Top Half of the Lineup Helps Phillies Defeat Pirates
By: Mike Reisman
When a team is good like the Phillies, there are usually teams that they are expected to beat. These inferior teams usually provide nice, easy wins to pad the record of teams that are most likely in need of them to make the playoffs, win their division, or do other such things. However, lately this has been a problem for the Phillies, first with the Nationals, and now in Pittsburgh with the Pirates. Earlier today, the Phillies looked to correct that problem and avoid being swept in more than a two game series for the first time this year.
The Phillies chances didn't look good early, as Roy Halladay gave up an early home run to Neil Walker in the 1st inning, giving the Pirates a two run lead. The Phillies responded in the 4th though, cutting the lead in half with a Raul Ibanez sacrifice fly.
The Phillies wouldn't be done at one run though, and in the 5th, they tied the game on a Ryan Howard sacrifice fly, and took the lead when Carlos Ruiz was hit by a pitch. They would extend the lead in the 6th on a Placido Polanco single, scoring the Doc, making the score 4-2. Ryan Howard would single home another run in the 8th, giving the Phillies a three run lead.
The Pirates would try to comeback in the 8th with a single from Andrew McCuthchen, but the Phillies would counter with singles from Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard making the score 7-3.
The game would end 7-3 in favor of the Phillies, giving Roy Halladay his 8th win of the year. The win coupled with a Marlins loss gives the Phillies a three game lead in the NL East.
If you have been reading this blog, you know how I have been recently opposed to the overworking of Roy Halladay, however, today I was the perfect amount of work for Halladay. He threw 114 pitches over seven innings, allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out six and walking just one batter. At the point that he was taken out, the Phillies had just a three run lead. Charlie and the rest of the coaches made a great choice to take out Halladay and let the bullpen do their job.
Speaking of stars performing well, today the Phillies finally got big contributions from stars Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. Howard went 2-4, driving in three runs, and Utley went 3-5, scoring one run. In fact, the whole top half of the lineup, the 1-4 hitters to be specific, propelled the Phillies to victory, accounting for 9 of the team's 14 hits, and driving in 5 of the 7 runs. This is the leadership that these guys need to take every night if the Phillies want to be successful, and they should use this game as the standard to set when it comes to hitting.
The Phillies will come home tomorrow to begin a three game set with the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the first game starting at 7:05.