Phillies vs. Astros

The Phillies and Astros played a wild game Tuesday night in Philadelphia.  The game featured a pitcher’s duel, ninth inning home run, and a key ejection that forced the Phillies to use a pitcher in the field.  In the end, the Astos defeated the Phillies by a score of 4-2 in a 16 inning marathon.

The Astros got on the board first in the fourth inning when Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer off of Phillies’ starter Cole Hamels.  The Phils got a run back off of Houston starter Bud Norris in the sixth on a Raul Ibanez RBI double, but the Astros held on to a 2-1 lead entering the ninth inning.    With two outs in the ninth, Jimmy Rollins blasted a solo home run off of Houston reliever Wilton Lopez to tie the game and send it to extra innings.  Then things got really interesting.

 Neither team could find a way to score in extra frames.  In the bottom of the 14th, Ryan Howard came up with two runners on and two outs.  Howard had two check swings ruled strikes by third base umpire Scott Barry, the last being strike three.  When Howard tossed his bat and helmet after the strike out, Barry ejected Howard, causing the Phillies first baseman to charge towards the umpire before being restrained.  The ejection left the Phillies short a position player, and forced manager Charlie Manuel to insert pitcher Roy Oswalt in left field. 

The Astros finally broke the tie in the top of the 16th off of reliever David Herndon (1-3), scratching out two runs on an infield single and fielder’s choice.  In the bottom of the inning, Howard’s ejection loomed large again.   Astros’ reliever Jeff Fulchino (1-0) retired the first two batters, but after walking Placido Polanco, Houston intentionally walked Chase Utley to bring up “clean up hitter” Roy Oswalt.   Fulchino got Oswalt to ground out to end the game and give Houston the victory.

 

Marlins vs. Mets

 The Mets’ slumbering offense knocked out Marlins’ ace Josh Johnson after five innings and used single runs in the final two innings to defeat Florida by a score of 6-5 at Citi Field.

The Mets broke a 2-2 tie with two runs in the fifth off of Johnson, thanks to an RBI single by Carlos Beltran and Jeff Francoeur‘s second sacrifice fly of the game.  Mets’ starter R.A. Dickey kept the Mets in the lead until the seventh.  With two outs and two on in the seventh, Dickey allowed a three-run homer to Gaby Sanchez to give Florida a 5-4 lead.  However, the Mets came back against the Marlins’ bullpen.

With two outs in the eighth, Angel Pagan doubled and Beltran drove in his second run of the game with a run-scoring single off of Clay Hensley to tie the game at 5.   After Hisanori Takahashi (8-6) retired the Marlins in the top of the ninth, Luis Castillo hit a two-out single off of Will Ohman (0-2) to score Ike Davis and give the Mets the walk-off victory.

 

Nationals vs. Cubs

The Cubs’ Carlos Zambrano pitched effectively into the eighth inning, and closer Carlos Marmol survived a shaky ninth as Chicago held on to defeat the Nationals 5-4 in Washington.

Nationals’ starter John Lannan (5-6) allowed a three-run homer to Alfonso Soriano and a two-run shot to Tyler Colvin as the Cubs built a 5-1 lead.  Meanwhile, Zambrano (5-6) allowed just one run and five hits over 7 1/3 innings, striking out eight.   Marmol entered the game in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded, but struck out Ian Desmond to keep the score at 5-1.

In the ninth, Marmol created his own bases loaded mess, and with two outs, Adam Kennedy cleared the bases with a three-run double to cut Chicago’s lead to 5-4.  Luckily for the Cubbies, Marmol rebounded to retire Ryan Zimmerman on a fly ball to preserve the victory.  Despite allowing three runs, Marmol was credited with his 23rd save of the season since he entered the game with the tying run at the plate.

 

Braves vs. Rockies

The first place Atlanta Braves received a solid starting pitching performance from Derek Lowe, but the Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa was better on Tuesday night, and the Braves fell by a score of 5-2 in Colorado.

The Rockies opened the scoring when Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer off of Lowe (11-12) in the bottom of the first.  The Braves got a run back in the second off of De La Rosa (5-4) on an Alex Gonzalez solo shot, but Rockies got that run back with a Seth Smith home run in the sixth.  Alex Gonzalez cut the Rockies lead to 3-2 with a seventh inning RBI single, but that was as close as the Braves would get.

The Rockies added some insurance in the eighth inning courtesy of a Dexter Fowler two-run single.  Huston Street pitched a perfect ninth inning to notch his 12th save of the season.

