Phillies begin four-game series with Cubs

Jon Lieber and the Phillies reach for .500 when they meet Rich Hill and the Cubs tonight at Wrigley Field.

Growing up, it felt like every other Phillies game was played in front of outfield ivy. Man, times have changed since realignment. This will be the first Wrigley telecast I’ve seen in over a year.

Wrigley field is of course the site where Jon Lieber (5-9, 5.10 ERA), who pitched for the Cubs from 1999-2002, posted his 20-win season, and the pitcher we’ve seen lately looks a lot like that guy. Lieber is 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA in his last three starts.

The red-hot Phillies offense will try to stay hot against left-hander Rich Hill (6-8, 6.90 ERA), who has a terrible strikeout/walk ratio of 32/26. The Phillies bats are averaging over 7 runs a game since July 28 and have taken over the league lead in runs scored.

Fresh fodder from the press notes
- The Phillies had seven sac hits in yesterday’s game, including three sac flies, which tied a club record.

- Collectively, the Phils have been plunked by pitches 68 times this season, the most in baseball and on pace to break the franchise record set in 1900.

- Jimmy Rollins needs two more home runs and the Phillies will have their first 20-homer double play combo ever in Rollins and Chase Utley. Utley has 21.

Mathieson optioned
- Pitcher Scott Mathieson was optioned back to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre to make room for new starter Jamie Moyer. Mathieson should become a valuable asset in the Red Baron’s pursuit of the International League championship.

Late essay
For those who missed it, I posted a late essay this afternoon on the career of Mike Lieberthal. You can find it directly below.

Comments

[Drama Queen]

I really hope Mathieson regains confidence and does indeed help Scranton with the playoff push.

Utley needs to go on another homeun tear. He's looking a bit tired lately since the hit streak has ended.

John Lieber continues to make teams regret not trading for him tonight...and we should kill Hill...let's see...

[Greg]

Burrell has been having some real good AB's these last few games...

[RickSchuBlues]

If Hill gets that curve over to Utley and Howard all night, you can forget this one.

I miss games with the Cubs, too. And the Pirates and Cardinals. From 19 times a year to...6? That's awful. Yet another argument against interleague play.

[dane]

i agree interleague play should go or be reduced. im tired of getting it handed to us every year by the yanks and red sox

[Greg]

Another good AB by Burrell.

[RickSchuBlues]

Why didn't they walk Nunez there? They did it with the base open in the 2nd.

[Greg]

RSB: They had 2 outs in the 2nd.

[joe]

i like this offense :-)

[RickSchuBlues]

Now we see why Hill has a 6.75 ERA. The righties can handle that curve just fine. Nice inning, let's see if Lieber can make it stand.

[RickSchuBlues]

Greg: I know, but it still would have made more sense to me even with one out. Lieber can't make contact off lefties.

[Greg]

RSB: I imagine they didnt think it was worth it to trade a baserunner for an out with Jimmy "I either hit .500 or .200" Rollins coming up.

The .500 version that is.

[Greg]

Am I ever starting to smell .500 and 1 loss back in the WC.

We've got to do something about Myers now..I don't know if that means DL or just a skip of his start in the rotation..we are going to need him in September...

[Jon]

Chase Utley is back!!

[Will]

nice throw by Vic

[Greg]

Damn Reds.

[RickSchuBlues]

How about our man Lieber?...! His calendar ought to start with the month of August.

What a great year not to be a Cubs fan.

[BloodStripes]

We oughtta call Leiber 'stretch'.

[RickSchuBlues]

Pat the...Glove!

[BloodStripes]

Big catch from Pat. Is he feeling alright? Good play.

[RickSchuBlues]

Between that catch and the cruching collision at the plate, Burrell looks unusually inspired tonight.

[BloodStripes]

Good to see.

Is Charlie awake out there. Took to long again to remove the starter.

[RickSchBlues]

Ah, I dunno. He earned the right to stay out there, 5-1 in the 7th, 2 outs. I think Manuel took him out at the right time.

