Myers Shuts Down Nats

Brett Myers continued his re-emergence as a key member of the rotation by throwing a complete game shutout against the Nationals. Greg Dobbs supported him with a two run home run and the Phillies beat the Nationals 4-0. 

This has been an interesting year for Brett Myers. To be brief, he was supposed to be a key member of the rotation once the team acquired Brad Lidge, forming a 1-2 punch with Cole Hamels. He didn't, and eventually agreed to go to the minors. They've apparently fixed him up quite well, because since he's been back...

He's had an ERA of 1.94

He's lowered his overall ERA this season from 5.84 to 4.71

He's had progressively more strikeouts in each start - tonight he had 9

He's not allowed more than 2 walks in his last 5 starts 

He's not allowed more than 3 runs in any of his starts

He's only allowed more than 5 hits once: tonight. But throwing a complete game shutout makes up for that. 

When the Phillies walked away from the trade deadline with just Joe Blanton, it was unclear whether or not the Phillies would be able to make it over the hump. Blanton was a good acquisition since the team got a workhorse to stabilize the fifth slot in the rotation, but he wasn't the dominating pitcher the team needed to seriously have a shot if they could get to the playoffs. Getting Myers back in this rejuvenated form is exactly what the team needed. The rotation has been a strength for the team as of late: Cole Hamels is a definite ace, and his off-nights are never a concern given his composure; Myers has been stellar since returning from the minors; Blanton is a solid workhorse who will keep the team in the game while giving a lot of innings; Jamie Moyer has been fantastic of late, not allowing more than 3 runs in a start since June 1st and posting a sub-3.00 ERA in July/August. Kyle Kendrick has been the sore spot in the rotation, particularly in his last two starts in which he was unable to get out of the fourth inning, but Kendrick is a 23 year old prospect in his first full year as a big leaguer. As a fifth starter, he's been just fine, and the team has a couple of options should he continue to struggle. The team could see if Adam Eaton can have a Brett Myers-ish resurgence (unlikely) or call upon J.A. Happ who was great in the rotation earlier in the year. But at this rate, they shouldn't need either. Especially if Myers and Hamels do form that 1-2 punch everyone was hoping for in the beginning of the year. Tonight was proof that Myers could, despite the fact that this was against the Washington Nationals. It's still very exciting. 

Phils Keep Pace With Mets Against Nats

As much as things haven't been going the Phillies way lately, at least they're not the Nationals. With both teams struggling coming into the game, the Phillies fresh off a 2-5 road trip and the Nationals riding an eleven-game losing streak, one could argue this game would tell us what happens when a stoppable force meets a movable object. The answer? Not surprisingly, one gets nudged closer to the cellar. Tonight, the Nationals were their usual hapless selves and the Phillies were able to capitalize, edging Washington in a 5-4 win.

The Nationals jumped out to an early lead, off a solo shot from Willie Harris, but the Phillies would respond in the second as Greg Dobbs scored Ryan Howard on a fly ball to left center. This run was in no way guaranteed, as the ball was not hit especially deep. But Harris had to throw off his back foot and Howard made a head-first slide into home, just to be sure. Harris' throw was off the mark anyway, and the Phillies had tied the game.

Joe Blanton, coming off some impressive starts of late, ran into some trouble. He allowed three straight singles in the fourth inning, as the Nationals took a 2-1 lead. Then, in the fifth, Ryan Zimmerman hit an RBI triple and Ronnie Belliard slapped a single up the middle to score Zimmerman, putting Washington on top 4-1.

It was beginning to look like one of those games where the highly-talented Phillies offense inexplicably struggled against a mediocre pitcher (in this case, Jason Bergman). But the offense bounced back, helped in part by the sloppy Nationals defense. Shane Victorino led off the fifth inning with a triple would then score as Greg Dobbs reached on an error by Harris. Dobbs then stole second, then was advanced to third by Chris Coste's single. Geoff Jenkins came in to pinch hit, where he has fared poorly all season, but came through...more or less...with a sacrifice fly. That brought the Phillies within one run and brought up Jimmy Rollins with the tying run on base. Unfortunately, Rollins was unable to produce for the riled up Phillies fans, grounding into an inning-ending double play.

