Game chat: Phillies bring their baggage to Miami

Blanked in four of their last five games, the Phils try to get on the board for the first time in 27 innings when they start a three-game set with the Marlins.

Preview: A little perspective, courtesy of the folks at The Good Phight. Since the San Diego Padres lost by five last night, the Phillies took the National League lead in run differential. The Phillies have scored 43 runs more than they have allowed, even with the recent drought. ... The Phils are hoping to avoid entering the record books with a record-tying fourth-straight shutout, a mark held by eight other clubs. After falling 3-0 to the Mets in the series finale, it marked the first time the Phillies have been shut out in three consecutive games since 1983. The Phils will also try to snap a streak of 35 innings without scoring against an opposing starter. Right-hander Chris Volstad (3-5, 4.31) stands in their way. Kyle Kendrick (2-2, 5.66) tries to rebound from a four-inning, five-run outing against the Red Sox. The Phillies' lead is narrowed to just 1.5 games over the revived Braves, who host the Phils starting Monday.

Notes: The Giants are close to signing Pat Burrell to a minor league contract that would reportedly include an opt-out that would allow Burrell to bolt after two weeks, according to Ken Rosenthal ... Brad Lidge threw a 40-pitch bullpen yesterday and is reportedly targeting a return next week.

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Comments

[philwynk]

Utley's going to hit. Watch.

[tg082]

It's a miracle!

[GBrettfan]

Another SB! A productive out! Another run!!! A lead!!!!

[Scott]

Our first lead since the 2008 World Series...

[GTown_Dave]

Three! Three Runs! Ah! Ah! Ah!

[Old Phan]

I'll take that.

[GBrettfan]

The flip side of the coin - Now it's a BP game. They must hold a 1-run lead.

[Old Phan]

Our first lead since Grover Cleveland Alexander was on the Phils

[Scott]

GBrettfan, a rare eternal optimist, just harshed my buzz...

[Lake Fred]

I can exhale now. I've been holding my breath all week. Let's have fish dinner!

[philwynk]

Technical question: if the Phillies go ahead during an inning when they hit for the Kendrick, can Kendrick win the game, or does the new relief pitcher become the pitcher of record?

[Hope SE]

Philwynk: If the Phils hold the lead, KK is the winner.

[Lake Fred]

KK can get the win.

[curt]

No kind words for KK? He manned up after that error and got the job done. Hard to believe the Fish could only scrounge up 1 lefty bat, though.

[GBrettfan]

Sorry, Scott. I'm actually feeling optimistic. Buzz away.

[clout]

Nice outing by KK. Jack, flipper, BAP et al cowering in a corner.

[Old Phan]

KK did a fantastic job. The only runs he gave up were on his own throwing error.

[GBrettfan]

Oh, yes, been so focused on the scoring of precious runs, but it's true, KK did a nice job. Really nice.

[Scott]

Just messin' with ya, GBrett! I appreciate your optimism here. I've had a relentlessly horrible week, one of the worst in ages, but oddly enough, I am feeling like we're going to hold onto this game.

[GTown_Dave]

Matt Gelb (via Twitter): "In four ABs, Greg Dobbs saw nine pitches. He made five outs. He is out of the game."

Ouch.

[Scott]

Baez better harness himself pretty quickly here...

[philwynk]

Phillies looking pretty good. This feels like a win.

[clout]

Odd comment by McCarthy. Castro juggles ball, almost costs them the DP and McCarthy says Charlie's defensive moves "paid off in a big way."

[Scott]

It isn't really a ballgame until T-Mac say something that either is flat out wrong, or is utterly puzzling.

[SmokyJoe]

Werth has been losing a few dollars over the last week...but I'll assume he'll gain them back with a hot streak later :)

[BloodStripes]

Lets go Jose!!! Save us brother

[fuzzycopper]

T-Mac is the Phillie version of Dave Spadaro. Everything's great, everything's positive.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

where was that, ump?

[BloodStripes]

Huge strikeout. Had a pitch early anyway. Umpire!!

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Contreras has been impressive through the quarter pole.

[Scott]

If T-Mac were to spit on the Yankees logo, I might actually respect him.

[GBrettfan]

I was really hoping for a 1-2-3 save here.

[GBrettfan]

Commence nervousness.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

jorge cantu is as ugly as his name.
that was a nice looking swing, though.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

fastball coming

[Scott]

Why did they have to show Flash? Why?!?

[Scott]

Eeep.

[GBrettfan]

Oh please oh please...They need a win.

[Scott]

SIT DOWN!

[Bruce Ruffin]

God, do I miss Harry here!

[EastFallowfield]

Re: T-Mac and double play bobbled by Castro....

Maybe he was flashing back to the Dobbs/Polanco
debacles from earlier in the week?

[BloodStripes]

Standing there like a house on the side of the street

[SmokyJoe]

Former Phillie curse?

