Game chat: Wild Card leaders look to keep rolling

Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.69) tries to cure his first-inning hiccups tonight in the second game between the Giants and Phillies from Citizens Bank Park. First pitch is 7:05 with rain threatening. Notes: The Phils reintroduce Ross Gload to the lineup against tough right-hander Matt Cain. The Phils set up as such: Rollins SS, Polanco 2B, Utley 3B, Ibanez LF, Werth RF, Victorino CF, Gload 1B, Ruiz C. Blanton has allowed at least two runs in the first inning of five of his last eight starts and has factored into the decision in just two of his last nine starts, going 1-1 with a 4.81 ERA in that span.

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Comments

[awh]

Cain gave up 2 ER tonight. so did Blanton.

Cain walked 1 batter, Joe didn't, and Joe eon the K battle 7 to 4.

Nice job by Joe B to hang with Matt cain tonight.

[NEPP]

Too easy.

[Dukes]

Thank God this was such a good Phillies game or watching the Braves celebrate another walkoff (which is bound to happen) would suck even more.

[Fatalotti]

Contreras has only had 3 bad outings all year out of 48 appearances. One came in Chicago (5 ER in .2 innings) where the entire team was playing like sh!t, one in Pittsburgh (3 in .1 innings), again, when the whole team was playing terribly. The other was in that Minnesota anomaly, when they came back and beat up everyone in our bullpen. Other than those three games, (which are the biggest cullprits by far in his ERA), Contreras has been VERY GOOD this year.

[Sophist]

20 of 25.

Now we get to watch oull another late inning win out of their ___.

[Dukes]

dlhunter... now that was classic!

[awh]

I wish TBag would just STFU about the wild card.

The players aren't thinking about it so he shouldn't mention it.

[Pizzda]

Another great game.

[Sophist]

Fatalotti -- that's right. Our pen's core have been more solid than they're given credit for. I think it's because when some parts are bad - I'm thinking of Romero Lidge here mostly - they're incredibly hittable or just completely out of the zone.

[Pizzda]

awh, he isn't the only one talking about the wild card. Personally, I'm not at all interested in it. I want them to win the division. The WC is a fallback.

[Fatalotti]

Outside of those three games for Jose, he has given up all of 5 ER in 39.2 innings, for a 1.13 ERA.

[GM-Carson]

F*ck Rick Ankiel.

[NEPP]

Just keep winning and don't sweat anything else. That's all we can do.

[MG]

Another impressive all around night. Now a chance to put a real dent in the Giants' playoff catches tomorrow night. Hopefully the Phils can score some runs for Hamels for a change.

[Sophist]

Fatalotti - might want to look at his inherited runners numbers as well. I think he's not done well in those situations this year.

[Jack]

Hard to call the Braves pulling out a late win against the Nats "out of their ---". I mean, they have such a better bullpen it's not really a fluke. They should win a tie game at home against the Nats 7 out of 10 times.

[awh]

Fatalotti, I posted that about a month ago regrding Contreras.

For the vast majority of the season he's been very solid.

[Bruce Ruffin]

MG -- An absolute must. No one deserves it more than Hamels.

[Fatalotti]

If I may ride Contreras for one more post, I believe he is a very good option out of the bullpen, which would give us 3 very reliable options (Durbin, Contreras and Madson) and I thnk Lidge right now is a servicable pitcher. All in all, once we make it to September, Baez and Herndon are no longer an issue, and we may be able to toy with some lefties and try to get some things working for a potential playoff run.

[Jack]

Let's go Tyler Clippard!

[GM-Carson]

Phils gotta score for Hamels. He's been amazing, but has nothing to show for it in the win column.

[Sophist]

Jack - I just meant the fashion in which they've been scoring late recently. I mean, Ankiel just got a single. But I agree.

With the schedules the Giants and Cards have, it's possible that WC just keeps increasing.

[bay_area_phan]

It goes without saying that I'd rather win the divsion, especially since the Phillies play so much better at home. Nonetheless, I'm happy to be 2 games up in the WC. If we can make the playoffs after all these injuries, I'll be happy; I don't care how we get there. Even if we make it as a WC, I wouldn't want to be the team that has to play us.

[Sophist]

Jack, all the Brooks Conrad walk-offs -- he's a .240 hitter. That's what I was talking about.

[Tray]

R.A. Dickey, pitching another shutout, just hit a double in the 7th to ruin a Brett Myers shutout. Going into that at-bat his ERA was down to 3.01.

[Fatalotti]

Agreed awh. Sophist, do you know those numbers or where they can be found?

[Jack]

Sophist: Fair enough. I'm with you--it gets old watching this team pull them off somehow.

But it's hard to expect them NOT to win against this terrible Nats team, especially at home. I had this one written up as a sweep before it started. Would love to be wrong.

[Sophist]

B-R.com has them in their player gamelogs.

[joe]

It seems that Mr. R.A. Dickey has solved the knuckleball riddle for himself. It just took him a while to do it.

And now, we get to watch him make the Phils flail for the next 20 years. Knuckleballers age well.

