Maybe its the socks?

Tuesday night in Philly, the Rockies were looking for their fifth straight victory and send a message that they were for real.  They started the series well, as Garrett Atkins had a huge game including four RBI on a two run double and a two run home run.  Catcher, Chris Iannetta also added in two RBI as the Rockies went on to beat the Phillies 8-3.  Starter Jason Hammel(6-6) went 6.2 innings only allowing three runs, but scattering nine hits and six strike outs.

The Phillies have now lost five out of six games and three games straight since Cliff Lee’s masterful game on Friday night.  Tuesday’s starter Jamie Moyer had another bad start, and with Pedro Martinez on the horizon, when will the rumors of his demise begin?  Moyer(10-8) went five innings but was charged with six runs on six hits and four walks.  Former starter Rodrigo Lopez came on in relief and gave up two more runs in only two innings of work.  Jimmy Rollins was a bright spot for the Phillies as he went 2-5 with a two run home run, his twelth of the season.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more on this game and the Phillies.

Dunn with another blast

Tuesday night began an inter-division series between the Marlins and the Nationals (look for the Chatter Up! later today).  The Nationals drew first blood in this one even after being held scoreless for the first seven innings.  Going into the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game, the Nats were down 4-0, and thing didn’t look well as Josh Johnson was dealing.  That is when the bats got going though.  In the eighth inning, the Nationals had six runs including a two RBI double by Ronnie Belliard and a RBI single by Guzman.  The inning and game scoring was capped by Adam Dunn hitting a two run home run that put the Nats ahead 6-4 for good.  Nationals starter J.D. Martin only got through 4.1 innings before being pulled, but the relief was solid behind him.  Ron Villone(4-5) got the win in relief working 1.1 scoreless innings and Mike MacDougal got his ninth save of the season while getting through a shaky ninth inning.  Check out CenterfieldGate for more information regarding the Nats.

The Marlins were cruising in this one with Josh Johnson, and will be second guessing themselves for leaving him on the mound for a while.  Johnson got a no decision but was charged with four runs and six hits, all runs from the eighth inning he worked in but could not record an out.  Kiko Calero(2-1) was charged with the loss and a blown save in this game as he only got one out in the eighth.  Former National got the Marlins started in this game with an RBI in the first and scored another run on Jeremy Hermida’s seventh inning single.  Cody Ross who is on fire hit a home run in the fourth and was followed by another home run by PITCHER Josh Johnson.  FishGuts will have more on the Marlins and this game.

Vazquez comes through

The Braves were in need of a win on Tuesday night, as they had been free falling of late.  They sent Javier Vazquez to the mound against the last place San Diego Padres, and got what they wanted.  The Braves were down early, but Vazquez(9-7) got through seven innings only allowing four hits and two runs, while striking out six while throwing only 98 pitches.  The Braves scored in six different innings, putting up crooked numbers in the sixth and eighth to put the game away as the Braves won 9-2.  Adam LaRoche had another RBI since rejoining the Braves, and they got home runs from Martin Prado and Matt Diaz on way to a 9-2 victory.  Prado added another two RBI single in the game while staying on fire for a final line of 3-5 with 3 RBI and two runs scored.  The Braves Baseball Blog has more Braves information for you!

The Padres bats went back to sleep on Tuesday night adn they couldn’t help out starter Tim Stauffer.  Stauffer(1-3) got through five innigns scattering eight hits and three runs and got the loss even though he left with a close game.  Edward Mujica gave up four earned runs in in only one third of an inning.  Will Venable hit his fifth home run in the first inning and scored the only other Padres run on a Chase Headley double in the fourth.

What next?

The New York Mets can’t get out of their own way.  On Friday, they lost a game on a wild pitch and last night the deciding run was scored on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded by the same Pitcher, Sean Green.  In this back and forth game, the Cardinals took a 4-3 lead in the fifth, only to give up four in the bottom of the frame.   The Cardinals then got closer in the eighth on a solo home run by Pujols and tied it in the ninth.  Against Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, the Cardinals got two runs on two doubles by Ankiel and Julio Lugo and a single by Skip Schumaker.  In the tenth inning, after Mark DeRosa was hit to give them the lead, Albert Pujols put it away with a grand slam to left center field.  Kyle McClellan(3-2) got the win while going through the ninth inning giving up only a hit and a walk before the winning inning.

The Mets had a lot of positives early in this game and it would have been a great win, rather than a demoralizing loss.  Johan Santana helped his own cause with a two run double in the second inning and was picked up later.  While down 5-4, the Mets got a two RBI double from Gary Sheffield followed by a Daniel Murphy double and a Cora single to take a 7-4 lead.  They would not get any other runs in the game.  Santana finished with a no decision while getting through eight innings and giving up five runs on nine hits.  Francisco Rodriguez got tagged with his fourth blown save of the season and Pedro Feliciano(4-4) got charged with three runs as he loaded the bases prior to Sean Green’s appearance.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog has all the Mets info you need.