TPI took last weekend off and you have my sincerest apologies. On a rather humorous note, the Red Sox have tried to trade the Lance Armstrong of the Baseball World (Mike Lowell) to the Texas Rangers and would look to replace him with….drumroll….Adrian Beltre. I am not a general manager, though I do manage several fantasy baseball teams, but do you think it would be wise to bring in a guy who underperforms and is overpaid, into a fishbowl like Boston???? Do you really think Boston’s fans will have the patience for .250, 20 HR, and decent range/arm???? Not a wise move IMHO (In My Humble Opinion). Yes, I speak in acronyms sometimes.

The NL East has been busy this off season. First let me address the Granderson trade. Love this move. Absolutely love it. But not for the Yankees. I love it for the Diamondbacks. Dont get me wrong, Granderson will make a fine addition to the already potent/imposing Yankee lineup. But you have to love what the Diamondbacks did. They imported Edwin Jackson, and Ian Kennedy. They have now added two starters to their rotation. Scherzer was good, and Schlereth might end up being a good reliever, but any time you can get a #2 guy to be your #3, it is a good move. Kennedy is definetly a #4 guy and he will thrive in that roll. Great move all around for everyone involved although I think the Tigers got the worst of the deal, which is not a knock on them. It was a fair and balanced trade all around.

Pudge Rodriguez. 2 years from the Nationals. I like what they are doing here. Sure, it is not 2001, but you have to like the fact that the Nationals are trying.   Getting Bruney from the Yankees is a good move.  Strengthens the bullpen.  If they could get another starting pitcher, they might be decent to watch.

Welcome Back, Enrico Palazzo!

Placido “Enrico Palazzo” Polanco has rejoined the Phightin Phils. I like Polanco as a player. I have a soft spot for guys who take pitches, work the count, and make contact. Very valuable. Like a Shane Battier of Major League Baseball. Does the fundamental things right, but isnt a superstar. My question is, where does he hit in that lineup? Are the Phils going to move him down in the order, which kind of negates his value.  Are they looking to move Victorino down?  That is the only downside of this move.  Polanco would not be a good #6 or #7 hitter.  Mark DeRosa/Adam Kennedy I think would have been a better fit. 

Apparently, not thankful enough to be playing professional baseball!

The Mets and Phillies each got a new backup catcher.  The Phillies picked up Brian Schneider while the Mets got Chris Coste.  Calling this move minor would still overplay its signifigance, but what makes it interesting is Chris Coste’s statements about his remaining “a lifelong Phillie”.   Further, Mr. Coste found it “difficult” to sign with the Mets.   Frankly, I am glad players have a little more invested in their employers than simply their loyalty to the all mighty dollar.  However, Mr. Coste, the Phillies just cut you.  They deemed you worthless, so worthless in fact, that they signed Brian Schneider to replace you.  Mr. Schneider  hit .218 last year.  .218!!!!  I think it would be wise for Mr. Coste to close his mouth, cash his paycheck, and thank the heavens above that someone wants to pay him to play baseball.

Moving on, the Braves signed Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito and traded away Rafael Soriano, who had accepted arbitration.  Really, the Braves moved laterally here, unless you count what was received from the Tampa Bay Rays, right handed reliever Jesse Chavez, as an improvement.  It seems a right of passage for baseball teams to turnover their bullpens.  Usually, guys who one team didnt like move to a team that likes them slightly more.  Is Billy Wagner better than Rafael Soriano?  Not really.  Maybe cheaper, but otherwise, pretty much the same pitcher with similar injury concerns.  Saito is interesting but I think he has fallen from his spot as a stable bullpen presence. 

The Marlins yardsale continues as they have traded away Matt Lindstrom and Jeremy Hermida this offseason.  From Boston, the Marlins received, what else, young talent, in two left handed pitching prospects.  I dont even know what the Marlins got from Houston for Lindstrom.  Let’s just say, for arguments sake, it was a bag of magic beans. 

I cannot comment on rumors because they are just that, rumors.  I am sure there were other moves I missed, such as the Mets setting the world on fire by signing Henry Blanco who should not be confused with Gregor Blanco, because they are not related. 

Wait a second, you are not Cliff Lee....

