Postgame: Rise and shine! Lee lifts Phils by Reds

Less than 24 hours after Wilson Valdez took the hill for the Phils, it was only fitting that Cliff Lee was the hitting star in a 10-4 win over the Reds.

Lee delivered a go-ahead, two-run double in the sixth and an RBI single in the seventh. Ironically, he likely would have been lifted for a pinch hitter with the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth in a 4-4 game had the Phillies not used the entire organization in Wednesday’s 19-inning marathon. The multi-hit game was the third of Lee’s career. Among the players who couldn’t get two hits in more than six hours of baseball one night earlier: Placido Polanco, Raul Ibanez and Carlos Ruiz. And of the 41 players who got into Wednesday’s game, only one (Jay Bruce) had as many RBIs as Lee racked up with two swings of the bat on Thursday. Oh, and Lee also pitched eight innings for the second straight start.

Raul Ibanez contributed a three-run homer and Chase Utley hit his first home run of the season for the Phils, who went 10-10 in their 20-game stretch against teams with winning records. Even Michael Martinez (two hits, two RBIs) and Domonic Brown (two hits, walk) got into the act.

Contreras returns: Jose Contreras, back on a major league mound for the first time since April 21, worked the ninth. He retired the side in order, notching two foul outs and a strikeout.

Next up: The Phils open a weekend set against the Mets at Citi Field on Friday night. Roy Oswalt (3-2, 2.77) goes for the good guys against Chris Capuano (3-5, 5.36).

Comments

[NEPP]

Great series and great effort on the 20 game stretch from hell despite massive injuries and piecemeal lineups and major slumps.

Love this team!

[CJ]

Cliff Lee had 3 RBI's in today's game. In honor W. Valdez getting a win before pitchers like Jimenez... I present a list of hitters yet to have a 3 RBI game this season:

Hanley Ramirez
James Loney
Andre Ethier
Derek Lee
Alex Rios
Justin Morneau
Josh Hamilton

[Lake Fred]

Great victory. Very satisfying. My boss hates it when the Phillies play weekday day games. He'll be glad that it's over and my productivity can go back to acceptable levels, ha ha!

[Jack]

I feel as good about this team as I have in a long time, probably since about mid-August of last year.

[EastFallowfield]

Phils finish their streak of 20 games vs 'good' teams 10-10.

Braves went 10-8 during that stretch, gaining a game in the standings.

Marlins went 9-8 with their game in SF still pending, either gaining a game or staying put at 2 back.

Phils just one emergency Kendrick start from not losing any ground at all.

[Matt]

You think he would have been lifted in the sixth if they hadn't gone through their entire bullpen the night before? I highly doubt that.

[CJ]

Someone asked why KK was warming up. Beat reporters say that was Worley who was throwing on the side in preparation of his next start. They apparently saved that for after the game in case he was needed in emergency relief.

[Steve]

So what happens to Ibanez now that he'll be away from CBP?

[Spitz]

CJ - I asked that question. I think in the radio broadcast, LA said the KK was up too.

[Jack]

Steve: A massive slump. Except Mon-Wed is against the Nats, who he crushes everywhere.

[Drew]

Matt: I don't know, man. You think that if the 'pen was fully rested, that Cliff Lee would be batting in the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded and nobody out after he'd given up 4 runs already? It's possible, but I think Cholly would have pinch hit for him there on most other days.

[Matt]

I don't know. I guess it's possible, but I would be surprised.

[GBrettfan]

I had it on TV. Both KK & Worley were warming up.

[CJ]

Spitz and GBrettfan: Thanks. The Reds broadcast didn't mention anyone being up.

[bay_area_phan]

Dane Sardinha has a career major league OBP of .219 and a career minor league OBP of .262. Before he was called up this year, his 2011 OBP at Lehigh Valley stood at .227. Somehow or other, his OBP since being called up is .433. In 30 major league PAs, he has managed to draw 8 walks.

[CJ]

The Phillies are 15-16 vs. teams that are .500 or better (going into today) and 16-3 vs. teams that are under .500.

That kind of recipe will equal about 100 wins this season.

