The Phillies are one win away from reaching the National League Championship Series for the fourth straight season. Falling short last year to the Giants was heartbreaking, sickening, and just an overall fluke. The Phillies hold a 2-1 lead in the NLDS against the Cardinals headed into tonight. Taking Game 3 in St. Louis seemed like it took an eternity, barely squeezing by, Ben Francisco powered the Phils through it. His three-run home run gave the Phillies the 3-0 lead, a lead that would become a one-run lead. The Phillies won Game 3, 3-2, inching closer to the NLCS.
Tonight, Roy Oswalt (9-10, 3.69 ERA) will take the hill in Game 4, looking to help advance the Phillies further into the postseason. Oswalt, who missed 9 scheduled starts due to a back injury, showed Charlie Manuel that he is healthy and ready for the postseason. In his last three starts, Oswalt is 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA. Oswalt handled the Cardinals on September 17th, the day the Phillies clinched the NL East title. That win was the last win for the Phillies before embarking on an eight-game losing streak. In that start, Oswalt held the Cardinals to 5 hits through 7 scoreless innings, adding 7 strike outs to the mix.
Oswalt wasn’t as bright in his next start, losing to the Nationals after giving up 6 earned runs over 7 2/3 innings. In Little Roy’s last start of the season, he was phenomenal. He allowed just 3 hits and 1 walk over 6 scoreless innings against the Braves in the Phillies’ 7-1 victoriy. It was their 101st win. Little Roy has been in a couple of milestone games in his past two wins. Throwing a gem to clinch the NL East as well as tossing another great game to tie the franchise record in wins. Tonight, Little Roy can push the Phillies to their fourth consecutive NLCS berth. In his last postseason start against the Cards, he knocked them out of the playoffs. He tossed a gem in Game 5 of the NLCS to take the Astros to the World Series. Oswalt is certainly no stranger to the Cards, in nearly 200 innings pitched against, he has a 10-9 record with a 3.19 ERA, also tallying 146 strikeouts.
Opposing the Phillies will be righty Edwin Jackson (12-9, 3.79 ERA). Jackson, who was acquired in late July, has been as good as promised, but as of late, he not been as great. In his last three starts, he has a 0-0 record and a 4.85 ERA. Jackson has never made a postseason start, although he has appeared in the postseason before. In the 2008 World Series, he pitched against the Phillies, allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits in 4 1/3 innings.
As for the Cardinals, it’s up to them to pull the Phillies back down for a Game 5. If not, then the NLDS-labeled champagne will flow in the St. Louis visiting clubhouse.
First Pitch @ 6:00 PM ET!
Tonight’s Lineup: 1. J Roll SS2. Chutts 2B
3. Pence RF
4. Rhyno 1B
5. Victorino CF
6. Rauuuul LF
7. Polly 3B
8. Chooch C
9. Little Roy P.Let’s Go Phillies!
SW- Erik Seybold
Tags: Cardinals, NLDS, Phillies 67 days ago 4 Comments Short URL Share this post! Share on Facebook Tweet This! 4 Comments
crackabottle says:October 5, 2011 at 8:50 pmLet’s go Roy! My prediction is he gives up two runs in 6the innings lee pitches an inning with lidge n madson next. Final score 6-3
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joseph anderson says:October 6, 2011 at 4:31 amHaving ridden the band wagon all season, I refuse to abandon it now beause the road has gotten a tad bumpy. Of course, you may abandon the wagon. After all, this is the United States of America. You even, for this same reason, may jump back aboard once our(?) Phillies capture the National League Pennant ! Just one request : Please don’t sit next to me…ever !
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noname says:October 8, 2011 at 6:36 pmso losing to the Giants was a “fluke” huh??
was losing to St. Louis also a “fluke” too?
gosh the Phillies sure get hit with a lot of “flukes” don’t they?
poor poor Phillies and all these random “flukes” that make them lose! how can they stand it??
Reply
Weezer says:October 8, 2011 at 7:51 pmI’ll tell ya, nothing like someone talking shit and signing it no name. That takes balls of steel. Way to stand tall next to your statement!
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I was tweeted last night that the Phillies lackluster offense is a concern. Chew on this: The Phillies have scored 21 runs thus far in the series while the Cardinals have scored just 18 runs. Full disclosure, I didn’t major in math at college, but I’m pretty sure 21 is more than 18. If I was a Cardinals fan, I’d be more concerned with a lackluster offense more than Phillies fans should be. Now the Cardinals have outhit the Phillies in the series at a 38 to 34 clip, but so what? They don’t mark wins in hits, they mark them in more runs scored. So you can bitch that Howard struck out four times in game 4, but I’ll remind you that he had four RBI’s in game 1, and whether you’d like to admit it or not, he was a big reason we won that game. RyHo has 6 RBI’s in the four games so far; that’s most for either team. The next close is Freese at 5 (4 of which came in game 4). Chase is heating up, hitting .462 in the series, and Rollins is red hot, hitting .563. I’m not concerned about the offense, and neither should you.
