Game 10 and 11 of 162: Blown Saves Work Both Ways

Game 10: 8-7 Loss: Lidge Blows First Save as a Phillie.

He deserved the ovation he received. Brad Lidge's run of perfection was amazing, but he was bound to blow one and it happened Saturday night. What can you do? It is better that it happened in April than September and it only hurt more when it was compounded with Friday's blown save by Ryan Madson as well.

Good news: The Phillies power hitters are starting to hit home runs. Ibanez, Utley, and Howard all homered for the Phils. Also, Brett Myers threw the second quality start of the season for the Phils.

Bad news: The already mentioned blown save. Too many home runs allowed.

Game 11: 5-4 Win: Ibanez Makes up for Mistakes.

In a drama-filled day for Philadelphia, Raul Ibanez hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Phillies their first win of the Padres series. The Phils fell behind 4-0 after sub-par pitching from Chan Ho Park. Park also allowed a home run to only continue the streak of home runs allowed by a Philadelphia starter. Yep, they've allowed a home run in all 11 games. Chase Utley made the score 4-2 in the bottom of the 6th after hitting his fourth home run of the season and he is quietly putting all of the hip concerns to bed.

Jimmy Rollins had the day off, but came through in the clutch when he hit a pinch-hit solo home run in the bottom of the 8th to bring the score one run closer. With the score 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Phils had the heart of their order up. Ryan Howard hit his third hit of the day as he looped a single into center field. It was off a change-up that Howard was often missing badly last season. Ryan Howard is having his best April ever, hitting .341 with a 1.009 OPS.

The stage was set for Raul Ibanez who had a bad play in the field that lead to a pivotal run in the game. It was time for his redemption. Ibanez deposited Edwin Moreno's 2-0 pitch into the right field seats to give the Phillies the 5-4 victory. Raul Ibanez has fit in very well with this line-up and is tied for the NL lead with 5 home runs. He is reaching base 44% of the time and slugging .864. He's been the legit hitter that they've needed after Ryan Howard.

Good News: The Phillies ended their three-game losing streak, which included two quality starts from Joe Blanton and Brett Myers. The Phillies fans continue to come out as well with their sixth straight sell-out. J.A. Happ pitched three exceptional innings and I would not be surprised if he gets a start within the next few weeks over Park.

Bad News: The home runs allowed are still a plenty. The Phillies could be holding a 3-0 lead and going for the sweep tomorrow, but instead they're looking to even the series at two tonight.