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Late Homers Put Phils Back In Win Column
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Thu, July 10, 2008 07:49 AM
Ryan Howard and Pedro Feliz slammed eighth-inning home runs to propel the Phillies past the Cardinals, 4-2. The Phils remain 1.5-games up in the NL East with their first win in their last five games. Howard’s was his 25th homer, tying teammate Chase Utley for the league lead. Feliz hit his 10th, and is hitting .266 on the season.
The homers gave the win to Clay Condrey, who was brought in to pitch a high-pressure eighth and struck out the side. Surprising? With JC Romero feeling hurt, Tom Gordon on the DL, Rudy Seanez ailing and Chad Durbin used, Condrey became the option. Obviously this is a situation that the Phillies better address. The bullpen is crawling to the All-Star break; they’ll need reinforcements.
And though Condrey got the win, accolades must be given to JA Happ, who looked even better than his 2008 debut, pitching into the seventh inning. He gave up two runs on five hits and four walks, striking out five. Like against the Mets, Happ pitched the fastball very inside and very outside, took it upstairs to make a few outs, and implemented his nice slider and changeup when he felt necessary.
The Phils grabbed a 2-0 lead with a Carlos Ruiz single, Jimmy Rollins RBI double and Ryan Howard single in the fifth inning. Happ pitched a breezy sixth, but got into trouble in the seventh. With one out and men at second and third Chad Durbin was brought in. He gave up an RBI sac fly and tough flailing RBI single by Ryan Ludwick for the tie, before finally getting the last out on a strikeout. It’s a shame Happ couldn’t get the win, but you can’t blame the ‘pen.
Brad Lidge wasn’t in top form, but recorded his 20th save in as many chances. Among the outs — a fly out from Albert Pujols, the man who yadda, yadda, yadda.
Associated Press photo
July 10th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Nice win, but what’s important is how they take it from here. The late inning homers were great, but the first hit of the game for the Phils but in like the 5th inning I think. That’s got to end. We have to start scoring early and get some momentum so we’re not trying to make our usual comeback. Happ looked great. If he pitches half as well as he did last night I’d give him the job over Eaton and Myers. I’d love to see the Phils grab the series win this afternoon and then pull off the series win vs. the DBacks. That should give the team, and this site, at least some confidence heading into the ASB.
July 10th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Hi…I’ve never posted b4 but check out your blog once in a while. Good stuff…
Ok, I know Condrey did a good job last night and its nice you recognized him. However, this leads to a question about my fave ex-Tiger - why was Durbin denied an Ashburn award the night he saved Happ’s backside and struck out 6 of 7 Mets? Yet…it seems he gets the bag the couple times he blows it though??? Or is this more set on expectations??
Also, I’ve read a few posts on another board about Detroit needing a closer and possibly trading Myers to them…Yes, very true they need a new closer; however, the Tigs are notoriously cheap when it comes to BP help so I can’t see them taking on Myer’s contract. IMHO - would be great for the Phils though. I like this Happ guy and think he deserves a shot to start over Myers. Let Myers go somewhere else to regain his karma in the ‘pen (and w/a new set of fans).
July 10th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Read closer, Durbin is loved on this site - he’s one of our favorite Phillies.
Myers will find a new home, I’m not worried about it.
July 10th, 2008 at 8:37 am
not to focus on the neg after a W, but you knew the 7th wasn’t going to go well as soon as you saw JA Happ batting in the bottom of the 6th. the kid did very well, but at only his 3rd start in his career with >100 pitches already and in a tight game, Charlie really has to pull him. we’ve seen this a few times this year when Charlie leaves his starter in for 1 inning too long. but either way, we win!
July 10th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Nice to see the Ashburn Award again. I’d almost forgotten what it looked like. And it’s good to see it go to someone who isn’t a regular for it.
This is exactly the type of win the Phils need to do MORE of. They got gutsy starting pitching from a guy who legged it out for 6.1. They got two runs off of consecutive singles and doubles. That means guys were being selective with their pitches and maybe even THINKING about the situation. And then — and only then, after they got some runs the old-fashioned way — they took some hapless reliever deep a couple times.
I couldn’t watch the game, but more of this small-ball stuff, combined with bash ball, would be nice.
July 10th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Don’t the Tigers have Joel Zumya and Fernando Rodney as their possible closers in waiting?
HOW ABOUT MY BOY CONDREY!
It pisses me off to no end that Phillies pitchers.. or Phillies in general.. CAN’T GET A BUNT DOWN!
Last night is a great example why we can’t name Howard “K-How, or Nolan Ryan Howard” or anything negative… his average sucks, but he still crushes the ball sometimes.. Tied for the lead in HR, leading the league in RBIs… not too shabby.
If anyone gets the boot from the rotation if/when Myers comes back, its def going to be Eaton. Happ has pitched pretty damn well the past two starts. Home plate umpire had a weird strike-zone last night, consistent, but I can’t imagine either team was all that happy with it.
