Zito beats the Phillies

The San Francisco Giants went into Sunday’s afternoon game against the Phillies with a chance to take three of four in the series, but a tough task of the Phillies ace Cole Hamels was in front of them.  For four and a half innings it looked like Hamels would shut them down.  In the fifth though, Freddy Sanchez got a two RBI double scoring Zito and Valez which tied the game.  Then later in the game, on a Ryan Howard error, Sanchez scored the go ahead run, and the Giants cruised from there.  The Giants added three more in the sixth inning on a Randy Winn RBI single and a Eugenio Valez two RBI single making the final score 7-3.  Barry Zito(7-10) lasted through six innings and was rewarded with a win, after the Phillies were up 3-1 by the top of the fifth inning.  Giants relief pitching went three innings and only allowed three hits the rest of the way.

The Phillies’ Cole Hamels is still trying to find his postseason form from last year, and it really seemed like he found it.  Things fell apart as mentioned above in the bottom of the fifth and Hamels took the loss.  Hamels(7-6) went five innings but pitched to four in the sixth inning and was charged with six earned runs, but seven overall because of Howard’s error.  Jimmy Rollins hit his 11th home run of the season in the fourth and the Phillies got two RBI singles by Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz to cap their scoring.  Phillies Phandom will have all your Phillies info.

Different Uni, same result

The Marlins had a tough task this weekend when they welcomed the Chicago Cubs into town for a three game set.  All three games were exciting and included a lot of come backs and bad relief pitching.  Sunday was no different, as the Marlins won in walk off fashion.  Ricky Nolasco went seven strong innings and gave up only one run on four hits and a walk while striking out seven, but actually left losing.  Cody Ross hit his 16th of the season in the seventh inning which for the time being tied the game.  That held up until Brenden Donnelly gave up a solo home run to Jake Fox and was headed for the loss.  Lucky for Donnelly, Kevin Gregg the former Marlins closer entered in the ninth inning for the save.  Gregg got one out before he gave up back to back home runs to Dan Uggla and Cody Ross, the second of the game from Ross and a game winner by a score of 3-2.  Check out FishGuts for more Marlins info and on their series victory against the Cubbies.

The Cubs also had a great starting otuting by Ryan Dempster, who went six scoreless innings while scattering three hits and four walks.  Aaron Heilman, the former Met instantly gave up the lead he had worked with, and as you read, Kevin Gregg blew the game for the Cubs.  Derek Lee had the lone RBI in the first six innings with an RBI single in the third and Jake Fox produced the only other run.

Kemp with a 3 run bomb

The Dodgers managed to get back on track this weekend taking two of three in Atlanta against the Braves.  Yesterday, Chad Billingsley was pitching a gem until he left after the fifth with an injury.  Billingsley(11-6) only allowed two hits, zero runs and one walk while striking out nine and left after 83 pitches and an apparent injury.  The Dodgers bullpen combined for four innings and only allowed three hits and one run on way to a 9-1 victory.  Matt Kemp had a huge game, going 3-5 with one run scored and five total RBI.  Three of those RBI came in the fifth with a three run home run, and he added two more in the eighth with a two run single.  James Loney also added two RBI for the Dodgers.

Jair Jurrjens had a rare mediocre start for the Braves, but was pitching well for the first four innings.  Jair Jurrjens(9-8) went five innings allowing ten hits and four runs, but all four runs came in the fifth inning of the game.  Martin Prado produced all the Braves runs with an RBI single in the eighth scoring Matt Diaz.  The Braves Baseball Blog will have more Braves info for you.

Pelf has a mediocre start

The New York Mets went into Sunday’s game hoping to have another solid game after a late inning win on Saturday night.  Mike Pelfrey, who had pitched great on Tuesday night against the Rockies just didn’t have it on Sunday though.  Pelfrey(8-7) took the loss going only five innings while allowing three runs and three walks and two more hit batsmen, in a row.  Jeff Francouer homered for the Mets and Alex Cora doubled in the fifth to produce the Mets only runs in the 5-2 win.  The Mets hope to get a series split tonight as the four game set ends at 7:10Pm.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Jon Garland had his second victory since May 19th in this game, as he was able to pitch a complete game.  Garland(6-10) allowed seven hits and two runs and pitched all the innings while using only 106 pitches.  He was helped by a Chad Tracy two run double and Gerardo Parra getting two late RBI to secure the victory.

Maholm serves one up

The Nationals were able to take the final game of the three game set against the Pirates in a battle of the young and rebuilding teams on Sunday.  Josh Willingham had the big blow in this game as he hit a two run home run in the seventh inning putting the Nats up 3-2 at the time.  Alberto Gonzalez added his second RBI in the game that inning on a ground rule double.  Willingham added his third RBI of the game in the eighth inning and put the game away for the Nationals.  Former Pirate Sean Burnett(2-2) got the win in relief recording just one out in the sixth inning.  Mike MacDougal recorded his seventh save of the season while only allowing a walk in the ninth inning.  CenterfieldGate will have more Nats info for you.

Paul Maholm(6-6) did not make many mistakes in this game, but in the sixth inning, he allowed the two run home run to Willingham and then was charged with the final run of the inning. The Pirates only three runs recorded were on two home runs.  The first was by Ronnie Cedeno in the third scoring Brandon Moss and the final was by Delwyn Young in the seventh, but that was all they would get in losing 5-3.

Be sure to check back to NLEC or the team affiliate blog frequently!

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A Great play at home

The Atlanta Braves put offseason acquisition Javier Vazquez on the mound tonight following a stellar outting by young Jair Jurrjens last night going for a three game sweep of the first place Phillies.  Vazquez couldn’t nearly what Jurrjens did, but still kept the Phillies scoreless until the sixth inning, when they got two off of him to tie the game, he left durign that inning receiving a no decision.

