Tuesday, September 20, 2011

2011 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #1 Ryne Sandberg MG

Cardinals 4, Phillies 3
Game 152 - Monday Night, September 19th in Philadelphia

One Sentence Summary:  The post-clinch hangover continued as the Phillies dropped another one, 4-3.

What It Means:  The Phils are 98-54.  With the Brewers losing in Chicago, the Phillies clinched the best record in the National League, giving them home field advantage throughout the N.L.D.S. and N.L.C.S.

What Went Wrong:  Roy Halladay (18-6) was off from the get-go.  He allowed two first inning runs, but he battled through his eight innings to right the ship.  He finished having allowed four runs on six hits while striking out six and walking four (two intentionally).

The offense has been dormant, but it showed some signs of life last night.  Carlos Ruiz, Hunter Pence and Ross Gload all enjoyed multi-hit nights.

As Todd Zolecki points out in his game recap, the Phils have averaged just 2.5 runs in their last 11 games, and they're hitting just .223 in those games.

Featured Card:  There's an extra coach on the Phillies bench these days.  Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg has  joined the team after his Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs lost in the International League Championship Series (the Governors' Cup) last week.  In his first year as manager of the 'Pigs, Sandberg led the squad to their first winning season and the rumblings are that he's being groomed to take over for Charlie Manuel, once Manuel's contract expires after the 2013 season.  (This is assuming Sandberg isn't scooped up by another big league club prior to that.)

This marks the first time Sandberg has been in a Phillies uniform during regular season play since October 3, 1981.

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