Phillies fire back with 5-2 win; late games pending

If it wasn’t Kyle Lohse’s best start as a Phillie, it was certainly his most important. Lohse allowed two runs over seven strong innings as the opportunistic Phils took the second game of their series with Atlanta.

Before an electric home crowd, the Phillies capitalized on one official, two unofficial Braves errors in the third inning, scoring on Chipper Jones’ throwing error to first, pushing home Chase Utley from third. Greg Dobbs then singled to right, scoring Ryan Howard and Aaron Rowand. The Braves could have avoided the entire mess had Tim Hudson fielded a comeback to the mound cleanly, which would have set up an inning-ending double play. It was not ruled an error.

Jimmy Rollins earned Chevrolet Player of the Game accolades for a spectacular night of table-setting, including his 19th triple, which led off the ballgame. J-Roll went three-for-four with a run, pushed home by Howard’s RBI single in the first. Shane Victorino homered in the seventh to give the Phillies some insurance. It was just the 10th home run given up by Hudson all season.

Tom Gordon, J.C. Romero and Brett Myers combined for shutout frames in the 8th and 9th.

Beerleaguer: The Phillies finally got their overdue quality start, capitalized on mistakes and glided to a comfortable win against Hudson and the Braves. Good things happen when you get some innings from your starter. Excellent night for Lohse, who would have been my choice for player of the game.

Comments

[denny b.]

Arizona coughing up another one in Pittsburgh. They could be in serious trouble, with Colorado next this weekend.

Maybe everybody ends up tied after Sunday, in all 3 divisions.

[kdon]

Wow Shawn Green is slow!

[diggitydave]

Nats defense coming up huge!!
lets get some runs off of the rat in the 9th!!

[BloodStripes]

Let me say this again on this thread.

Look at the chumps in the Dodgers lineup. No Kent, Kemp or Martin. Anyone else? C'mon Grady go for the win. Geeeezuz!

[Andy]

Pods made Misch throw all of 10 pitches in the first. SF coming up to DAMAGE Peavy. You know, in our dreams.

[kdon]

Was that a 91 MPH fastball from Wagner?

Maybe the chew slowed down his delivery.

[THe Dude]

I saw a post last week about SopCast...anyone know how this thing works? I've had it for a week but i can't seem to find baseball games on there?

[Andy]

Walk'im Rat.

[Andy]

Tnx for listening you little rodent.

[IceMan]

The Rat looks spent to me. Can't bode well for the Mets going forward.

Breaks my heart.

[Tray]

Dodgers have a lot of bench players in there tonight.

[p. Red]

@The Dude: Head over to www.myp2p.eu, click on MLB and find the game you want to watch. Most games have a stream over SopCast.

[Andy]

Ice - he's not spent; he just has back spasms.

Woo-hoo. There's Ryan takin him to Church-school.

[Cacks]

love me some Church on Wednesday

[Sam Fan]

Every pitch Wagner throws here is one more step toward being totally ineffective if they need him this weekend. Take, Nats, take!

[fletch]

Granted, it's very early, but 1-0 Giants in the 1st.

[kdon]

Beautiful...

[Ribbies]

Dude, try www.myp2p.eu/mlb.htm

[Tray]

Wow, Winn with the solo shot.

[diggitydave]

everybody clap yo' hands!!
shea booing - music to my ears!

[Your Conscience]

The Dude:

If you go to the site:

http://www.myp2p.eu/MLB.htm

You can pick games from there under the SOPcast header. It's good for football too as I was able to watch the Birds game this weekend.

[Chstk of Sffrng]

Ryan Church!

[BloodStripes]

Is Billy Wagner still a Phillie? HA!! He's pitching well for us tonight.

[krub]

Can I get an Amen?

[madubbs]

9-6 NATS...1-0 giants...0-0 rocks dodgers

[Sam Fan]

Or swing. I don't care.

[Mike Cunningham]

Big step up for Lohse tonight... The Phillies are 9-2 in games Lohse has started. (Winning 3 games he was knocked out early < 4IP)

PAUSE... POW RYAN CHURCH!!!!

[Andy]

See, when it's not a save situation it just makes the back spasm that much more. It's a technical thing. I think the official diagnosis is "pussyitis."

[denny b.]

Wagner looks terrible.

I hope the Nats get all of this out of their system before this weekend.

Looks like they are skipping Hanrahan and will pitch Chico on Saturday and Bergman on Sunday. After what Hanrahan did to the Phils last weekend, maybe that isn't so bad.