Oh yeah, another thing, the Phillies just traded for Roy Halladay and three prospects.  If you read NLEastChatter, you knew I said that the Phillies needed pitching.  Well, they got it.  Just not in the way I imagined.  It is a shrewd business move, trading one star for another, especially since it looked unlikely that the Phillies could retain Cliff Lee past 2010.  However, do the Phillies actually get better?  They trade away 2 prospects in Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor and get three players back.  So essentially, for Roy Halladay, several months of Cliff Lee, and three prospects the Phillies traded 5 prospects, which really isnt a bad deal.  However, at the end of the day, entering next season, the Phillies still have one true ace, a solid number two/maybe ace/maybe bust and J.A. Happ.  This is exactly what they had when the season ended.  While Halladay is a great, great pitcher, the rest of the National League East cannot be any more afraid of the Phillies than when they had Cliff Lee. 

The rest of the offseason will be filled with what the hell the Mets will do.  The Mets, surrounded by Boston, the Yankees, and the Phillies, have watched all three teams pull off great moves and great signings.  They will be pressed into action.  The Nationals are essentially waiting for the dust to settle to see who will accept signing with the Nationals as opposed to playing in Japan, the Braves are quietly trying to put together a team in a city that cares slightly more about the Braves than the Hawks, but well below the Falcons and college football.  Lastly the Marlins appear to be determining who will show up for Spring Training to decide who they should sign.  With that said, feel free to show up to Marlins spring training.  If you manage to look official you might just join the 40 man roster.

According to the Associated Press Charlie Manuel has had a change of heart and has decided to go with Joe Blanton in Game 4 of the World Series.

Manuel concerned for Lee said “I don’t think he’s ready for it on three days’ rest,” Manuel said. “I think you’re taking a chance on really pushing him.” He went on to say “I think Blanton fits for us because I think we want to keep Happ right now in the bullpen, especially kind of in the middle where he could do some innings,” Manuel said. “And also, Joe pitched last year in the World Series, and he’s got a little bit more experience.”

In his career Blanton is 0-3 with a 8.18 era vs the Yankees. The last time he faced the Yankees was June 12 2008 as a player for the Oakland Athletics where he squared off against Andy Pettite in a game he lost 4-1.

His line was 6.2 IP 6H 4ER  3BB 2K.

For more on the Phillies checkout Phillies Phandom Blog.
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There’s really not much drama left in the NL East these days now that the Phils have clinched and the Braves have sort of exploded after teasing us for a couple of weeks there with an improbable late run toward the Rockies and the NL Wild Card. Ironically, there is still some juice flowing from the most unlikely of sources—the Nats.

After sweeping the Mets earlier in the week (not that you need much juice for that), the Nats opened a 4 game set against the recently resurgent Bravos at Turner Field last night and promptly dumped them by the score of 2-1. The story in this one, to me, was Garrett Mock–he of the 5.62ERA and 1.73WHIP–who matched his counterpart, Atlanta’s wunderkind Tommy Hanson, all night long. This is especially sickening to me because, being the astute fantasy baseball man that I am, I had Escobar, Prado and Diaz in my lineup last night to take advantage of the aforementioned Mr. Mock’s anticipated ineffectiveness. No dice. Nice game, Garrett, I’ll have to make hay against Livan tonight instead.

The only other NL East game last night saw the Astros cut down Cliff Lee and the Phillies 5-3 at Citizens Bank Park. I know it’s garbage time for the Phils, but you’d think they’d have found a way to get Mr. Lee a victory at home to cap off a pretty amazing run he’s had in Philadelphia since his trade from the Indians at the deadline. Heading into the postseason, Phillie fans have to feel pretty confident seeing Lee and Hamels out there at the top of the Phillie staff. Bullpen? Not so much. Lee didn’t have it last night, however, as Felipe Paulino pulled a Garrett Mock laid a hurting on the home team. And just who is Felipe Paulino? Good question. Let me know if you find out.

Finally, in one last bit of Mets-related news (because I know everyone’s just dying for a last bit of Mets-related news), last night I sprung for tickets to tonight’s game at CitiField against the Astros (thank God we missed Felipe Paulino!). The Mrs. and I will be there tonight while my parents watch the boy. The masochist in me loves these types of meaningless, end-of-season games, when the stadium is empty the bathroom lines are short. As a Met fan, I’ve had many opportunites to acquire a taste for this type of experience, and the truth is, I’m sort of looking forward to it. I’m especially excited now because I scored some prime Caesar’s Club tickets ($120 face value apiece) off StubHub.com for the measley price of $35 a pop. I’ve never sat down there, so it should be special. Has anyone scanned the offerings on StubHub recently? If your team is out of it like mine is, you’ll find a cornucopia of fantastic seats at fractions of face value. No reason EVER to get your tix through the MLB websites. Their best seats are already sold (to the people reselling now on StubHub!) and they’re charging face value to see (what by now is) a severely overvalued event. Anyway, there’s a nickel’s worth of free advice for y’all.

