game against the Marlins the Phillies have only won one series at home this year. They were 9-13 at home but they were still in first place, in front of those New York Mets. In the bottom of the first inning the Phillies had bases loaded with one out for Raul Ibanez. Raul has been really clutch this year, but not tonight. He grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. It was scoreless going into the fourth inning, Brett Myers was pitching outstanding, then, Cody Ross jumpd into the cadillac and hit a solo homerun. The Marlins tacked on one more in the fifth on a Wes Helms sacrifice fly. Carlos Ruiz in the bottom of the fifth cut the lead in half with solo shot to left field. Cody Ross put a dagger into Brett Myers when he hit a two-run homerun in the sixth to give the Marlins a 5-1 lead. Brett Myers walked John Baker, then, he was taken out and later we found out that he has right hip inflammation. He is suppose to have an MRI tomorrow. In the bottom of the eighth Matt Stairs hit a moonshot homerun that was estimated to be around 444 feet. Ryan Howard was unable to cut the lead when there were runners on second and third with two outs. Marlins went on to win the game 6-2, and yet again another home series loss for the Phillies.
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After a day off the Phillies will take on the last place Washington Nationals. J.A. Happ will pitch for the Phillies. Happ is making his second start of the season for the Phillies. In his first start, Happ went six innings and allowed two runs against the Yankees. The Nationals are going to give the ball to Ross Detwiler. Ross Detwiler is the Nationals 2007 first round pick and his making his third major league start. Last time out, Detwiler went six innings and gave up one run on only one hit.

Blanton Leads Phils To Win Over Marlins

Going into tonight's game Joe Blanton was having trouble staying out of the big inning. Tonight, Joe had no problem avoiding the big inning. Over seven innings of work Blanton gave up five hits, zero earned runs, and a career high 11 strikeouts. He finally got the pitching performance he was looking for all season. Blanton's record improves to 3-3 with a 6.14 era. In the first inning, the Phillies helped Joe Blanton out by taken advantage of errors by the Marlins fielders and walks by pitcher Andrew Miller. Ryan Howard walked in the first to force in a run. Then, Raul Ibanez hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Shane Victorino. Shane Victorino made up for his baserunning error last night by hitting two doubles, and going 4-5 with two runs batted in.
Going into the ninth inning the Phillies were up 5-0 and Chad Durbin came in to finish the game. Durbin got the Dan Uggla (the first batter of the ninth inning) to ground out. After that, Durbin really struggled with his command. He walked two hitters and a gave up a single. Charlie brought in Scott Eyre with the bases loaded. Ross Gload hit a groundball to Ryan Howard, but Howard could not make the play. He made a bad throw to Jimmy Rollins that allowed two runs to score. Brad Lidge came in and redeemed himself with recording the two final outs of the game.
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The Phillies and Marlins will play the rubber game of this three game series. Brett Myers will pitch for the Phillies. Myers has finally found a groove and has pitched three good outings in a row. Last Friday, he pitched eight innings against the Yankees potent lineup. He surrendered three runs, all coming on solo homeruns. Myers is hoping for an outing where he doesn't give up any runs. The Marlins will counter with Burke Badenhop. Badenhop is making his first start of the season. He has been back and forth from the majors and Triple-A. The sinkerballer is not scheduled to throw 100 pitches because it is his first start of the season. If Badenhop runs into trouble expect reliever Hayden Penn to come in.

Howard Hit Two Homeruns But Phils Fall

Jamie Moyer came into the game 12-1 with a 2.84 era lifetime against the Marlins and he was also vying for his 250th career victory. This was Jamie's fifth attempt for it. First inning with Raul Ibanez on first base, Ryan hit a mommoth homerun off of the batters eye in centerfield. Throughout three innings Jamie was masterful, painting the corners with change-ups, and whiffs from the youthful Florida Marlins. Then, in the fourth inning with two runners on fromer Phillies Wes Helms hit a three run homerun to give the Marlins a 3-2 lead. The Marlins tacked on another run in the sixth, then Ryan Howard hit another homerun, but this one was into the left centerfield seats. Chan Ho Park relieved Moyer and gave up a run in the seventh. The Phillies were unsuccessful of getting runs home after the sixth. Personally, I thought Jamie pitched well. He was moving the ball around the plate, locating his corners, and just being Jamie Moyer. Also, despite Brad Lidge blowing two consecutive saves manager Charlie Manuel says that Lidge will continue to close for the Phillies.
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The Phillies will have another shot at the Marlins as Joe Blanton will take on left-hander Andrew Miller. On Thursday, Blanton threw five innings and gave up five runs. Now, on paper that doesn't look good but Joe threw four scoreless innings then, in the fifth he gave up five runs including a three run homerun the Brandon Phillips. Andrew Miller is coming off of one of his best pitching performances this season. In seven innings against the Diamondback he allowed two runs and four hits.

