Game 101 - Monday Afternoon, July 25th in Philadelphia
One Sentence Summary: A steal of home was the difference in this game, as Cliff Lee and the Phillies fell to the Padres, 5-4.
What It Means: The loss broke the Phillies five-game win streak and dropped them to 64-37. If the Pirates can beat the Braves tonight, the lead in the East will remain at six games.
What Went Wrong: With Chris Denorfia on third base and a runner on first with two outs in the second, Lee (9-7) softly tossed a pick-off throw over to first. Denorfia broke for home and scored what turned out to be a key run in the Padres victory. Lee looked iffy from the start and he only made it through four innings after allowing all five runs on ten hits and a walk.
The Phils battled back, and the bullpen kept the team in the game, but the five-run deficit was too much to overcome. It should be noted that Padres relievers Mike Adams and Heath Bell shut down the Phillies in the eighth and ninth, respectively. Both pitchers have been rumored to be targeted by the Phillies as the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline approaches.
Featured Card: Brad Lidge pitched a scoreless seventh inning in his first action of 2011. Lidge was activated from the disabled list this week after missing the first half of the season with elbow problems. He received a nice standing ovation from the crowd when he jogged back to the dugout following his season debut. It's unlikely Lidge will be back next year, as the team holds an option on his 2012 contract. Still, Lidge could be a huge asset in the bullpen if he's able to regain just a little bit of the form that made him perfect in 2008.
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