[Sophist]

Jack, yep. I expect the Nats to gift them a bunch of walks, singles, and then one of their lousy guys to knock them in.

[MG]

BAP - Yeah but the way this team is playing at home you would really love to see at home for at least the 1st round of the playoffs.

[Fatalotti]

Sophist, on the "splits" page. I didn't see anything about runners inherited. I'll check again.

[Bruce Ruffin]

17 over... Need to keep it up. I don't think the Braves can win 100 games, especially if we do.

[Sophist]

Although if Infante gets a single here to win, hardly surprising. But a 5 pitch walk to the backup C ...

[Fatalotti]

Bruce Ruffin, good point. If we win 100, the Braves will not.

[Sophist]

... to put the winning run on 2d.

Fatalotti - not the splits page. the game logs page

[Jack]

Clippard is terrible. Storen should be in this game right now.

[Pizzda]

It would be nice if Clippard would throw a strike.

[Dukes]

Is it just me or is this looking exactly like the Braves/Dodgers game the other night?

[Fatalotti]

Suddenly, Clippard can't throw a strike to save his life. Gotta give credit to the Braves' hitters. They put together good ABs late in the game, especially at home.

[Fatalotti]

ESPN just put up the Braves feed. If Heyward gets the walk off hit here, I have to watch it. Damn.

[AFish]

Contreras was awful in the Dodgers game with the big comeback. He let 3 runs score in the top of the 8th.

[MG]

I wouldn't have used Madson tonight in the top of the 8th up 5 runs because I would have wanted a rested Madson for tomorrow night.

It will be interesting to see if Cholly uses Madson 3 straight games tomorrow night and 5 times in 6 games tomorrow night.

He hasn't used Madson 3 straight days all year although he did do it 3 times in '09.

[dlhunter]

Gobbamnit!

[DaveyNopes]

ugh, ankiel scores, game. 's okay. all we can do is win win win.

[Sophist]

I still think the Braves stink.

[Pizzda]

Blah.

[Fatalotti]

Braves are just getting it done right now.

[seattlephan]

jesus, the nats are god-awful

I hope someone gets injured in the post-game celebration ala coghlan

[jt]

damn it

[Jack]

Did anyone expect anything different?

You can bet all you want on the Braves falling away, but I just seriously doubt it. They have good pitching, a great bullpen and an easy schedule. They're going to win a lot of these games.

[Slocs]

wow - Braves looking tough

[Pizzda]

Nothing like a walk off win to half empty stadium.

[p. Red]

Sonavabitch, are the Braves ever gonna lose?

[Lincoln Hawkes]

Anyone got a distance on DBrown's 2nd decker?

[aksmith]

Wow, the Nats are dreadful. They can have Bryce Harper and Stephen Stasburg and anyone else they want, and they'll still stink. It just doesn't matter what they do, they will suck forever.

[Jack]

Sophist: The Braves aren't as good a team as we are, now that we're fully healthy

But they have a 2.5 head start and an easy schedule. Not sure what else they need, given their pitching strength.

[Bruce Ruffin]

Bleep. Bleepin' Braves.

[Pizzda]

"Did anyone expect anything different? "

Against the Nats? Nope.

[AFish]

Jack, you do know that the Phillies and Braves face each other 6 times?

[Fatalotti]

Clippard goes 3-0 on Heyward, then just grooves one right down the middle. Just terrible pitching there. At that point, you give him nothing to hit and you try your luck with the next guy. It doesn't matter though, the Braves were going to win anyhow, even if it took another inning or two.

[MaDubbs]

That was a strike, would have been 1-1 count to Heyward!!! Same thing happened the other night when Cabrera struck out but the ump never called it, and the next pitch he got the winning hit..This team is a bunch of FRAUDS!!! I can't wait for Atlanta to play a game on the road against a QUALITY team, then we will see how good they are

[MG]

Contreras has not pitched as well as the season has worn on. His K/9 has notably decreased while his BB/9, % first pitch strike & % strike, and ERA have all notably increased the last 2 1/2 months vs. April/May.

[jt]

haha old phan so true, you expect to hear a roar when they win but thats pretty hard to do when theres only 18,000 fans there

[aksmith]

If the Phils are going to catch them, they're going to have to beat them themselves. It's going to have to be like when they beat the Mutts eight games down the stretch by themselves.

[Jack]

AFish: Yeah, so if we want to win the division we're going to need to beat them in those games, probably need to take 4 out of 6 at least.

I'm saying that I don't think they're going to fade away before that. They've got a 2.5 game lead, very good pitching, and an easy schedule. They're going to win more games than they'll lose.

[Noah]

Tim Hudson hasn't made 30+ starts in a season since 2007. We'll see if he finishes this year or if the wheels fall off as September approaches.

[denny b.]

Back to the Phils game for a second...

Best move of the night was Cholly yanking Blanton when he did.

Joe was hitting the wall as usual, and instead of "hoping he gets through the inning", he got him out of there before he could screw it up.

Great managing by Cholly tonight. He finally got a pitcher out of the game, when he should have. Not too early. Not too late. Just right.