[Hugh Mulcahy]

sick one

[GBrettfan]

Whew for the 2nd out. Oh no for former Phillie at the plate.

[clout]

I picked a bad day to stop sniffing glue.

[GBrettfan]

Milt Thompson bowed his head and closed his eyes. I think he said a prayer there.

[Kiko Garcia]

That's Contriffic!

[Bruce Ruffin]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NEPP]

Never a doubt.

[vegas]

This feels like a win.

[Lake Fred]

This is nerve wracking on the computer.

[GTown_Dave]

Man, I am SO glad the Phillies finally started stealing signs again.

[BloodStripes]

Put that one in the WIN column for the Fightin' Phls!

Pop the corks baby. Yeah!!

[Hugh Mulcahy]

yeehaw

[Bridoc10]

Ballgame!!!

I never thought three runs and a W would feel so good...in May!!!

[Scott]

If he weren't older than Satchel Paige, I'd say Contreras has a future as a closer.

[GBrettfan]

Yay! A win! The streak of shutouts and losses is over...We can resume our winning ways now.

[MSH]

Oh thank god

[philwynk]

Phillies, after a week of amnesia, suddenly recall how to win a baseball game. Well played, gentlemen. Except for one bad throw, a pretty good ballgame.

I was just thinking "I haven't seen Contreras for a while" before he showed up. Given his history, I expect he'll be quite a good closer for the rest of this year, and maybe next year as well. We'll see whether we need him for the whole year.

[NEPP]

Good game overall...they had some solid pitching, stole a few and made some timely hits.

Hell, I'll take any win a this point.

[Bruce Ruffin]

clout -- awesome anology!!! Hard to reconcile "Airplane" and a struggling club. However, you did it!

[BloodStripes]

Everything is right with the world again. Phillies win and the mutts get shutout and lose on a walk-off homer. Too good.

[NEPP]

Life is good again.

[EastFallowfield]

Don't understand why we only steal signs for 3 lousy runs.

[NEPP]

Can't make them too suspicious. They clearly knew that 3 runs would be enough. Otherwise, they'd have stolen more signs.

[bake]

Another Lidgetastic save for Contreras!

[Knight]

Whew.

Kendrick was very impressive tonight, but I suppose that's going to happen when the Marlins can't load the lineup with leftys.

[doubleh]

Does this mean I have to go see the new Shrek movie every night for the Phils to continue to score runs?

[Hugh Mulcahy]

HH- I was saving that move in case they were still winless tomorrow.

[BloodStripes]

Will be interesting to see if Halladay can ace it tomorrow and get a game without an error behind him. He hasn't won for a while so he's gotta be due. Smoked fish for dinner please Roy.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Random observation - not only have hte phils stolen a fraction of the bases they've swiped the last ocuple years, Utley has been hit by a pitch like twice. Very odd things going on with the small ball end of the offense.

[curt]

Good to see that the Team Meeting worked after all. It took the guys 24 hours to process Cholly's profound insights.

[denny b.]

I am thinking Dobbs days may be numbered.

He's had a nice run in Philly and he has always displayed a professional attitude. But I think his time might be up.

He just looks like he's lost his skills. Not sure why, but this is not the same hitter or player we saw a couple of years ago.

This bench is painfully bad and reinforcments are needed. The current group simply is not getting it done. You could make the arguement, that Valdez has been the best of bench brigade this year. And he was a non-roster guy who only came up because we had nobody else left.

Gload is OK and can be a nice pinch-hitter. Francisco gives you very little (no power, very little contact, no basestealing and shaky defense). Schneider looks like he should have retired 2 years ago. Castro is lucky to have gotten the contract he got because if he didn't, Valdez has outplayed him and would have made him expendable. And Dobbs suddenly can't hit, has no glove and no speed.

It might be time for Rube to retool the bench. Again. The current group looks incapable of helping. Lets try a few new folks, while its still early in the season.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

@dennyb. "I am thinking Dobbs days may be numbered."

I've been wondering about that myself. It sounds like you think Castro's, Gload's, Francisco's and Schneider's days are numbered, too.

[curt]

"This bench is painfully bad and reinforcments are needed."

How dare you say such a thing! Not an hour went by during the first 6 weeks of the season that someone wasn't demanding that these poor mistreated souls get more playing time. I for one am sure they just need many more innings to sharpen up.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

funny approach tonight. Manuel put his pinch hitters in to start, then brought hte regulars in as defensive replacements. Who besides Schneider and Polanco didn't play? A group effort won on a ground out.

[denny b.]

Hugh,

A couple of those guys almost have to stick around. Guaranteed contracts, are nice, aren't they?

Gload is a keeper. He was brought here to be a pinch-hitter and he has done OK in that role. Valdez has looked sharper then Castro. Hoover looked better then Schneider. Francisco has been bad and his 2011 replacement in AAA has had a great 2 months for LHV. Dobbs looks completely lost.

Not sure how much Rube can actually do, but I wish he would do something. Because like last year, this current group is just not good enough.

