Wednesday, July 20, 2011

2006 Ultra Rising Stars #URS5 Chase Utley

Phillies 4, Cubs 2
Game 96 - Tuesday Night, July 19th in Chicago

One Sentence Summary:  The Phils came to life in the eighth, scoring four unanswered runs to come from behind and win, 4-2.

What It Means:  With the victory, the Phils improved to 60-36, becoming the first team to the 60-win mark.

What Went Right:  Not much went right for the first seven innings as Cubs starter Matt Garza limited the Phillies to just three hits.  But two clutch, two-run doubles against the Cubs bullpen - Chase Utley's in the eighth and Michael Martinez' in the ninth - gave the team all the offense they'd need to defeat the Cubs.  Martinez, who has been earning increased playing time, raised his July average to .314 (11 for 35) with the double and he now has 11 RBIs in the month.

Cliff Lee received a no-decision, despite his six strong innings of two-run, eight-hit pitching.  Antonio Bastardo struck out the side in the ninth to record his 7th save.

Featured Card:  Utley has been struggling lately, so it was nice to see him come through in the clutch in this game.  I had my 2006 Phillies binder out looking for a card for my summary post for Game 97, and I came across this Utley insert card from the 2006 Ultra set.  Continuing the theme started yesterday with the Smoke 'N Heat card, I thought I'd post another recent Fleer insert card.

Transaction:  Shane Victorino went 0 for 4 in his return from the disabled list.  Pete Orr was optioned back down to Triple-A to clear a roster spot.

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