I'm not saying they *will* win 100 games, but it's all about beating up on the bad teams and holding serve against the good ones.

[CJ]

bap: Just imagine what effect being in the big leagues could do for Anthony Hewitt's OBP!!!!

[Jack]

bap: Hitting 8th in the National League will help your OBP. Not that much, but certainly some.

[Fatalotti]

Extremely impressive of this team to go 10-10 during this stretch against some really tough teams during which they had:

1) Oswalt and Blanton in flux, not knowing what they were getting from either.

2) Having to get multiple starts from Worley and Kendrick

3) An offense that disappeared.

4) Lost a CF to injury and a backup catcher

5) Had their cleanup hitter in the midst of the work O-fer of his career.

6) Started the likes of Mini-Mart, Valdez, Orr, and Sardinha in a multitude of games

7) Had a 19 inning game in which their backup IF had to pitch against the top of the Reds order

Impressive. Most impressive.

[lorecore]

CJ: "I'm not saying the will win 100 games"

You negative j8rkoff!

[CJ]

lorecore: I'm saying they'll win 120. I forgot to finish my sentence.

[bay_area_phan]

Jack: No doubt -- although, frankly, I don't know why an opposing manager would pitch around Sardinha to get to the pitcher.

[lorecore]

re: Series at Citi Field

Bring on the Mets trolls this weekend - they are so much better than our resident troll(s).

[lorecore]

Any play by play on Utley's HR? Distance, RF/CF/LF, L/RHP, hitters count, badass short swing style?

[Voice of Reason]

Don't look now -- Ibanez 3 points shy of having the best batting average of ANY Phils player in today's game. ???

[CJ]

At this moment, the Phils have both scored the most runs in the division and allowed the fewest. After today's game, they're back up over 4 runs per game (4.08). They're allowing 3.26 runs per game. That's a run differential of 0.82 per game. For comparison:

Atlanta 0.68 R/G
Florida 0.34 R/G
St. Louis 1.00 R/G
Colorado 0.36 R/G
Cincinnati 0.24 R/G

[No1]

lorecore: typical utley swing, ball a bit above the belt, 0-1 count, vs rhp, bandbox homer that made it to the first row in RF

[CJ]

lorecore: Short swing, pop up to RF that just kept carrying and dropped into the first row. The crowd didn't realize it was going to be a HR until it reached the stands. Not going on any highlight reels, but a good sign nonetheless.

[lorecore]

Sweet.

[Mick O]

I wonder if that awkward turn he had earlier in the game reassured Utley that the knee can take at least a little bit of punishment and not buckle. Seems like a good sign that he can now resume being himself.

[CJ]

Morosi just wrote a column proposing a rule change for collisions at home plate. He says a player should be called out if they initiate contact with a catcher despite having a path to slide. He says Cousins would have been called out if that were the rule.

I hate the idea that we're going to add an impossible to determine judgement call to the home plate ump's responsibility because of a freak injury to Buster Posey.

Overreact much?

[No1]

Morosi = moron.

His propose "rule" would become MLB's version of the NFL's hitting the QB rule. IOW, stupid

[No1]

and difficult to apply,

Hit SEND before I got that typed

[CJ]

How many catchers have been injured in home plate collisions over the past 10 years?

How many collisions at home plate have happened so far this season?

How about these reporters provide some actual context... or is that too hard?

[Josh M]

"Beat reporters say that was Worley who was throwing on the side in preparation of his next start."

Franzke and/or Anderson on the radio said both Worley and Kendrick were throwing, both scheduled workouts that would have been thrown this morning if not for last night's marathon. Presumably if they had needed bullpen space to warm up a potential reliever (if the game were closer) they'd have thrown post-game.

[Spitz]

Carlos Santana's injury last year looked a lot worse than Buster Posey's injury, no?

[EastFallowfield]

Utley's HR can be seen on phillies.com

It was a CBP flyball special.

[PhillyJoe]

I love sweeping morning-day doubleheaders

[Spitz]

The Giants are a frustrating team to cheer for. That offense stinks.

[GTown_Dave]

Spitz: I know. It's like trying to cheer for the Phi ...