Enjoy tonight’s games.

Lidge gets anothe shaky save

The Philadelphia Phillies took the final game of the three game set, 4-2 yesterday in Atlanta even during a rain delay.  Ben Francisco started the scoring with an RBI double and Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz and Chase Utley added solo RBI’s  for them.  Cliff Lee had started the game but onlt went four because of a long rain delay and Tyler Walker(2-0) got the win going two innings while allowing just one hit and a walk while striking out three.  Brad Lidge got his 31st save of the year but his ERA continues to rise as he gave up a walk, a run and one hit.  Phillies Phandom will have more on this game.

Tommy Hanson(10-4) took a rare loss for the Bravos in this one and the Braves had five innings against relief pitching to get him off the hook.  Hanson went five innings allowing seven hits and four runs and also walking four in this one.  Matt Diaz and Brian McCann got the only RBI’s for the Braves in this one as they fail to gain ground in the division or wildcard.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

Corky Miller? 3 run homer

The Cincinnati Reds beat up on the Florida Marlins yesterday in Cincy on the back of a couple big home runs.  Catcher Corky Miller hit a three run shot in the fourth and Joey Votto hit a two run shot in the seventh on way to an 8-1 route.  Kip Wells(2-4) went seven innings and allowed just five hits and one run to get the victory in this game.

Sean West is having a rough rookie campaign.  West(7-6) went 4.1 innings and allowed five hits and five runs while walking three and his ERA now stands at 4.85 for the season.  The only run the Marlins mustered was in the eigth on a Brett Carroll single scoring John Baker, check out FishGuts for more Marlins news.

Maine gets the W

In this weekend’s battle of the basement, the Mets came out ahead after taking two of three games with Sunday’s 6-2 victory over the Nats.  John Maine(6-5) went five effective innings allowing just three baserunners on two hits and one walk and no runs.  Daniel Murphy added a two RBI double and Wilson Valdez of all people had a two RBI triple later in the game to put it away.  Franky Rodriguez got save number 33 by getting the final out of the game via strikeout.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog has all the Mets info you want.

Garrett Mock didn’t pitch terribly in this one, but the Nats offense could not support him.  Mock(3-9) went seven innings allowing nine hits and four runs throwing 115 pitches and taking the tough loss.  Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn both had an RBI in a small ninth inning rally before K-Rod ended the threat.  Check out Centerfield Gate for a more in depth recap and all other Nationals news.

Lee with a CG

Cliff Lee rebounded from a few bad outtings with a stellar game on Tuesday night.  Cliff Lee(7-2) pitched a complete game shutout giving up only six hits and walking three while striking out nine batters on 124 pitches.  He was given all five runs of offense in the first and second on a Chase Utley RBI single, a Carlos Ruiz two RBI double and a Jimmy Rollins RBI single during the 5-0 win.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more info on this game and the Phillies continued march to the playoffs.

Garrett Mock managed to get through six innings to save the bullpen a bit, but pitched poorly, especially early.  Mock(3-8) went six innings allowing seven hits and five runs and his season ERA is now 5.89.  The Nats offense was sleeping and only Jason Maxwell had more than one hit in this game, Centerfield Gate has more.

Uggla with the big blow

Neither team ran away with this one in St. Louis, but courtesy of Dan Uggla, the Marlins came away with a 2-1 win over the Cardinals.  In the sixth inning, while down 1-0, Dan Uggla hit a two run shot off starter Adam Wainwright and the Marlins bullpen closed the door to win this game 2-1.  Sean West(7-5) went six strong innings allowing six hits and just one run and nine k’s in this one and Leo Nunez got his 21st save on a perfect ninth with two strikeouts.  Check out FishGuts for more on the Marlins.

Albert Pujols hit a sacrifice fly in teh fifth scoring Rick Ankiel and that would be all the scoring the Cardinals got in this one, giving no run support to Wainwright.  Wainwright(18-8) went seven innings allowing seven hits and two runs and eight strike outs with his main blemish being a home run.

