Madson cleans up for Lidge

The Philadelphia Phillies got back on the winning track last night, even though their closer gave them a scare, yet again.  Five solo home runs produced the runs, and they included two Ibanez shots, and one each by Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz and Chase Utley.  Pedro Martinez(4-0) stayed perfect in a Phillies uniform going 6.2 innings allowing just seven hits and three runs before giving way to the Phillies bullpen.  Lidge came in for a save but loaded the bases with just one out before Ryan Madson earned his fifth save of the season without allowing a run in for a final of 5-3.  Phillies Phandom has more on this win and Lidge’s struggles.

Nationals starter John Lannon started out well, but in the seventh it fell apart for him.  Lannan(8-11) lasted 6.2 innings allowing six hits on four runs and four solo home runs in taking this loss, and all four home runs were between the fifth and seventh innings.  Christian Guzman and Will Nieves contributed RBI singles for the Nats and Willie Harris got them closer with a solo shot but that would be it.  Check out Centerfield Gate for more Nats news.

Maybin with the final blow

Last night the Marlins did not get a whole lot of offense, but the offense they did receive was big. Hanley Ramirez hit a third inning two run home run scoring Chris Coghlan and in the fourth, Cameron Maybin hit another in the fourth scoring Cody Ross in the 4-2 victory.  Rick VandenHurk pitched well enough to win but left in the fourth with back spasms after allowing only one run on four hits.  Brian Sanches(4-1) was credited with the win by pitching two scoreless and hitless innings for the Marlins as Leo Nunez worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save of the season, FishGuts has more on this game and the Fish.

Tim Redding couldn’t find the strike zone last night at all, as he walked four in five innings.  Worse than that was when he grooved a few balls down the zone rather than walk a few other batters, leading to the walks.  Redding(2-5) had a final line of five innings with five hits four runs and four strike outs and the two homers.  The Mets got their runs on rookie Josh Thole’s first MLB RBI and a Luis Castillo infield single in the fourth and fifth respectively.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Vazquez stops the streak

Javier Vazquez finally stopped what turned into a five game losing streak for the Atlanta Braves.  Vazquez(12-9) went seven innings and allowed only three hits on four runs and nine strike outs and allowed zero runs.  He got run support from Adam LaRoche and Nate McClouth both hitting solo home runs for the small margin of victory, 2-1.  Rafael Soriano got his 22nd save but not after giving up three hits and a run in the ninth inning, The Braves Baseball Blog has more on the Bravos.

The Astros put Felipe Paulino on the mound and he absolutely pitched well enough to win.  Paulino(2-8) went six innings while allowing four hits and two runss, both on home runs but the Astros offense faltered.  Hunter Pence got the lone RBI as he drove in Miguel Tejada in the ninth inning.

Howard rescues the Phils bullpen

Last night in Pittsburgh, the Philadelphia bullpen tried to give up another game to the Pirates late in the game.  Ryan Madson(5-4) was charged with his fifth blown save as he tried to save Cole Hamels eight inning no run gem, but allowed a pinch hit game tying home run.  Ryan Howard got him off the hook in the top of the tenth with a three run blast as the Phillies went on to win 4-1 and Madson actually got the win.  The Phillies only other run was on a Chase Utley solo bomb in the first and although the Phillies won, it wasted a classic Hamels start.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more.

Brandon Moss came up as a pinch hitter for the Pirates shortstop in the bottom of the ninth and hit a shot to right center field and the Pirates had hope.  Unfortunately Steven Jackson(2-3) put two runners on before recording an out in the ninth and gave way to Phil Dumatrait who gave up the home run to Ryan Howard.  Paul Maholm got a no decision but pitched very well, holding the Phillies to five hits and one run over seven innings of work.

"Ace" Mike Pelfrey

Josh Johnson has owned the Mets over his career, and although he was shaky last night, he got another win against them.  Johnson(13-3) was off his game in going six innings and allowing nine hits and three runs, but held on until his offense could come through for him.  Cody Ross got the Marlins even with a triple scoring two runs and later Ronnie Paulino hit a two run home run… the deciding blow in 1 5-3 final.  Leo Nunez pitched the ninth again, striking out two and allowing one hit and recorded his 16th save of the season, FishGuts has more on the game.

Mike Pelfrey is now the defacto ace of the Mets staff, now that Johan Santana and Oliver Perez have joined the army on the disabled list.  Pelfrey(9-9) went 5.2 innings allowing 11 hits and five runs, including five walks, only two strikeouts and a home run.  He still seems to have a lot of trouble with men on base and should be his number one issue going into the offseason.  Fernando Tatis stayed hot against Josh Johnson as he doubled, scored a run and had one RBI while accumulating three total hits.  Corey Sullivan and Anderson Hernandez added the two other RBI’s for the Mets as they dropped their fifth in a row, The Real Dirty Mets Blog will have more.

Apparently the photographers in Atlanta took the night off, but so did the Braves relief pitching.  The Padres went into the sixth inning down 3-0, and left that inning up 6-4 on their way to a 12-5 victory and second in a row against the Braves.  that sixth inning included RBI doubles by Will Venable and Nick Hundley, as well as RBI singles by Luis Rodriguez and Adrian Gonzalez.  Eckstein added two more RBI singles later in the game, amont a Kouzmanoff two run shot and another Adrian Gonzalez RBI single.  Tim Stauffer(2-6) got the win going five innings and leaving only giving up three runs and six hits in this game.