In the eighth inning, the play pictured above occured and it was a very gutsy, but at the same time scary play by Atlanta relief pitcher Mike Gonzalez(3-0).  On a wild pitch, Jayson Werth attempted to score what would have been the go-ahead run from third base.  Brian McCann threw the ball back to Gonzalez covering home who with his pitching arm, placed a tag on Werth’s hand to end the inning.  In the bottom of the inning, Matt Diaz doubled home the winning run, and Garret Anderson added a two run home run for good measure off struggling Philly reliever Ryan Madson(2-4).  Rafael Soriano worked a perfect ninth on only six pitches for his seventh save of the year for a 5-2 win and a series sweep of the Phils.  For more information on the Braves, visit The Braves Baseball Blog.

The Phillies got another solid outting from J.A. Happ as he went seven innings giving up seven hits and the only damaging hit, a two run home run to Casey Kotchman.  Jimmy Rollins was able to get a couple hits to break his huge hitless streak, which was approaching thiry at bats before his hit. Be sure to stop by Phillies Phandom for more Philly related info.

The Phillies will hope to regroup with the Mets coming to town, and the Braves travel to the Nations Capital to take on the Nationals this weekend.  Check back to NLEC tomorrow for our NL East Series Preview.

Tim Redding had nothing today

On a day where the Mets were traveling to Pittsburgh for a makeup game from early June, the rain decided to play a factor again.  There were two rain delays early, one that delayed the start and the other after only two Mets batters, but this game was played, for a long time.  Mets starter Tim Redding couldn’t get out of the third inning while giving up five earned runs in only 2.1 innings.  Lucky for him, the Mets bats woke up today against Pirates starter Paul Maholm and chased him in 4.1 innings while he gave up six runs, giving the Mets  a lead.  The Mets took an 8-6 lead into the ninth inning and gave the ball to their usually sure thing closer, Francisco Rodriguez, but not this time.  He gave up a two run homer to Adam LaRoche to send the game to extra innings.  Fernando Tatis scored the winning run on another Ryan Church clutch hit, and Francisco Rodriguez(2-2) worked the tenth inning to secure the win for the Mets.  The Mets will head to Philadelphia now for a three game series beginning tomorrow night with Livan Hernandez facing Rodrigo Lopez for the Phils, check back tomorrow for a NLEC Series preview.  For more Mets news though, be sure to go to The Real Dirty Mets Blog.

The Pirates offense was up to the task today, even if the pitching wasnt providing twelve hits and eight runs in the losing effort.  Matt Capps(1-4) took the loss in the tenth inning for Pittsburgh.

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Mr. Met: "I'm a Man!"

The Mets (31-26) were defeated by the Phillies (34-23) in an extra innings battle by the score of 5-4. After a game saving catch by Jayson Werth in the bottom of the 10th, the Phillies Chase Utley hit the go ahead solo homerun off Bobby Parnell to lead off the 11th inning for his second homerun of the game and third of the series overall.  David Wright continued his hot hitting going 3 for 5 and  his agressiveness on the base paths stealing his 15th & 16th bases of the year. Phillies ace Cole Hamels was knocked around for 11 hits  on 4 runs in 5 innings, but the bullpen held the Mets to just 4 hits thereafter. Mike Pelfrey gave the Mets a “quality start” pitching 6+ innings only allowing 2 earned runs while also providing some offense with 2 hits and an Rbi on the night. The Mets and Phillies will play the rubber game of the series tonight at Citi Fieldd (7:10pm) where Mets RHP Tim Redding (0-2 6.97 ERA) will faceoff against Phillies LHP Jamie Moyer (4-5 6.27 ERA). For more info on the Mets go to http://www.nleastchatter.com/realdirtymets/

"I miss Shea!"

The Braves (29-29) lost the third game of their four game set versus the Pirates last night 3-2.  Jair Jurrjens (5-4)  pitched a “quality start”  despite picking up his fourth loss of the season going 6 innings while only alllowing 2 runs. Yunel Escobar continued his hot hitting going 2 for 4 raising his average to .302 on the season. The Braves will look to win the final game of the series this afternoon (1pm) where Braves RHP Javier Vasquez (4-5 3.43 ERA) will faceoff against Pirates LHP Paul Maholm (4-2 3.70 ERA). For more info on the Braves go to http://www.nleastchatter.com/BravesBaseballBlog/

Who ordered the fried fish?

The Marlins (29-32) suffered a blowout loss versus the Cardinals last night 13-4. Chris Volstad (4-6) took the loss  in a bad outing giving up 6 runs on 10hits over 5.2 innings. Jeremy Hermida continued to swing a hot bat going 3 for 5 , including his 8th homerun on the season. Marlins firstbasemen Jorge Cantu had to leave the game in the 7th inning due to dizziness and was not expected in the starting lineup for todays matinee game. The Marlins will look to win the rubber game of the series this afternoon (1pm) where Marlins LHP Andrew Miller (2-2 4.30ERA) will faceoff against Cardinals RHP Todd Wellemeyer (5-6 5.50 ERA).

It's not your fault young fella

The Nationals (15-42) suffered a tough loss by the score of 4-2 to the Reds  late last night after  a 9th inning rally to force the game into extra innings.  Nationals catcher Josh Bard (2 for 4) singled in the first run of the 9th, followed by a game tying single off the bat of pinch hitter Alberto Gonzalez. Ron Villone (3-1) took the loss on the night, walking the go ahead run which eventually scored off a double given up by Jason Bergmann. The Nationals will look to salvage the final game of the series this afternoon (4:35pm) where Nats LHP John Lannan (3-5 3.68 ERA) will faceoff against Reds RHP Micah Owings (3-7 4.90 ERA).