LaRoche with two long balls

Adam LaRoche had a huge day against the Mets last night during the Braves run away 6-0 victory.  LaRoche went 4-4 with four runs scored and three RBI, two of those RBI on home runs in leading the way.  Rookie Tommy Hanson(10-3) got his tenth victory of the year in a stellar seven inning three hit and eight strikeout performance for the win.  The Braves have now won five in a row to keep their small playoff hopes alive, check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

What can you say about the Mets?  No much!  Pat Misch(1-3) went five tough innings allowing eight hits and four runs in taking the loss and the bullpen wasn’t much better behind him.  The Mets recorded only four total hits on the night, with two coming from Daniel Murphy but obviously no runs scored, The Real Dirty Mets Blog covers them.

Madson closes this one out

The Phillies put their big trade aquisition on the mound last night in Washington, hoping that he could get back in form.  Cliff Lee looked great through four innings, while only allowing a run and then things got scary.  Lee(6-2) ended up allowing ten hits and five runs(four earned) in seven innings plus of work.  He allowed three in the fifth, temporarily allowing the Nats to tie the game before the Phillies came back to secure the win.  The win was secured by back to back jacks by Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz, even though Lee gave one more back in the eighth.  Brad Lidge stayed on the bench and gave way to Ryan Madson in the ninth who gave up one hit as he recorded his sixth save of the year by a 6-5 score.  Phillies Phandom has more on this.

Garrett Mock put the Nats in the hole early as he allowed three runs in the second and an additional run in the fifth inning, giving up six hits, and walking three in five innings of work, but the Nats got him off the hook.  Tyler Clippard(2-2) ended up taking the loss as he went one inning and allowed two solo home runs in the eighth inning.  Adam Dunn had two RBI for the Nationals as well as Christian Guzman joining him with two as well during the loss, Centerfield Gate has more.

Cody Ross with the big blow

Last night the Marlins put the Mets down really early, with a four run first inning, with three runs coming on Cody Ross’ 21st home run, a three run shot.  Ricky Nolasco(11-8) held down the Mets for 6.1 innings and allowed only three runs and four hits and Leo Nunez once again worked a perfect ninth to get his 20th save of the season in the 6-3 victory.  Dan Uggla also added a solo home run and an RBI groundout in the first for the Fish, check out FishGuts for more on this game and the Marlins.

Pat Misch(1-2) who had a nice start his last couple times out, one earning his major league win just did not have it last night, especially early.  Misch went six innings allowing five runs on six hits including two home runs and hit one batter.  All the Mets offense came in the seventh with a Daniel Murphy RBI double, a sac fly by Francouer and a Tatis RBI groundout.  The Mets will look to salvage one game today, check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Tejada gets the walk-off hit!

The Houston Astros ruined another beautiful game from rookie Tommy Hanson last night with a ninth inning rally.  Miguel Tejada singled home Kaz Matsui and Lance Berkman with a one out single in the ninth, giving the Astros a 2-1 victory over the floundering Braves.  Wandy Rodriguez got off the hook of taking a tough loss as he went seven innings allowing only three hits and a single run as well.  Jose Valverde(4-2) worked a perfect top of the ninth with two k’s to get the credit for the win.

Tommy Hanson went eight innings allowing only five hits and struck out seven and allowed zero runs, is he a true candidate for rookie of the year?  Matt Diaz was the only person who could give any run support with a second inning RBI single scoring Yunel Escobar.  Rafael Soriano(1-5) blew his fourth save of the year getting only one out and giving up three hits and two runs and a walk, check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

Wandy takes down Lee

In Houston, the Astros handed Cliff Lee his second straight big loss.  Lee(5-2) lasted only three innings while allowing nine hits and six runs including a two run shot to Hunter Pence on way to a 7-0 win.  Wandy Rodriguez(13-9) went seven innings allowing only seven hits and no runs to get his 13th win of the year.  Rodriguez started the scoring himself with a two run double in the second inning and was helped by a Kaz Matsui double scoring two and a solo shot by El Caballo Carlos Lee later in the game.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more on this one.

Marlins get the win

The Florida Marlins gave the Washington Nationals their seventh straight loss on Friday night even though neither starter went over three innings or gave up less than five earned runs.  Burke Badenhop(6-4) got the win in relief of Sean West going three innings even though West left with the lead and the Marlins bats were too much for Garrett Mock(3-7) and the Marlins relief during a 9-6 Marlins win.  Check out FishGuts for more on the Marlins and Centerfield Gate for the Nats.

