Harden Shuts Down Phillies

3 hits? 3 f****** hits. I would have rathered they gotten no hit so their pathetic performance would be worth something to someone. But no. Their effort was so bad that I can say that Rich Harden deserved to throw a no-hitter with the way he handled the Phillies offense.

Harden (5-0) looked like he was pitching to little leaguers. Hell, my little league team full of 9 and 10 year olds could have managed more base runners. In his 8 innings pitched, Harden threw 95 pitches. He gave up 2 hits, 1 walk, and struck 11. Alan Embree pitched the 9th, giving up the 3rd hit.

Now to talk about Adam Eaton. Eaton pitched another quality start, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, 3 walks, and striking out 6 in 7 innings of work. His efforts were not backed up again by this dismal offense.


Shane Victorino was the only Phillie with 2 hits. Pat Burrell had the other hit, his 2nd triple of the year. Victorino stole his 20th base in the 9th. Before taking off, he stumbled a few pitched prior and looked like he aggravated his groin. Hopefully it wasn't anything serious.

Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth struck out 3 times and Geoff Jenkins added 2. Chase Utley, Victorino, and Carlos Ruiz made up the other 3. It was an all around bad game for Rollins as he made an error in the field as well.

The Phillies remained 2 games ahead of the Marlins. The Mets and Braves move half a game closer to the Phillies, being down 3.5 and 4 games respectively, with their day off.

The Phillies travel to Arlington to play the Texas Rangers in that sweltering Texas heat. In their ball park and in that heat, the ball should fly. This could be a good series to get back on pace. But they need to score because the Rangers know how to put up runs, especially with Michael Young and Josh Hamilton.

Probables for the series in Texas:
Friday: B. Myers (3-9, 5.51), K. Gabbard (2-3, 4.96)
Saturday: C. Hamels (7-5, 3.27), V. Padilla (10-3, 3.74)
Sunday: J. Moyer (7-5, 4.09), E. Hurley (0-1, 4.24)

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Finally! Phillies Snap 6 Game Skid

Kyle Kendrick looked phenomenal as the Phillies beat the A's 4-0, ending a 6 game losing streak. Chase Utley helped his cause with a 4 hit game.

In 8 innings, Kendrick (7-3) only allowed 4 hits and 1 walk. He also struck out 4. JC Romero pitched the 9th to earn the Phillies the shut out. Greg Smith for Oakland got wacked around pretty bad in his 5.2 innings pitched.

Utley looked like he's officially out of his slump with his 4-5 performance. He had a double and triple. Pedro Feliz also added his first triple of the year. Chris Coste also had 2 hits and 2 RBIs. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins both failed to hit the ball.

The Phillies introduce a bizarre line up tonight with Jayson Werth leading off, Utley batting second, Rollins third, Burrell 4th, and Howard 5th. It earned them the win but I hope it's not a permanent line up.

The Phillies last won Monday, June 16, versus the Red Sox and it took them over a week to win again. In that span, the allowed the Marlins to gain ground but they were able to get a game back, giving them a 2 game advantage on Florida.

Pitching tomorrow is Adam Eaton (2-5, 4.94) for Philadelphia and Rich Harden (4-0, 2.44) for Oakland.

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Offense Dissapears Again

The Phillies offense failed to show up again as the lost 5-2. They were only able to manage 2 runs. Jamie Moyer looked great until he gave up a 3 run homer in the 7th to Emil Brown. The A's tacked on 2 more in the 8th with a home run by Jack Cust.

Moyer went 6.2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits (technically one hit) and one walk. He also struck out 9. Cust's home run cam off of Romero in the 8th. This just shows that the Phillies lack of offense hurts them again.

On the hill for Oakland was Joe Blanton who went 7 strong, holding the Phillies to 1 run on 4 hits. That run came from a solo home run by Pat Burrell in the 2nd. Houston Street pitched a perfect 9th for his 14th save.

The Phillies added an RBI single in the 8th by Ryan Howard. Shane Victorino was the only batter with two hits. Burrell's home run was the only extra base hit.

The Phillies have now lost 6 games. With every team in the NL East losing, the Phillies had the opportunity to get a game back on everyone but failed to do so. The Phillies continue the road trip in Oakland for two more nights and then travel to Texas. This trip can make or break their first half.

Pitching tomorrow is Kyle Kendrick (6-3, 5.06) for the Phillies and Greg Smith (4-5, 3.51) for the Athletics.

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