The Phillies lineup looks a little better with Chase Utley in it, huh?
He went 3 for 5 with a double, home run and two RBIs in last night's 9-2 victory over the Mets.
He's hitting second this week because the Mets have some lefthanders in the bullpen and Charlie Manuel doesn't want to stack Utley next to Ryan Howard. It worked last night, so if Manuel's words hold true, expect Pat Burrell to remain in the No. 3 hole for the immediate future. That's not the worst thing in the world. Burrell is hitting .351 (13 for 37) with four home runs and 11 RBIs in his last 10 games.
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But how about Jayson Werth? He went 5 for 5 Sunday and 4 for 4 with a walk last night. He needs a hit in his first at-bat tonight to tie the National League record with hits in 10 consecutive at-bats.
The record is shared by nine other hitters: Matt Diaz, Bip Roberts, Ed Delahanty, Kiki Cuyler, Chick Hafey, Joe Medwick, Woody Williams, Buddy Hassett, Ed Konetchy and Jake Gettman. Delahanty accomplished his feat with the Phillies in 1897, which also makes that the franchise record.
Werth played well in Shane Victorino's absence, and has continued to play well once he returned from the DL. Werth is hitting .403 (29 for 72) with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 23 games since Aug. 1.
A teammate taped "W. Pipp" over Victorino's nameplate in his locker.
That person also must have taped "P. Rose" over Werth's nameplate.
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Jim Salisbury writes that Adam Eaton needs to step up and earn his paycheck in a big game tonight.
If not, does he remain in the rotation? Or does J.D. Durbin stay in there? Durbin is 5-2 with a 4.22 ERA in seven starts for the Phillies.
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Regular Zo Zone readers might recognize some of the numbers in this week's Phillies Report. I look at why a split this week against the Mets basically kisses the NL East goodbye, Brett Myers' struggles in non-save situations, Ryan Howard's recent home run drought and Padres players hating Phillies fans.
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Freddy Garcia could have surgery tomorrow, if James Andrews recommends it.
My bet? Garcia has it. He's clearly not pitching very well -- his fastball hovers around 84 mph -- so it's in his best interests at this point to have the surgery. I mean, it's not like he'd make a couple more rehab starts and bump somebody out of the rotation for the final couple weeks of the season.
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Pictures from last night's game.
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Righthander Andrew Carpenter threw a seven-inning perfect game last night for single-A Clearwater.
Comments (4)
Great game, that's one. Chase looked great, what can you say? Place was rocking when he hit the homer. Even Howard looked better at the plate.
How can you pull Durbin out of rotation? Eaton pitching well tonight doesn't make up for the prior bad starts, can the team afford to take a chance? And while I really like Victorino, Werth has to stay in lineup, as does Dobbs. The lineup has some great synergy right now, why mess with it?
And a word to my fellow season ticket holders in our section (and everyone else) who make a few extra bucks putting their tickets on stub-hub and letting all these Met fans in our park...I hope your cable goes out during the games and you miss them all. Thanks for the pain of having to listen to these nitwits bray all night. May your postseason ticket orders all be lost in the mail.
Gotta beat them again tonight!
Posted by jimmymac | August 28, 2007 10:18 AM
Posted on August 28, 2007 10:18
I'm amazed by how having Chase in the lineup just galvanizes everybody. The pitching was great (and if Eaton blows up tonight, give Durbin his spot in the rotation), the hitting was contagious, they made great plays in the field.
One of the best parts of Chase's homer last night was hearing Sarge and Chris Wheeler just giggling with happiness. I'm not deleting last night's game from the Tivo any time soon.
Posted by Clare | August 28, 2007 11:55 AM
Posted on August 28, 2007 11:55
Not sure how much having back Branyan or acquiring Bob Wickman will help this team. The talent is there to compete; now the Phillies just have to string wins together.
They have three more against the Mets at home, then three at Shea. They're five games back and still play them six times. It's very doable.
The win percentage of their final six opponents (ATL, WSH, NYM, StL, COL, FLA) is .492. It could be a lot worse.
Posted by V | August 28, 2007 12:07 PM
Posted on August 28, 2007 12:07
utley!!
what's up with joe west calling rollins out in the first inning? he was right on top of it, and there is no explanation for calling him out besides being legally blind. he's as terrible an umpire as he is a country singer. he always acts like he's doing everyone a favor by showing up to umpire your game. too bad he didn't resign with all the other umps 7-8 years ago- guess he'll be behind the plate tonight.
Posted by mike | August 28, 2007 12:27 PM
Posted on August 28, 2007 12:27