Forty years ago – in August of 1969 – the New York “Miracle” Mets were on their way to one of the greatest runs in modern Major League Baseball history (and a world championship), and all because of the great play of pitchers like Tom Seaver and hitters like Cleon Jones. The Chicago Cubs helped: engineering one of the all-time memorable collapses of the twentieth century. That’s a fading memory now, but at least some of that era was on display at Wrigley Field on Sunday, as Mets pitcher Nelson Figueroa hurled like the Seaver of old against the Mets’ traditional N.L. rivals – the North Siders of Chicago – striking out ten Cubbies and leading New York’s entry in the senior circuit to a decisive 4-1 victory.

Figueroa pitched seven complete innings and struck out ten, one of his best outings of the year, and one of the best outings by a Mets starting pitcher in the last month. Relievers Brian Stokes and Frankie Rodriguez pitched the game’s last two innings nearly effortlessly, adding a nearly flawless coda to the victory. To add to the win, the team hit well: every Mets starter had a hit, led by Angel Pagan, who had three, victimizing Chicago ace Carlos Zambrano, who suffered through his second shaky outing. The victory salvaged an otherwise depressing Mets visit to Chicago, where the New Yorkers had been defeated in two of three previous outings. The Mets are in the air to face the Rockies, before returning home to once again face the Cubs. You can read all about it, and you oughta, at The Real Dirty Mets Blog, where there’s a wrap up of the game – and all the news about the New York Mets.

There’s nothing boring about pitcher’s duels – as the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals proved today, in a knock-down-drag-out of curve ball finessers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. This was supposed to be no contest: with a kid with no experience, Garrett Mock, going up against a wizened ace, Adam Wainwright. But Mock and Wainwright dueled for six nail biting innings, matching nearly pitch-for-pitch in a equalizer that left both teams with nearly the same number of hits and runs. But when the game was ended, Mock ended up on the short end of the scoreboard, a 2-1 loser.

The difference in the game was a high fastball to Albert Pujols on a 3-2 count that the closest player to Lou Gehrig in the modern era put up the middle for a single in the sixth inning that broke a one-to-one tie – the difference, as it turned out, in the game. It was clear from the way that the pitch was thrown that Mock hoped that Pujols would either lay off the pitch (and walk) or swing and miss (and take his place on the bench). But you don’t throw a 3-2 fastball to Albert Pujols on a hope: another lesson for Washington’s young pitching staff. The St. Louis and Washington hitters
attempted to change the outcome in the last innings (both Mock and Wainwright left after six) but in vain – and the game ended as Mock and Wainwright had left it. And so Washington was swept in three games in St. Louis, but with this slight caveat: in this last game at least, the Nats showed that one of their young pitchers can go toe-to-toe with the best and play the game the way it ought to be played. To read about the game and get all the latest news on the Nationals, be sure to check in on Centerfield Gate blog.

The long difficult slide that the Florida Marlins have had against the otherwise hapless San Diego Padres is finally over – and not a moment too soon. The Marlins broke their losing streak on Saturday with an impressive outing from one of their big, young pitchers. Sean West, one of the big arms of their future, showed that he can step into the big leagues, with an impressive six inning seven hit showing against the Padres in Miami, giving the Marlins a victory and putting them back in the win column. The Marlins bats showed up, after being nearly silent the last two games, putting six
well-earned runs on the board with well-timed fourth inning hit from rookie Chris Coghlan – his 46th of August (a Marlins’ record). But the story today was West. “It’s huge just to know I can contribute like I am right now,” said West, who’s only 23 said. “I’m just trying to get six-plus innings in every time I go out.” This was West’s fifteenth start.

The Marlins had only six hits in the game, but they made them count in the 6-4 victory. Marlins manager, Fredi Gonzalez, thinking of the schedule ahead and the games remaining before the end of the season, was relieved: “I don’t
know if it’s desperation, but we’ve got to win ballgames,” he said. “When we pitch well, we’re a good club. When that doesn’t happen, we don’t look very good. But that’s not only us, that’s the other 29 Major League teams. When
you don’t pitch, it doesn’t look so good.” On Monday, the Marlins face the real test: three games versus division rival Atlanta at home. They then face-off against the Washington Nationals in Washington before heading back home to face the Mets. Then it’s back home to once again face the Nats. That’s twelve games in a row against the N.L. East. It won’t be long now and the Marlins will know whether they’ll be playing in the post season or practicing their putting in Broward County. For all the news about the Marlins, and Sunday’s game, be sure to go to our friends over at Fish Guts blog.

