Doc & Phils overcome rough 1st; beat Cards in opener

PHILDELPHIA: It wasn’t a pleasant start for the Phillies or Roy Halladay.

A leadoff single by Rafael Furcal followed 2 batters later by a four-pitch walk to Albert Pujols put a pair of runners on for Lance Berkman. Berkman saw just a single pitch that at-bat; a mistake by Halladay that he deposited into the right field seats staking the Cardinals and starter Kyle Lohse to an early 3-0 lead.

That seemed to be all Lohse would need. He cruised through the first 3 innings retiring all 9 hitters he faced rather easily. Everything changed starting in the 4th. Chase Utley lined a double to right field with 1 out for the Phillies first hit of the evening. Following a Hunter Pence strikeout and a Howard walk, Lohse looked like he was going to wriggle his way out of trouble when Shane Victorino popped a ball down the third baseline that was misplayed by David Freese giving the Phillies’ centerfielder new life.

Giving a playoff team an extra out is never a smart option. Victorino promptly lined a single to left field scoring Utley cutting the Cardinals lead down to two at 3-1.

After a perfect 5th, many wondered if the Phillies would get anymore off of Lohse. That was until the 6th when everything started to unravel.

Howard’s monster home run reached the upper deck off of Citizens Bank Park. It was his first playoff homer and RBIs since 2009. His 2010 0-fer for the postseason had been washed away with one swing. The Phillies led 4-3 and looked to pile it on.

And pile it on they did. Victorino followed with a single, the Phillies’ fourth hit of the inning. The home crowd was going ballistic and the Cardinals’ starter had lost his composure. All that was needed was a capper and Raul Ibanez was happy to oblige.

Ibanez launched the 2-0 offering from Lohse into the right field bleachers. Successfully, launching complete pandemonium and forcing Tony LaRussa to go to his bullpen.

Once the Cardinals’ bullpen took over, the Phillies’ bats kept with the onslaught. They tallied 3 more runs in the 7th thanks to RBIs from Ryan Howard, Victorino, and Ibanez. In the 8th, Hunter Pence joined chipped in with his first two career postseason RBIs pulling the lead to 11-3.

While Lohse and the Cardinals’ bullpen were collapsing, Halladay was just starting to impress. After allowing a leadoff single to Skip Schumaker in the 2nd, the Philadelphia ace was unhittable in the most literal sense. Halladay retired the last last 21 batters he faced not allowing a batter to reach from the 3rd inning on. He finished the day tallying 8 innings allowing just 3 runs on 3 hits.

The Cardinals finally got to the Phillies’ bullpen in the 9th when Halladay was pulled for rookie Michael Stutes. Stutes struggled allowing 4 of the 5 hitters he faced to reach and had to be pulled after just getting 1 out. Phillies’ closer Ryan Madson entered and allowed a two-run double that glanced off of the glove of defensive replacement John Mayberry Jr. in left field and the Cardinals pulled to within 11-6. 

However, that is as close as they would get. Madson struck out Jon Jay and pinch hitter Matt Holliday sealing the opening game victory for the Phillies.

With the win, Halladay improve his career NLDS record to 2-0 with a sparkling 1.53 era. Lohse’s record drops to 0-3 in his postseason career.

Notes: 7 of the Phillies 9 starters had a hit…The meat of the Phillies order, Howard-Pence-Victorino-Ibanez, combined to go 8-for16 with 5 runs scored. They knocked in all 11 runs for the Phillies…Utley clubbed a pair of doubles off the warning track in right field; he finished with 3 runs scored and hits on the evening…Rolllins scored 3 runs while chipping in 2 hits of his own.

See the full box score here.

Phillies NLDS Preview is up!

My Fellow Phans,

My 2011 NLDS preview is up! Check the pages tab above for the link!

Have a great day everyone!

Until we meet again Phillies fans; happy readings and go Phillies!

Phillies vs. Cardinals: 2011 NLDS Preview!

My Fellow Phans,

So it is finally the day. The start of the most anticipated postseason in the history of the Phillies franchise. This has been a record setting year this season for the team itself with their 102 wins and Charlie Manuel, who became the most successful Phillies manager in history, when he won 646^th career game at the helm of the club on Wednesday.

