JRoll is perfecting the art of the (very) ugly strikeout.


Not once, but twice.

Unfortunately, I'm not talking about the number of no-hitters Roy Halladay threw in back-to-back playoff postseason appearances. Instead, I'm talking about the number of home runs Cody Ross had in back-to-back plate appearances against the aforementioned Halladay.

Ross has his name in the record books, and now the Phillies must regroup, look ahead to Roy II and his start on Sunday night and find a way to prevent themselves from falling to 0-2.

But in order to do so, they'll have to look back and figure out what went wrong in Game 1. The maddening part is it's not a long list and it's the same issues the Phils have had all year long.

If the pitching can't get the job done, the odds are against the bats picking up the slack.

For whatever reason, the offense has simply not been there. Overall the numbers aren't bad for the year, but even in baseball there's a lot to look at past the stats.

The clutch hits don't seem to be there as often anymore. The support for their pitcher when he has an off day hasn't been as prevalent. The big-name bats just simply are not pulling their weight and instead they're relying on Carlos Ruiz to produce for them out of the eight hole.

Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and Jimmy Rollins were a combined 2-19 with 9 strikeouts and only one run scored. Jayson Werth -- who probably slumped harder than anyone on the team in the regular season -- was the only other guy to show up.

Werth, along with Ruiz, hit a home run. Both players accounted for all three RBIs on the team.

Someone needs to pull aside Victorino and Rollins and inform them that their game should be small-ball. They need to get on base and work from there. They are the fast guys who can score from first or steal a couple bases and walk home from second. Instead they're constantly trying to smack the ball out of the park and it results in nothing but strikeouts most of the time.

I recall closer to the beginning of the season when Rollins first hurt himself and the cameras caught him talking to Juan Castro before he went to the plate. Rollins pointed at the scoreboard and said something to the effect of "See that zero in the home run column? You have to change that. Just go for the fences."

I almost went through the roof.

Clearly Rollins' mentality all year has been to swing for the fences. He's not focused on hitting the ball in the gaps and running the bases. He wants to take the stroll with the fireworks in the background and doesn't seem to understand anymore that he's not that guy. Never has been.

It becomes quite evident his priorities are messed up when he's trying to convince Juan-freaking-Castro that he just needs to swing for the fences because not having a home run is a travesty.

Even the guys who are known for their ability to hit home runs quite often -- Ibanez, Utley, and Howard -- are trying for the long-ball too often. If they would just head to the plate thinking they're going to take whatever the pitcher gives them (especially against a guy like Tim Lincecum) they would be much better off as individuals and for the team.

But right now, the only guys doing that are Ruiz, Werth, and Wilson Valdez. No offense intended to any of those three players, but they're not the guys who are going to decide who wins and loses a World Series. Or, more to the point, who gets to play in the World Series.

If this team is going to make history they're going to need better decision-making from their superstars and get them back into the mentality that they're going to play as a team and for the team rather than seeing themselves on SportsCenter.

(Notice, by the way, I haven't said anything about Placido Polanco. He's really just a guy at this point and is playing as such. Not too much can be expected of him -- especially when the guys around him can't even make contact.)

This team going 0-4 with runners in scoring position and leaving seven on base is just not acceptable. There is far too much talent at every spot in the lineup for that.

They made it through the regular season and the NLDS with an underachieving offense, but the Giants' pitching staff is too good to allow them to just waltz their way into the World Series. They will have to earn it this year perhaps more than any other year, and can't rely on Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels to do it for them.

Yes, Halladay could have been better, but he's only human. These guys should be able to bail him out at least once since he's done it countless times already -- including the night of his no-no.

And I leave you with this thought: what if Oswalt is as shaky Sunday night as he was for Game 2 against the Cincinnati Reds?

Oh boy.
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Ryan Howard hit his boiling point in the 14th inning.