I wonder if Cholly gives Utley the night off tomorrow against "The Wild Man" Sanchez? I think he plunked him twice last year. Might be good go get Valdez back in there for a night.

I know, I know, he's had plenty of nights off this year. But it might be smart to to not overwork him this early off the DL too.

[Sophist]

Jack, that win puts them 1 over .500 against the Mets-Marlins-Nats this year. They're not going to play .600 baseball the rest of the way unless Lee goes crazy or the division lays down and dies for them. The Phils have won 20/25, and it's the Phils who now have the easier schedule the rest of the way.

We have this debate every night. I'm not saying they'll play .450 or something, but they can't run Venters and Wagner out every night. It's only a matter of time. That doesn't mean it will be this week.

[Andy]

braves can have this bit
a silly two game head start
in the end, they're toast

[aksmith]

Contreras has lost 3-4 miles per hour on his fastball. And it's been gone for a while. He was topping out at 96 early in the season. He is topping at 92 now. But he is still getting people out. And that's what counts. Baez hits 96 regularly, but he can't get anyone out.

[Sophist]

Jack, so you think the Phils and Braves will have the same winning pct. in their remaining non-head2head games?

[Fatalotti]

Matt Stair made a beautiful diving catch in left field today. Might get a web gem. Who would have thunk it?

[denny b.]

We are in the playoffs right now. There is no need to ngash our teeth with every Braves win.

Again, quit worrying about the Braves. Just keep winning and everything will take care of itself.

Its about the World Series. Not winning the NL East. Nobody will care that the Marlins won the WS and were a Wild Card team. They remember they won the WS that year.

[phlipper]

The Braves have a significantly better run differential than the Phils. They've scored all of 17 fewer runs than the Phils in 120 games. I do not think they will fade.

[Jack]

Sophist: Yeah, something around there. I would guess that by the time we play them head-to-head, it's within 1 or 2 games either way.

[AFish]

People forget how streaky baseball is. Every year a couple of teams get red hot in September; those teams make the playoffs. Remember the late August 2007 NY Post article declaring the Mets division champs? Bottom line: it really is too soon to tell what is going to happen.

[Jack]

Sophist: And if it's more than 1 or 2 games, it's more likely it's the Braves leading than the Phillies leading.

[MG]

denny b - Agreed. I was so glad that Cholly pulled Blanton in that spot even though Blanton's pitch count wasn't that high. Durbin got the GDP and it was the turning point in the game because whatever chances the Giants had died in that inning.

[Pizzda]

Agreed about Cholly pulling Joe. His timing was right on.

[Jack]

AFish: Who is declaring either team the division champs?

Like I've said multiple times, it's going to be close from here on in. I'd be shocked if the Phils were up more than 1 or 2 going into those two final series, and I'd be pretty surprised if the Braves were up more than 1 or 2 either.

So it's going to come down to those games, most likely. I could be wrong, you're right; the Phillies could continue to win at an .800 pace, but somehow I doubt that. I wouldn't bet on a crazy streak either way. It could happen, but those are just tough to predict.

[MG]

Making any predictions about the NL East is ridiculous because the Phils-Braves playing each other 6 times yet.

It is not to early to say though that the Phils have a real chance to put a serious dent in the Giants' playoff chances though with a victory that would put them 3 GB in the WC tomorrow night.

[Andy]

In other words, I agree with Sophist. Let's stop thinking this is the Braves of the '90s. It will indeed catch up with them that their line-up is weak. Truthfully, include Lee if you want and do a comparison. Who would you take from the Braves to play the same position on the Phils instead of the Phillies player? Anyone? Even McCann I'm not sure about because Chooch is so good in high pressure situations and plays with such passion. And is their starting rotation better than the Phils?

So yeah. They have a better bullpen. In my experience having a better bullpen does not make you a better team. It's still August and just 2.5 games. They will not win this division.

[awh]

"I wonder if Cholly gives Utley the night off tomorrow against "The Wild Man" Sanchez?"

denny, get real. Charlie has about as much chance of getting Chase to sit tomorrow as you do of getting the start instead of Hamels.

[denny b.]

MG-

Blanton's pitch count WAS high for him. Anytime he gets to 85 pitches, that's like 110 for anyone else.

Cholly seemed prepared for the inevitable Blanton wilting and got him out at the right time.....before the game got to 5-3 or worse.

Solid effort from Joe though tonight. His control helped him keep guys off base, so when hits did happen, they didn't do as much damage.

[phlipper]

But if denny did start, he'd probably get better run support than Hamels.

[Pizzda]

Yo, new post game thing.

[toddzilla]

Man Dom crushed that ball, looking forward to bombs like that for the next twelve years

[Mr. Mack]

This year's Braves BP is looking like the Phillies 2008 BP. It is really the difference between first & second place in the NL East right now. I have to agree that the Phillies have 3 quality BP guys in Durbin, Madson & Contreras.

At this point, I am still not convinced about the re-emergence of Lidge, and those who say they are, are really just whistling past the graveyard. He still frightens me every time he gets the ball in a one or even a two run game.