Phillies Start Fast, Never Look Back Against Marlins
By: Mike Reisman
Tonight was an important night for the Phillies. Now I know I have been saying that a lot recently, but it is true that at this point of the season every game counts. Tonight marked the start of a three game series with the Florida Marlins, and it also marked the start of a Braves series with the Washington Nationals, a series the Braves will surely take advantage of. That is why tonight's game was so important, to set the tone of a series where the Phillies could not slip up. So who would take the mound for this important game? None other than Joe Blanton. However, Blanton would not disappoint the team on this night.
The Phillies would not be disappointed by Blanton, but the Marlins would be by their starter Andrew Miller. The Phils would take advantage of him early in the 2nd on a Jayson Werth solo home run giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead. The homers would keep coming in the next two innings for the Phillies, a Chase Utley solo shot in the 3rd and a Carlos Ruiz round-tripper in the 4th scoring Raul Ibanez, making the game 4-0.
The home runs would stop temporarily for the Phillies, but the runs would keep coming. In the 5th, the Phillies would get runners on first and second base for Jayson Werth. He would single scoring Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard would score on a throwing error the same play. Carlos Ruiz would score Werth later in the inning increasing the Phillie lead to seven runs. The Phillies would add to their nine hits through five innings in the 6th, with four hits including RBI singles from Ryan Howard and Placido Polanco, and a walk that drove in a run. The game would be 10-0 after the 6th.
Joe Blanton would be magnificent on the mound, allowing just two hits in the first five innings. His one slip-up would occur in the 6th, when he allowed a lead-off home run to Logan Morrison, making the game 10-1. He would strike out 8 batters, an incredible number considering he would only pitch six innings. He would also walk two.
The game was winding down from there however, Greg Dobbs would add his own support with a solo home run, capping the Phillies scoring at eleven runs. The Marlins would make a hopeless last stand in the 8th, grabbing two runs on a Dan Uggla home run, and one more on a Chad Tracy triple, scoring Mike Stanton.
Alright, so maybe I blew up today's game a little bigger than it was, but still it was not unimportant. With a loss tonight, the division would have been tied up yet again. Also on a separate note, it has been reported that Jimmy Rollins injury is classified as a strained hammy, an injury that will keep him out of the starting lineup probably until at least Wednesday. Rollins will need to come back and get right into things, both as a leader and a player if the Phillies hope to do some damage in the playoffs.