The Phillies offense struck again in the seventh. Pat Burrell singled, but would be out on a fielder's choice hit by Victorino. Victorino then advanced to third on a Dobbs single, spelling the end of the night for Bergman. Coste delivered once more, with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Victorino and tied the game.

That would be all for the seventh, and it appeared as if the game might be headed for extra innings. This was concerning, especially because "inning-eater" Joe Blanton had been pulled after five innings (though to be fair, he had only thrown 91 pitches and was pulled for a pinch hitter). Chad Durbin pitched two scoreless innings after coming in for Blanton and Ryan Madson pitched a perfect top of the eighth inning, in what seems to be his new role in the bullpen.

Rollins led off the bottom of the eighth, smashing a fly ball to deep right field, only to have it knocked down by the wind and into the glove of Austin Kearns. The crowd quieted as Jayson Werth stepped in, as Werth has not antagonized fans of late the way Rollins has. Werth changed that as he gave the fans something to cheer about, hitting a home run to left center and putting the Phillies ahead 5-4.

With a lead (any size lead) going into the ninth inning, the Phillies, their fans, and probably the Nationals, all knew that the game was, in effect, over. Brad Lidge entered and did not disappoint, striking out two of the three hitters he faced and recording his 31st save.

It didn't come easy, but the Phillies got an important win. They still remain 1.5 games behind the Mets, but should have a decent chance to close the gap, as they'll look to extend the Nationals' losing streak to thirteen. Brett Myers and Jamie Moyer will pitch the remaining games. Myers got on track in his last start against Washington, pitching seven innings and allowing no earned runs. Since then, he has pitched three straight quality starts.

After the Nationals, the Phillies take on the Dodgers, hoping to get some revenge after the Dodgers completed a four-game sweep of the Phillies in LA. Manny Ramirez has made the Dodgers a more formidable team and the recent acquisition of Greg Maddux (who Jamie Moyer recently defeated in a game against the Padres) will only help them. That, and the race with the Mets, makes these next two games against the Nationals, which are as close to cupcakes as the Phillies will get, essential.

We learned last season that the Phillies are capable of huge September comebacks, but it would be best for them not to tempt fate and get a head start on the comeback in late August.

Live Blogging Phillies on ESPN

Eight teams have won today by more than four runs, five of those teams scoring over ten runs. Hopefully the Phillies can pull off a similar feat against the Padres.

TOP 1st

8:18 - I'm starting a little late, but it's still the top of the first and the Phillies are up 1-0 on a Jayson Werth sac fly to score Jimmy Rollins. A good start for a struggling offense. Ryan Howard is on first with Pat Burrell at the plate.

8:20 - Pat Burrell does what he probably does best nowadays - walks.

8:23 - But...Victorino grounds out to second base, leaving Burrell and Howard stranded. At least they gave Cole Hamels a tad of breathing room.

BOTTOM 1st

8:29 - Cole Hamels gets a 1-2-3 inning. Another good start for Cole Hamels. Hopefully the offense and bullpen will help him out this time.

TOP 2nd

8:34 - The bottom of the Phillies lineup goes down in order. Sadly, Cole Hamels' batting average is down to .276. That's still higher than Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell.

BOTTOM 2nd

8:36 - Adrian Gonzalez gets the first hit for the Padres. Alas, Hamels' no hitter is gone. By the way, Adrian Gonzalez is also batting .276, but has 28 more home runs. Hamels has given up five fewer home runs than Gonzalez has hit.

8:41 - Hamels gets the next three batters out without any trouble. Take that, Adrian.

TOP 3rd

8:50 - Chase Utley is hit by a pitch. Cha Seung Baek hasn't been throwing balls in the strike zone, which will likely come back to hurt him the next time around the lineup. Pat Burrell could be taking quite a few strolls down to first base tonight.

8:52 - Ryan Howard hacks and misses a pitch to end the inning. That's 159 on the season. Only 40 more to break his own record.