Shane Victorino was out by 5 feet when he attempted to steal 2nd off Thompson.. he’s got to be a smarter baserunner! BUT, he did a nice job avoiding Utley’s hit to right later in the game.
Im happy with the win!
July 10th, 2008 at 9:01 am
That was a good win that they needed to get off of the cardinals bullpen. If JA Happ keeps pitching this way you cant send him back down, you have to try and do something with eaton to make room in the rotation when they bring myers back or when they bring in another guy.
to send JA Happ back down when he is pitching this way would be an absolutely terribly decision. Hes giving you a chance to win and righ tnow Adam Eaton isnt doing that.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Happ isnt afraid to bust people inside, which cole hamels does and sometimes kendrick does. eaton and moyer dont ever do that. and, you have to do that.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Moyer’s whole philosphy is “pitch-to-contact” …… but it has to be contact on the pitchers terms… if you know where a guy will chase pitches.. low and away breaking balls or whatever.. then do that.. Moyer wants to get each batter out on the first pitch and thinks that strikeouts are a waste of pitches.
He’s smarter than me, so i’ll trust him on that one..
July 10th, 2008 at 9:12 am
I really like Happ’s demeanor on the mound. I don’t know too much about his personality, but he seems very collective when pitching. His stuff is ok.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Don - Zoom maybe, but given his injury issues he’s probably best left where he is. I don’t think Rodney was ever considered a candidate. He wasn’t very good in 2007 and has been terrible at times this year. He has a better reputation than he deserves. Even in his current state of mind, Myers is a better pitcher than Rodney.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:51 am
The only guy on detroit Id want in terms of pithcing is Verlander who isnt himself this year. I like bonderman but hes out for the season.
The Phillies would love Curtis Granderson but hes not going anywhere at all. The rest of the well known tigers seem a little old and overpaid to me.
magglio - 36-38 y/o
sheffield - 40
carlos guillen - 33
ivan rod. - 38
polanco - 33/34 but weve already had him and squandered that opportunity
does verlander seem to have lost velocity this year? or is he making a comeback. i havent paid much attn to the tigers other than watch 3-4 of their games.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:51 am
on a seperate note: Soriano’s not playing in the AS game…so if our boy Pat “The Bat” doesn’t win the fan balloting, do you think he gets the pick to play?
July 10th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Considering he should have been in the game anyway… I think he’ll get the nod for taking Soriano’s place. Hart is good too, but Burrell should go
July 10th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Nice to see Condrey get the award. His stuff looked very good last night, and he has actually pitched well as of late.
Good to see the Phils finally get another win at home.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Having Polanco back to play 3B would be good. He could hit in the 2 hole, moving Vic down to 6/7 in the lineup.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:20 am
We don’t need Polanco at 3B, Feliz is doing just fine there. He’s a decent bat, nothing spectacular, but his defense is top notch.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:24 am
This team needs another good, solid outfielder.
and pitching
July 10th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Adding Erik Bedard, and either Ryan Freel, or Willy Tav would make this team nasty, fa sho
July 10th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Hey, this is my favorite Phils blog, but I had to point out a few errors. Rollins hit a triple, not a double. And Troy Glaus hit that RBI single (his first hit in 20+ AB). Living in DC, it was one of the few games I get to see. This is my favorite place to read about the Phils (especially about games that I haven’t seen). So lets get the stats right (I mean that in the nicest way possible).
July 10th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Of course we could do with Polanco in the lineup, feliz has been average at best. Feliz VORP thus far is 5.1, wheras Polanco’s is 15.3, meaning he has contributed 3 times as much as Feliz so far this season. Feliz makes $3 million this year, whilst Polanco makes $4.6 million. He would clearly be an upgrade over Feliz for only $1.6 million more. We do also need an OF and SP, but 3B remains a position of need until Hewitt is ready, and that’s a long, long time away.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Some thoughts on last night’s game:
I think someone here has already mentioned this. Happ kept his composure and for the most part successfully pitched
to contact and kept the ball in the yard… barely. He was hit hard and
often but at someone. Lady luck was looking over his shoulder.
I felt Manuel made a questionable decision in allowing Happ to bat for
himself in the 6th inning with a runner on and 2 outs. Of course, an
automatic out that kill any chance for a rally. It also meant that
Cholly gambled with Happ to start the 7th inning with his pitch count
near 100 and hittable. Why? Especially when you have available arms in
the bullpen that have a league leading low ERA. Maybe, with Gordon on
the DL; Romero is also fatigued and aching; Seanez reportedly “ailing” and the revelation that
Swindle is strictly a situational type reliever (not able to get
righties out), Cholly tried to stretch Happ to get to Durbin and Lidge.
It almost cost the game for the Phillies as the Cards scored two in the
inning. As it turns out, Condrey is being used in late innings of late
and turn in a surprising effort with a perfect 1-2-3 inning.. all
strikeouts! Also Lidge finally faced his demon by retiring Pujols on a
flyball with 2 runners on in the 9th inning. And finished with his 20th
save in striking out Ankiel for the last out.
Baseball is a wonderful game.