Arroyo stops the Braves

The Atlanta Braves have now fallen back into third place in the NL East on their own after losing to the Reds 3-1 last night.  Bronson Arroyo(12-12) went seven strong for the win only allowing one run  outdueling Derek Lowe(13-9) who also went seven but gave up three runs.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

Sullivan with a big game

The New York Mets made it two in a row last night with a 6-2 victory against the struggling Cubs.  Brian Stokes(2-4) gave up a tough run in the eighth and was headed for another bad outting when the Mets offense erupted for five in the bottom frame to lead them to the win.  Former Marlins closer Kevin Gregg(5-6) was charged with the loss and two runs without recording an out and Corey Sullivan added two RBI for the Mets.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog has more on this game.

Mets starter Bobby Parnell started strong, but a tough Cubs line-up was too much for the young right hander, who gave up a grand slam home run to Jake Fox in the fifth inning as an otherwise light-hitting Cubs line-up took down the New Yorkers 11-4 at Wrigley on Saturday. To make matters worse, the loss was televised to a national audience as a part of the Major League Game of the Week. It’s been a tough month for the New Yorkers, hit by injuries, demoralized by the surge of the division-leading Phillies — and now by rumors that the owners of the ballclub may have to sell. And was a tough game for Parnell, just 24, and one of the Mets new young hurlers and bright hopes for the future.

The Cubs, who are themselves struggling, may have suddenly found new life in the NL Central, though the St. Louis Cardinals had as decisive win over the Nats as the Cubs had over the Mets. After the game, Parnell admitted that his confidence “is up and down.” Even so, there is great hope for Parnell, who Mets fans hope can fill a badly needed hole in the rotation for next year. If there was good news in the game, it is that newly acquired Jeff Francoeur continues to swing a fiery bat — going 2 for 4 against the Cubbies. The Mets take on the Cubs again tomorrow before heading to Colorado for a three game series against the Rockies. They will return to New York on September 4. For more news on the Mets, be sure to check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog — which covers everything you’d ever want to know about The New York Mets.

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What Jake Fox did to the New York Mets, Matt Holiday did to the Washington Nationals – but this time, Holliday had the courtesy not to make his home run a grand slam. Holliday hit a three run third inning home run against Washington starter Craig Stammen to power the Cardinals to a 9-4 Cardinals win at Busch Stadium on Saturday night. After taking two of three from the stammering Cubs, the Nationals have lost their first two to the Cardinals, helping to dampen the team’s hopes that they might overtake the Royals and Padres for worst team honors in major league baseball. In addition to Stammen’s problems, the Nats’ bats went silent: for although the Nationals threatened to catch the Cardinals in any one of three frames, the team left runners stranded when they needed them most: Elijah Dukes struck out with the bases loaded in the seventh – just one instance of a lack of clutch hitting in an otherwise powerful line-up.

Other clubs problems were on display in St. Louis: the Nats last place defense was emphasized (Cristian Guzman booted an easy ground at short, which opened the floodgates for Holliday’s heroism), the bullpen looked unusually shaky (Jorge Sosa gave up two runs in only one inning of work), and the team now officially misses an out-for-the-season Nyjer Morgan: the team left 15 on base and stole no bases. The Nats will face the Cards one more time (a blessing, when you think about it) before heading to San Diego to take on the Padres. To read all about the Nats and their problems in St. Louis, be sure to log onto Centerfield Gate. It will give all the news about the team and the glorious future of the Washington Nationals.

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The teams of the N.L. East have not been doing so well lately: the Mets have been struggling against the Cubs in Chicago, the Nationals have looked terrible in St. Louis. Certainly, the Florida Marlins – seeing the Phillies just ahead of them in the standings, and knowing the playoffs are looming, can do something to salvage a successful season. But not so. On Saturday night at home in Miami (and in front of a crowd anticipating a run-for-the pennant win), with success on the horizon, the Marlins failed to gain ground in the NL East, dropping its third straight game to the Friars. But this time the culprit was not pitching, it was hitting. The final score, 7-4, told the story: pitcher Ricky Nolasco (5.1 innings, 3 earned runs) was respectable and held the Marlins in the game. Then too, the four runs scored by the Marlins hitters should have been enough, but it just wasn’t. The Marlins could only muster six hits against a Padres staff that was mediocre at best: Wade LeBlanc, with a less than stellar 9.58 ERA on the season held Florida’s best lumbermen to total of four hits in six innings – the best outing of his entire career, while San Diego’s relievers (Russell, Gregerson and Bell) were lights-out.

