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Pitching Duel Gives Way to Sloppy 10th

Scorecard

Bret Myers was absolutely on his game as he battled with Braves lefty Mike Hampton in a classic pitching duel. At the end of the standard nine, all was tied at nil, so the extra frame was needed. Madson came on in relief and was shakey, giving up one run. In the bottom of the tenth, the Phils battled back, loading the bases with the help of a throwing error from the Braves closer. Placido Polanco came through with a scorcher down the left field line to bring home the winning run.

ESPN broadcast a wonderful pitchers duel that was very welcomed by this phan. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan babbled throughout the game, often neglecting to call the game as is their charge. Time and time again players and pitches were not announced. The double switch the Phillies did in the tenth was never mentioned. Had it been a paper scorecard, it would have been ruined.

The Pros
It is good to see Bret Myers get off to a strong start. He seems to be negatively affected when things go poorly, so shutting down the Braves 1-2-3 on 11 pitches to start is encouraging. Myers follwed with a 10-pitch second inning. Myers’ curve seems to be snapping. This is good news! Myers tossed a wonderful game. This makes the third consecutive start this season where he has been on his game. In a middle of the game interview (yuck), manager Charlie Manuel praised new pitching coach Rich Dubee for slowing down Myers’ arm and working on the cutter. The results have been good thus far.

The much-maligned fielding of Bobby Abreu (often from these very pages) were stifled tonight on Mike Hampton’s double. Abreu hustled after the play as Jason Michaels mis-played the ball. Abreu was right there, hit the cut-off man, who in turn threw a strike to Lieby. Kudos to Abreu!

The scrappiness of the Phillies team to battle back in the tenth to first tie, then win the game is desrving of recognition tonight. There were few hits and scoring opportunities tonight. But even after surrendering the lead, the Phils found a way to put the win in the book. It is this kind of win which can spark a team.

The Cons
Burrell swung at a 3-0 pitch. While he has been hot, this is not a trend I would like to see continue.

Batters did not taking enough pitches. Obviously, the game plan was to swing early in the count against Hampton, but patience would drive up his pitch count.

Yesterday Manue took out Lieber after 75 pitches when he had handled the Braves. If a pitcher cannot expect to pitch the ninth under those circumstances, it was no surprise to see Myers pulled after eight tonight. We won both games, but Wagner was sharp in neither outing. I would like to see our starters complete games when they have been dominate and have low pitch counts. Manuel feels differently. I hope this doesn’t come back to bite us.

Wagner didn’t keep Giles close at second. Giles stole third easily. This is the third consecutive outing for the closer. He will be off limits tomorrow. Was using him on Friday, just to get him work, the correct move?

Madson was not sharp. Our bullpen has been suspect. If Madson isn’t going to be on his game, perhaps starting at Scranton would be a better place for him. Not yet, but I am concerned about his control early in the campaign.

Wheels
The one plus tonight is that Wheels was not part of the ESPN telecast. Thank you.