For the second time this month the Phillies dropped 3 games in a 4 game series against a team with a losing record. First it was the Pirates 4th of July weekend, and now the Cubs. In reality, they were a 9th inning Marmol meltdown from being swept.
I'm not going to get on Halladay for this loss. The reality is that he has given the Phillies amazing start after amazing start which they squandered by not scoring runs for him. Even though Roy saw his ERA rise 2.40 while giving up 5 earned runs in 6 innings, the truth is, he was probably unlucky. The 4 run second inning, which was his undoing, was a lazy Soto flyball that left the yard and a couple of lucky groundball singles that happened to find holes in the infield. At this point, I think its also time to think about ending the David Herndon experiment. His ERA has risen over 4 and he inspires zero confidence.
At the plate, the Phillies were able to come up some runs, but only after falling behind. Placido Polanco had 2 hits and saw his average rise to .319 while the Phils got home runs from Gregg Dobbs (4th), Ryan Howard (21st), and Ben Francisco (2nd).
With the Braves winning, the Phillies are now 5.5 games out of first place and look to rebound with a 4 game set in St. Louis against the Cardinals. First pitch tonight is at 7:05 as Kyle Kendrick looks to provide a good start for the reeling Phils.
One thing I will always remember Junior Griffey for is that sweet swing. This a great Nike commercial:
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