BOTTOM 3rd

8:56 - Luke Carlin is up to bat, hitting a whopping .147. Looks like he could use some tips from King Cole. His battery mate, Cha-Cha Baek has a higher batting average, not that .167 is anything to boast about. He grounds out to shortstop, but his average goes up a point anyway.

8:58 - Just as I say that, Cha-Cha Baek singles to right, raising his own average to .211. Luke Carlin must feel depressed.

9:01 - Neither Scott Hairston nor Brian Giles are able to help out their pitcher. Brian Giles is wondering if he'd have been in this situation if he'd gone to the Red Sox. Actually, he definitely wouldn't since the pitcher wouldn't be hitting.

TOP 4th

9:05 - Pat Burrell has to run to first this time as he singles.

9:12 - No one is able to help Burrell out as Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs, and Carlos Ruiz all get out.

BOTTOM 4th

9:14 - Hamels has needed only 33 pitches thus far. At this rate, he could get a complete game in under 100 pitches.

9:15 - Victorino catches a long fly ball from Kevin Kouzmanoff at the wall. Hamels hits Adrian Gonzalez on the first pitch. He doesn't want to risk Gonzalez raising his batting average - those two have a stiff competition going.

9:17 - Hamels gets his first strikeout of the night by getting Chase Headley looking. Strange that it took him five innings to get it, but he hasn't thrown enough pitches to strike anyone else out.

TOP 5th

9:20 - Hamels grounds out. He looks particularly dejected as he turns away from Adrian Gonzalez: he knows he's falling behind. He can't compete with a camouflaged Adrian Gonzalez. By the way, I missed the explanation behind the camouflage uniforms and am still slightly confused by them.

9:24 - Werth gets a two out single to center. One would think that with Utley, Howard, and Burrell coming up, it would make a difference. Nowadays it's a total crapshoot.

9:26 - Cha-Cha Baek's avoidance of the strike zone results in a passed ball. Jayson Werth only gets to second thanks to a quick reaction by Luke Carlin. Carlin still can't believe he's batting lower than a guy who can barely even find the strike zone when he pitches.

9:29 - Chase Utley strikes out swinging. He's batting .228 in August. Not exactly MVP numbers.

BOTTOM 5th

9:36 - Luke Carlin grounds out, but doesn't feel too bad about it as Cha-Cha Baek grounds out to end the inning. By the way, Hamels has thrown fewer total pitches than Baek has thrown balls (54-57 respectively). Hamels has thrown only 11 balls.

TOP 6th

9:42 - Ryan Howard strikes out swinging at, surprise surprise, a low changeup. It's amazing that the Phillies hitters continue to be surprised by Baek throwing outside the strike zone. But Pat Burrell shows why Cha-Cha Baek doesn't throw into the strike zone by hitting his second home run of the series, his 29th on the year. 2-0 Phillies. Pat caught on to Cha-Cha's shenanigans quickly.

9:47 - Greg Dobbs gives Cha-Cha Baek his fifth strikeout of the night by swinging at another low pitch. Everyone else in the lineup is jealous of Pat Burrell's eagle eye or clairvoyance, they're not sure which one he has. By the way, Cole Hamels ended the 6th with 54 pitches thrown. Cha-Cha Baek ended the 6th with 105.

BOTTOM 6th

9:51 - It looks like Cha-Cha's night is nearly over as Mike Adams starts to warm up in the bullpen. Didn't Mike Adams use to be good once upon a time? I seem to recall him being good with the Brewers at one point. *Looking up his stats* Yes, Mike Adams had two good years with the Brewers in 2004 and 2005. The Brewers then gave up on him after two poor outings in 2006. He's now resurfaced with the Padres and been quite good.

9:55 - Adrian Gonzalez comes to bat with his .276 average intact and a batter on first. He hits a line drive that is nearly snagged by Utley, but results in moving Kouzmanoff to second and getting himself to first.

9:56 - Chase Headley hits a single over Rollins head while breaking his *cough probably maple cough* bat. Kevin Kouzmanoff scores, cutting the Phillies' lead in half. Still 2-1 Phillies.

