Game chat: Phillies visit NL Central pacesetters

Kyle Kendrick (4-2, 4.71) and the Phillies have their work cut out for them when they play the first of three against Johnny Cueto (7-2, 3.97) and the high-powered Reds. First pitch is 7:10. (Getty)

Beerleaguer: It's weird, but I'm more concerned about the Phillies' trip to Pittsburgh, where they always play down to the Pirates' level, than three games in Great American Ballpark, where they've won 12 of 17. Don't get me wrong, the Reds are a good team; they lead the league in runs (369), slugging percentage (.440) and fielding percentage (.990), but the Central is just so underwhelming, and in regards to their lineup, guys like Johnny Gomes and Scott Rolen are playing over their heads. Still, Rolen is nobody to trifle with; he's a lifetime .347/.406/.507 hitter against his old team. The Reds don't give away outs defensively, either, like we saw with the Blue Jays. They're very sound, the Phillies will need to earn it.

Going on pure gut instinct, look for the Phillies' bats to stay hot this series and take 2-of-3, then scuffle against the Bucs leading up to a huge home series with the Braves. Lineups are in: Wilson Valdez and Brian Schneider will be at third and behind the plate.

Meanwhile, Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals visit Tim Hudson and the Braves starting at 7:05 on ESPN2. Interleague is over. Meat and potato time.

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Comments

[NEPP]

Bases loaded, no outs for the Braves versus The Great One.

Not looking good. I assume the 1 unassisted triple play is incoming.

[DH Phils]

Phillies pinch hitters batting .116
Phillies pitchers batting .130

Unbelievable.

[NEPP]

2-0 Braves...and we're losing big...super.

[GTown_Dave]

Franzke is talking about how pleased Mike Zagurski was to be able to meet Tommy John after undergoing the surgical procedure of that same name. Perhaps J.A. Happ will be similarly blessed.

[MG]

Gload now has 61 ABs and not a single BB. Fits right in with a bench where you have one guy who has 1 BB in 125 ABs (Valdez) and another guy who has 4 BBs in 112 ABs (Castro).

Thompson: I cannot teach them. These bench guys have no patience.

[philwynk]

So, MG, which is sadder:

You quoting the ending lines of mediocre 1970s war films...

Or me recognizing it?

[NEPP]

****Thompson: I cannot teach them. These bench guys have no patience.****

They will LEARN patience...was Werth any different when he was on the bench?

[MG]

philwynk - I was waiting to see if anybody picked it up. I really should have substituted Amaro for Mackanin though.

[DH Phils]

Dusty Baker is such a joke. Sacrificing in a 5 run game? That's embarrassing.

[Heather]

Ugly ugly ugly. That's all. I guess the bright spot is Howard.

I would just like to say that every time Ibanez comes up with RISP I cringe.

Maybe someone can tell me when he's going to come out of his slump.

[philwynk]

Cueto: 0 K, 2 BB.

He cannot succeed as a Major League pitcher.

[Alex]

Desmond error on a double play ball completely killed that inning. These are the 2 of the worst fielding SS's in the majors. Escobar is brutal himself.

[philwynk]

Heather: "Maybe someone can tell me when he's going to come out of his slump."

philwynk (sings): "In the sweeeeeeet bye and bye
When we meet on that beautiful shore..."

[GBrettfan]

We stink tonight. Seems all our momentum died with the inning when Chase got called out stretching a single and with the DP that wasn't.

[MG]

Lame movie quotes to a fairly lame effort by the Phils tonight. Only caught the last few innings by Cueto but he wasn't overwhelming tonight. Yeah he throws hard but his changeup/slider weren't that sharp tonight.

[LwrSlwrGeorge]

"An Inning Too Far"

Starring:
James Gammon as Uncle Cholly
Antonio Banderas as Ruben Amaro, Jr
Tim Robbins as Kyle Kendrick
Featuring Steve Wonder and the 3 Blind Mice as the Umpires.

A "Beerleaguer" film
Directed by EFF
Produced by JW

[MG]

Lwr- Tim Robbins from Bull Durham days? If not, little too long to play such a baby face.

