The Phils' offense finally gives some run support to its ace as it crush the Blue Jays on the road...at home, 9-0.
The Phils' offense crush the Blue Jays, as they finally score some runs for their ace, Roy Halladay, as they defeat the Blue Jays on the road...at home, 9-0.
The Phils took the lead in the second as, with runners on the corners, and with two men out, Ross Gload hits an RBI single, scoring Jayson Werth, who had earlier tripled, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while sending Shane Victorino, who had earlier walked, up to second base. The Phils added to their lead in the fourth as, with runners on first and third, and with one man out, Victorino hits into an RBI ground out, 4-3, scoring Werth, who had earlier singled and had gone to third on Raul Ibanez's single, making it 2-0 Phils, while sending Ibanez, who had just singled, up to second base. The Phils then broke the game wide open in the fifth. With the bases loaded via a Brian Schneider single, a walk to Jimmy Rollins, moving Schneider up to second and a Placido Polanco infield single, moving both Schneider and Rollins up a base, and with noone out, Utley hits a two-run single, knocking in both Schneider and Rollins, giving the Phils' a 4-0 lead, while moving Polanco up to second. One batter later, with two men on and with still nobody out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, scoring Polanco, giving the Phils a 5-0 lead, while sending Utley to third. Four batters later, with the bases once again loaded, as Werth was walked, moving Howard up to second, and now with two men out, Gload hits a three-run double off of the heel of the Vernon Wells' glove, knocking in Utley, Howard and Werth, making it an 8-0 lead. The Phils made it 9-0 in the eighth as Victorino hits a lead-off home run, his twelfth home run of the year. That would be the final score as Jose Contreras and David Herndon together pitched two scoreless innings.
Roy Halladay got the win as he pitched seven strong innings, giving up just six hits and a walk, while striking out four. His record is now 9-6 with an ERA of 2.29. Jose Contreras and David Herndon combine for two scoreless innings, giving up just a hit (Contreras) between them. Jesse Litsch took the lost as he pitches only four innings, plus four batters, giving up six runs on seven hits and four walks. His record is now 0-2 with a 8.78 ERA. David Purcey pitches an inning, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk. Casey Janssen pitches two scoreless inning, giving up on no hits, while striking out a batter. Brian Tallet pitches two innings, giving up a run on two hits and two walks, while striking out two.
The Phils had eleven hits in the game, with Ross Gload leading the way as he had three hits, two singles and a double, as he knocks in four runs. He was followed by Jayson Werth, who had two hits, a single and a triple. Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino and Brian Schneider had the other six Phil's hits, with Polanco, Utley, Howard, Ibanez and Schneider's hits being singles, with Utley knocking in two runs, and Howard one run, while Victorino's hit was a solo home run, as he knocked in two runs. It would appear that the bats are alive again. Hopefully they'll stay alive up to the All-Star break.
The Phils (39-32, 3rd NL East) continue their last interleague series with an afternoon game against the Blue Jays (39-35, 4th AL East). The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 4:05 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound their no. 2 starter Cole Hamels (6-5, 3.75) who is coming off a no-decision against the Twins on June 20, as he pitched seven strong innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out seven, in the Phils' 13-10 lost. Hamels hopes to get his seventh win of the year, while hoping that he can lead the club into a winning year in interleague play. The Blue Jays will counter with Shaun Marcus (6-3, 3.24), who is coming off a no-decision against the Giants as he pitches five innings, giving up a two runs, one of which was earned, on five hits and five walks, as he strikes out eight in the Blue Jays' 9-6 lost. He will be trying to avoid becoming the latest victim to the Phils once again potent offense. The Phils will be trying to increase their present winning streak to five games, while making up ground on either the Mets or the Braves or both.
