33 games in 31 days: Game #16: The Phils drop another game to the last place Astros, as they lose 5-2.
For the second straight night, the Phils lose to the last place Astros, 5-2.
The Astros took the lead in the first as, with a man on second, and with one man out, J.D. Martinez hits an RBI single, knocking in Clint Barmes, who had earlier doubled, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead. The Phils tied the game up at one-all in the fourth as, with one man out, Hunter Pence hits a solo home run, his twentieth home run of the year, and his ninth as a Phil. The Astros retook the lead in their half of the fourth as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Jason Bourgeois hits an RBI single, knocking in J.B. Shuck, who had earlier singled, then stole second base, before moving up to third on Ryan Howard’s fielder error of J.A. Happ’s grounder, thanks to Cole Hamels breaking off the mound late, thus making things a bit harder for Howard when he finally got the ball, giving the Astros a 2-1 lead, while Happ, who was safe at first on Howard’s error, would stop at second base. The Astros then made it a 5-1 lead as Barmes hits a three-run home run, his eleventh home run of the season, knocking in both Happ and Bourgeois. The Phils would get a run back in the ninth as, with one man out, Carlos Ruiz would hit a solo home run, his sixth home run of the season, making it a 5-2 Astros’ lead. But that would be the final score as David Carpenter would get out the next two batters to end the game.
Cole Hamels (14-8, 2.71) took the lost as he went only five innings, giving up five runs, four of which were earned, on nine hits and a walk, while striking out six. David Herndon and Michael Schwimer combined for three scoreless innings, giving up only two hits (Schwimer) between them. J.A. Happ (6-15, 5.59) got the win as he pitched six innings in which he stifled the bats of his old team, giving up only one run on four hits and four walks, while he struck out four. Francisco Rodriguez pitched two 1-2-3 innings, striking out four batters. David Carpenter pitched an inning, giving up a run on a hit, while striking out two.
The Phils had just five hits in the ballgame, a single by Jimmy Rollins, a solo home run by Hunter Pence, a double by John Mayberry, Jr., a single by Ben Francisco and a solo home run by Carlos Ruiz, as they were for the second straight night stifled by the slop thrown at them by a former teammate.
The Phils (94-51, 1st East) will conclude their series with the Astros (51-97, 6th Central) with an afternoon game, now in progress.