[Mike Cunningham]

The boos rain down in Shea!

[IceMan]

Listen to the Mets fans boo Wagner!

Don't be mean, guys; his ego can't take it.

[kdon]

Dude,

Sopcast is pretty shaky; sometimes you get a game, sometime you don't. Sometimes the game craps out after a half hour.

On Sunday, I was able to watch the Birds game in its entirety, but that was rare.

Basically, you get what you pay for.

[Krub]

it's the baseball version of Lindros' former health issue: "Kasparitis"

[Cacks]

i guess that lil met fan is only rooting for one met

[Andy]

Three nice pitches. Castillo's a goner.

[Andy]

I bet Wright would play much better in Philadelphia. Think the Mets would trade him to us for Nunez, Mesa and Eaton?

[fletch]

Well that didn't last long. 2-1 Pads in San Francisco. (Lucky not to be 3-1. Very nearly a HR.)

[IceMan]

Ayala, you are an amazing human being.

Mets swept by the Nats...they are ripe for the taking. That clubhouse has to be absolutely toxic right now.

[Andy]

G'bye Metties.

[diggitydave]

this week: "Shameful playing at Shea"
tune in this weekend for: "The Catastrophe in Queens"

what the hell must be going through the mets' heads right now?? this is great!!

[Chstk of Sffrng]

Anyone know if there is a Sopcast for Macs?

[mike nutter]

clap yo hands!

[Chstk of Sffrng]

So ... are we back to thinking the Phils division chances are better than their WC chances right now, given where the Mets are vs. having to catch and stay ahead of both Padres and Rockies?

[kdon]

And now...the Pads.

So nice to have the Giants announcers, who are many orders of magnitude better than the Pads's announcers. If it was the Pads's guys, I'd probably be listening to some of Jason's music picks right now.

[fletch]

CoS: Sorry, you're outta luck. Windows and linux, but oddly, no OS X client for SopCast.

[Andy]

cheesesteak - it will be interesting to see what those who figure the odds have to say about recent events.

[Mr. Mac]

The Rat is consistent. He blew our playoff shot 2 years ago, now it's time to do it up the turnpike. At least he's consistent. Dare I say, could the Phils have known that the Rat didn't have the stomach for pennant a tight race?

[Ribbies]

What a difference a night can make. Time to stroll over to Metsblog. Not to pick a fight, just to soak it in.

[Chstk of Sffrng]

fletch, yeah, that's what googling around seemed to indicate.

Well ... maybe time to finally getting around to figuring out how to make use of Boot Camp.

[diggitydave]

Chstk:
We have an equal shot of winning the WC or the division IMO. Bear in mind that we could feasibly be tied for the wild card lead after tonight.
That being said, the Pads have to Milwaukee for 4 games. The brew crew rarely lose at home, as i believe they win at home at over a .600 clip. Also, at least for the first 2 games, they will be alive and well in the NL Central race. Couple that with the fact that Ben Sheets will probably start the game on Friday night, and I'd say the Pads would be lucky to win 2 of those games.
The Rockies also end with a tough series, granted it's at home but still they are playing the D-backs. They are extremely hot now, but I can't see them beating out SD and the phils for the WC.
It would be so money to win the division, thereby playing Chicago instead of Arizona in the first round, but I would still say that the Phils best chances lie with the Wild Card.

[THe Dude]

thanks for the info on SopCast but I can't get it to work. I go to the website and if I click on a game the messanger program begins to run but nothing comes up on the screen. Looks like I only get the video if i'm clicking on stuff using the program not via that mlb website

[BloodStripes]

Lick my balls mets

[diggitydave]

by the way, they now have commercials for mlb.com during the commercial breaks in the games on mlb.tv. these are some of the funniest things i've ever seen, as I'm sure everyone else who watches on mlb.tv can attest to.
anyway, one of the funniest commercials i have ever seen was just on a little while ago - here's the youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTrtMXgSj64

[Chstk of Sffrng]

Andy, indeed, do they update by the morning?

diggitydave -- good points. And if the Rockies stay really hot and beat the D-backs a few games in a row, all of the sudden the D-backs aren't in first place any more; they lost to the Pirates again tonight, for chrissakes.

[Ribbies]

Padres and Rox up. SD by one, the Rox by two and growing.

[loctastic]

I said this in the other thread.

stupid mets and their stupid orange ball-park.

Go Giants! I hope Bonds took some extra steroids today.

