This is my fifth season covering the Phillies for The Inquirer, and each trip to Cincinnati has been an interesting one. This trip could be the same.
The Phillies desperately need to put together a winning streak, and tonight they look to Jon Lieber to make that happen. Lieber shrugged Wednesday when asked about it, but there is some serious pressure on him to pitch well. He made it clear he wanted no part of the bullpen and struggled in his only two appearances there. So the Phillies moved their No. 1 pitcher, Brett Myers, into the bullpen instead.
Lieber can't falter.
Here's a look back at my previous four trips to Cincinnati:
2003 - Reds pitcher Jimmy Haynes shut down the Phillies in a 15-1 victory on June 13. Phillies beat writers asked Larry Bowa the "tough questions" afterward, and the next day Bowa and a reporter got into a heated argument in his office because of it. The Phillies split the series to begin a 12-2 run.
2004 - The Phillies practically were out of the NL wild card race when they arrived in mid September, but entered winning 9 of 10. They lost 2 of 3 to end talk of any miracle run to the postseason.
2005: The Phillies took 2 of 3 in a late-September series as the Phillies tried to take the wild card. They won on Sept. 23, 11-10, thanks to a three-run homer from Chase Utley and a two-run homer from David Bell in the top of the ninth inning. They won on Sept. 25, 6-3, highlighted by Utley's inside-the-park home run.
2006: The Phillies swept the Reds here in a May series to win 13 of their last 14. Cole Hamels made his big-league debut May 12. Lieber threw 8 2/3 shutout innings in a 7-0 victory on May 13. And Ryan Howard, who spent the night in the hospital with food poisoning, hit a pinch-hit, game-tying homer in the 8th and another homer in the 12th to win, 2-1, on May 14.