The Atlanta Braves went into Philadelphia with high hopes, and they battled and battled and battled – but when it was all over, the Phillies increased their lead in the N.L. East, and the Braves faded. Nor did the Braves creep any closer to the top of the wild card standings. The Braves are now 8.5 games back in the N.L. East with just over one month left in the season. Time is short and getting shorter. For the Phillies, the news couldn’t be better: they took the last game of their match-up against the Braves at sold-out Citizens Bank Park on Sunday night 3-2. But it was oh-so-close. Up until the seventh inning, Jair Jurrjens was in command of the game, throwing his fastball by a tough Phillies line-up. But a throwing error by third baseman Chipper Jones proved costly, leading to two Phillies runs – and the game. The error put runners at second and third and one batter later, Phillies’ hitter Carlos Ruiz put a ball into the left field corner, scoring two: “One thing about playing against the Phillies is that you can’t make mistakes,” Jones said. “If you make mistakes against them, they’re going to take advantage of it, which is what good teams do. We ended up making a couple of mistakes tonight and it ended up burning us.”

If Atlanta rued the error, Philadelphia credited themselves with clutch hitting – and staying in the game. Joe Blanton, often overlooked as one of the Phillies most dependable arms, pitched seven innings of three hit ball and the Phillies bullpen shit down the Braves lumber when it counted. Brad Lidge looked particularly effective – coming up with his 27th save. Atlanta now heads to Florida where they must win, while Philadelphia has a day off on Monday, before welcoming the San Francisco Giants. Oddly, the Phillies can help the Braves a lot by winning against Frisco, but the Braves can only help themselves in Miami. All of this will be the subject of great interest to our N.L. East Chatter blogs. You can read about the Phillies road trip at Phillies Phandom and be sure to keep up with the Braves at Braves Baseball Blog.

the walk off for the rook!

Andrew McCutchen had said he wanted to make amends for a play in the top of the ninth inning that allowed the Phillies to take the lead in the game.  He was able to do that, as he hit a two run home run off Phillies closer Brad Lidge to win the game for the Pittsburgh Pirates and redeemed himself by a score of 6-4.  The Pirates also added home runs from Ryan Doumit and a two run shot by Stephen Pearce in the game, and Brandon Moss had an RBI single in the ninth before McCutchen to tie the game.  Ross Ohlendorf went 6.1 innings allowing only two runs for to the NL leading Phillies but ended up with a no decision.  Matt Capps(3-7) recorded both his fourth blown save of the year and then got the win as he went one inning and was charged with two runs and three hits.

Even Jimmy Rollins hot streak couldn’t help the Phillies in this one.  Rollins hit home runs in the first inning and another solo shot in the third inning and until the ninth, that was all the Phillies could do.  In the ninth, Ben Francisco doubled home the tying run and Shane Victorino was credited with a triple on the misplay by McCutchen scoring the go ahead run.  Brad Lidge(0-6) though could not even record an out in the ninth as he gave up three hits and three runs, including the home run to McCutchen and it only took five pitches to do that.  Phillies Phandom will have more on this game and Lidge’s struggles.

Eckstein with the winner

On a rare night when Heath Bell blew a save, the Padres were able to pick him up later in the game.  Heath Bell in the ninth gave up a run to tie the game at 1, as he allowed two hits and a walk as well in the inning.  Later in the game though, David Eckstein doubled home Nick Hundley to score the game winning run, making it 2-1 in the twelth inning.  Joe Thatcher(1-0) got the victory as he worked 1.1 innings of hitless relief and Edward Mujica got his second save of the year.  Adrian Gonzalez drove in the only other Padres run in the third inning with a solo home run.

The Atlanta Braves got great pitching throughout this game, but ran into similar tough pitching on the other side of the game.  Jair Jurrjens went 7.2 inning and allowed only five hits, four walks and only allowed a solo home run, but ended with a no decision.  Adam LaRoche came through big time again for the Braves as he singled home Reid Gorecki in the bottom of the ninth and sent the game to extras.  Unfortunately Kris Medlan(3-4) gave up the eventual winning run in the twelth and took the loss for the Braves, dropping them another game back in the wildcard lead and putting them back in a tie with the Marlins, check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

Sean West shuts down the AAA Mets

Marlins pitcher Sean West was probably happy to be able to pitch to a minor league team again. Last night, West(5-5) went six innings allowing only six hits and one run and only needed 82 pitches to do that as he faced a depleted Mets squad.  He was supported by an RBI ground out by Uggla in the fourth and a Ross Gload single in the fifth to win the game 2-1.  Leo Nunez recorded his 15th save of the season and the Marlins gained a game on the Phillies in the East and kept up with the Rockies in the wildcard race as well.  FishGuts will have more on the Marlins.