[BloodStripes]

diggitydave - the Phils are good for one of them. Its just gotta happen.

What a difference a day makes. So many phans ready to give up yesterday. Goodbye depression and hello happiness. For now at least.

[Chstk of Sffrng]

What's the pitching, Mets and St. Louis tomorrow?

Do I remember correctly that this game was rained out right before the Phils dropped 3 of 4 to the Mutts mid-season? The Mets won a 6-inning rain shortened game the night before, then had a rain out the next night (while the Phils, thanks to some insane umpires, played through the rain and lost a long game,IIRC), which meant they didn't have to pitch a AAA guy against the Phils in the DH on Friday, while the Phils were going with Durbin and ... someone else from AAA. I remember thinking at the time how unfair it all was, but if the Cards can beat the Mets tomorrow, when they would have had the day off to rest for this weekend, all is even, I suppose.

[diggitydave]

hey by the way - how does everyone feel about restructuring the rotation to have Kendrick going tomorrow against the Braves, and Eaton Saturday against the Nats?
Personally, I love the move, and I'm really looking forward to a Kendrick/Smoltz matchup tomorrow.

[loctastic]

BTW, for a good time, check out Metsblog. Hilarious.

[Mr. Mac]

locastic - 'I hope Bonds took some extra steroids today"...Classic. Best post of the night.

[fletch]

"The brew crew rarely lose at home, as i believe they win at home at over a .600 clip"

I didn't realize they were doing so well at home. I went and looked it up, and was surprised to see you even short-changed them. They're sitting at 49/27 -- .644 -- in Milwaukee!

[Cacks]

COS, Piniero vs Pedro

[diggitydave]

Pedro vs. Pinero tomorrow at Shea.
Pinero has pitched pretty well recently, and I gotta think that the Mets have little or no confidence in their bullpen, which will come into play as Pedro will be on a pitch count tomorrow most likely...

[Ben Rivera]

Chstk...Pedro vs. Piniero tomorrow.

[BloodStripes]

You'd figure this was always gonna be the way but it has been officially released.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Philadelphia Phillies SP Cole Hamels will pitch Game 1 of the National League Division Series should the team make it to the postseason.

[Chstk of Sffrng]

Cards are pounding the Brewers right now.

Hopefully they're saving some for tomorrow.

Thanks for the pitching matchup.

[Ben Rivera]

I've had too much to drink for captchas.

[fletch]

I fully expect the Padres to win tonight, and I'm completely ok with that. I'd much rather see Peavy get a win that anyone in their rotation could have gotten (as in San Francisco) than have him come up against Milwaukee.

[mike nutter]

all things considered the mets still have the easier finish, but they are a mess. they can't do anything right. the division is there for the taking. kendrick is making the biggest start of his life. he needs to deliver.

[FERRET]

ANY1 SEE PHILLY MAN ON METSLBOG AND THE RESPONSES? lol

[fletch]

Mike Winters, the ump that set off Milton Bradley's tantrum on Sunday, has been suspended for the rest of the season.

Careful, Bucknor, it does happen.

[FERRET]

ANY1 SEE PHILLY MAN ON METSLBOG AND THE RESPONSES? lol

[kdon]

Wow, game 1 pitcher? Is that a joke, he's better be ready to pitch Monday!

[Cacks]

who would have thought 3 months ago the Yankees would clinch before the Mets and granted alot has to go right for this to happen but the Mets may not make the playoffs

[loctastic]

yeah I saw the Philly Man post and some of the responses. I dont know, I thought about posting on there, but that's just beating a dead horse. they're posting more brutal stuff than i can come up with.

[Mr. Mac]

- Those Phillies post season ticket commercials are screaming out "JINX" to me whenever I see them. I have to admit I'm tempted though. I just don't want those tickets to be showing up at a card show 20 years from now as I'm telling the grandkids about the '07 season. That's when the kids will roll their eyes and say, "Grandma, get out his medication, Grandpop is telling that story about how the Phillies ALMOST made it again..."

- Do you think Chase will be on a pitch count if there is a game one playoff game. (note the "if". Keeping the jinx off).

[loctastic]

3-1 padres, bed for me

[kdon]

Mr. Mac,

If "Chase" throws *one* pitch, we are in trouble.

[Sad Panda]

I don't see the need to post on MetsBlog. They hate seeing Phils folks there as much as we hate any crude or otherwise annoying Mets post here.