For their season’s efforts, clinching the best record in all of baseball and home field throughout the postseason, they draw the wild card winning St. Louis Cardinals in the opening round of the 2011 MLB postseason. Here is your preview for the upcoming NLDS set to begin later this evening:

Philadelphia Phillies (East Champs; 102-60) vs.                              St. Louis Cardinals (Wild Card; 90-72)

Schedule/ Pitching Matchups:

Game 1: Friday, Saturday, October 1 @ Philadelphia (5:07pm):

Roy Halladay (19-6 2.35) vs. Kyle Lohse (14-8 3.39)

Game 2: Sunday, October 2 @ Philadelphia (8:37pm):

Cliff Lee (17-8 2.40) vs. Chris Carpenter (11-9 3.45)

Game 3: Tuesday, October 4 @ St. Louis (TBD):

Jaime Garcia (13-7 3.56) vs. Cole Hamels (14-9 2.75)

Game 4 (If necessary): Wednesday, October 5 @ St. Louis (TBD):

Lohse vs. Halladay or Roy Oswalt (9-10 3.69)

Game 5 (If necessary): Thursday, October 6 @Philadelphia (TBD):

TBD vs. TBD

Phillies Roster & Notes:

Hitters:

C: Carlos Ruiz (.283-6-40), Brian Scheinder (.176-2-9)

Inf: Ross Gload (.257-0-8), Ryan Howard (.253-33-116), Michael Martinez (.196-3-24), Placido Polanco (.277-5-50), Jimmy Rollins (.268-16-63), Chase Utley (.259-11-44), Wilson Valdez (.249-1-30)

Of: Ben Francisco (.244-6-34), Raul Ibanez (.245-20-84), John Mayberry (.273-15-49), Hunter Pence (.314-22-97), Shane Victorino (.279-17-61)

Pitchers:

Rhp: Joe Blanton (1-2 5.01), Roy Halladay (19-6 2.35), Kyle Kendrick (8-6 3.22), Brad Lidge (0-2 1.40), Ryan Madson (2.37 – 32 saves), Roy Oswalt (9-10 3.69), Michael Stutes (6-2 3.63), Vance Worley (11-3 3.01)

Lhp: Antonio Bastardo (6-1 2.64), Cole Hamels (14-9 2.79), Cliff Lee (17-9 2.40)

Phillies Season Notes:

The Phillies completed the greatest season in their franchise’s history winning 102 games and sweeping out the Braves to end the season.

Pitching: Roy Halladay led the way winning 19 games in his second season with the Phillies and Cliff Lee followed close behind with 17 wins of his own…The pitching staff itself led the major leagues in ERA (3.02), complete games (18), Shutouts (21), quality starts (108), and wins with 102…Ryan Madson finished with 32 saves in 34 chances.

Offense: Ryan Howard was the overwhelming leader offensively with his 33 homers and 116 RBIs. Since his acquisition, Hunter Pence has hit .324 with 11 homers and 35 RBIs with the Phillies in just 54 games… Shane Victorino finished with 15+ homers, triples, doubles, and steals for the first time in his career…The Phillies are the 7^th lowest scoring team in the postseason, only ahead of Tampa Bay, and lowest in the National League.

Cardinals Roster & Notes:

Hitters:

C: Gerald Laird (.232-1-12), Yadier Molina (.305-14-65),

Inf: Daniel Descalso (.264-1-28), David Freese (.297-10-55), Rafael Furcal (.231-8-28), Tyler Greene (.212-1-11), Albert Pujols (.299-37-99), Nick Punto (.278-1-20), Skip Schumaker (.283-2-38), Ryan Theriot (.271-1-47),

Of: Lance Berkman (.301-31-94), Adron Chambers (.375-0-4), Allen Craig (.315-11-40), Matt Holliday (.296-22-75), John Jay (.297-10-37)

Pitchers:

Rhp: Mitchell Boggs (2-3 3.56), Chris Carpenter (11-9 2.37), Octavio Dotel (5-4 3.50), Edwin Jackson (12-9 3.79), Kyle Lohse (14-8 3.39), Jason Motte (2.25- 9 saves), Fernando Salas (5-6 2.28), Jake Westbrook (12-9 4.66),

Lhp: Jaime Garcia (13-7 3.56), Arthur Rhodes (3-4 4.64), Marc Rzepcynski (2-6 3.34),

Cardinals Season Notes:

The Cardinals creeped their way into the postseason as the Wild Card aided by a monumental Braves collapse. They finished a NL best 18-8 in the month of September edging Atlanta by a single game.