9:58 - Hamels gets out of the jam by getting Edgar Gonzalez to ground out to short to end the inning. Beyond Chase Headley, the Padres don't have a very intimidating lineup.

TOP 7th

10:02 - Mike Adams has indeed come into the game to relieve Cha-Cha Baek. Cole Hamels gets a bloop single to left. One can see the gleam is his eye as he approaches Adrian Gonzalez at first, knowing that he's just boosted his average up to .283. Adrian has some catching up to do.

10:05 - Luke Carlin passes another ball and Cole Hamels advances to second. That's his third on the night. Apparently his camouflage is working so well that even the pitchers can't find him.

10:08 - Adams strikes out Jayson Werth looking to end the inning. Werth was probably surprised to see a pitch within the strike zone.

BOTTOM 7th

10:14 - Luke Carlin and pinch hitter Jody Gerut get back to back singles. The go-ahead run is now on first with one out and the top of the lineup coming up. Carlin feels particularly good about himself as he just upped his batting average by ten points.

10:16 - The Phillies get out of the jam by fielding a double play. Hamels seemed to know he could count on Rollins and Utley getting that done. Despite the two hits, Hamels needed less than 10 pitches to get through that inning. He now has 81 on the night, 61 of which have been strikes.

TOP 8th

10:19 - Lefty Wilfredo Ledezma comes in to relieve Mike Adams with Utley and Howard coming up, and Scott Hairston is banished to the bench after hitting that double play and is replaced by Jody Gerut. Actually, that has more to do with the fact that Hairston just batted. Ledezma starts off the inning by walking Chase Utley.

10:22 - Howard strikes out for the third time tonight and Brian Falkenborg is brought in to face Pat Burrell. Ledezma exits the game after completing half his job.

10:26 - Falkenborg gets Pat Burrell to ground into a double play to end the inning.

BOTTOM 8th

10:29 - The Phillies outfield is realigned with Jayson Werth shifting to left and Geoff Jenkins coming in to play right. Once again, hitting into a double play leads to banishment to the bench. Baseball is a ruthless world, no room for mistakes... Ryan Howard's strikeouts not withstanding.

10:30 - Hamels starts off the inning by striking out Giles. Only his third on the night. Kouzmanoff grounds out and now it's the classic matchup of Hamels vs. Adrian Gonzalez.

10:34 - Adrian Gonzalez flies out to end the inning. The Phillies have J.C. Romero loosening up, but they probably won't use him. More likely Brad Lidge will start warming up or they might even let Hamels finish it. Meanwhile, Trevor Hoffman is warming up for the Padres.

TOP 9th

10:39 - Hamels is done for the night as Lidge has started to warm up in the bullpen. Meanwhile, Falkenborg strikes out Greg Dobbs. Dobbs is now 0-4 on the night with 2 strikeouts. Getting Pedro Feliz back will be a huge sigh of relief for this team.

10:43 - Carlos Ruiz gets his first hit of the night. I'm not sure why I say that as if he was expected to regularly get hits.

10:44 - Pinch hitter Eric Bruntlett ends the inning by hitting a ball which Kevin Kouzmanoff gets with a jump and stretch and throws to second for the force out. Brad Lidge will have to make do with a one run lead.

BOTTOM 9th

10:49 - Lidge starts off the ninth nicely by striking out Chase Headley. Meanwhile, Charlie Manuel looks like he's falling asleep.

10:51 - Lidge strikes out Edgar Gonzalez on a close call. According to first base umpire James Hoye, Gonzalez couldn't quite check his bat.

10:53 - Lidge walks Brian Myrow and Sean Kazmar is in to pinch run. No Phillies victory is ever easy...

10:55 - Luke Carlin strikes out to end the inning and the game. He's not going to hear the end of this from Cha-Cha Baek.

So Cole Hamels finally gets a win after another fantastic start and the Phillies are able to keep from falling further behind the Mets as they take two of three from the Padres.