With Cole Hamels on the mound, everyone knew the game would be a low-scoring affair -- for both teams. It's seemingly just as hard for the Phillies' offense to score when Hamels pitches as it is for the opposing team, and the trend would continue in game two of a four-game series against the Houston Astros.

Hamels left the game in the seventh inning after giving up only two runs. Unfortunately, his offense only gave him one. Then, in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, Jimmy Rollins came through with a solo shot to tie the game at two and send it into extras.

And when I say "extras," I mean they almost played a full second game.

Six completed extra innings later had the Phillies and Astros all the way into the 16th inning without an end in sight. Both teams had a few baserunners here and there, but for the most part the bullpen for both teams was outstanding and nearly unhittable.

That is, until David Herndon entered his third inning of work.

Herndon had already pitched two perfect innings and, due to the lack of available pitchers, the Phils hoped he had a third in him. But, as it turns out, Herndon and the Phillies just were not meant to win this game.

A crazy chopper that went over Herndon's head, followed by a hit batter, a wild pitch, and an intentional walk loaded the bases for the Astros. An infield single and a fielder's choice would put the Phillies down by two runs entering the bottom of the 16th inning.

Brian Schneider would lead off, and ground out. As the lineup turned over, Rollins would strike out. Placido Polanco took a walk -- a rare sight -- and Chase Utley would step to the plate, representing the tying run.

However, with Roy Oswalt on board, the Astros chose to walk Utley and get Oswalt to the plate.

Now, if you didn't watch the game, I understand your confusion. Let's press pause for just a second and go over the sequence of events quickly.

In the 14th inning, Ryan Howard checked his swing on an 0-1 pitch. After an appeal down to third base ump Scott Barry, Howard was down 0-2 and nearly lost his cool after Barry mocked Howard, who put his hands on his hips and shot a confused glance after the call.

He began complaining and, after being warned by the home base ump, the now-infamous Greg Gibson, Howard said he was only mad at himself (which no one really bought) and everyone got ready for the next pitch.

Fast forward a bit, the count is now 1-2, and Howard again checks his swing on a ball low and inside. Again, the Astros appeal down to third, and Howard is ruled out on strikes.

Clearly frustrated, Howard threw his bat and starting mouthing off, which immediately got him ejected. Then, in a move no one would have ever expected out of the usually level-headed Howard, he chucked his helmet and was on a B-line for Barry.

Polanco came out and had to physically restrain Howard, or there's no telling what Howard might have done once he reached Barry. He was clearly enraged at the call and had flown off the handle. It could have gotten very ugly, very quickly.

In fact, as Howard began walking toward Barry, the home base ump tried talking to him to calm him down. Howard could immediately be seen pointing at Gibson and yelling "Don't you f**king talk to me!" and nearly took out third-base coach Sam Perlozzo as he jogged toward Barry.

Barry, by the way, is usually a Triple-A ump who was filling in. He kept his cool and stood his ground, but he had to be scared out of his mind seeing a very large and very angry Ryan Howard headed his way.

And because Howard was ejected and the Phillies' last bench player, Brian Schneider, took over at catcher for Carlos Ruiz, Charlie Manuel would have to pick one of his pitchers to put out into the left field for Raul Ibanez, who was taking Howard's place at first.

The final call was Oswalt. And not only was it the first time in nearly 40 years a Phillies pitcher would play the field, Oswalt would also get tossed into the clean-up spot.

While amusing at first, it was a situation the Phillies knew would come back to bite them.

Which leads us beautifully back into our story and ends my little digression.

Oswalt came up to the plate with guys on first and second and two outs. He fought his way to a 2-2 count, but grounded out to third base to end one of the wildest games the MLB has seen thus far in 2010.

So while it was an entertaining game all in all, it's an enormous failure for the Phils. Not only did they exhaust every player possible, but they still wound up losing to an inferior team, missed an opportunity to gain some ground on the Atlanta Braves (who lost 5-2 to the Rockies), and will most likely be without Howard for some time while he serves a suspension.