Ruiz Leads Phils Past Yankees In Extras

He threw out two runners on the bases, saved a run by blocking the plate, and he had three hits including the go ahead run in the 11th inning. Yes, that was Carlos Ruiz. Carlos Ruiz came into the game batting .271 and now after the game he is batting .302. Ruiz is really coming into his own as a top catcher in the National League. His defense has become top notch and his offense is becoming more consistent. Last year it seemed like he grounded into a double play in every possible opportunity. This year he has only grounded into two double plays and has been more clutch than ever.
C.C. Sabathia the starting pitcher for the Yankees today has not allowed an extra base hit to a left handed hitter in 27 starts. In the sixth inning it was a 2-1 lead for the Phillies and with Shane Victorino on first base Raul Ibanez doubled into right center field that ended Sabathia's extra base hit streak against left handed hitters and scored Shane Victorino and that gave the Phils a 3-1 lead. Then, in the bottom of the sixth we saw something that doesn't happen often in baseball. Mark Teixeira hit a broken bat homerun that brought the Yankees within one run of the Phillies. Brad Lidge was given another save oppurtunity but he could not prevail. With credit to Brad he only gave up two hits and both hits were groundball singles.
The game went into extra innings and in the eleventh with Chase Utley on second base Carlos Ruiz doubled down the third base line to score Chase. Clay Condrey the unsung hero of the Phillies pitchd two scoreless innings in relief and got the win.
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The Phillies finally comeback home after a long road trip to play the Florida Marlins. Jamie Moyer will look to continue his career dominance against the Marlins. In one start against the fish this year Jamie went six innings and only surrendered one run. That bolstered his career record to 12-1 against the Marlins. The Marlins will counter with 22-year-old Chris Volstad. In his last start against the Diamondbacks his went six innings and gave up four earned runs, but on the bright side he had a career high nine strikeouts.

Phillies Trade

The Phillies have traded Triple-A Lehigh Valley pitcher Justin Lehr to the Reds for cash considerations.

Happ, Phils Fall To Yanks

Raul Ibanez does it again he hit his league leading 17th homerun of the season then, John Mayberry Jr. hit his first career homerun (in his major league debut). JA Happ making his first start of the season throws six innings only gives up two runs, then Chad Durbin and Ryan Madson threw two scoreless innings and everyone is thinking gameover. Well, the Yankees thought different, Brad Lidge came in and started it off by walking Johnny Damon then, he struck out Mark Teixeira. With one out Alex Rodriguez hit an opposite field homerun that barely left the short porch in right field. Next, what do you know Robinson Cano gets on base then Melky Cabrera hits him home to win the game and the Yankees complete the ninth inning comeback.
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Sunday should be a pitcher's duel between Cole Hamels and $161 million C.C. Sabathia. Cole is finally healthy again and he has been pitching his best baseball of the year. On Tuesday, in Cincinnati he went six innings and gave up three runs. Unfortunately, for the Phillies Sabathia is finally finding his groove. He has only surrendered three earned runs in his last three outings.

Phils Hammer Yanks

First game at the New Yankee Stadium for the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, but it looked like the Phillies have been playing there for years. Going into the game tonight the New Yankee Stadium has already surrendered 75 homeruns. That quickly changed tonight. J-Roll decided to bring his bat to the game tonight and jumped on a high fastball by A.J. Burnett and took it to the seats. In the top of the second inning Carlos Ruiz got his first homer of the year and gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead. Jayson Werth added another two-run bomb in the 5th, and the Phils were on there way. Brett Myers was dealing but what kind of game would it be without Myers giving up a few homeruns. In the sixth, he gave up a solo shot to A-Roid I mean Alex Rodriguez. In the eighth Myers had his only hiccup of the night when he surrended two solo homeruns to Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira. Charlie decided to go to Madson in the ninth in a four run game and he made the right decision. Madson had a 12 pitch inning that solidified the win for the Phightin Phils.
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Phillies are finally giving JA Happ a shot as a starter as he takes on Andy Pettitte at 4:05 tomorrow on FOX. Happ is 2-0 with a 2.49 ERA this season in 21.2 innings pitched. Chan Ho Park on the other hand is 1-1 with a 6.88 ERA with pitched 35.1 innings pitched. Park who was very good in Spring Training beat out Happ for the fifth spot in the rotation. Park was unable to find the strikezone as a starter while Happ has been very consistant as a long man in the bullpen. Now, they will switch spots and Park may take some of the burden off of fellow relievers Clay Condrey and Chad Durbin.