[NEPP]

Jay Baruchel as Kyle Kendrick

[MG]

LA has been really mild-mattered but that won't be the case when Bucknor is behind the plate tomorrow night or Wed.

Normally I get a little tired of his ranting about Bucknor/West but much more often than not LA is right.

[GBrettfan]

Castro's hitting for Utley?? What happened to playing all 27 outs?

[NEPP]

Not looking forward to seeing CB Bucknor behind the plate.

[MG]

Who plays Dubee?

[NEPP]

Dubee? Hmm...Robert Duvall.

I mean, yeah he's old but why not?

[AFish]

No possible explanation other than an Utley injury.

[DH Phils]

Is 6 runs so insurmountable that you pinch hit Castro for Utley? I know the odds aren't good for a comeback but what exactly is the benefit of having him not bat?

[NEPP]

Maybe he's just cramping up or something...isn't it hot there?

[curt]

"What happened to playing all 27 outs?"

Wondered about that several times in recent weeks.

[DH Phils]

Hopefully he isn't hurt.

[DH Phils]

Floodgates open in Atlanta, now 5-0.

[GTown_Dave]

Heather: I'm sure an obscure selection of carefully selected stats will soon be forthcoming, all of them proving Raúl has not only avoided even the slightest decline in offensive production, but has, in fact, excelled beyond the wildest of wildly optimistic expectations.

[NEPP]

Guessing fastball there I suppose.

[Jack]

As Zolecki tweets, Kendrick has a 6.04 ERA in his last 5 starts.

Now, I'm not the king of small sample sizes; that would be Sophist. Perhaps he could tell us if Kendrick is "heating up"? I think he's going the opposite direction.

Unfortunately, I'm less than optimistic about Happ coming back and being effective, so Kendrick might just be what we have. If he can stay a 4.50-5.00 ERA pitcher, that's fine. If he's pitching like this, though...

[MG]

I don't mind seeing Castro PH there.

[Mr. Mack]

Too bad the BP couldn't have held the game a little closer, it would be a 1 run game now. Frustrating.

[EastFallowfield]

If only a couple other guys would knock in 3 runs like Raul, we'd be winning this game.

[LwrSlwrGeorge]

@MG: Yep. COuldn't think of any one else.

@NEEP: Sign Duval as Dubee

[NEPP]

In his last 4 ABs, Ibanez is batting .500 with a 1.750 OPS.

[Jack]

Gtown Dave: Between June 7 and June 19, Ibanez hit .333/.409/.564.

Vote him into the All-Star Game!

[GBrettfan]

At least they showed a little fight in the 9th. If Utley had batted and gotten on base, we'd have one more run and one more out, too. Who knows what might have happened? He must not have been feeling well. Hopefully nothing serious.

[philwynk]

Lame outing altogether.

[GTown_Dave]

See? Raúl has now hit a 2-run bomb in 100% of his last 1 PAs ... dude is on FIRE!

[MG]

Pedro signing:

T-Minus: 29 days and counting . . .

[Jack]

Raul hitting 1.000/1.000/4.000 in his last 1 AB.

He's starting to work his way into HOF consideration with this surge.

[Jack]

MG: If Happ has another poor rehab start, I could see the Pedro signing happen within the next couple of weeks.

[NEPP]

Gotta sign him fast if they want anything out of him...is he even in shape? Even if they signed him today, he'd be lucky to be starting by Mid-August.

[GTown_Dave]

Phrontiersman (via Twitter): "Phils batters strike out zero times, still lose. First 0 K game since 5/7/09 vs. the Mets, 4th time since 2000. Phils 2-2 in those 4 games."

[MG]

This team really does need Ibanez to heat up especially if they are going to have a fair amount of Schneider-Castro/Valdez-P batting 7-8-9. That is a black hole.

[Bay Slugga]

Well I called it with the very first post. The Phillies needed 8 runs, and they only got three. Oh well :(

[NEPP]

I wonder how bad Polly's elbow is. Could really hurt us if its a long-term issue for them...considering he's the only .300 hitter on the team and he's been batting something like .380 this month.

[EastFallowfield]

Awaiting the "Utley's not injured, by his defintion" tweets.