As a man, I understand why Howard was so angry with Barry. But, as a player, he's got to be smarter than that and understand what's at stake. Instead he'll be on the bench for who knows how long while Mike Sweeney fills in at first and Jayson Werth takes over the cleanup role.

So much for getting used to the usual lineup again.
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Even Michael Bourn would look at this and think he's out.


After being the beneficiaries of a terrible call against the Marlins back on August 4th, the Phillies got to feel what it's like to be on the other end of a call Monday night.

With a man on first, Michael Bourn bunted the ball up the first-base line. Ryan Howard fielded the ball a few feet away from the base-line in fair territory, and make a spectacular dive to tag Bourn on his way to first.

Or so we thought.

Bourn lept off to his right side, jumping into the grass, and presumably leaving the baseline which would mean he's out anyway regardless if Howard actually tagged him or not.

Again, you would think so, wouldn't you?

But up pops the MLB's ridiculously vague rule about what constitutes leaving the baseline. In the rules, they say a runner can't be more than three feet away from "his" baseline. And what exactly is "his" baseline?

Per the MLB rulebook, "a runner's baseline is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely."

So, apparently, Bourn's baseline didn't start until Howard attempted to tag him.

"I said, 'If that's the damn case, he can go all the way to the dugout,'" Phillies' manager Charlie Manuel said after the game. "[First-base umpire Greg Gibson] said, 'Yeah, if he establishes his baseline over there, he can.' I don't understand that."

It might not be exactly fair to call this a "bad call" since it's more a result of an inexcusably vague rule, but it doesn't change the fact that the Phils got the short-end of the straw.

It's like the NFL's infamous Tuck Rule game between the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots back in 2001. Just because the rules say it wasn't actually a fumble does not mean that the Raiders didn't get royally shafted.

Everyone watching that play knew it was a fumble, and everyone watching this play knew Bourn was out one way or another.

It also doesn't help that Gibson made a similar call this season when the Phillies faced the Cleveland Indians. The call went against the Phils that time too, except that time when Shane Victorino attempted to do the same thing Bourn did Monday night, he was ruled out.

Same circumstances, same umpire, but a different call? The main focus of the rules should be to take as much discretion as possible away from the umpires, not give them more. This rule and this set of circumstances proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The MLB needs to rewrite the rule so there's absolutely no confusion as to what is and what is not the baseline. Make it the actual line, stick more closely to the "three feet" part of the rule, or just say they're going to abolish the baseline idea altogether and we can watch a speedy guy like Bourn just run in a circle until Howard is too tired to throw to first or tag him.

But whatever they do, they need to make it a concrete rule that everyone can clearly follow.

It certainly didn't help that Ryan Madson got smacked around a little bit in only one inning of work and eventually gave up what would be the winning run, but if the Phils could score more than two runs it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Had they taken advantage of opportunities presented to them earlier in the game, they could be walking away complaining about the call, but comforted by the thought that it didn't wind up costing them the game. Instead, they're extra sore because they feel they've been cheated.

"Games like tonight, these are the games we have to win," Manuel said. "That's a game we're supposed to win and have to win."
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Howard and Utley will be back sometime this week.


It's probably a bit of a reach, but it's possible the Phillies are able to add Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to the lineup as early as Tuesday's game against the San Francisco Giants.

Utley, who had thumb surgery back on July 1st, has a better shot of returning when the Phillies start their series against the Giants than Howard. The All-Star second baseman has reported no soreness in his thumb after making rehab starts in the minors and is closing in on the estimated time of his arrival.

Howard, on the other hand, did report some soreness in his ankle after going through some workouts a couple days ago. He's going to be evaluated by the Phillies' team doctors Tuesday, but it's likely they'll decide to keep him benched for at least a few more days.

The Giants will probably get lucky and miss the return of both players. With a serious playoff push already under way, Charlie Manuel and the rest of the Phillies organization is going to want to make sure that their star players are 100 percent before throwing them back on the field.