[joe]

Burrel: player of the game.

[theragtopguy]

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while! LOL

Good to hear that Pat is finally getting into the groove.

[BloodStripes]

Fair enough RSB.

[BloodStripes]

Nuni, Nuni, Nuni.

[gr]

i love me some nunez. the cubs color guy on xm is besides himself.

[That Dude]

Nunez is at the Medonza line!

[BloodStripes]

He's cracked the Mendoza line.

[RickSchuBlues]

Getting runs like that is something I'm just not accustomed to seeing from the Phillies. That's a just a huge run with two outs, after the Cubs just scored three. Again, Chicago is burnt by not walking our clutch .200 hitter.

[BloodStripes]

LOL, last time he was intentionally walked, Wolf hit behind him and drove in a run or 2. He's hitting over .300 for the last 10 to 15 games.

[Mike H.]

All right, Nuni! You made it! And driving in a huge run. Nice way to scratch out and fight back against a subpar team. Now let's nail it down, bullpen.

[joe]

uh oh.

[gr]

aaron, you're supposed to crash into walls, not our second baseman.

[Mike H.]

Ouch. Is that a broken collarbone?

[J. Weitzel]

What is Nunez hitting since he's replaced Bell? It must be pretty decent - .260/.270 I would guess.

Cubs definitely another sorry NL team. Novoa gets Sandoval to pop out to Pagan. What league is this???

[RickSchuBlues]

Rowand's lucky he didn't break his neck. Lordy.

[Greg]

what happened...im following this on the computer..

[Jon]

Well hopefully it is not serious. At least we have some legit people who can play center. We do not have a legit back-up for Utley. Looks like Chase is staying in the game.

[RickSchuBlues]

Bad collision between Utley and Rowand. Rowand got the worst of it.

[gr]

rowand and utley collide, rowand flips and lands on his head. utley ok. play goes for a freak triple.

[RickSchuBlues]

Cubs are worse than the Phillies with RISP. Pathetic!

[gr]

i don't think i could listen to ron santo every night. thank god i'm not a cubs fan. he's like stan walters of eagles lore, except not as funny.

[Mike H.]

Ugly collision between Utley and Rowand going out/coming in on a ball. The ball kicked away about 50 feet and the runner went all the way to third.

Nunez is hitting .264 in August. On base of .341 in the same period of time. He's also scored 12 runs. Nice numbers for an eight hole hitter.

I'd even throw in a pitcher for Reggie Sanders at this point. No use screwing around.

[dane]

great pitching by geary to not allow the runner from third to score

[RickSchuBlues]

I have a buddy who lived in Chocago, said the people there revere him like Ashburn in Philly. I guess it's an acquired taste, I don't see the appeal either. Plus, Dick Allen trashed him. That's all I need to know.

[Mike H.]

The pitching and defense better wrap this puppy up (thanks, Geary) against this glorified AAA team. They can easily win four more against this team, too.

[joe]

>I'd even throw in a pitcher for Reggie Sanders at this point.

named gavin floyd :-)

[RickSchuBlues]

talking about Santo, sorry...

[gr]

cincy rallies in 8th to win 4-3 over the 'stros. franklin gets the win.

[fletch]

After Rowand landed on his neck he kept flipping and ended up crouched and on his feet, with his right ankle rolled over. A lot of different parts could be hurt after that collision. He seemed to be favoring that right ankle a good deal as we was helped off the field.

[gr]

i did the same thing as rowand diving for a ball a month ago. my neck hurt for 2 weeks. i needed painkillers. he's a little tougher than me, i think.

[MAW]

Is Utley only still in the game because there wasn't anyone left on the bench except Lieby?

[Mike H.]

Wow, getting quoted by holy Joe... thanks.

Floyd would love KC! No booing fans, no expectations. He might have a .500 season here and there....

[gr]

c'mon ryan-o, let's close this one out.

[gr]

howard's on pace to strike out about 190 times.

