The Phillies started their first home stand of the season with their best start since 1993. They came in to Citizens Bank Park with a 5-1 record and they were facing the Washington Nationals, the team who has been the worst team in baseball for the past two seasons. While the Phillies took 2-3 from the Nats and improved their record to 7-2 it did not however come without a price. As the pregame festivities took place Jimmy Rollins was named the starting short stop of the Phillies, but when it was time to actually take the field Juan Castro was filling in for JRoll. It was later relieved that Rollins had injured his calf in pre game workouts, and now we know he will be out 2-4 weeks with this injury.
Cole Hamels took the hill in game one of the series and he was facing off against the Nationals new "Game Changer!" Jason Marquis. Hamels was coming off of an average start the previous week playing the same Nats, so this game was a big one for "King Cole". Hamels definitely didn’t pitch up to expectations and actually pitched worse than he did in his previous start. Some questionable calls behind the plate, and Cole receiving bad luck, resulted in Hamels giving up a two run double to opposing pitcher Jason Marquis.
With the Phillies down 4-2 in the fifth inning the Phillies bats came alive. Capped off by a two run Chase Utley HR, the Phillies had tacked on five runs and once again showed why they were one of the best offensive teams in the league. The Phillies ended up taking game one 7-4 against the Nats and improved their record to 6-1
Game two saw spring training sensation Kyle Kendrick look to get his first win of the season but he proved it was easier said than done. Kendrick's previous start in Washington was the only loss the Phillies had this season so I would have thought Kendrick wanted a little revenge.
I can say that I was in attendance to see the worst pitching performance of the season so far for the Phillies as Kyle Kendrick looked less and less like a Phillie, and more and more like an Iron Pig. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings while giving up 6 ER and walking 3. His season ERA is now 17.47 and he hasnt gotten past the fourth inning in any of his starts.
Nelson Figueroa took over for Kendrick and not only pitched well, but hit well too. Figueroa went 3 1/3 innings while giving up only 1 ER which was much needed after Kendrick's disastrous start. He also managed to out hit Greg Dobbs, Raul Ibanez, Juan Castro, and Carlos Ruiz picking up 2 hits in 2 at bats.
The Phillies offense once again took over the headlines as they won the game 14-7 and once again hit double digits in the hits category. Shane Victorino, hitting in the vacated leadoff spot, had a career high 5 RBI while going 4-5 with 1 HR. Chase Utley also added his third, and his fourth HR of the season as he bat continues to heat up. The Phillies improved to 7-1 and were looking for the sweep on Thursday
A day when the Phillies would receive their National League Championship rings, the Phillies failed to pick up the sweep, blowing the lead in the late innings. JA Happ took the mound for the Phillies after having a solid start to the season. Happ's problem with his last start in Houston was that he failed to go late into the games because of a high pitch count and it was the exact same today. Last week’s Happ's big problem was just the hitters having good at bats against him, fouling off pitches and raising his pitch count. Today however it was Happ who raised his own pitch count by walking six batters in just 5 1/3 innings. While he walked more than a batter an inning he only gave up 3 hits, 1 un earned run, and his ERA is still spotless on the season. He just needs to work on hitting his spots for his next outing
With the game tied 1-1 in the sixth inning, and Nationals pitcher Scott Olsen's control looking bad, Juan Castro cashed in with a two run double to break the tie. Olson was then taken out of the game where the pitcher who claimed he "hates the Phillies" doused spectators with water. Classy move as it was a bit spicy today.
With the Phillies up 4-1 the Nationals started chipping away at the lead. After a seventh inning Ian Desmond base hit RBI, the Nationals made their mark in the eighth inning when Adam Dunn hit a solo shot off Phil's pitcher Danys Baez. He then walked Ivan Rodriguez and with pinch hitter Ryan Zimmerman up, gave up a two run HR and the lead. The Phillies dropped the last game of the series 7-5.
THE GOOD:
· Chase Utley IS the man. His bat is heating up and he is now hitting .367 on the season and in his last two games he has three hits, all HR, and six RBI.
· The Phillies offense has been on fire. In nine games this season they have double digit hits in six of those and were one hit away on Thursday’s game from making it seven out of nine.
· Phillies new third basemen Placido Polanco is making Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. look like a genius. In nine games this season he has a hit in eight of them. He has at least two hits in eight out of those nine games. He is leading the team with a .475 average.
· Ryan Howard hasn’t hit a HR since April 10 but its not seeming to matter. Howard is hitting .357 on the season with 3 HR, 13 RBI and is leading the team in the RBI category. More importantly, in 42 AB this season Howard has struck out just five times.
THE BAD:
· The Loss of Jimmy Rollins is huge. JRoll was off to a hot start, and was hitting .391 in six games this season. So far Juan Castro has filled in nicely for the gold glove SS but what concerns me was a tweet from Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki that said Rollins had a torn calf. Hopefully its an injury that wont linger
· Raul Ibanez has been awful. He is hitting just .206 this season and had no HR, and five measly RBI.
· Kyle Kendrick has been atrocious and he’s looked bad against the Nationals. Wednesday night Kendrick just couldn’t hit the strike zone. He has pitched in 5 2/3 innings this season and has given up 11 ER. Joe Blanton is scheduled to throw a bullpen session tomorrow and is reported to be ahead of schedule. Kendrick might have one more start to right this ship that is sinking, and sinking fast.
· Cole Hamels has pitched OK this season. But it’s the same thing, just a different year with Cole. I have never seen a pitcher so mentally weak in my life. When that strike three call wasn’t called against Nationals second basemen Adam Kennedy you just knew that Cole would implode. He then gave up a hit to the opposing pitcher. He needs to learn that missed calls are going to happen, and just to get over it. He is clearly his own worst enemy.
NEXT SERIES:
Phillies will look to take a series from the Marlins starting Friday night. They send new ace Roy Halladay and his .56 ERA to the mound. Halladay will face Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez. Jamie Moyer and Cole Hamels will also take the hill for the Phillies as they will miss Marlins ace Josh Johnson who pitched today. Marlins batter Jorge Cantu is off to one of the best starts in MLB history. He has a base hit, and an RBI in 10 straight games this season. Since 1920, when the RBI became a stat, Jorge Cantu now holds the obscure record for most games with at least a hit, and an RBI. While Cantu is off to a hot start their big threat is SS Hanley Ramirez who is hitting .333 with 1 HR, 4 RBI.
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