The amazing thing, however, is how similar Mets and Phils fans are now. Bullpen bitching? Check. Manager bitching? Check. Offensive discipline bitching? Check. Utter despair (tonight)? Check. Utter confidence? Check. [Well, I don't think we show utter confidence here ever.] VD? (All them, baby.)

The reality is that both teams are one loose screw from falling into a heap. This isn't a race to a finish. It's a highly-patched duct-tape crawl through sand to the finish.

Go Phils!

[Mr. Mac]

Sorry, should read - Cole

[Cacks]

Mr mac, i hope chase isn't on a pitch count...probably cole though

[kdon]

So glad Barry came to play in his final game in SF...

And WTF is Boche thinking, keeping that guy in there to face Greene? Good grief!

[diggitydave]

giants suck. pads are gonna win in a cakewalk.

however, i'll take a 1 game deficit with 4 to play, given that the padres have to travel almost cross country now to play the Brew Crew who are still in the hunt.

[RSB]

First Dire Straits album...nice. That'd be in my sidebar, too.

[BloodStripes]

Cole is ready to throw a normal 100 against Washington. Therefore IF we make it. He's all good to go.

[Sophist]

The Phils are lucky that these Giants were able to take 1 game from the Padres in the past two week. SF is truly the most pathetic team out there right now.

[kdon]

Really RSB? I figured you more for a Ministry guy.

[IceMan]

It really may be that our best shot is at the East now, though the Padres have a tough road ahead in Milwaukee. Personally, I'm more concerned about the Rockies.

Want to feel better about the Pads/Giants game? Head on over to Metsblog where many of the members are discussing what the Phillies' magic number is. No matter what happens, I'm glad those classy fans are getting dragged through the mud.

[Slocs]

Peavy is gonna go on 3 days rest and will start Sunday. Why wouldn't you run Moyer out on Saturday and Lohse on Sunday, especially since lohse threw less than 90 pitches tonight. Washington hasn't seen Moyer since early April when he went 8 innings. Moyer eats up young, undisciplined line-ups. Eaton, well he just gets eaten up despite being a "great Athlete"

[diggitydave]

you can always feel better by tuning into the dodgers/rockies game on mlb.tv and listening to Vin Scully.
he really is the best at what he does. just an absolute pleasure to listen to.

[Bob]

Whew,

What a game. Great game by J-Roll (got to be the MVP if Phils make it to the playoffs and maybe has a shot even if they don't) and a superb effort by Lohse. It would have been easy and predictable for him to revert to form and give up a couple more runs, and then get pulled. To his credit, he got the job done and deserves kudos for that.

Also thought the Utley play was huge. If he hadn't dodged that tag, the inning would have probably been over and the whole tone of the game would have changed for the worse. He is one of those guys who, even when his hitting is a bit off, still never, never gives in to self pity and mails in the game. He's always looking to find a way to help the team toward a win. Kind of reminds me of the young Pete Rose in a way without the cockiness and edge, just a quiet self confidence; and like Rose was back then, a total team player.

Can hang it up happpy and get a good night's sleep. Thanks, Phils.

[Slocs]

quite frankly, I don't care about anything but if Charlie starts Eaton on Saturday as planned, he deserves to be fired in the 5th inning of the game when Eaton is pulled after walking in two runs, hitting three and offering up two gopher balls

[IceMan]

Slocs -- where did you read that on Peavy? Not sure that's the smartest move for the Padres. Remember what happened last time he 'manned up' and went on short rest? He got the snot kicked out of him.

On the other hand...no, I think it's great move on their part.

[kells]

Buster Olney just predicted on ESPN that the Phills will win the NL East. I hate ESPN-they reported that Adam eaton was the starter tomorrow up until 11:35-when the lead anchor updated the change.
I really hope Victorino can start tomorrow-that would be a huge lift.

[kdon]

On Peavy:

The Giants announcers speculated they might bring him back on Sun.

If I were Black, I would start Peavy Sunday if the Pads trailed the WC race by 1 game, and needed to win. If they were tied or ahead, I would pitch someone else and save him for the playoff game or a postseason start.

[BloodStripes]

diggitydave I fully agree with you. Vin Scully is great. Full of stories about players. He announces the game as smooth as silk. He and Harry are the best.

[kdon]

Well, RSB must have hit the sack if he is going to let this Scully praise continue unopposed.

[Slocs]

Let's hope Pedro doesn't last 7 tomorrow night but I have a good feeling that the Cards can take tomorrows game.

[Slocs]

Peavy is on the Padres site as the probable starter. He can leave early tonight as well with the huge lead on SF