Farewell, 2015 Phillies Season!

Phillies 7, Marlins 2
Game 162 - Sunday Afternoon, October 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 63-99, 5th Place, 27 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Altherr paced the offense and David Buchanan ended on a pitching high note as the Phillies closed out this awful season with a 7-2 win over the Marlins.

What It Means:  The Phils avoided 100 losses, but the 99 losses were still the most in a season since 1969.  Pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater in a little over four months.

What Happened:  Altherr's three-run triple in the seventh broke the game open.  He also had an RBI-double in the fifth, which could have easily been ruled an E4 by the gracious official score keeper.  Andres Blanco capped off his career year with an RBI-double int he fourth to start the scoring.

Buchanan pitched 6 2/3 solid innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out seven.  He also had seven strikeouts.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  Doug and I got washed out on Friday night, so we exchanged those tickets to tickets to this game.  I finished the 2015 season with an impressive 9-6 record in Phillies games I attended.  Some of the highlights from this game for us:

• Doug got a retro bobble head at the gate and we both received our 2016 Phillies schedule magnets.
• Walking past the Ashburn Alley entrance, I noticed Phillies pitcher Colton Murray hanging out pretty much by himself.  He was kind enough to pose for a picture with Doug.
• A few feet away from Murray, Doug spotted Phillies pitcher Adam Morgan and Morgan signed Doug's baseball and also posed for a picture.  (We missed our chance to get Murray to sign the ball.)
• At the entrance to the Hall of Fame Club, Phillies braodcasters Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen were chatting with fans entering the ballpark.  They both signed Doug's ball, which was the same ball Franzke had dropped to Doug in August.
• Carlos Ruiz was honored before the game for having caught four Phillies no-hitters.  Former manager Charlie Manuel was on hand to present Ruiz with an awesome looking painting commemorating his feat.
• A dead hawk had to be removed from the left field foul area in the middle of the game, temporarily delaying the game.  Can't say I've ever seen that before.
• Future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki pitched (!) the eighth inning for the Marlins.  He allowed doubles to Odubel Herrera and Darnell Sweeney but escaped having allowed just a run.

Ken Giles faces the final batter of the 2015 season

Memory Lane - Game 162
For the seventh season in a row, I posted on the daily highs and lows of the Phillies and (God willing) I'll be back for an eighth season in 2016.

I'll keep doing this as long as I'm able and as long as it continues to be fun for me.  It's your comments, your e-mails and your participation that make this even more enjoyable for me.  As always, thank you for reading!

October 4, 2009 - Catcher Paul Hoover singled in the winning run in the 10th in a 7-6 win over the Marlins.
October 3, 2010 - The Phillies lost 8-7 to the Braves in their final tune-up before facing the Reds in the N.L.D.S.
September 28, 2011 - The Phillies closed out the 2011 regular season with a 13-inning victory against the Braves, setting a franchise record with their 102nd regular season win.
October 3, 2012 - The Phillies closed out their 2012 season with a lethargic 5-1 loss to the N.L. East Champion Nationals.
September 29, 2013 - Zach Miner got the ball for the Phillies and lasted 2 1/3 innings in a 12-5 loss to the Braves.
September 28, 2014 - Cole Hamels pitched another fine game and suffered through another outing with minimal run support.