Burrell's Blast is Enough to Snap Phils' Skid

The first six-and-a-half innings of tonight's game featured a pitcher's duel for the ages (well, old ages) between Greg Maddux and Jamie Moyer. The offenses hardly threatened against the starters and headed into the bottom of the seventh tied 0-0, but Maddux would make one mistake. Maddux left a fat pitch over the plate and Pat Burrell capitalized, launching a solo home run out of Petco Park that gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead.

All that remained for the Phillies was getting through the eighth inning, a feat that has been easier said than done in the last few games. The Phillies (well, namely Chad Durbin) blew two leads against the Dodgers before they could get the ball into the hands of still-perfect closer Brad Lidge.

Not surprisingly, Charlie Manuel went to Ryan Madson tonight, in lieu of Durbin, to try to get the ball to Lidge. Madson retired the first two batters but then gave up a single to Scott Hairston. Manuel then turned to J.C. Romero to handle left-handed Brian Giles. Giles hit the ball hard off Romero, but to no effect, as he grounded it right into the glove of Ryan Howard, who quickly stepped on first for the final out.

With Lidge coming in to pitch the ninth, the game might have seemed to be over for all intents and purposes, but Lidge had not pitched since a week ago, when he struggled to get one out in a game against the Pirates. If he was at all rusty, he hid it well. Lidge got Kevin Kouzmanoff to line out to center, then struck out Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Headley to finish off a 1-0 win and snap a four game losing streak.

The Phillies offense was once again, strangely absent, but Moyer, in the midst of his best season since 2003 (when he was a spry 40 year-old) delivered another outstanding start, earning his team-high eleventh win. Madson's performance was also encouraging, as Durbin clearly needed a break.

This is a crucial series for the Phillies, who badly need to get back on track after being swept in a four game series and falling a game out of first place in the process. Tonight's win allowed the Phillies to keep pace with the Mets and perhaps they can gain some ground while facing the lowly Padres. The pitching match-ups in the next two games are in their favor. Let's see if the Phillies can come through.

Phillies Begin Series on Lowe Point

Not long after the trade deadline, the Phillies are, as rumor predicted, playing on the same field as Manny Ramirez. The eccentric left fielder went two for team, but playing for the opposing team -- the Phillies' traditional rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers. A matchup between these two teams has often meant that strange things were bound to happen, but nothing of that kind can really be said to have happened last night -- unless you want to count an uncharacteristically bad outing from starter Kyle Kendrick.

It was a bases-loaded double off Ramirez's bat that started the scoring off of Kendrick, in a disastrous third inning that gave Los Angeles a 6-0 lead -- damage from which the Phillies would never be able to recover. After the inning, capped off by a two-run home run by Jason Loney, finally came to an end, the Phillies were able to recover a single run in the fourth with hits from the hot Shane Victorino and Chase Utley. However, when Kendrick gave up another run to a Jeff Kent single in the bottom of the inning it was clear that he simply did not have his control. Charlie Manuel finally intervened and brough in relatively recent call-up Les Walrond to be the long-man.

Walrond kept the Dodgers from adding on and Derek Lowe held any Phillie retaliation in check until the sixth, when Jimmy Rollins singled and was moved around to score. The scored two more in a seventh-inning rally which culminated with yet another Jimmy Rollins triple. When the Dodgers added another in the eighth it was practically over. Utley singled in the clutch to bring in two runs and make it 8-6, but Ryan Howard grounded out to end the game and prevent a possible two-out rally.

After all the speculation about the fate of Manny Ramirez it is easy to point to his presence on the LA roster as the reason the Phillies dropped this game, but the real reason is just one of those unavoiadble parts of baseball: a usually-reliable pitcher happened to have a bad start. Ideally that will be likely with Cole Hamels on the mound tonight.

Utley Homers Late to Clinch Series

Chase Utley was given a chance to break the game open in the fifth inning. He came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out, with the Phillies ahead of the Pirates 2-1. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was over. Utley grounded the first pitch to short for what became a 6-4-3 double play. The play summed up the Phillies offense of late.