If they rush them back, they could both wind up hitting the DL again, as was the case with Jimmy Rollins a couple months back.

Once both guys are activated, it's going to be interesting to see what the team decides to do in order to make room for them. The bullpen is about as thin as it can get, so the two guys sent down will likely have to be from the field.

Greg Dobbs could find himself back in the minors, and it could also mean the end of Domonic Brown's major league stint.

Brown has played well, but keeping him on the bench might not be worth it with a lefty in Gload already on the bench. However, if Gload winds up on the DL, Brown could stay as the lefty off the bench and fill in for Raul Ibanez when he needs it.

Ben Francisco is playing well, so he'd likely be the guy if Manuel felt the need to give Jayson Werth the day off.

Dobbs, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have a place. Wilson Valdez can play second or third and the team has two other options for a left-handed bench bat. Manuel and Ruben Amaro Jr. have shown before they're comfortable putting Dobbs through waivers, so it's likely that's the route they'll go once again.

Either way, having Howard and Utley back this week is going to be a huge boost to a Phillies team already on a hot-streak, and could make them the favorites in the NL East or, at the very least, to earn a wild card spot.
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Losing Howard for two weeks or more will hurt bad.


When it rains in Philadelphia these days, you can bet it's going to pour.

With the Phillies' number three hitter, Chase Utley, already on the DL for who knows how long, the Phillies' number four hitter, Ryan Howard, could be joining him very shortly after spraining his ankle Sunday against the Nationals.

Howard and the team originally said a trip to the DL likely wouldn't be necessary, but with Howard staying in Philadelphia to see a team doctor rather than traveling to Florida with his teammates when they start a series with the Marlins, the optimism is starting to die down.

And to be quite frank, thinking Howard wouldn't hit the DL was most likely wishful thinking.

Almost everyone has sprained their ankle at one time or another, and it's never a quick recovery as it usually takes a few weeks for the swelling to go down completely and the pain to subside.

It's also an injury that can linger if not properly healed before it's put through any kind of activity again. So, with that in mind, it might be in Howard's, and the team's, best interest if he does hit the 15-day DL and allow his ankle to heal before the season really gets to the wire.

If they hurry him back, his production will dip as he deals with the pain all season long. But if they find a way to tough it out and ride the storm while he misses a couple weeks and comes back at 100 percent, it could have a greater payoff at the end of the season.

It would certainly require some lineup juggling, but the Phils have become accustomed to that this season.

Charlie Manuel has a tough call to make, but barring some miracle, I would expect to see Howard hit the DL at some point later today after the doctor tells them that's the best route to take.
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The Phils could be without their big bat for a while.


After being hit by a pitch, Ryan Howard made his way to second base after a single into right field by Ben Francisco. Howard thought, if just for a second, that he might be able to make it to third, and began rounding second.

He realized his mistake in time as the ball was just about to reach second base, and made an attempt to jump back to second with his left leg extended.

His efforts worked as he reached second base safely, but his ankle gave out and twisted underneath him. Howard immediately fell to his knees and even the people of Washington in Nationals Park were silent as trainers and Charlie Manuel came out to attend to the injured first baseman.

Manuel and the Phillies' trainer looked at him for a little while before tossing an arm over each of them and helping him limp off the field. Cody Ransom came in as a pinch-runner and Howard's replacement at first base, and the Nationals fans gave Howard a classy round of applause.

But right now, everyone in Philadelphia is thinking the same thing: here we go again.

Through all the injuries, whether they be to stars like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Shane Victorino, or other guys like Placido Polanco, Ryan Madson, J.C. Romero, or Chad Durbin, Howard has been the one constant in the lineup.

However, if the injury is as bad as it looked, that could change.

I've personally suffered the same type of injury, or at least suffered an injury in the same circumstance heading back to second base. When he plants that ankle and locks it, he still has the rest of his body weight coming and it all forces itself right onto his ankle.

