Feliz with a granny

Pedro Feliz helped the Phillies finally cut down on their magic number to win the National League East, during a 7-4 win against the Astros.  Pedro Feliz  hit a fourth inning grand slam in the fourth inning putting the Phillies up for good in this one.  J.A. Happ(12-4) pitched 5.2 innings giving up only nine hits and four runs (three earned) and threw 199 pitches for the win in this one.  Ryan Madson got his tenth save of the year as he appears to be the closer of the week, but did give up two hits before recording the final out and needed 27 pitches to do it, check out Phillies Phandom for more.

Wilton Lopez(0-1) couldn’t do what the no name pitcher on Monday could do to the Phillies and was tagged for five runs and six hits in only 3.2 innings.  The Astros got home runs from Lance Berkman early and a two run shot from Kaz Matsui in the sixth inning but they ended their four game winning streak for the year against the Phils.

Once again the photographers took the night off for the game… thanks!

Anyway, the Braves finally lost a game, and it was a damaging loss as both the Rockies and the Phillies both won.

Chris Coghlan had three hits and two runs scored and Cameron Maybin had two RBI as the Marlins went on to beat the Braves by a score of 5-4.  Josh Johnson pitched well through five, giving up three hits and a run but left with a no decision in this one as the Braves eventually tied it.  Renyel Pinto(4-1) worked 1.1 scoreless innings to get the victory in this one and Leo Nunez got his 25th save of the season, check FishGuts for more.

Tim Hudson had a rough start for the Braves as he went five innings and allowed seven hits and four runs and three walks, but was bailed out by the bats to not get the loss.  Kenshin Kawakami(7-12) went 1.2 innings of relief and gave up three hits and a run in taking the loss in this one.  Matt Diaz had the big blow in this one, a three run shot in the sixth to tie the game off Brian Sanches, but it wasn’t enough.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

MacDougal gets another S

The Nationals took advantage of bad defense for the Mets last night on way to their second straight win, 4-3.  Sean Green(1-4) gave up an unearned run with a walkwhile there were errors by the middle infielders for the Mets allowing the Nats to take the lead.  Tyler Clippard(3-2) worked two innings of scoreless relief to get the win as well and then passed to MacDougal for his 18th save of the season even though he gave up a hit, but struck out two.  Centerfield Gate has more on the Nats win.

Going to the eighth inning, the Mets were up 3-0, then it fell apart.  In the eighth, Pelfrey gave up a two run home run to rookie Ian Desmond and later, a RBI single to Ryan Zimmerman to allow the game to be tied.  The Mets got an RBI walk to Beltran in the first and two RBI singles, one by Pagan and one by Wright in the second inning.  They had a chance to tie it on a deep fly by Wright in the top of the ninth, but a great running catch by Elijah Dukes killed that momentum.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

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.

Cliff Lee made a good first impression

Cliff Lee (1-0) pitched a four-hitter, carrying a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and even adding two hits with the bat, and the Phillies felt an immediate impact two days after acquiring the left-hander from Cleveland, beating the San Francisco Giants 5-1 on Friday night. He dazzled from the start for the World Series champions, tossing his 11th career complete game, fourth this season and third in four starts. Lee’s line: one run, six strikeouts, two walks, 109 pitches and 78 strikes. He was done in 2 hours, 39 minutes. Lee doubled in the eighth for his first career extra-base hit and that gave him his first multihit game—and doubled his previous career hit total. Giants rookie Ryan Sadowski (2-4) lost his fourth straight start after beginning his career 2-0 with 16 scoreless innings. He was done after four innings and 82 pitches after feeling some tightness in his shoulder and arm. He hasn’t gone longer than five during his losing streak.