Pitching: The Cardinals finished 8^th in the National League in ERA (3.74)…St. Louis had 5 pitchers with at least 10 wins (Lohse, Garcia, Westbrook, McClellan, and Carpenter)…The Cardinals bullpen blew the second most saves (26) in the major leagues last season…Garcia, Lohse, and Carpenter combined to allow just 5 earned runs in 45 innings against the Phillies this year (1.00 ERA).

Offense: In the NL this year, the Cardinals led in runs, hits, total bases, RBIs, batting average, and OPS. ..Albert Pujols led the Cardinals in homers (37) and RBIs (99) this season…Yadier Molina is the regular season batting champ (.305)…7 of the Cardinals regular starters are hitting .283 or above…As a team, they hit .290 with runners in scoring position…Despite these high offensive numbers, the Cardinals stole a National League low 57 bases last year.

Stand Out Stars:

Phillies: My stand out star for the Phillies this series is a playoff-newbie. That is Philadelphia’s new right fielder, Hunter Pence. Pence has starred for the Phillies since he was picked up from the Astros right before the trade deadline. One thing that I have learned about Mr. Pence since he’s been here is that he can quickly adjust to high pressure situations. Coming from Houston to Philly is a whole new atmosphere and Pence found his niche almost immediately. The playoffs are no exception, this is exactly the type of stage he wants to play on and I expect him to thrive under the bright lights.

Cardinals: While many people may pick Pujols here, I am going a bit down the pecking order for the player to watch from the Cardinals. Yes, we know Pujols and Berkman and Holiday will get their cracks, but my player to watch for on the Cardinals is catcher Yadier Molina. Molina quietly led the Cardinals in hitting this year and had a career year offensively. Of course, his numbers were overshadowed by the aforementioned superstars. He has a knack for getting big hits for the Cardinals this season and has in the postseason as well; remember his go ahead homer against the Mets back in 2006?

Series Analysis:

This series features both the top pitching team in the National League and the top offensive squad. Expect a low scoring, pitching oriented series. The Cardinals did go 6-3 against the Phillies this past season, but the postseason is a whole other can of worms. The Phillies are experienced, focused and refuse to be denied their quest to be world champions. In the other dugout, the Cardinals are ready, eager and dying to knock the big bad Phillies out of the postseason.

Prediction

As long as the Phillies aces can keep the Cardinals hitters off balance, their offense should produce enough runs to lead them to victory. It won’t be easy for the NL East champions as the Cardinals late season surge will provide a temporary boost. However, the top team in the National League is raring and ready to go.

Phillies in 4.

Until we meet again Phillies fans: happy readings and go Phillies!

Opening games time announced!

My Fellow Phans,

I bring you more information from the great world of MLB. The starting times for games 1 &2 of the Phillies series opening series with the Cardinals.

Here is the basics for those 2 games:

Game 1: Saturday, October 1 – 4:07 pm

Game 2: Sunday, October 2 – 8:07 pm.

I will share more information as it comes out. Stay tuned for my Phillies Playoff  preview coming tomorrow! It will have the full schedule, pitching matchups, lineups, rosters, predictions, analysis, breakdowns, and much-much more!

Aside from the Phillies, I am progressively working on previews for all of the 3 other divisional series. The Tigers vs. Yankees preview is already posted, I will complete the other ALDS matchup tonight, post the Brewers/Arizona preview tomorrow morning.Each of those previews have their own page so check them out at the top of the screen.

The Phillies will round out the previews. Look for that tomorrow night!

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy readings and go Phillies!

Playoff Opponent Revealed!

My Fellow Phans,

I am sure many of you saw the news already, but incase you haven’t. The Cardinals clinched the NL Wild Card last night sealing the Phillies date with the Cardinals in the opening round of the MLB postseason.

The series is set to start Saturday.

I will do a full preview last on, but this is just the basics! Stay tuned!

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy readings and Go Phillies!