When it happened to me, I sprained my ankle and had a partially torn tendon. Hopefully Howard avoided such an injury and only rolled it, but it certainly looked a lot more serious than that.

If Howard is out for any extended amount of time or if he has to hit the DL, it's going to really set this team back and leave them without a true clean-up hitter. Ross Gload would likely take over at first and Jayson Werth would probably assume the fourth spot in the lineup.

Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but that's what I would expect to see for at least the next couple of games.
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This is how all of Philadelphia has felt all season long.


As if the 2010 version of the Philadelphia Phillies wasn't aggravating enough, the thinned-down and beat up version of the Phillies is enough to drive a man insane.

Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Carlos Ruiz, Chase Utley, J.A. Happ, Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge, and others have all seen time on the bench or the DL. In fact, the only guy to see time in every game this season has been Ryan Howard -- that's it. One guy.

And due to the mix of injuries to big-name guys, it's likely the Phillies could miss out on the playoffs altogether, much less repeat as NL East champions for a fourth consecutive season or NL champs for a third consecutive season.

The Braves sit atop the NL East right now and don't appear to be slowing down. They're winning the close games when they have to and are doing all the little things they need to do to stay atop the standings.

Then there's the Mets who look like they're just a few weeks from hitting a real stride and perhaps challenging the Braves for the division. Or, as the Mets are known to do, completely fall apart.

Quite honestly, there's just no telling with that team.

The Phils are only four games back right now, but I expect that number to go up now that they're without a couple key players.

And then with teams like the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, and Los Angeles Dodgers, it's likely the Phils wouldn't even be able to win a playoff spot as the wild card team.

I would expect the Cardinals and Dodgers to win their divisions, which would leave the Phils in a wild card battle against the Mets, Reds, Padres, and Rockies. And honestly, they're just not going to be able to compete with those teams in their current state.

Everyone is expected to be back this season, but it could be too little too late. Utley is gone for two months and it's obviously going to be very difficult to replace their best hitter and a guy who has been a rock in that No. 3 spot in the lineup.

Polanco could struggle with that elbow all year long and could eventually wind up getting shelved altogether. Happ has looked awful in his rehab starts, and Ruiz is still bouncing around from specialist to specialist trying to figure something out with his head.

And even with Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Jamie Moyer all pitching well -- along with a decent season out of Kyle Kendrick but a struggling Joe Blanton -- the bats can't get enough run support for the guys on the mound.

Even when they only allow two or three runs, it's just too much for this depleted unit to put together. In fact, it appeared to be too much while everyone was healthy, so it's not exactly a surprise.

The Phillies have become to beacon of hope for Philadelphia, and I understand that, but it might be time to temper the expectations and take this team for what it is this year -- just a middle-of-the-pack squad who might get lucky and get hot at the right time.
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Halladay couldn't have asked for more from the bats.


As great as it was to see Roy Halladay beat his former team, the Toronto Blue Jays, for his ninth win of the season, it was even better to see the offense put up nine runs and finally give Halladay the run support he deserves -- even if he didn't actually need it.

Ross Gload, playing first base for Ryan Howard, led the way with four RBIs, including a base-clearing double in the fifth inning, which counted for half of the runs the Phillies would go on to score in that inning.

Chase Utley and Shane Victorino also contributed with two RBIs each. Victorino got one of his RBIs on his 12th home run of the season to put the icing on the cake in the top of the eighth.

Howard, who became the first DH ever used at Citizen's Bank Park due to the odd arrangement in this series, also contributed with an RBI of his own -- his 54th of the season.

Jayson Werth also hit his first triple of the season and crossed the plate three times.

But even more astounding than all of that (expect perhaps Gload's four-RBI performance) is the amount of walks Jimmy Rollins was able to draw. Rollins was walked on four -- yes, four -- separate occasions and only recorded one official at-bat because of it.

