Game 134 - Thursday Night, September 2nd in Denver
To quote Ron Burgundy, "Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast."
The Phillies played sloppy baseball in Denver for the first 6 innings of this game before turning it on in the 7th and scoring 9, yes 9, runs. In their monster inning, 3 Phillies hit home runs: Ryan Howard hit a 2-run homer to right (his 25th), Jayson Werth followed that with a solo shot to left (his 19th) and Chase Utley capped off the inning with a grand slam (his 12th home run). While all this was going on, the Mets finally managed to defeat the Braves, meaning this win pulled the Phils to within 2 of the top spot in the NL East.
Phillies' starter Joe Blanton didn't make it out of the 5th inning, surrendering 6 runs (4 earned) on 10 hits. The 2 unearned runs came in the 2nd, when Utley botched a double play ball and the next batter (Chris Iannetta) greeted Blanton with a 3-run home run.
After the Phils had secured a 12-7 lead, the bullpen (I'm looking at you, Antonio Bastardo and Chad Durbin) did their best to keep the game interesting. Brad Lidge entered the game with a 12-10 lead in the 9th. Howard's error to open the inning allowed Dexter Fowler to reach safely, and he eventually came around to score the Rockies' 10th run. However, with the winning run on 1st, and 1 out, Lidge struck out Clint Barmes and induced a grounder to third by Ryan Spilborghs to end the threat. 20 hits just weren't enough for the Rockies.
The win capped a successful 6-1 road trip by the Phils, who return home tonight to face off against the Brew Crew. (Unless Hurricane Earl objects.)
It felt pretty intense while watching it. I think I get joy when the Phillies beat the Rockies for some reason. Carlos Gonzalez is good, yeah?
ReplyDeleteHe's very good, and he should definitely get some consideration for NL MVP honors. But check out his home/road splits when you have a chance. It's amazing how much better he is at Coors.
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