Again, Howard came to the Phillies’ rescue with yet another clutch hit. The often maligned (on this site) run producer extended his hitting streak to 12 games (16-for-47) good for .340 BA. While the rest of the team is struggling offensively, he continues to produce big time with 6 HRs and 15 RBIs during his hitting streak. When it comes to RISP for the season, no one on the team is better than him. He is hitting .336 and with 2 outs with RISP…356 BA. His OPS (on base+slugging) with RISP is 1.097 !! One further note for emphasis; he now holds the team record for most RBIs before the All-Star break with 80 !! Howard Power!! Yea!
July 10th, 2008 at 11:19 am
To add to DL’s errors it was Feliz’s 11th homer.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Feliz is also a gold-glove type 3rd basemen….whereas Polanco plays 2nd, and doesn’t want to play 3rd.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:26 am
I think Wright and Burrell both desrve all-stars instead of Hart for the brewers
July 10th, 2008 at 11:30 am
THey have been using their pen a lot lately since starters aren’t going that deep into games. Madson has been doing a nice job as of late, Romero has looked a little suspect. If they can add another bullpen piece i think Madson, Romero, Lidge can maybe rest a little bit more and hopefully stay strong down the stretch
I just hope that with Soriano out, Hart doesn’t get the automatic bid and Burrell might still lose in the votes to David Wright… I do think that Wright should be in the game, and Burrell should be in over Fukudome as well
July 10th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Bruce, he wanted another inning out of Happ because the bullpen, aside from lidge, is running on fumes. gordon is alreayd on the DL, romero is exhausted, durbin is maybe a bit tired, madson has been used a lot too. swindle is fresh but went 3 innings only a few days ago.
clay condrey did a nice job last night though.
this is why you need innings out of your starters. im ok with happ doing what he did last night and kendrick doing what he does.
but moyer simply needs to give you more innings than he does. sometimes he gives you enough but usually its 5-6. eaton is worthless because he cant even gives you that without blowing up lately.
so you can leave happ in the rotation because he will give you more innings as he gets more starts. but after hamels the rest of the guys dont go 7+ innings on average.
that wears your bullpen down over time. just like i said it would.
therefore, a healthy bedard would help if he can go 7 innigns every time out. a mentally stable myers even would help.
now you still need a fresh bullpen arm in there on top of swindle who is permitted to stay to replace gordon who basically is done. theyll let him come back and try it but hes done. cant rely on that. rudy seanex doesnt even count and he shouldnt be on the team anymore. swindle can replace him when gordon comes back but gordon needs replacing too.
this is why you dont stand pat. bringing up the two call ups has been a big boost but now its time for a bigger boost.
your starters need to give you more innings, plain and simple.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:36 am
For once a mets fan is right. How on earth is Hart leading the voting ?
July 10th, 2008 at 11:42 am
If the Phils brass sends Happ down when Myers returns then they either:
1) Care more about playing the guy who has the big contract (Eaton)
2) Are a very bad judge of pitching skill and talent. Eaton needs to go.
Ruiz needs to be Pudge Rodriguez X1000 defensively to keep sending his ass out there every night. Why wont the Phillies take a chance on Marson? I know this has been visited and revisited 1 million times on this site, but I’m so sick of seeing him come up to the damn dish!
July 10th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Ruiz actually had a decent game last night.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:49 am
i would even settle for trying out jaramillo over ruiz at this point
July 10th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Getting another third basemen does NOT fill a current need for the Phillies and would be a terribly silly move. Pedro has done his job very well over at third base and has hit as expected when we acquired him.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Marson is hitting for a much higher average than Ruiz… but …. he has 9 errors compared to only 4 for Ruiz. He has grounded into 7 double-plays, compared to 11 for Ruiz.
There are reasons that Marson isn’t up here yet.. maybe they think that his 4 HRs and shaky defense aren’t as important as Ruiz’s 2 HRs and solid defense?
July 10th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
They don’t want to rush Marson when we have a decent enough back up plan in Coste I’d suspect.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Geoff~ I understand your point. However, historically (thanks to the omnipresent pitch count and talent stretched thin in the minors) most clubs with any success usually don’t have a complete rotation of “inning eaters” and thus the need for a solid and effective bullpen including a premier closer. Ironically, during this season, the Phils’ rotation surprisingly compiled the most innings of any NL club. It’s not just Hamels and four camels (chuckle). Credit must go to Kendrick, Moyer and yes even Eaton for quality starts. I would love to see another experienced quality starter added for good measure. However, I don’t see anyone out there that won’t cost a “king’s ransom” (Phillies’ top prospects) except maybe a Randy Wolf. Bedard is not your answer based on his injury record. I dare say he will never give you 7 innings that you so desire, Geoff. I still think that our best bet is for Myers to come back focused as a 2nd or 3rd starter. As Manuel repeatedly said, the Phillies need him if they are to make the playoffs.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
happ sent back down so he can pitch instead of sit out, with the all-star break and all, not needing a 5th starter for a while. mike cervanak got the call up