Phillies Out-Slug Mets With the Help of Polanco and Howard
By: Mike Reisman
After last night's game, just about any result tonight was an improvement. The team was back in play tonight after a demoralizing 7-1 loss in their first game of the year against the Mets, a game in which Cole Hamels ultimately ruined the Phillies chances of winning. However, hope was restored for tonight as the unpredictable Joe Blanton took the mound, hoping to restore some dignity to the Phillies.
The Phillies would waste no time getting their revenge, getting two 1st inning runs in on a Polanco ground out and an Ibanez single. They would make it 3-0 in the 2nd with a Victorino ground out. The 3rd inning the Phillies exploded, getting an early run off of a deep Ryan Howard home run, two more from a Joe Blanton two RBI, bases loaded single, and finally one more on a Polanco single, leaving the game at 7-0.
The Mets would chip away at the lead in the 4th, with an Angel Pagan two-run home run, and a string of singles and doubles in the 5th, tying the game at 7-7.
The Phillies would have the final laugh though as they scored two runs on singles in the bottom of the 5th, and Ben Francisco would finish the scoring with a 6th inning solo shot. The game would end 10-7, with Antonio Bastardo getting the win, Blaine Boyer getting the loss, and Jose Contreras getting his first save of the year.
Today was a really good game for most of the Phillies line-up tonight. Every starter, except Jimmy Rollins and Brian Schneider got hits, and six, including big Joe Blanton had RBIs. Polanco had an especially good game, going 3-5 with 3 RBIs, but no doubt Ryan Howard was the game's MVP going 4-4 with 2 RBIs, 2 Runs, and a homer.
Howard is key for the Phillies and to see him keep performing like this on a daily basis is just incredible, especially since he is historically not a good April guy. If Howard continues to play at this level he may have a good shot at MVP, and opposing pitchers are in for a long season.
Joe Blanton may have fallen victim to a big inning tonight, not unlike Cole Hamels last night, Joe held the Mets mostly in check. Yes, he did not have a good inning, but there is something to be said about 6 K's over 4.1 innings. Of course, he will need to avoid these innings in the future, but every cloud has a silver lining.
Tonight was a generally good performance from the Phillies, both hitting-wise, and after Joe's big inning, pitching-wise. The Phillies bullpen allowed just one hit and gave just one walk, something that will need to stay if the Phillies want to win later in the year. The Phillies will play the rubber match of this three game series tomorrow, as Roy Halladay will go up against Jonathon Niese at 3:05 PM.
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