Chris keeps the cubbies at bay

Three Florida relievers shut out the Chicago Cubs over the final 2 1-3 innings Friday night, while the Marlins scored three runs in the eighth against Carlos Marmol for a 5-2 victory. Brendan Donnelly (1-0), who has yet to allow a run in 10 innings with Florida, retired two batters in the eighth for his first NL victory. Leo Nunez pitched a hitless ninth for his ninth save in 12 chances. The relievers combined with starter Chris Volstad on a seven-hitter against the Cubs, who had scored 12 runs in each of the past two games. Florida’s relievers will get a reinforcement Saturday with the return of closer Matt Lindstrom, sidelined since June 23 by an elbow injury. The Marlins have won eight of their last 10 games to surge into wild-card contention, and they were buoyed by the addition of Washington first baseman Nick Johnson minutes before Friday’s trade deadline. He’s expected to be in the lineup Saturday. The score was 2-all when Marmol (2-2) came into the game in the eighth with a scoreless streak of 8 1-3 innings, but he walked the first two batters. Dan Uggla scored from second on Baker’s hit, and Helms doubled to hike his average as a pinch-hitter to .387.

Brian is not a happy camper

Schmidt (2-1) walked five and struck out three in six innings, his longest start since going six innings for the Dodgers at San Diego on June 5, 2007. Six scoreless innings, his longest start in more than two years, lifted Schmidt’s spirits and Andre Ethier hit a homer and drove in four runs to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Friday night. Ethier hit a three-run homer in the fifth off Tommy Hanson (5-2) and added a run-scoring double in the ninth.“It’s the first time I’ve ever faced him that he’s not thrown me a changeup,” Jones said. “There’s just not that much difference between his changeup and his fastball right now. … But his curveball is much improved.” Hanson gave up eight hits and four runs in six innings to lose his second straight start.

So close...yet so far

Sean Green and the New York Mets were on their way to escaping a mess in the eighth inning Friday night when the reliever’s control failed him again. Arizona loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth. Green (1-3) hit Upton with a pitch and walked Reynolds after Pedro Feliciano gave up a leadoff single to Gerardo Parra. The Mets looked as if they might escape after Daniel Murphy turned a nifty 3-2-3 double play but Green’s next pitch bounced away from catcher Omir Santos and Upton scampered home to give the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead. Esmerling Vasquez (2-2) pitched a scoreless seventh, Jon Rauch worked the eighth and Chad Qualls finished for his 19th save. David Wright and Daniel Murphy homered for New York, which has lost its last two after winning five straight. Livan Hernandez gave up two runs and four hits in six innings. Reynolds hit a 415-foot drive to center in the second for his 29th homer and Montero connected in the fourth, reaching the upper deck in right for his 10th of the season. Reynolds had two hits and is batting .396 (21 for 53) since the All-Star break. “We never put a lot of guys on base,” Mets right fielder Jeff Francoeur said. “We never had the chance for a big inning. Doug Davis, he has us all off balance.”

The last of the pirates do battle

Ross Ohlendorf (9-8) allowed two runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings, Matt Capps earned his 21st save and Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 3 for the Pirates. Ryan Zimmerman homered and Cristian Guzman went 2 for 4 with an RBI for the Nationals, who have lost three straight. The last-place teams met on a trade deadline day that included the first game for their respective watered-down rosters. In front of his rebuilt former team, Lastings Milledge made a good first impression on the new-look Pittsburgh Pirates. Milledge’s hits came in the third and seventh off Nationals starter John Lannan (7-8), but the left fielder misplayed Guzman’s sinking liner into an RBI double with Hanrahan on the mound in the eighth. Lannan entered the game having allowed a total of two runs in his past two starts but was charged with more than three earned runs in a game for only the third time in his past 20 outings. He allowed five runs and nine hits in seven innings. “I had it bad out there today, but I took some positives out of it,” Lannan said. “You knew that something was going to happen today. Nick’s a great ballplayer and Joe helps any staff. On deadline day, you know a lot of things are going to go down, so it really didn’t affect my mentality.”

Blanton with another strong game

The Philadelphia Phillies were looking to have another successful series and take two out of three games from the formerly Central division leading St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.  They ended up routing them for the second straight day, led by home runs from Utley, Howard, Rollins and Ibanez, all of the two run variety on way to a 9-2 victory.  Starter Joe Blanton(7-4) went eight innings, having yet another strong start giving up seven hits, two runs and six strike outs as Brad Lidge worked the ninth in a non save situation.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more info on the Phils.

