158 down, 4 to go...
If you are like me, while watching tonight's/last night's/whenever-the-heck-it-was 14 inning game between the Phillies and Nationals you were alternately like a kid on Christmas morning, then Lewis Black scorned, then back again.
A win was an absolute necessity as the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies for the second consecutive night. The Dodgers came back from a 4-1 deficit to win 6-4. By getting a win and raising their record to 83-75, the Phillies maintained their one-game distance behind the Dodgers in the Wild Card standings.
What went right...
-- Jimmy Rollins' two-run triple with two outs in the top of the fourteenth inning down the right field line. Amen.
-- Fabio "The Little Dictator" Castro nailing the save. He loaded the bases and gave up a run on a sacrifice fly, but managed to induce a game-clinching 4-6-3 double play (by the way, that lump in your throat at that moment was your heart).
-- ¡Abraham Orlando Adames Nunez! ¡Doblete! ¡Doblete! ¡Doblete! In the tenth inning, Nunez doubled in Chris Coste who drew a lead-off walk in the tenth for the winning-at-the-time run. The look on Chase Utley's face at the dugout railing as he patted Coste on the back after he scored was worth a thousand words. Too bad it didn't hold up.
-- Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley (who hit a home run over what could come to be called Utley's Pole), Ryan Howard, and Chris Coste continued to get on base. Those four are the only consistent offense this team has had over the last few days.
-- Pat Burrell did not strand any runners (only because his only at-bat was as a pinch-hitter to lead off the ninth inning; he struck out by the way).
-- Most importantly: The Phillies never gave up. They had so many miscues in the field and so many squandered opportunities at the plate, but they hung in and got the win. They were truly Fightin Phils.
What went wrong...
-- Tom Gordon couldn't get anybody out in the ninth, walking in the tying run. In all he walked three batters and gave up a hit to the lead-off batter. Of the thirty-four pitches he threw, only fifteen were strikes.
-- Cole Hamels wasn't the Cole Hamels we have seen in his last dozen starts. He was by no means bad, but he wasn't dominating either, giving up 7 hits in just 6 innings pitched. Of course, he did have another excellent K/BB ration of 7 to 1. Unfortunately for Hamels, this was a start where the Phillies needed something close to a shut out.
-- In the last three games, the umpires seemingly have something against the Phillies. In the seventh inning of Monday's loss, the home plate umpire "squeezed" each and every one of the Phillies relief pitchers (which is saying a lot, since there were 17 of them). We don't need to go into Tuesday night again. And finally, tonight, Ryan Zimmerman -- Ryan freaking Zimmerman -- was called safe on what was ruled a throwing error by Jimmy Rollins that caused Ryan Howard to leave the bag. What the first base umpire missed was that Howard got back to the bag in time.
-- Where in the world has the infield defense gone? The Phils can't seem to field balls cleanly and then when they do, they throw the ball away. It's like Chuck Knoblauch in red pinstripes. I feel like Vince Lombardi in the grainy NFL films. "What the hell is goin' on out there?!" My best guess is that what was once a fun and loose Phillies clubhouse has become tighter than a violin string.
-- Ryan Howard was intentionally walked four times. Someone has got to start making opposing teams pay for doing so. Jeff Conine, the fifth hitter, was 0-7 on the night, stranding nine runners all by himself. If Charlie Manuel does not see fit to flip Howard and Utley in the order, perhaps he should move Chris Coste to the fifth slot. Unfortunately, after catching such a long game, Coste may be too tired to go again Thursday night.
Next up...
Thursday night, Jon Lieber will start for the Phillies, while Mike O'Connor, a left-hander, will go for the Nationals. At this point, saying "must-win" is decidedly redundant.
Go Phils.