That's showing a lot of respect to Rollins, a guy who is by no means a power hitter. The way the offense has performed over the past three games with Rollins in the lineup might give a slight glimpse into why the Phils were struggling without him.

His presence has clearly had a major effect on this team positively over the past few days, and it might be time to admit that the lack of his presence could have had a whole lot more to do with the Phillies' funk than anyone was willing to acknowledge.

Cole Hamels takes the mound for the Phils in game two and gives them a great chance to finally get on a respectable role as they look to make it five in a row.

There's no word as to who Charlie Manuel will peg as the designated hitter, but it's likely Howard resumes his role at first base and Gload simply becomes the DH.
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The Phils' offense has been anemic, to say the least.


Roy Halladay's perfect game against the Florida Marlins Saturday night was only the 20th in the MLB's extensive history, and only the second in Phillies history. Halladay looked spectacular in every facet of his game and his defense picked him up during the rare occasions he needed them.

However, even after such a great performance defensively, there are still plenty of reasons to be worried about this team.

For instance, they've scored only four runs over the past five games. They were shut out three times against the Mets, scored three runs on the Marlins for a win, and most recently scored only one run to ensure Halladay's efforts didn't drag him into extra innings.

But for a team that has lived and died on its ability to score runs, it's a bit unsettling to see them struggle so mightily for such a long stretch.

Halladay can't pitch every day, and there are certain pitchers in this rotation that will need the offense to score a lot of runs if they want to win.

(Here's looking at you, Jamie Moyer.)

Without that offense, this is a slightly above-average team because of the outstanding defensive play and, for the most part, very good pitching. Above-average might still sound like a good thing, but slightly above-average teams don't win the World Series -- they get knocked out of the first round in five games.

And what's troubling about Halladay's perfect game is that the Phils couldn't even score on a base hit, sac fly, or something to that effect. Instead, they have to rely on a boneheaded play by Cameron Maybin to bring Wilson Valdez across the play on an error.

Needless to say, you're not going to win many playoff series by scoring four runs in five games.

Of course, they have been working without Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz has been banged up, and most recently Placido Polanco has been forced to miss a couple games with a shoulder injury. But if they want to repeat what they accomplished in 2008, they're going to have to do it while fighting through some injuries.

It's time for Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth to step up and start playing the way we've seen they can. They're going to be the guys who put the runs on the board and, if they don't take it upon themselves to get the offense moving in the right direction, it's going to remain in neutral all season long.
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In what was billed as a fantastic opening game for the MLB season, the defending world champion Philadelphia Phillies (Myers) fell to the division-rival Atlanta Braves (Lowe) at Citizens Bank Park, 4-1.

The night started off fine for Myers, who retired the first two batters he faced. Unfortunately, Chipper Jones would have none of that. Jones hit a 2-out single right in front of Raul Ibanez setting up the beginning of the end for Myers and the Phils.

Brian McCann slammed a change-up at the numbers deep into the second deck in right field to quiet the rowdy Philadelphia crowd and put the Braves out ahead by two early in the game.

Bad went to worse for Myers in the second inning.

Jeff Francoeur would lead off the inning and start it off with a bang. He nailed a solo shot into left field to extend the Braves' lead to 3-0.

Could it get any worse for Myers? Evidently it could.

A rookie from AA came up for his first major league at-bat, and boy did he make the best of it. Jordan Schafer had to go low for it, but he cracked a Myers pitch into deep center field for his first major league hit and home run extending the lead to 4-0.

All of this took place in a span of just five batters.

While Myers was having his first meltdown of the season, so were the Phils' batters. The Phils could only manage two hits in the first eight innings, and only four hits total.

The only run of the night for the Phils came in the bottom of the ninth when Jayson Werth brought Eric Bruntlett in on a base hit with 1 out.

After a walk for Chase Utley, Ryan Howard was up with a chance to potentially tie the game and only 1 out. Unfortunately, in the pattern of the game, Howard struck out looking for the slider. He got a fastball right down the middle from Mike Gonzalez and Howard couldn't adjust.

