After a sweep against the Brewers last week, there was a glimmer of hope for the Phillies and their fans. They had moved to just nine games under .500, and were 9.5 games out of the wild card. Then…the team went to Atlanta. With Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, and Roy Halladay starting in the three game series, there was a good chance that the team could make SOMETHING happen. Of course, it didn't go that way. The Phillies scored only four runs in 27 innings, and each of their starters earned the loss, with a 6-2 loss today completing the job. The Phillies are now 12 games under .500 and 12.5 back in the wild card. The fire sale may have already begun, with the rumored trade of Hunter Pence to San Francisco. It's a new position for this team, and it'll be interesting to see what Ruben Amaro pulls off over the next two days.
Game of the Day: Nationals 11, Brewers 10 (11 innings).This was a nutty, back and forth game. Milwaukee led 7-3 going into the eighth inning, and had Francisco Rodriguez on the hill. Of course, he vaporized any remaining trade value by getting just one out in a four batter period, and allowing all three of his hitters that reached base to score, with two of the runs coming on a Roger Bernadina homer. John Axford relieved him, and allowed the tying run to score on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the eighth, Milwaukee took the lead again on a pair of solo homers by Norichika Aoki and Carlos Gomez. In the ninth, Axford was left in to close it out….and allowed a two-run homer to Michael Morse to tie the game at nine. Morse struck again in the 11th, doubling in a pair off of Jose Veras to make it an 11-9 game. The Brewers didn't go down quietly though, as a Corey Hart solo homer off of Tyler Clippard made it 11-10, but that's where the game would end up, as a nice comeback win for the Nationals.
Pitching Lines of the Day: Clayton Kershaw threw a complete game shutout in a sweep-completing 4-0 win for the Dodgers against the Giants, allowing five hits and one walk, striking out seven Giants hitters. Scott Feldman threw eight shutout innings in a 2-0 win for the Rangers over the White Sox, allowing seven hits and striking out five batters without a walk. Jeremy Hellickson shut out the Angels over six in a 2-0 Rays win, giving up two hits and striking out five with no walks. RA Dickey got back into the groove in a 5-1 Mets win over Arizona, allowing just on unearned run over seven innings on four hits, walking three and striking out eight.
Hitting Lines of the Day: In that crazy Brewers-Nationals game, Corey Hart went 4/5 with three runs, a double, a homer, and a stolen base. Michael Morse went 2/4 with two runs, four RBI, a walk, a double, and a homer for Washington. Detroit beat Toronto 4-1, and shortstop Jhonny Peralta went 2/4 with four RBI and two homers. In a 6-1 Orioles win over the A's, newly signed Oriole Omar Quintanilla went 3/4 with two runs, a double, and a homer.
Other Games: The Marlins got a 5-4 walkoff win over the Padres in ten. The Twins swept the floundering Indians, winning 5-1. The Astros got revenge over two late losses, beating the Pirates 9-5. The Mariners used a late rally to beat the Royals 7-6. Anthony Rizzo hit a walk-off homer in the Cubs 4-2 win over the Cardinals in ten. The Reds won their tenth straight, beating the hapless Rockies 7-2. The Red Sox beat the Yankees 3-2 in ten.
Today's Games: Ervin Santana takes on Roy Oswalt in a battle of struggling AL West starters. Edinson Volquez takes on his former team, as the Reds host the Padres in what could be Volquez's last start for San Diego. Jose Quintana starts for the White Sox against the Twins. Trevor Cahill and the DBacks travel to Los Angeles to take on Aaron Harang and the Dodgers. David Price will start for the Rays in Oakland against AJ Griffin. Madison Bumgarner starts for the Giants, hosting the Mets.
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone. Remember to keep an out on the TOC Twitter page for the latest trade rumors and news.