Nelson Figueroa had a spot start for the Mets, who learned of Johan Santana needing surgery earlier in the day.  Figueroa(1-3) pitched well through five innings allowing only four hits and two runs, but one earned but taking a tough loss.  Fernando Tatis got the Mets on the board with an RBI single in the fourth, scoring Jeff Francouer, but the Mets could not do anything else in the loss, check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Mets fans, remember this face?

The Washington Nationals either shocked the Cubs fans last night, or just made them angrier, not sure which one.  The Nationals won the game by a score of 15-6 last night and the offense exploded.  Josh Willingham hit two home runs, a solo shot and a three run shot as well and a grand slam from Elijah Dukes as well.  Garrett Mock(3-5) went seven innings and allowed only four runs while striking out six to get an easy victory.  CenterfieldGate has more information on this game and what to expect going forward.

The Chicago Cubs are just playing horribly, with no real excuse for what is going on.  Carlos Zambrano(7-5) could only get through 4.1 innings and was charged with huge numbers, eight runs, seven hits and only four strike outs.  The rest of the relief wasn’t much better as out of five relievers, three gave up runs in making this even more lopsided.  Zambrano tried to help himself as he hit one of a trio of Cubs homeruns, others were by Milton Bradley and Jake Baker in the game.

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Zambrano finally beats the Phils

The Philadelphia Phillies were looking to extend their team winning streak to eleven games yesterday afternoon in Philadelphia.  Carlos Zambrano and though were finally able to slow down the Phillies, their offense and their pitching to salvage a game in the series.  Zambrano(7-4) went 6.2 innings giving up only four earned runs on ten scattered hits and striking out four to get the win in the game.  Jeff Baker and Aramis Ramirez had big hits, each getting two RBI doubles to lead the Cubbies.  Seven Cubs players in all had at least one RBI on Wednesday afternoon and Kevin Gregg came in for a four out save.  Gregg got his 19th save by coming in with the two men on in the eighth and after walking Utley, got Howard to ground out to end the inning and then worked a perfect ninth to secure a 10-5 win.

The Phillies’ Jamie Moyer couldn’t bring the magic he had against the Marlins back to Philly on this day.  Moyer(9-7) went only five innings and gave up four earned runs, five total and took the loss even though Philly tried to claw back.  Chad Durbin couldn’t record an out while giving up two hits and three runs and three walks and Brad Lidge couldn’t get out of the ninth while giving up two hits, two runs, and two walks while recording only two outs.  Victorino, Feliz and Dobbs had the RBI’s for the Phillies, but Check out Phillies Phandom for more.

Escobar helps the Braves again

The Braves keep winning, and even against the wild card leading San Francisco Giants.  The Braves won their fourth straight game and now have won six of seven since the all-star break as they beat Tim Lincecum and the Giants.  Jair Jurrjens(9-7) pitched into the eighth inning and was charged with one earned run while only giving up three hits and a walk, but striking out nine batters getting the win.  Brian McCann got another RBI, but the offensive highlight on Wednesday night was once again shortstop Yunel Escobar who is on fire of late, as he hit a three run home run which proved to be the winning RBI’s in this game.  Rafael Soriano gave up a run in the ninth while preserving a save, his 14th of the year for the Braves as they won 4-2.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more information about the Braves.

The Giants sent reighning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum(10-3) to the mound, but he only got through five troubling innings, giving up four runs on four hits and two walks even though he struck out nine.  It was only the third loss of the year for the young ace, but he was up against another young up and coming star.  Randy Winn and Travis Ishikawa had the two RBI’s for the Giants.

Nolasco with another great game

An afternoon finale in San Diego brought an opportunity for the Marlins to sweep the Padres and get back on track with three straight wins.  Starter Ricky Nolasco(7-7) didn’t disappoint as he pitched 6.1 shutout innings only giving up two hits and three walks but striking out ten batters.  He was supported  later in the game as for the first six innings, he was only given a one run lead.  Jeremy Hermida and Chris Coghlan homered for the Marlins and Hermida added another RBI on a fielders’ choice and Uggla had the other RBI in a 5-0 win.  Check out FishGuts for more information on the Marlins and all about their team.