He should have been looking fastball knowing he would have to adjust to anything else, but he did the opposite and got himself locked up. This was the worst possible scenario for the Phils at that time.

An outside pitch chased by Raul Ibanez would eventually end the game.

All in all, this was a totally different game for these two teams. The Braves have to feel good about where they're going for the rest of the season. Their big free-agent acquisition, Derek Lowe, gave them eight shut-out innings and allowed only two hits during that time. A rookie from AA hit a home-run for his first at-bat, and the vets chipped in by going deep as well in McCann and Francoeur.

The Phils on the other hand played with zero intensity and were just plain beat down by the Braves tonight. Hopefully they can identify and fix the problems so this doesn't spell the story for the 2009 season.

The Phils (0-1, Moyer) will face off against the Braves (1-0, Jurrjens) again on 4/7 at 7:05 @ Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. Hopefully the Phils can avoid a second-straight embarassing home loss.

Box Score courtesy of mlb.com.

Braves 4, Phillies 1

Atlanta AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Johnson, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 Escobar, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .250 Jones, C, 3B 4 1 2 0 0 2 1 .500 McCann, C 4 1 1 2 0 2 2 .250 Anderson, G, LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .250 Francoeur, RF 4 1 1 1 0 1 1 .250 Kotchman, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 Schafer, CF 3 1 2 1 1 1 0 .667 Lowe, P 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 .000 a-Norton, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Gonzalez, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 35 4 8 4 1 10 9 a-Flied out for Lowe in the 9th. BATTING 2B: Escobar (1, Myers), Jones, C (1, Myers). HR: McCann (1, 1st inning off Myers, 1 on, 2 out), Francoeur (1, 2nd inning off Myers, 0 on, 0 out), Schafer (1, 2nd inning off Myers, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Escobar 2; Jones, C 3; McCann 4; Anderson, G; Francoeur 4; Schafer 5. RBI: McCann 2 (2), Francoeur (1), Schafer (1). 2-out RBI: McCann 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Anderson, G; McCann; Lowe. Team LOB: 5.		Philadelphia AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Rollins, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .250 Werth, RF 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .250 Utley, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 Howard, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .000 Ibanez, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 Victorino, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 Feliz, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 Ruiz, C 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .333 Myers, P 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 a-Dobbs, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Taschner, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Eyre, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Durbin, C, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Lidge, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-Bruntlett, PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1.000 Totals 31 1 4 1 1 6 8 a-Flied out for Myers in the 6th. b-Doubled for Lidge in the 9th. BATTING 2B: Ruiz (1, Lowe), Bruntlett (1, Gonzalez). TB: Rollins; Werth; Ruiz 2; Bruntlett 2. RBI: Werth (1). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rollins; Ibanez. Team LOB: 4.
Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Lowe (W, 1-0) 8.0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0.00 Gonzalez 1.0 2 1 1 1 2 0 9.00		Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Myers (L, 0-1) 6.0 8 4 4 1 6 3 6.00 Taschner 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Eyre 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Durbin, C 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Lidge 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
IBB: Schafer (by Myers). Pitches-strikes: Lowe 97-66, Gonzalez 28-15, Myers 97-58, Taschner 17-9, Eyre 10-5, Durbin, C 4-3, Lidge 9-6. Groundouts-flyouts: Lowe 13-7, Gonzalez 0-1, Myers 7-5, Taschner 2-0, Eyre 0-1, Durbin, C 0-0, Lidge 1-1. Batters faced: Lowe 26, Gonzalez 6, Myers 27, Taschner 3, Eyre 2, Durbin, C 1, Lidge 3. Umpires: HP: Jeff Kellogg. 1B: Mark Wegner. 2B: Tim Timmons. 3B: Rob Drake. Weather: 60 degrees, clear. Wind: 10 mph, Out to CF. T: 2:22. Att: 44,532. April 5, 2009 Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

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