BTW, Aumont's line at Reading tonight:

8 hits, 7 runs, 6 ER, 4 BB's and 2 hit batsmen. ERA for the season now approaching 7.

When does this guy either get shut down or get sent to the bullpen where he belongs? The more he pitches, the worse he does.

[denny b.]

"Not an hour went by during the first 6 weeks of the season that someone wasn't demanding that these poor mistreated souls get more playing time."

They DID need more playing time. Not only for their own good but to keep the older players in the lineup sharp for later in the season.

The problem is, that guys like Dobbs and Schneider have been flat bad when they have played. Francisco played so infrequently for a month, that its hard to make a rational conclusion on him. But he has done next-to-nothing for 2 months whether starting or pinch-hitting. Castro was pretty good for a couple of weeks but tailed off noticeably as he played more and it seems Valdez has passed him in Cholly's way of thinking.

It would have been nice during this record-setting dry-spell on offense, that a bench guy could have provided a spark. The front-line guys needed help and got very little.

[curt]

Aumont may be struggling a little, but that stiff Lee we trade for him has only whiffed 10 Angels through 6.

[Jack]

Kendrick had a nice performance tonight, for sure. He's on a nice little run here. Good for him, and good for the team.

Of course, most teams he faces won't throw out 7 of 8 regulars who are right-handed, but we'll worry about that another day. For right now, let's just enjoy that win.

[goody]

Cy Wakefield's line tonite vs. KC!
3.2IP-12H-3BB-9ER

[gobaystars]

all is right with the world.

[awh]

Wow. They won.

They had lost 5 in a row, and the hand wringing and moaning on this site was almost unbearable to read.

Even clout panicked and gave up sniffing glue. (Now we know what the problem is and has been.)

But perhaps a bit of perspective is in order.

From June 16 to June 21, 2009 the Phillies lost 6 straight games.

6 straight.

Yet, they still made it back to the WS.

Tonights win ended a five game losing streak.

Granted the scoring was non. But in their losing streak last seasn they only averaged about 3 RPG.

And, sure, Greg Dobbs looked lame tonight, but I'm not ready to say he's lost it. Bad strikezone judgement, and bad plate discipline do not necessarily translate into an erosion of skills. Ben Fran ahas not looked good lately either, but he's young and has a higher lifetime OPS+ than many starting OF in MLB.

But no matter.

Many of you will use the evidence of a couple of bad games to declare that someone's career is over or he sucks.

Please continue. The season is 162 games long, and the players you deride - if they've proven their ability to play in the past - usually snap out of a funk.

So, I look forward to watching our Phils play the rest of the season.

They lost 5 straight games and their still in 1st place.

[awh]

That should say "they're still in 1st palce."

[DH Phils]

awh: You mean 32 ABs aren't enough to conclude that 28-year-old Ben Francisco is "useless" and "brings nothing to the table"? We should also consider that he's been an above-league-average hitter over his first 1000 MLB plate appearances?

That doesn't seem right.

[EastFallowfield]

Francisco came pretty close to getting us a run in NY when he that ball off the tippy top of the dead centerfield giant wall.

And his BA starts with a '2'.

Dobbs just keeps K'ing and popping up. And his BA is getting close to starting with a 'O'.

[philwynk]

Stolen bases won the game last night. If Vic and Valdez don't double-steal, Utley's grounder is a DP (although I'm sure his at-bat would have gone differently with men on 1st and 2nd). If Utley doesn't steal 2nd, Howard's single doesn't score him.

In the past few years, one of the reasons I've enjoyed watching the Phils is that they find ways to win even if the long ball doesn't happen. Perhaps it took a week or so for them to remember how, but last night they manufactured runs the old-fashioned way. Good on 'em, and may they continue to do it many times.

Kendrick turned in a completely acceptable performance (except for the one lousy throw), and defense was solid.

I'm a little miffed at MLB, whose highlight clips for the game do not include any of the key stolen bases. Whoever picks those clips is operating on automatic pilot.

[philwynk]

In the NL East, only 4 games separate the top from the bottom. Every team in the division is a contender to win the division, if the Phillies don't perform up to potential.

NL East: No country for old men.

[clout]

Jack: Good point. It's a shame that the games don't count in the standings when a team uses 7 righty batters.

[clout]

curt and denny b: We can all agree that the bench has been awfuln so far this season. However, you have both suggested they should be dumped in favor of reinforcements.

Who, pray tell, are these reinforcements? If you can't come up with the names, then your posts stating the obvious are pretty worthless, no?

[clout]

philwynk: Good post. Charlie said after the game that Vic needs to bunt more and steal more. Totally agree that the double steal was turning point.

[clout]

Miguel Cairo is hitting .298 in 47 ABs. By Beerleaguer standards that makes him a better choice going forward than Valdez, Castro, Francisco and Dobbs.

[clout]

Monasterios now 2-0, 2.20 as Dodgers 5th starter.