Nevermind.

[CJ]

Coming in to today's game, the Giants have been outscored by their opponents, 172-170.

[limoguy]

With Utley back, it's like it's really the Phillies out there as opposed to, "Who are these guys anyway?"

[BloodStripes]

Chase Utley is the man! Everyone hits, no more slump. Run support for Lee. On to shitifield to mug the mutts. Dickey went down with an injury today. Sweep 'em Phils!

[CJ]

Phils are 20-2 when scoring 4 or more runs.
Phils are 27-7 when scoring 3 or more runs.

[The hook]

We will know tomm about chase knee. The philles
Always say that to see if the knee can take a lil
Pounding and respond well

[rauls grandpa]

I am now 2-0 for the season. Cliff Lee today is what I expect everyday from every pitcher who earns more than 10 mil a year.
That pitching stint by Valdez seemed to get him off the bad news snide. I would like to see position players alternate throughout the rest of the season when the game goes into extra frames.

[CJ]

Giants blow. Marlins win 1-0. Anibal Sanchez with the shutout.

[aksmith]

CJ - And yet somehow, those awful Giants will give the Phillies fits and beat them in the majority of their games.

[SLO Phan]

The Giants are not a good offensive team and haven't been for 1.5 years now. They caught lightening in a bottle last post season. They have a killer starting rotation, but I have to believe their offense is worse than ours.

[SLO Phan]

At least the Mets lost and I think Dickey got hurt. Hopefully we won't face him at all this year.

[CJ]

SLO Phan: Can't imagine there's a person on Beerleaguer who thinks the Giants have a better offense than the Phillies.

[BloodStripes]

Huge blow for the Giants with Posey likely out for the season.

[Chris in VT]

Nothing likely about it, BS. Broken leg and torn ligaments? He's not only likely out for the season, but probably a 1B going forward.

[aksmith]

I think Posey's injury is being overblown a bit. Yes, it's serious. But remember Jason Kendall? The guy had a trimalleolar fracture with extensive ligament damage and went on to catch for a long time after that. It all depends on how he heals. He'll likely be fine to catch next season.

[Chris in VT]

The Giants have probably the worst offense in the NL. Their rotation's excellent (although in all reality a notch below the Phils'), but they're really going to struggle to win that division.

[Get Rube A Beer]

aksmith: I think he won't be catching because they dont want to risk him getting hurt again not because he's not physically able to do so...

[BloodStripes]

I saw the play on Posey. It was heavy. At first I thought maybe his head or shoulder copped the injury. He was slammed and flew backwards all twisted but that in the end that put all the pressure on this leg. It was ugly but legal. Let's hope he comes back strong.

[BloodStripes]

Sorry 'bout the typos.

The call is....'sluggers shouldn't catch'

[aksmith]

Get Rube A Beer - They may indeed choose to move him to first base, although I think they already have a top prospect there in their system. That is a different thing than him being unable to catch.

I think anyone who can catch can catch for that pitching staff. They will definitely miss his offense.

[MG]

Toughest part of their schedule? Nah I don't think so. Starting June 21 through the ASB is probably a bit tougher.

Still I said I thought this team would win would win 10 or 11 games during this stretch and that I would be pretty impressed. I am. Despite the various injuries, they managed to hold their own against some really good teams.

Have a pretty good idea about this team now. Starting pitching as good as advertised, a better bullpen in part due to Madson's dominance and the emergence of Bastardo & contributions from Stutes, and a team that be competitive almost every night out because of who takes the mound.

Started to get some pieces back including Oswalt, Utley, and now Contreras. Vic should be back in another 10-14 days after a brief rehab stint. Curious to see what this team with a mostly healthy roster can do.

[NEPP]

I watched it several times and while it was a vicious blow, I dont see how Cousins scores safely without doing it. Also, Posey was in the way and even pretty much dove into him...tough luck, kid.

Clean play.

[awh]

CJ, I commented on the last thread about the Posey situation.

Totally random and freak occurence. To propose a rule change for it is not only overreacting it smacks of playing favorites with players. As many have noted, if it was Dane Sardinha or David Ross there would be nary a peep from the pundits like Morosi.