There isn’t much to say again for the Padres in this game.  Josh Geer(1-6) lasted six strong innings and only gave up two runs, but the horrendous San Diego offense could only muster three hits against the Marlins pitching.

Willingham with a huge game

The Mets walked into Washington this week as a struggling team playing another struggling team.  The home struggling team got the best of them, as Wednesday night they took the rubber game of the series 3-1.  Josh Willingham went 4-4 with a run scored and two RBI, both RBI on a home run in the sixth inning.  The sixth inning home run put the Nats in the lead of a previously tied game and sent the Mets to yet another series loss.  Ronny Belliard drove in the other run for the Nats on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.  Craig Stammen(3-5) pitched 7.1 strong innings only giving up four hits and a run in the sixth but got mainly good defense and timely hitting behind him.  Mike MacDougal got his sixth save of the year while working a perfect ninth inning for the Nationals.  Check out CenterfieldGate if you want more information about the Nats and their team.

The New York Mets sent Mike Pelfrey(7-6) to the hill after a horrible outting last Thursday in Atlanta.  He managed to get through seven innings, only giving up three runs on six hits, but unfortunately as always is the story, the Mets meager lineup couldn’t support him.  Angel Pagan hit a triple in the sixth inning and was able to score on a throwing error by the Nationals shortstop for the Mets only run.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog has all the Mets info you need.

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A long game, just to lose

The Marlins were helped out by the rain gods last night in Miami but that didn’t stop the Phillies.  The Phillies took an early 4-1 lead on hits by Utley, Werth and Feliz and Hamels was rolling with only 68 pitches through five.  Then there was a rain delay of over one hour, and Cole Hamels had to leave the game and the Marlins were able to fight back to send the game to extra innings.  Finally, in the twelfth inning, run scoring singles by Chase Utley and finally Jayson Werth put the game out of reach in an eventual 6-5 victory for the phillies, their 11th in 12 games. Clay Condrey(5-2) who was just activated off the disabled list, got the win while working a scoreless bottom of the 11th inning.  Phillies Phandom will always have your up to date news and info on the Phillies.

The Marlins were able to fight back mostly with singles throughout the game.  Ross Gload, Ronnie Paulino and Wes Helms all had rbi singles in the seventh and eighth innings to send the game to extras.  Burke Badenhop(5-4) got the loss by giving up two runs in the twelfth inning and also the new Scott Olsen Mugshot Memorial Award over at Fish Guts!

This was before a hit...i think every pitch was

In Atlanta on Friday night, first the Braves retired future hall of famer Greg Maddux’ number, then they retired what seems to be the New York Mets season.  The Braves put up three in the first, three more in the third and four in the fifth while routing the Mets 11-0 while pitching a two hit shutout.  Brian McCann went three for four with four RBI and three runs scored for the Braves while hitting a home run, and Yunel Escobar also went three for four with three RBI and two runs scored to lead the Braves.  Jair Jurrjens(8-7) pitched six innings of two hit ball to get the win for the Braves.  Three Braves relieves finished off the game for them, guaranteeing them at least a series split.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more information on them.

There isn’t much to write about the Mets here.  Mike Pelfrey(7-5) worked into the fifth inning but allowed nine runs on nine hits for a bad loss for the Mets.  Tim Redding had another bad outting and he could be headed out of town, read more about that at The Real Dirty Mets Blog.

Zambrano does it with the bat too

The Cubs are enjoying playing in the Nations capital, while collecting their second straight win on Friday night while there.  Carlos Zambrano realized his teammates were having an off-night with the bat and decided to take matters into his own hands.  In the second inning he ripped a two RBI double which gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead, as they went towards a 3-1 win on the night.  Zambrano(6-4) pitched the five inning minimum for a win while only allowing four hits and a run.  Aramis Ramirez added a solo home run for insurance later on.

Craig Stammen(2-5) went six innings while giving up six hits and all three runs in taking a loss on a night his bats were silent and he couldn’t help himself.  The Nats after having some optimism weeks ago during interleague play are now back to their losing ways.  They hope to salvage a couple games throughout the rest of the weekend, but check out Centerfieldgate for great insight about the Nats and other baseball information.

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