Kenshin Kawakami had pitched five scoreless innings in this game, and then only recorded one out in the sixth and ended up charged with seven hits and four runs in the game.  Braves relief pitching over the final 3.2 innings gave up 11 hits and eight runs to put this game out of reach.  Brian McCann hit a three run homer in the first and an RBI single in the ninth and Ryan Church had an RBI single in the sixth for all the Braves offense.  The Braves Baseball Blog has more info on this game.

Finally, a win!

The Cubs looked like they were gonna have to fight for a win, late in the game yesterday, but luckily they ran in to the Nationals relief pitching.  The Cubs got six in the eighth to extend their lead and won the game 9-4 against the Nats.  In the eighth inning Koy Hill had a two RBI double, followed by doubles also by Mike Fontenot and Derek Lee and finally an infield single by Aramis Ramirez to score the final run.  Angel Guzman(3-3) got the victory in the game after Rich Harden pitched six strong innings but left with a tie score.

Livan Hernandez only found himself out of work for a few days as the Nats picked him up and had him right into the rotation.  Hernandez went six innings only allowing two runs on five hits and received a no decision in his first start back with the Nats.  Jason Bergmann(2-3) was charged with the loss as he gave up the go ahead run in the seventh on two hits and the bullpen gave up six more runs after that in just one more inning of work.  Willingham, Guzman, Nieves and Willy Harris all had RBI’s for the Nationals in the loss.  Check out CenterfieldGate for more.

Werth sends Phils fans home happy

Last night, the Phillies offense wasn’t as high powered as it has been, instead most of the support was from pitching on this day.  Joe Blanton pitched seven innings only giving up one run against the Chicago Cubs, and the Phillies could only manage a solo home run from Jimmy Rollins against the Cubs starter.  Then the Phillies relief went six shutout, no hit innings including three by Chan Ho Park and one by Clay Condrey(6-2) who got the win.  Finally in the bottom of the thirteenth, the Phils got two man on with two out for Jayson Werth.  Jayson Werth hit his 21st home run of the year sending the Phillies to a walk off win and their 10th in a row by a score of 4-1.  The Series will conclude this afternoon in Philly, check out Phillies Phandom for more Phillies news and info.

The Cubs came into this series hot, but even on a night when the pitching was solid, their bats still were silent.  Fukudome got an RBI double in the fourth scoring Ryan Theriot for the only run they would get in this game.  After Rich Harden pitched seven innings of one run ball, in 5.2 innings pitched, only Jeff Samardzija(0-1) gave up a run, and the Phillies also only had two hits.

McCann leads the Bravos

Tuesday night in Atlanta brought more of the same for the Braves fans, as they won again by a convincing score.  The Braves were led on Tuesday night by another great night for catcher Brian McCann, going two for four with four RBI including a three run home run.  Martin Prado continued his hot hitting going three for five as well with three runs scored and an RBI as well.  Derek Lowe(9-7) seems to be back on track now, going six innings, allowing seven hits, one walk and only a single run for the win. Make sure to get to The Braves Baseball Blog for more Braves info.

The Giants only mustered one run and that was when the game was out of reach in the fifth.  Juan Uribe hit a single to score Matt Downs as the Giants are losing a hold of their wild card grip.  Ryan Sadowski(2-2) only lasted 3.2 innings and was tagged for eight hits and all eight runs for the Giants.

Volstad gets the W

Chris Volstad is hoping that he has found his groove again, after two of his last three outtings have been quality.  Volstad(7-9) went seven innings to get the win while only allowing one run and four hits before being lifted.  The Marlins scored a run in each of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th innings on RBI’s by John Baker, Jorge Cantu and Jeremy Hermida.  Leo Nunez worked the ninth, while giving up a solo home run, but got his sixth save of the year none the less.  FishGuts is the place to be for all the Marlins news you need.

Chad Gaudin didn’t have a bad game, but as it always seems in San Diego, didn’t get any support.  Gaudin(4-9) worked six innings giving up nine hits, but only three runs but took the loss.  Adrian Gonzalez put the Pads up top in the first, but that would be their only run until Kyle Banks hit a solo shot in the ninth, but the game would end in a 3-2 loss for the Padres.

Lannan goes the distance

John Lannan and the Nationals did something that their fans don’t see much these days, win!  With that win though, Lannan also pitched a complete game shutout, the first since August 15th, 2006 and first in the new ballpark.  Lannan(7-7) scattered seven hits and had a single strike out in only throwing 106 pitches to get the complete game, 4-0, and looks to be the Nats ace.  He got help from RBI’s from an Alberto Gonzalez and Josh Willingham sacrifice flies, and singles by Will Nieves and Adam Dunn.  They will try to take the series from the Mets tonight at 7pm.  CenterfieldGate has more information regarding the Nats.

The New York Mets looked terrible in their approach at the plate, and after hoping that a win Monday might get them rolling, they went right back to what has haunted them all season.  Oliver Perez(2-3) in his third start back from the DL looked solid for the first few innings but in the fourth fell apart, and managed six innings giving up four runs while walking another six batters.  All seven hits the Mets got were singles as well, check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more info on this game and the Mets.