The Cardinals once again had production from their latest trade pickups, but they will need the rest of the team to produce to be successful.  Lugo went 2-4 with a run scored, Holliday was 1-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly and Mark DeRosa was 2-4 with a solo home run for this game.  The rest of the team only had three hits and produced no runs as Todd Wellemeyer took the loss.  Wellemeyer(7-9) went 5.2 innings giving up seven runs, five earned on this day.

HanRam takes one for the team

The Florida Marlins yesterday were able to derail the best team in the National League, by taking two out of three games from the NL West leading Los Angeles Dodgers.  Hanley Ramirez finished with three RBI while going 2-4 with a run scored to lead the Marlins and even was retaliated against by Jeff Weaver for having such a game.  Chris Volstad(8-9) worked 5.1 innings giving up eight hits and four runs but that held up for the win by a final of 8-6.  In the bottom of the seventh inning, Burke Badenhop was ejected along with manager Fredi Gonzalez for retaliation for Hanley Ramirez being hit, or so the umps thought so.  Check out  FishGuts for more Marlins insight.

The Marlins were down 8-0 yesterday before fighting back with six runs between the sixth and ninth innings.  James Loney had a two RBI double and an RBI single, Russell Martin had a two home home run an RBI single by Ethier capped the scoring.  Jason Schmidt(1-1) only lasted three innings while getting tagged for five runs and five hits, but only four earned runs.

A

Kotchman with a bomb

The Braves were only up 1-0 yesterday on the Brewers when entering the sixth inning yesterday but Casey Kotchman and the rest of the team wanted to put this one out of reach.  Kotchman hit a three run home run to make it 5-0 in the sixth after Matt Diaz had produced a run with a single before him.  They added five more runs in the final four innings on a McCann and Kelly Johnson home runs, a Prado Sac fly, and a bases loaded walk for Yunel Escobar.  Derek Lowe(10-7) worked six strong innings only giving up a two run home run as the Braves won 10-2 to take the series in Milwaukee.  The Braves Baseball Blog will have more info on the Braves for you.

The Brewers offense was held in check yesterday by Brave pitching except for one inning in the game.  In the sixth inning after falling behind 5-0, Corey Hart hit his 10th home run of the season to cut the lead to 5-2.  Braves relief pitching though couldn’t hold on to allow them to come back.  Braden Looper(9-5) went six innings giving up seven hits and five runs on four walks to take the loss in this one.

Livan rebounds for a good outting

After the first inning yesterday in Houston, it looked like the same old rubber game for the Mets this season.  Livan Hernandez(7-5) gave up three runs on three consecutive doubles to start the game before the Astros made some baserunning mistakes to get him out of an even bigger inning.  After that, Hernandez settled in for six more innings allowing no more runs than the initial three as the Mets came back to win 8-3.  The Mets had three triples in this game, one each from Luis Castillo, Angel Pagan and Jeremy Reed.  Sean Green worked the final out of the eighth and the ninth inning to get his first save fo the season.  The Mets now return home to face the wild card leading Colorado Rockies for four at Citi Field and hope to bring some momentum with them.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Doubles in the first by Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee and Geoff Blum after a single by Kaz Matsui provided all three runs for the Astros.  Hunter Pence followed with a single by Blum was thrown out at home for the second out by a mile, followed by Pence being caught stealing while Pudge was at bat.  Brian Moehler(7-6) worked 4.2 innings but gave up five runs on eight hits and walked two in taking the loss for the Astros.

Kearns sends fans home happy

The Washington Nationals completed their second straight series victory with a walk off victory against the San Diego Padres.  Austin Kearns with his first at bat of the game, replacing Adam Dunn hit a walk off single which scored Nyjer Morgan to give the Nats a 3-2 victory.  Josh Willingham homered in the seventh to even them with the Padres at 1 and then Adam Dunn singled home Willie Harris in the eighth inning for the lead.  John Lannan worked eight innings but got a no decision as Mike MacDougal blew his first save of the year for the Nationals.  Joe Beimel(1-5) worked two thirds of an inning and qualified for the win.  Centerfieldgate has more info for you on the Nats.

The Padres started Chad Gaudin pitched well but also got a no decision and Luke Gregerson was thankful for Kyle Banks hitting another home run, this time off Mike MacDougal to save him from a loss.  Greg Burke(2-3) took the loss as he was an out away from getting out of the rally when Kearns won the game for the Nats.