When Utley came to bat in the seventh, in what had become a tie game, he delivered the big hit the Phillies needed. Utley launched a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall, putting the Phillies on top 5-3 and helping to secure a much-needed series win.

Jamie Moyer produced yet another quality start, but that wasn't what he'll be remembered for in this game. In the bottom of the third inning, Moyer stepped into the batter's box for what should have been a routine play. Carlos Ruiz was on first base and Moyer, predictably, intended to lay down a sacrifice bunt.

Moyer did his part, but Pirates pitcher Jason Davis neglected his, making an errant throw to first. Moyer rounded first and headed for second, but an unexpected obstacle stood in his way. That obstacle's name was Randy Marsh, the first base umpire, who was as surprised by Davis' throw as anyone, and Moyer bowled him over before advancing to second base.

That was already more running than usual for the 45 year-old Moyer, but he wasn't done yet. Jason Michaels picked up the ball and fired to second, but his throw was also off the mark. That allowed Ruiz to score and Moyer to take third, where he could finally rest. Well...not for too long. Two pitches later, Jimmy Rollins hit a fly ball to center and Moyer tagged up and scored, giving the Phillies the lead and allowing Moyer to get a much-needed breather.

The 2-1 score held until the sixth inning, when Michaels redeemed himself by hitting a two-out, two-run double to left that put the Pirates in front by a run. After a walk to Brandon Moss, Moyer struck out Doug Mientkiewicz for his final out of the day. He had given the Phillies a quality start, with six innings and three earned runs, not to mention his baserunning antics, but he stood to get saddled with the loss.

Clay Condrey came in to pitch for him in the seventh and put two on with two outs. With the Pirates threatening to add to their lead and a left-handed pinch hitter coming up, Charlie Manuel turned to newly-acquired Scott Eyre. Eyre delivered in his Phillies debut, getting Andy LaRoche to pop out.

The Phillies offense, perhaps inspired by the performance of their newest teammate, responded in the bottom of the seventh. Ruiz doubled to start the inning and Greg Dobbs, in his familiar pinch hitting role, came through once more, hitting an RBI double down the left field line to tie the game. Dobbs would then advance to third on a wild pitch to Rollins, but neither Rollins nor Shane Victorino could drive him in. That brought up Utley, who had failed to deliver in the clutch earlier. However, he redeemed himself in this at-bat, with a two-run homer that put the Phillies ahead for good.

The game's outcome was still very much in question, however, as the Phillies were shorthanded in the bullpen. Both Brad Lidge and Chad Durbin were unavailable. But the Phillies were able to make do, nonetheless. J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson each pitched a perfect inning and Madson's ninth inning earned him his first save of the year.

The Phillies won by the final score of 6-3 and now head to Los Angeles for a four-game series against the Dodgers, who have lost four of their last six, despite the trade for Manny Ramirez. That's not to say Manny has struggled, as he has hit over .450 since his trade from Boston, but the offense has still been inconsistent and the Dodgers sit one game under .500 (though only 1 1/2 games back in the NL West). It's certainly a winnable series, but playing on the road is never easy.

Phillies Shut Out...Again

A legion of Phillies greats gathered before tonight's game against the Pirates to honor Juan Samuel as the newest member of the Phillies Wall of Fame. As nice as the ceremony was, it would have been good if the current Phillies could have given the legends a better game.

One day after they were shut out by the Marlins, the Phillies brought out the same anemic offense against Pittsburgh. Paul Maholm pitched brilliantly, holding the Phillies scoreless over seven innings, while striking out a career-high ten batters.

However, Joe Blanton matched him and was, in fact, slightly better. Blanton threw seven shutout innings of his own and allowed just one hit in the process. However, it was a wasted effort as the Phillies couldn't provide him with any run support. Now he knows how Cole Hamels feels.

Maholm pitched extremely well, but it's not as if the Phillies couldn't get any hits off him. They just couldn't string them together. The Phillies had one hit in each of the first five innings. Put two or three of those hits in a single inning and the Phillies have the lead, but scattered across five innings, the hits were useless.