Tbe next thing you know they'll propose a ban on takeout slides if Robinson Cano got hurt badly.

Posey is a very good, popular player who draws fans to the park and it's a terrible shame that he got hurt, but for as often as any catcher gets seriously injured on that type of play it's hardly worth considering a rule change.

I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of anyone but Ray Fosse who had a career changing injury froam a collision.

The point is that they are few and far between.

No1 made reference to the NFL's hitting the QB rule, which is poorly applied, randomly enforced, and a terribly difficult judgement call that has changed the game to the point where it's virtually unwatchable.

I predict the NFL will decline in popularity over time because of that and other rule changes.

[NEPP]

I think of everyone, Posey himself would want to stay behind the plate the most. He stands to lose a ton of future earnings if he becomes a LF or 1B. His offensive prowess is still impressive at those positions but he's not a $20-25 million a year player like he would be behind the plate.

[CJ]

I fear a rule on collisions at home plate will be applied based on how seriously the catcher appears to be hurt... whether he's hurt or not... and whether the runner could have slid or not.

It's like the "defenseless receiver" in football. A flag is much more likely to be thrown if the receiver remains on the turf.

[Old Phan]

awh, you're right, but that's the country we live in. Because of one dips88t, we have to take our shoes off at the airport.

[NEPP]

Maybe Posey should have learned how to properly block the plate...Had he been positioned right, he'd be okay right now.

[Old Phan]

It was not a dirty play. Tough, but not dirty.

[Spitz]

Marlins seem like they are for real. Second best record in the NL now.

[MG]

awh - Football hasn't lost any ratings because of the added rules to protect the QB. Comparing apples to oranges. Rules to protect the QB make a lot of sense from a competitive standpoint and a fiscal one for NFL.

[Dreamer]

I didn't see anything wrong with the Posey collision...it sucks, but what else is Cousins supposed to do? He probably thought Posey made the catch and like NEPP said, there's no way he would have been safe if he didn't do what he did. I wonder what Pete Rose and Chase Utley think?

[NEPP]

Do you think it would be being overblown if it was a guy like Utley or Pujols who had done it instead of a nobody like Cousins?

[conshy matt]

awh - I agree. Eventually the nfl will likely suffer. Not for a whle though.

[PhxPhilly]

I will disagree with most that plays at the plate should be football style collisions. I do not think it makes sense at lower levels and the Majors should also make a correction.

Is it illegal to run over any other tag players? Or just considered 'poor sportmanship'? Because I would be all for wiping out another teams star SS trying to steal 2nd base with someone like Mayberry.

I understand why a baserunner would not want to do it but if the baserunner knocks the ball loose they likely will have enough time to get to the bag before the ball is retrieved to tag them out.

[goody]

Two more fun facts from last nites game:
1. UC became the first manager in ML history to use a utility infielder to pitch to twice as many batters as his well-rested long-man in a 19-inning game and still win.
2. That long man became the first pitcher with more than 50 ML appearances to enter a game with a negative strikeout rate, and strikeout every batter he faced.

[PhxPhilly]

Lineup today seemed pretty bad in my opinion.
Howard is out of his terrible slump but no quite hot either. Utley is recovering from injury. Ibanez is still old, right?
Then the AAA bandwagon of Brown, Mayberry, Martinez, and Sardihna.

Valdez is a career backup and I really thought he would get the day off. (Figured just Rollins out for Martinez.)

Did Martinez field okay at SS? I do not watch the games so I have just read from comments that his fielding is bad.

[goody]

Question: If the Phils had beaten Texas Sunday to give them a losing record, would that have meant we didn't really play a tough stretch?

[MG]

Goody - No.

[Andy]

Is it warm enough?
Maybe not hittin' season.
Light up the Mets, though.

[Old Phan]

"Lineup today seemed pretty bad in my opinion."
I'll take that "bad lineup" every day with results like that.

[limoguy]

The Mets are talking about shedding $40 million in payroll from this year to next.