Feliz Powers Phils

The Phillies started this homestand on July 3rd with a terrible record at home, especially for a 1st place team in July of a season.  They changed that with a 9-1 homestand which was capped by a series sweep of the Pirates this weekend.  Pedro Feliz hit his 6th home run of the season and 6th grand slam of his career in the first inning, giving J.A. Happ and the Phillies pitching all the runs they would need in winning 5-2.  Happ(6-0) finished a very solid first half,  with his sixth win against zero losses while starting the year in relief and finishing the half as likely Philly’s most solid starter.  The Phillies will go into the break with a four game division lead, check out Phillies Phandom for more Philly info.

Virgil Vasquez(1-3) took the loss for the Pirates and after a solid debut for the Pirates, has lost three straight starts.

Johnson stays strong

Josh Johnson made sure to show that he is absolutely deserving of the All-Star nod he got a week ago, with another very solid start on Sunday.  Johnson(8-2) got his eighth win of the year while pitching into the seventh allowing eight hits and one run, while striking out seven batters.  He was helped by some early runs by the Marlins hitting with Cody Ross delivering a bases clearing double in the first, and the Marlins led 6-1 when he left the game and won 8-1 at the end of the day.  Florida had been only one game back of first nine days ago, but faltered slightly as the Phillies stayed hot going into the break.  Most of their team and especially relief pitching will get their much needed break this week before getting back to the grind.

Doug Davis(4-9) only lasted four innings on Sunday as he gave up five runs on three walks and seven hits and a home run for the loss.

Hawpe delivers before the ASG

The Braves took a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning yesterday in Denver, in what would turn out to be a back and forth game between the teams.  The Rockies steadily fought back scoring single runs in the second,third, fourth and eighth while sprinkling in three runs in the seventh and the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.  First time All-Star Brad Hawpe hit a double with the game tied in the ninth which scored Seth Smith to give the Rockies the 8-7 win and sending the Braves to the break on a sour note.  Huston Street(3-1) got the win in relief as he pitched a perfect ninth of the inning before the Braves won the game.  The two teams used a total of thirteen pitchers, so those pitchers are very happy to see the break come so they can rest up.

Luis Valdez(0-1) took the loss while giving up the game winning hits and runs in the ninth inning for the Braves.  Check out the Braves Baseball Blog for more on this.

Schneider ends the drought

The New York Mets did what seemed the impossible this weekend, and won a series and at the same time, winning the rubber game.  Taking two out of three from the Reds will go down as only their second series victory since the beginning of June.  Mike Pelfrey(7-4) pitched seven strong innings giving up three earned runs and leaving with a 9-3 lead, but the Mets bullpen made it interesting before giving him the win.  Sean Green and Pedro Feliciano couldn’t get out of the eighth inning with a single out before Bobby Parnell had to come in and save them, but not before allowing three runs, all charged to Sean Green.  Francisco Rodriguez worked a shaky ninth inning giving up a run, a hit and a walk before retiring the side for his 23rd save of the first half and a 9-7 Mets victory.   Check out The Real Dirty Mets blog for more Mets info.

Aaron Harang(5-9) once again could not get the win in a start, getting his ninth loss while giving up five runs in just three innings pitched.

Valverde looks funny in glasses

The Washington Nationals continue have trouble winning games, and did just that on Sunday afternoon in Houston.  Brian Moehler(6-5) shut the Nats down for 6.1 innings while allowing seven hits and two runs en route to a 5-0 Astros win.  For a while it looked like Miguel Tejada’s RBI single in the first would hold up, but Kaz Matsui gave some insurance runs in the seventh with a three run homer.  Jose Valverde worked the ninth inning with a strike out and a hit to get his eighth save this season for the ‘Stros.

Jordan Zimmermann(3-4) also worked 6.1 innings for the Nats but was charged with four of the five runs the Astros got and now has a losing record for the Nationals.  Late last night, Manny Acta was fired by the Nationals after his team’s 26-61 start to the season., read more about that and the Nationals at CenterfieldGate.