The Marlins have now dropped three straight to the Padres, one of the worst teams in baseball. In the clubhouse after the game, the frustration with the evening – and with the series – was palpable.’ Every team we play is dangerous,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “I don’t look at the records, I don’t. We’ve got to win ballgames. If you get caught up looking at records and thinking you can look beyond teams, you will get disappointed. You’re going to get humbled real quickly.” Ricky Nolasco refused to be pessimistic: “Those are things that are going to happen. Now, tomorrow is a must-win. We’ve got to get it rolling to be able to give ourselves a chance. We can’t sit here and just hang our heads and be frustrated about it. We’ve got to do something about it, get the game tomorrow. The season is not over yet.” Don’t forget to check up on the Marlins, and their tussle today and tomorrow against the Padres at FishGuts.

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It seems that the only time an N.L. East team plays well enough to win, these days, is when it plays another N.L. East team. At least in this case, the much anticipated Atlanta Braves-Philadelphia Phillies rivalry didn’t disappoint. In what was billed as a major duel of top notch pitchers and tough sluggers, the two major competitors in the N.L. East came out swinging on Saturday, with Atlanta ending up on top in another rain-sodden contest in Philadelphia by a score of 9-1. By the time this one was done, Atlanta had taught the otherwise soon to be immortal Cliff Lee (5-0 since he joined the Phillies from the Cleveland something-or-others) that he was now in the National League: and that Matt Diaz (3-5, one home run), Garret Anderson (3-4, one home run), Yunel Escobar (2-4, one home run) and Chipper Jones (1-5, one home run) were not going to allow him (or those who relieved him) to go 6-0. Or allow the people of Philadelphia to believe that their path to the division crown would be without any bumps.

Lee was not about to issue excuses for his outing – which was hardly a disaster. Even so: “I went and watched basically every hit I gave up and they were all right down the middle,” Lee said. “It’s hard to get good results when you’re throwing pitches belt high and down the middle of the plate. That’s basically what happened. I feel good about throwing strikes, working ahead and not walking people, but I put myself in positions to put them away and I missed up and down the middle. If you consistently do that, that’s what’s going to happen.” The Braves’ win was not without its blemishes, a talisman perhaps of the troubles it must surmount if it is to catch the Phillies: Derek Lowe pitched well, but he gave up eight hits. And Atlanta must still somehow crawl over a seven game Phillie lead in the east, a not impossible task, but one that is becoming more and more difficult with each passing game. To read more about the Phillies, be sure to check out Phillies Phandom Blog – and for more on the challenges facing the Braves, be sure to click on to Braves Baseball Blog.

Cliff Lee makes it 5-0

Yesterday, fresh off a stunning triple play ender to a ball game, Cliff Lee looked to make it three of four against the deteriorated Mets.  Lee(5-0) went seven innings allowing six hits and two runs, while striking out five and both runs allowed were in the first inning.  He got plenty of support from big man Ryan Howard as well.  Howard homered twice in the first three innings of the game, first with a three run shot, and later with a two run blow.  Raul Ibanez produced the only other run on a RBI double, which scored Chase Utley.  Phillies Phandom will have more info on the Phils.

The Mets learned of another injury prior to yesterday’s game and were forced to play with Jeff Francouer, and possibly won’t have him for some time.  With Bobby Parnell on the mound and a team full of backups, Parnell could not come through.  Parnell(3-6) gave up four hits and five runs in five innnings worked, but if you take away the bombs to Howard, did not do that bad, but still gets collared with the loss.  The Mets first run was scored on a wild play in the first where Chase Utley dropped a popup allowing Angel Pagan to score and then a throwing error to second, allowed him to score.  Later in the inning, Fernando Tatis hit a sac fly to score Sheffield, but the Mets could get nothing more against Cliff Lee.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog has more on this game and Johan Santana’s injury.

Balester gets roughed up in the 6th

For a while, Yovani Gallardo probably wondered what he would have to do to get another win, as his team was down 1-0 until the sixth.  In the sixth inning, Ryan Braun got them ahead with a two run homer and was helped by RBI singles from Jason Kendall and Jody Gerut and finally an RBI groundout by Felipe Lopez.  Jody Gerut also added a solo shot in the eighth for insurance.  Gallardo(12-10) held on and gave up only one run and four hits in five innings but walked four against eight strike outs to throw 108 pitches.

The Nationals for a while looked like they may take a pitchers dual and split the four game set.  Unfortunately Colin Balester could not hold the lead in the sixth.  Balester(1-4) finished the day with five complete innings and five hits and four runs, including the shot to Ryan Braun.  The only run for the Nationals came from Will Nieves RBI groundout.  CenterfieldGate has more on the Nats latest struggles.