Payback's A Bitch

After going to LA and getting swept by the Dodgers last week in 4 games, the fans in Philly feared a repeat or another dismal performance versus LA. Well the outcome was much different. The Phillies capped a 4 game sweep at home of the Dodgers with a 5-0 win Monday night.

Taking the mound for the Phillies was Brett Myers, who followed up his shut out win versus Washington with 7 scoreless innings against LA. He went 7, giving up 9 hits and 3 walks. He also struck out 8. His curve ball has truly become nasty again and the velocity on his fastball is back. He is now freezing and fooling hitters with both pitches, something Phillies fans are happy to see again.

Jimmy Rollins, who entered the game batting .087 (4-for-46) since calling Philadelphia fans "front-runners", had a single, double and triple, and drove in two runs. He showed a lot of hustle scoring on a double play and on an infield grounder from 2nd.

Jayson Werth also had a great game as he drove in a run himself. But that was over shadowed by his great plays in the field, including him running down a line drive hit by Manny Ramirez in the 7th with bases loaded and the Phillies only up 3-0. He basically saved the game.

The Phillies open tonight's 2 game series with the Mets. The Phillies can come out of this series either 1.5 up or .5 and 2.5 games back. I would love to see the first out come. But it won't be easy as tonight the Phillies be facing Pedro Martinez (4-3; 4.97) tonight and Johan Santana (12-7; 2.64) tomorrow. The will be putting Jamie Moyer (11-7; 3.54) and Kyle Kendrick (11-7; 4.87) on the mounds for both nights.

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An LA Ass Kicking

This is a picture of Ryan Howard's home run swing. I know I'm good.

The Phillies beat the Dodgers 8-1 last night. Kyle Kendrick woke up finally. Yes his pitch count was high and he only lasted 5.2 innings but he pitched well. He kept the Dodgers off the bases, and the only run he gave up was an early solo shot from Andre Ethier.

I was at the game and yes I enjoyed watching the offense heat up and manufacture runs. Also the 3 long balls were nice to see as well. The first came from Ryan Howard, a 2 run bomb in the 4th, Chris Coste capped a 4 run 6th with a 3 run show, and Chase Utley lined a shot to dead center in the 7th. Howard's homer was his 34th of the year and he now has 106 RBIs for the season. Utley is at 31 and 85.

Greg Maddux, known as a Phillie killer in the prime of his career, was looking just as that until he started getting whacked around. After 3 innings, he only threw a little over 20 pitches. He left in the 6th after Coste's shot.

The game today is at 4 EST on FOX. Pitching for the Phillies is Cole Hamels (10-8; 3.22). He is facing Clayton Kershaw (2-3; 2.39).

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Back to Normal

These guys are pathetic. Phillies lost 8-3 to San Diego as Kyle Kendrick surrendered 5-run 4th inning. He went 3.2, giving up 6 runs on 6 hits and 5 walks. He is starting to show is true colors and be the below average pitcher he is. He lacks an out-pitch and it's catching up to him.

Jimmy Rollins continued to play like shit. I won't even get on his case because I exhausted my opinion enough. The Mets beat Pittsburgh to move 2 games ahead of Philadelphia.

Ace Cole Hamels (9-8, 3.32) is pitching tonight versus Cha Baek (4-7, 5.20).

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Do you want your fish grilled, filleted, or shut out?

Tonight, the Phillies evened the three game series with the Marlins with a 5-0 shut out. Kyle Kendrick pitched 6 scoreless, followed by Durbin for 2 and Madson for the ninth. Kendrick was not exactly stellar, with 5 walks, but he got a lot of ground balls, soft flies, and great defense to make it look easy even when he was in a jam.

The Phillies improved to 29-14 in Kendrick's starts and it all began with Utley's RBI double in the first inning. Eric Bruntlett and Kyle Kendrick each knocked in a run in the third to push the lead to 3-0 until Ryan Howard tied the major league lead with his 32nd home run and just missed his 33rd. Lastly, Mike Cervanek finished off the scoring with his first career hit and RBI in the 6th.

The Phillies won a must-win game. As the tail end of the season nears closer and closer, the "must-win" games become bigger and bigger. Today was a must-win because it pushed their division lead back to 2.5 over the Fish and hopefully 3 over the Mutts (they're currently losing).

Theoretically, the story-line plays out best for the Phillies tomorrow as their ace, Cole Hamels, will be on the mound. He rarely has poor back-to-back starts and it is highly doubtful that it'd be three in the row. A win would help push the Phillies "series-winning" streak to four in a row.

Bad/Good news, depending on which side of the fence you're sitting on, Tom Gordon was pulled from his rehab appearance today after feeling elbow discomfort in his throwing arm. He'll make a trip back to Philadelphia to get things checked out.

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Say No to Fox!

Is it just me or do the Phillies consistently lose whenever they play a 3:55 game on Fox. I know as of right now, we're at least 0-4 in games on Fox this year and they weren't very good last year either. In day games alone, the Phillies are 12-18 this year. Over the past four seasons, they're well over .500 in day games, but not this year. Too hot? Who knows, but it continued yesterday as the Phillies lost 9-5 to the Florida Marlins.

Kyle Kendrick had nothing close to his best stuff as the Marlins pounded out 3 home runs. In a game that went back and forth early on, the Marlins stayed ahead for good when they put together a 3-run fifth on 2 of the 3 home runs allowed by Kendrick. Kendrick watched his season ERA jump nearly half a run in his outing.

The Phillies offense continued to struggle with RISP and they left 9 men on base. Pat Burrell was the lone positive for the Phillies as he hit two home runs to up his total to 25. The Phillies now have 3 players in the lineup with at least 25 home runs: Howard, Utley, and Burrell.

Today, another day game, the Phillies will have Cole Hamels facing off against Josh Johnson who just recently came off the 60-day DL. In the past, the Phillies have hit up Johnson. Let's hope it continues today. On the other side, Hamels has somewhat struggled against the Marlins in the past, at least for Cole's standards. The team has lost its last two starts against the Fish, but in his last start, he threw 8 innings and gave up 2 earned, while striking out 13.

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