[Old Phan]

Needing 2 cortisone shots in such a short period of time is not good.

[MG]

Too bad the Phils don't have Halladay going against Leake tomorrow. Need Blanton to give them a chance to win tomorrow night (3-4 runs) and for the offense to show.

[GTown_Dave]

"Oom-pa Loom-pa Doompity-doo!
I've projected astrally, how about you?

Oom-pa Loom-pa Doompity-dee!
I'm on Phils Post Game, listen to me!"

Also, Matt Gelb Tweets that Charlie says Utley left the game due to a hand injury, severity as yet unknown.

[st]

utley injured his hand. no word on severity

[MG]

Utley injured his hand? Man this team just can't catch a break on the injury front.

[clout]

I see Jack is beginning to enjoy Kendrick's performances again. Kinda like when he was all warm and happy when Moyer got yanked from the rotation last year. And when Howard was slumping.

I don't believe in revealing anyone's ID on here, but we now know Jack's last name: Ass.

[DH Phils]

Last year Phils signed Pedro on July 15 and he pitched on August 12. I don't know if he's in any kind of shape though - I think last year he had been keeping himself in pitching shape.

[st]

maybe when he slid into 2B, he hurt it. that's the only thing I can think of

[MG]

If Bill Conlin was on the postgame show with Daulton, do you think he would try to bite Daulton because he thought he was a rotisserie chicken?

[MG]

st - It did. Right thumb injury and an MRI tomorrow.

[GBrettfan]

This news bites. Chase having MRI on R thumb tomorrow. Hurt on the slide, apparently.

[DH Phils]

Couldn't come at a worse time with Polanco hurt - if you thought the Schneider-Valdez-Pitcher black hole was bad, wait until you see Schneider-Valdez-Castro-Pitcher.

[Old Phan]

"Schneider-Valdez-Castro-Pitcher."
Wow, that is ugly.

[st]

yeah. just because he played through it, doesn't mean it isn't bad. when he broke his hand in 07, he played the whole game with it

[GTown_Dave]

Kramer visits Dutch on the set of 'Phillies Post Game Live'

[Old Phan]

Dutch is a George Hamilton wannabe.

[DH Phils]

I would think this just about guarantees that either Polanco or Utley goes to the DL tomorrow. They can't really play with a 3-man bench of Francisco, Gload, and Sardinha. I guess they could option Zagurski and go with a short bullpen. Either way, we'll find out if 4 days was enough time in AAA for Dobbs to fix his swing.

[Meyer]

Well, Dobbs only struck out once today. That's an improvement.

[cjp]

If Utley's out or hobbled for a bit, together with what might be season-long elbow issues for Polanco, I have to figure someone like Ty Wiggington becomes a serious trade target. He plays (or, at least, "plays") 3rd base, right?

[st]

these quotes kinda suck

# Victorino: "Hopefully Chase isn't seriously-seriously hurt. But for him to leave the game, that in itself says something... 6 minutes ago via web

# That's the last guy is going to take himself out of the game." 5 minutes ago via web

# Howard on Utley: "It looked like his hand was hurting when he gripped his bat... I hope it’s not serious."

[Old Phan]

Phils get Rollins back, now they lose Polly and Uts? Ain't that a kick in the head.

[Jack]

Clout: What did I post about Kendrick? I think I actually said he was pitching well before the Utley error sort of blew everything up.

But yeah, you're right. I spend significant time on a damn Phillies blog, but totally root for them to lose every 5th day. That makes a lot of sense.

[gobaystars!]

It's Gooch time.

[gobaystars!]

Bring back Rolen!

[Dissertation writing help]

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[Sophist]

Isn't it odd that Ibanez gets knocked when he has a good day? 2-4 (3 for 4 if not for blown call) and knocked in every Phil run. People who thought Utley or the offense or Kendrick or Moyer couldn't succeed have found a new target.

Phils lost because CIN played better D and got some calls their way. Fingers crossed for that slumping bum Utley. Funny that when he starts hitting (what are his numbers since the Lopes affair?) he actually does get injured -- literally didn't play.

[Meyer]

Jack is right. The Nationals will never smell .500. Let's get Zimmerman. He must be disenchanted.