[RickSchuBlues]

Imagine how much better Howard's going to be when he learns to stay off pitcher's pitches out of the strike zone.

[fletch]

The Cubs announcers just said the early word on Rowand is a sprained right ankle.

[RickSchuBlues]

Could've been much worse. Meantime, maybe it'll be the impetus for Gillick to get another bat.

[BloodStripes]

Ramirez would look good in Phillie uniform.

[joe]

oh, christ.

bring on fabio!

[Mike H.]

That's a heckuva insurance run by Nunez...

[Greg]

Oh God this would be an awful loss.

[RickSchuBlues]

Oh, how I don't want to see Rhodes out there this late in the game...

[gr]

rick white is not the answer, charlie.

[emerson]

Anyone know when Gordon will be available?

[Jon]

If anything, this game has really shown how weak our bench is. The Sandovals and Robersons of the world just aren't ready to help a team trying to win a wildcard. Even with an ankle sprain, Rowand will probably be out for a while. Upgrades to the bench are crucial for this team to stay in the hunt.

[RickSchuBlues]

Exhale, beerleaguers.

[Ed]

holy crap. phew!

[Mike H.]

Nice win but with interesting negative developments. At long last, they are at .500 again. They are a legit WC team, thanks to some above average pitching and another no error night. Really looking forward to Moyer tomorrow night. Go Phils!

[Eileen]

WHEW....THAT WAS CLOSE!

[gr]

the 40-man roster can't come soon enough. phils wriggle out a game they should have in many ways lost. cubs had 16 hits.

[Mike H.]

Gordon might be able to go on Friday in Queens...

[Jon]

Emerson, Phils announcers said that it looked like Gordon's long toss session went well today. The next step is for him to throw off the mound tomorrow. After that he will be evaluated to determine when he will be available.

[Tim]

great win.

for the record, i have to say that while the victorino play to nab jones(?) at 2nd was great, bobby makes it everytime.

[MG]

Thought that Rhodes was going to blow it . . . definitely looking forward to see Gordon return in the next week or so. This bullpen desperately needs him.

[Jon]

I don't remember who said it, but it probably would be good to give Utley a day off. I couldn't agree more. Tomorrow should be the day after that collision. Put him back in there on Wednesday.

[Jon]

Breaking news from Comcast Sports Net:

Gordon to go on the 15 day DL.

Not good.

[Mike H.]

Take my Friday and shove it. Man, that's a bummer. Who do you think they will bring up? Am I bold to say bring up Mathieson?

[Jon]

Well, the Phils said Mathieson will be in the pen when they call him back up, so why not? He definitely has reliever stuff at this point and has proven that he can get through one or two innings without any trouble. That being said, I have a feeling they will probably go with Clay Condrey or Travis Minix. Condrey will probably get the call due to already having some experience up here this year.

[seth.]

Gordon on the DL is retroactive to more than a week ago, so it won't be too long until he's back. They should call up another bat until he returns. See if someone who's got a hot bat in the minors can keep it going up on the big team. Especially since I'd guess Rowand will be out at least a few games, even if it is just a sprain. They have almost no bench.

[MG]

I still wonder how hurt Gordon really is.

[Jon]

It also would make sense to go for some bench help as Seth pointed out. The thing is, Rowand will probably end up on the DL too, so it's only a matter of time before both a bench player and a pitcher are called up. Gillick really needs to get creative here. I am not overly confindent in Roberson and even less confident in Sandoval.

[MG]

Totally agree it is time to use some of that new-found payroll flexibility to acquire an experienced OF bat. Can't believe that the Phils wouldn't be able to get someone who would be an upgrade over Robertson.

[Will]

Bobby makes the throw everytime Tim, whether or not he gets to the ball fast enough to make the out was always the problem.