[bay_area_phan]

For the many posters who were ready to summarily suspend Derek Lowe based on his DUI arrest, you may be interested to know that the charges were dismissed after a police video of his field sobriety tests revealed that he didn't do anywhere nearly as badly as the cop made it out in the report.

[BobbyD]

bap - as they say.. don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.

[GBrettfan]

Ibanez isn't getting any younger, that's true, but shouldn't we give him credit for having a hot month? I keep reading comments about him that seem negative, as if he weren't hitting well yet.

I'm sure he'll get into an awful slump again this season, but I'd like to enjoy his hot streak while it lasts, without labeling him old or washed up. Plenty of time for that when he gets cold again. ;)

[sdphillie]

For what it's worth, with both the Phillies and Braves winning, they have lowered their magic number to 113 games.

[GTown_Dave]

b_a_p: That's one way of describing it.

[GTown_Dave]

GBrettfan: I'm curious to see if Raul can carry his hot streak into the Road trip.

[bay_area_phan]

G-Town: My own assumption (which is worth nothing) is that one who refuses to take an Intoxilyzer is probably drunk. But I can also imagine a scenario where a famous athlete encounters an overzealous cop who's itching to arrest him, and simply gets p*ssed off and refuses to cooperate. I don't know what happened in Derek Lowe's case. I'm just reporting what the ESPN article said. In my experience, D.A.s don't readily dismiss cases they can prove.

[awh]

bap, I wouldn't say your assumption is worth nothing, but you certainly aren't aware of all the facts in the case.

[GBrettfan]

On Ibanez, let's hope that if he doesn't carry his hot streak with him on the road, that he passes that flaming torch to someone else, at least!

It was good to see Chase get a HR today.

[whitey]

Martinez did not look all that smooth at SS. I recall one infield single where he charged, hurried a throw and threw nowhere near the base.

[Chris in VT]

Wasn't Lowe reportedly street racing as well?

Not sure if the facts hold up regarding the DUI, but let's not just act like it never happened.

[Chris in VT]

BTW, regarding Chase's HR...Anyone else here see the post on thefightins regarding his reaction to it? Hilarious...

[Heather]

I thought if you refused to take a Breathalyzer, you were assumed to be drunk and therefore got a DUI regardless.

[rauls grandpa]

The only way the Mets could be more disgusting to Phila folks is if the Einhorn guy who bought into the team was Ira Einhorn. The new minority owner is a hedge fund dude who donates money to charity and most famously poker winnings in a celeb match to Michael J Fox's charity.

Speaking of which, nice of Pelfrey to readily admit there is a floating poker game going on in the Mets' private jet. He is so lucky that a league who is so "upset" with gambling of any type is run by Selig not Goodell. Pelfrey would already be suspended at this point.

[cut_fastball]

rg --Huh? Where'dja hear that? No active MLB player would ever admit to such a thing. That's so much more ammo for Selig and his gang to "enforce" something.

[bay_area_phan]

Chris: awh is right: I don't know all the facts. And, frankly, from what little I do know, it kind of sounds like he was up to no good. But you can't really suspend a guy for driving drunk if the D.A. didn't even have enough evidence to prosecute him for it. I mean, you CAN but, unless MLB gives him some sort of hearing, it wouldn't really be fair.

[bay_area_phan]

Heather: The law varies from state to state. Where I live, a refusal to take an Intoxilyzer results in an automatic suspension of your driver's license by the DMV. That has nothing to do with any criminal charges. It's just a per se administrative rule: refuse a Breathalyzer, lose your license.

In a criminal case, however, a refusal is not presumptive evidence that you are drunk. But, if the DUI can be proven through other evidence -- like the cop's testimony about your erratic driving, your dismal performance on the field sobriety tests, your belligerent behavior, etc. -- then the failure to take an Intoxilyzer will result in an enhancement of your sentence.

[Kathy Jhong Lee]

Cliff Lee is my idol! Not because we have the same last name, but because he is a great player. I'm proud of him.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

FTW- Reds

[Edmundo]

"But remember Jason Kendall? The guy had a trimalleolar fracture with extensive ligament damage"

And is that when he went from being an offensive + to an offensive -? Kendall was really good at one point.