Phillies Lose to Giants, Losing Their First Series Since Mid-June
By: Mike Reisman
No matter how good a team is, nothing is perfect, and eventually that team must lose. Even teams like the Phillies, who have proven to be the Goliath of the MLB, must go down and tonight they were beaten for the second time in a row for the first time since early June. The back-to-back losses also cost the Phillies the series, the first time they have lost a series since their interleague series with the Seattle Mariners. Granted, the team that beat them wasn't exactly a David, but the reigning World Series champs, the same team that ousted them from the 2010 playoffs.
Though it's never fun to admit defeat, if the Phillies had ever been in a position to lose a game, tonight was that night. The Phillies sent their fifth starter Kyle Kendrick to the mound, only to face the two time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum who was able to start after battling illnesses earlier in the series. To make matters worse for the Phillies, today was the first day the Giants would have the newly acquired Carlos Beltran in their line-up.
The Giants got off to an early lead in the 2nd, beginning to prove fears of tonight's game, and it wouldn't get any better, as the Giants would pile on the runs, gathering a 4-0 lead by the 7th. The Phillies couldn't get convert any runners in to runs though, leaving three runners in scoring position against Lincecum, and leaving six runners in scoring position throughout the entire game. The Phillies would manage just a single run that came on a 7th inning Chase Utley double, leaving the Phillies to lose 4-1.
The Phillies losing back to back games shouldn't be a big deal, as the Phillies still hold the league's best record, and they are more than four games over the 2nd place Braves in the NL East. However, this series isn't just three games against an NL West team, this was a series where the Phillies could finally prove to the world that the NLCS was a fluke, that they were in fact the undisputed best team in the NL. They even won the opening game of the series, and though neither Cliff Lee nor Roy Halladay faced the Giants, the series was no less important. Charlie Manuel laughed at the notion of the Giants being in the Phillies' heads, but it certainly seems as though something is stopping the World Series favorites from beating the World Series champions.
The Phillies begin a three game series at home with the Pittsburgh Pirates tomorrow at 7:05 with Roy Halladay on the hill.