Bring on the Big Apple! - Phillies / Mets Preview

My Fellow Phans,

There are a lot of things I could say about this recent string of games for the Phillies. However, this is not the time for such talk. The Phillies haven’t played a meaningful game since last Saturday, and ironically enough that was the last game that they won.

Yes, there is a little concern from some, but I will touch on that in a few days depending on the results of this upcoming series with the Mets.

Here is your preview:

Phillies (98-58: 1st NL East) @ New York Mets (74-82; 4th NL East)

Friday, September 23:

7:10 @ Citi Field, NY – PHL17

Cole Hamels (14-9 2.80) vs. R.A. Dickey (8-13 3.35)

Saturday, September 24:

1:10 @ Citi Field, NY – CSN

Kyle Kendrick (8-6 3.04) vs. Dillon Gee (12-6 4.48)

Sunday, September 25:

1:10 @ Citi Field, NY – PHL17

Roy Halladay (18-6 2.41) vs. Mike Pelfrey (7-12 4.58)

Series Notes: The Phillies are trying to stop their 6 game losing streak. They haven’t won a game since clinching the division last week and were manhandled by the Nationals in the final four home regular season games of their season.

How do they look to break it?

Well, some new additions would help. The Phillies were playing with Ryan Howard and a few games without right fielder Hunter Pence during this mini free fall. Now both are slated to return to action in this series.

It would also help the Phillies for their 1-2-3 guys in the order, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Chase Utley, to return to form. The three went an abysmal 0-for-36 in this series against the Nationals. Yes, 0 hits in 36 trips to the plate. In fact all three are having horrendous Septembers as well. Rollins, Victorino, and Utley are hitting a miserable .174 combined in September with just 3 homers and 10 RBIs.

Tonight may be Cole Hamels’ final start of the regular season. It should be an interesting one. He looks to bounce back from a rocky stretch (9 runs in his last 12 innings) although it won’t be easy. Hamels has a history of rough starts against the Mets. In his career, Cole is 3-10 with an 4.69 ERA against the Metropolitans. Against the Mets just this season alone, Hamels has an 9.64 ERA.

Regardless, the Phillies will look to turn the page with the playoffs looking just 7 days away.

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy readings and go Phillies!

Clinch-Tastic! Phillies win 5th straight NL East Title

My Fellow Phans,

I know many of you were watching the Mets and Braves today hoping for a New York victory so that the Phillies could have their title. However, the Braves won so the Phillies had everything in their own hands tonight against the Cardinals.

And the Phillies took full advantage.

Roy Oswalt pitched 7 stellar innings in a playoff like setting and the offense exploded for 9 runs as the Phillies won their 98th game of the season and clinched the 2011 National League East title. 

The Phillies started the offense early as Hunter Pence knocked in an 1st inning run. They added a pair of runs throughout the early innings thanks to a pair of Shane Victorino RBIs on a walk and a long home run to centerfield.

The Cardinals pulled a bit closer with a pair of runs off of Michael Stutes in the 8th inning, but the Phillies sealed the game in the bottom of the 8th with a 6 spot. The key blow; a Grand Slam off of the bat of Raul Ibanez!

Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless 9th to finish off the Cardinals and send the town of Philadelphia into a frenzy!

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On a more personal note…

I would like to thank these Phillies for a wonderful season and I cannot wait until October! It’s been a total team effort and everyone has played some role in the success of this season. It’s been a great run boys, but it is far from over, far from over!

We all remember Brett Myers way back in 2007 throwing his glove his in the air in celebration and that fantastic double play turned in 2008 against the Nationals. We can add the brilliant barehanded stab by Chase Utley to that memorable list.

I also can’t imagine how tonight must feel for the newer guys on the squad. Players like Hunter “Lets go Eat” Pence, Michael Martinez, Michael Stutes, Vance Worley, John Mayberry must be having the time of their lives at this very moment. I tip my hat to you guys as well.

Kudos to the veterans as well. The players that have been here over the past several season. Now there are too many to name, but they know who they are. Thank you all so much!

Tonight is a night to rejoice, but there is still a long way to go.

Growing up in the 90s with those terrible teams, I still cannot believe what I have seen over the past several years. Although, I have also learned to keep my excitement down since we still have work to be done.

So, lets get that work done and finish this thing off Phillies, lets get it done.

Until we meet again Phillies fans; happy readings and GO PHILLIES, your 2011 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!