Many Culprits To Blame In 6-5 Loss

The Phillies failed to sweep the Cubs, losing today 6-5 in 10 innings. You could blame the loss on many things, but the bottom line is the Phils failed to take advantage of opportunities.

Jamie Moyer got hit around in five innings, surrendering nine hits and giving up four runs, but the Phils could’ve had a comfortable lead by the time he left the game. Instead, the Phils squandered huge chances to deplete Jason Marquis in both the first and second innings, keeping the game at 1-0. While the Phils were able to score more runs, they could’ve had the game finished much earlier. Chase Utley and Geoff Jenkins both came up tremendously short early in the game.

The Cubs remained in the game, and even took the lead. Mark DeRosa’s home run that never was (and it was a foul ball, obviously) only underlined the Phillies inability to blow the game open. Yes, the Phillies reclaimed the lead thanks to Jayson Werth and Eric Bruntlett, but really, they could’ve been up by at least three or four runs at minimum. When Tom Gordon launched an eighth inning that ended in a tie game, the sad truth came to surface: The Cubs, despite doing everything possible to be blown out, were allowed to win the game.

We can berate the umpires for a horrendous call, but we should remember that great baseball teams take care of mediocre teams when they need to. The Phillies didn’t do it Sunday.