[Drama Queen]

Worries- our bench is horribly think with the loss of Rowand for at least a few games maybe more. That means Burrell/Victorino/Dellucci in the OF, with our pinch hitters being Sandoval (.136) and Roberson (.179) and the catcher that isn't starting...that's not good! Gordon is on the DL, we don't need another pitcher brought up...we need bench help pronto! Can we get Adrian Brown or Reggie Sanders from K.C. for Gavin Floyd?

*A-Ram would look beautiful in the Phils uni!

[clout]

Resting Uts a game is a good idea, but who replaces him? Sandoval? Bad idea.
If Rowand must go on DL, they should try Bourn. I question his bat at the MLB level, but he can field and run better than Victorino or Roberson.
The Rhodes-as-closer situation is an accident waiting to happen, but I see no viable alternative.
If Moyers can pitch as well tonight as Lidle did for the Yanks yesterday, it would give the team a real psychological lift.

[Bob D]

How bad is Rowand?
If he goes down it'll likely be Bourn up for his spot. Scranton's team is playing for playoffs though and the Phils want them to compete. They may not want to let anyone goto the Phils until after that. The Phils will probably say otherwise.

And I would NOT trade Floyd at all. If he remains in AAA for a year then so be it. He will have value at some point even if he becomes a reliever.

[Bob D]

Clout how about Nunez at 2B and Coste at 3B? Alittle better than Sandoval.

[Jon]

Come on Bob, you know Charie will never do that. It makes too much sense!

[Jon]

*Charlie

[Tony]

Rowand broke ankle, will miss at least 5 weeks, sources say

By PAUL HAGEN
Daily News Sports Writer

CHICAGO -- Phillies centerfielder Aaron Rowand suffered a broken left ankle Monday night when he collided with second baseman Chase Utley chasing a pop fly off the bat of Cubs first baseman John Mabry, sources indicated early this morning.
Rowand had been talken to the hospital after the Phillies' 6-5 win over the Cubs for what were termed precautionary X-rays.

He's expected to miss at least 5 weeks, which would likely make him unavailable for the remainder of the regular season.

The Phillies are 2 1/2 games behind the Cincinnati Reds after reaching .500 last night for the first time since June 19.

It was not immediately apparent what moves the team, which had placed closer Tom Gordon on the DL after the game would make. It's possible that two position players will be recalled from the minors. The Phillies had been carrying 13 pitchers, leaving manager Charlie Manuel with a short bench.

In the short term, Shane Victorino would mosty likely take over in centerfield with Pat Burrell in left and David Delliucci in right.

[Mike H.]

Although there is a rule that says you can't bring a guy back up 10 days after you sent him down, it can be waived due to injury. I'm hoping for Mathieson to come back. I'm also dreaming here, but he's swinging a hot bat, so why not Pedro Swann? He's probably one of those Pedros who can't hit the curveball...

[Drama Queen]

Mike H.- Pedro "35 years old" Swann could help. Other candidates- Thurston, Scales, Ruiz, Bourn, King. We need help in a hurry. All of a sudden we have 2 important players on the DL. Gordon not saving games is bad, and Rowand being out creating a weaker bench is bad. Waiver wire?

[Lake Fred]

I go out Monday night to a meeting, missing following the game. The Phils reach .500 but Rowand breaks his ankle and Rhodes nearly blows the game. Am I supposed to be happy for .500 or sad realizing that Rowands and Gordon are going on the DL?

Nunez reaches .200 and now we discover that we have two more (Sandoval and Roberson) batting worse than Nunez. Am I supposed to be happy for Nunez, or sad that we have double dogs under the .200 level? It's like weeds in the lawn. You finally get rid of a big weed, only to discover two more somewhere else on your lawn.

And to make things worse in New Orleans, the Saints stink up ESPN on MNF. The poor nation had to endure listening to them interview our inept governor, too!

[Drama Queen]

Lake Fred- the "weeds" comment was dead on!

Sandoval needs to be sent down. Bring Scales, King, or Thurston up. Roberson stays for his pinch running ability. Carlos Ruiz is swinging a hot stick, bring him up and let him catch some and pinch hit.

I'm really hoping for some waiver wire magic though!