Both teams turned to their bullpens in the eighth inning. Chad Durbin pitched a perfect eighth but the bottom of the eighth would prove more interesting. Shane Victorino singled to lead off the inning, but the left-handed Sean Burnett retired Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Pirates manager John Russell turned to right-handed Denny Bautista to pitch to Pat Burrell, and he almost paid for it. Burrell hammered a 3-2 pitch to deep left field and off the bat it looked like a home run. But the wind knocked it down and it fell harmlessly into the glove of Brandon Moss, ending the inning.

Both teams went down relatively quietly in the ninth inning, but in the tenth it was the Pirates' turn to threaten. J.C. Romero recorded the first two outs and with the right-handed Steve Pearce due up, Charlie Manuel turned to Brad Lidge to get the third out. This wasn't in any way a bad decision, but it sure began to look like one. Pearce tried to check his swing on a 3-2 pitch, but instead got a lot of bat on it and the ball skipped up the middle for a bizarre base hit. After that, Lidge seemed to unravel. He struggled to throw his slider for strikes and walked the next two batters. The Phillies crowd was on edge as former Phillie Jason Michaels stepped in with the bases loaded. Fortunately Michaels came through for his old team, popping a foul ball behind home plate that was secured by Carlos Ruiz for the third out.

Ruiz struck again in the bottom of the inning, as he led off with a walk against T.J. Beam. Jimmy Rollins sacrificed Ruiz to second (a questionable decision). Victorino was unable to deliver the game-winning hit, but his grounder to first at least advanced Ruiz to third base. With Utley and Howard coming up and no lefties remaining in the bullpen, Russell opted to order intentional walks to both Phillies sluggers, bringing up Burrell with the bases loaded. This was the type of situation where Burrell has excelled this season and he had nearly given the Phillies the lead just a few innings ago, off a right-handed pitcher, no less. But this was not the Phillies' night. Burrell popped out on a 2-2 pitch and slammed his bat to the ground in frustration as the Phillies blew another opportunity.

Manuel turned to newcomer Les Walrond in the eleventh in order to match up with the Pirates left-handed bats. This worked out well enough for one inning. Freddy Sanchez led off with a single, then Walrond retired the next three batters. In the bottom of the inning, the Phillies seemed to suffer from a hangover from the tenth, going down in order.

The twelfth inning, not surprisingly, was not so kind to Walrond. Ryan Doumit led off with a double in the left-center field gap and Brandon Moss advanced him to third with a ground-out. That brought up Pearce with one out. Pearce made a full swing this time and ripped a ball down the third base line that evaded the diving Eric Bruntlett and scored Doumit. Pearce would trot into second for a double and the Pirates led 1-0. Walrond intentionally walked Jose Bautista before Manuel pulled him in favor of Clay Condrey. Condrey struck out Luis Rivas, but pinch hitter Jack Wilson reached on an infield single to short. Freddy Sanchez then recorded his own infield single, scoring Pearce and doubling the Pirates lead. Finally Doug Mientkiewicz grounded out to third and the Phillies came to bat trailing 2-0.

The Pirates went to recently-acquired Craig Hansen to close out the game, and it almost came back to haunt them. Ruiz grounded out to start the inning, but Rollins and Victorino each walked, putting the tying run on base for Utley. Utley fouled off five straight pitches before hitting a ball hard to left-center. The runners took off, as it looked like a base hit, but Brandon Moss thought otherwise. Moss made a diving catch and fired back to second, attempting to double off Rollins. Rollins made it back safely, but Victorino was slower to react to the catch and Freddy Sanchez turned and fired to first, getting Victorino and ending the game with a rare 7-4-3 double play.

With the 2-0 loss, the Phillies have now gone 23 straight innings without scoring. This is the longest scoreless streak since 2000, when they went 24 straight against the Dodgers. That Phillies team won 65 games and finished last in the NL East. Despite their recent struggles, the Phillies still hold a one-game lead on the Mets, who beat the Marlins earlier tonight. Lately, the Phillies have responded when the division lead is in peril, doing just enough to stay ahead. I hate to say it, but that reminds me an awful lot of the 2007 Mets.