Another reason not to worry: We’re playing game 5 in Philadelphia with the craziest fans on the face of the earth. CBP is going to be electric when 8:30 PM rolls around on Friday. The Phillies have said countless times that playing in front of 45,000+ Fightins faithful is unlike playing anywhere else in the country. (Or countries if you wanna throw Toronto in there.) They say this about regular season games. Now imagine how it’s going to be in a decisive game 5. This is why it’s nice to have home field advantage. The rally towels will be waving, the intensity is going to be palpable and the Cardinals are going to have to deal with a lot more than just the boys in pinstripes.
The biggest reason to chill out: Roy Halladay. We’re throwing Doc in a game five. Is there any other pitcher in the league you would rather have going with the season on the line? Not me. Would you rather switch pitchers and go against Doc while we throw Chris Carpenter? A giant “HELL NO!” is the correct response here. The Phillies definitely have the advantage on the mound going into game five. After a shaky first, Roy then came out and shut down the Cardinals for seven innings in game 1. Carpenter on the other hand, only went three innings in his outing, letting in 4 runs for an ERA of 12.00. Sure, Carpenter was on short rest in that game on Sunday, something that won’t be the case come Friday, but I’m reminded of the words of Cliff Lee, “It’s not the game on short rest that gets you, it’s the next start.” If those words hold true, than imagine what that means about Carpenter’s chances in game 5. In game 2, Carpenter didn’t look flat, and his velocity wasn’t down, he just looked hittable. I’m okay with going against their Ace in game 5. I’m looking forward to it.
Yo Mama says:October 6, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Game 1 winner, Roy Halladay will take the hill for the second time in this series, hoping to advance the Phillies past the Cardinals en route to the National League Championship Series.
The main priority of the offseason is to keep this rotation together, Cole Hamels’ contract is up and Roy Oswalt has a club option for 2012. Hamels went 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA, the lowest ERA of his career. This guy has been with the Phillies since the 2002 draft. Since debuting in 2006, Hamels has a career record of 74-54 and a career ERA of 3.39, along with those stats are 1,091 strike outs. The 2008 NLCS & World Series MVP is just entering his prime. If the Phils let him go, it could be one of the worst mistakes since trading Ryne Sandberg.Roy Oswalt holds a club option for 2012 worth $16M. It’s worth it. Pitching is what carried this team throughout the season and losing Oswalt’s spot and filling it with Joe Blanton has trouble written all over it. Despite the 9-10 record, Oswalt still managed a 3.69 ERA for the season. With his previous back injury history evident this season, he can still be labeled as a liability, but his last regular season starts of the season proved that he may be healthy once again. Exercise his option and bring back Little Roy, a starter in Joe Blanton is not needed. The guy can’t even pitch out of the bullpen without getting lit up.
Over to the rest of the diamond, Jimmy Rollins has been with the Phillies’ organization since he was 18-years-old. 15 years have passed and what does J-Roll have to show? For starters, Rollins is a three-time All-Star (2001, 2002, 2005). With an MVP season in 2007 and a World Series title in 2008, Rollins forever sealed his name in the Phillies’ recordbooks. He has also claimed 3 Gold Glove awards (2007, 2008, 2009) in his career, all at shortstop. After lackluster and injury ridden seasons in 2010 and 2011, it may have come to light that Jimmy Rollins is no longer in his prime. That doesn’t mean that he’s worthless Although he only hit .268 with 16 home runs and 63 RBI, Jimmy’s defense has not shown signs of quit. Rollins garnered a .988 fielding percentage and helped turn 79 double plays despite missing 24 games in all of 2011.If it were me in the office, I would offer J-Roll a contract. Rollins is the heart and soul of the clubhouse, without him there it would be as if the Phillies were just a bunch of guys in the same color uniforms. Offer him a two-year deal worth at most, that would give prospect Freddy Galvis enough time to prepare for the majors.Over to third base. Placido “Polly” Polanco, I love you man, but I think it’s time to move on. Polanco has been festered by an injured left elbow in which has taken time away from this season, and his career. A lifetime .301 hitter, Polly was a great addition in 2010, helping the Phillies get back to the NLCS. Times have changed and so has his health. Since 2010, Polanco has missed 70 games. 40 of which, came in 2011. Is Polly an everyday player still? I think it’s time that the Phillies upgraded third base. Polanco is owed $6.5 million in 2012.
In the bullpen, Ryan Madson has been a dire staple in the Phillies’ success. Being used as the closer since 2009 due to Brad Lidge’s dysfunctionality, closing out ball games has grown accustom to Ryan, as has he grown accustom to closing out ball games. Saving a career-high 32 games this year has only shown that not only is Ryan Madson becoming a great closer, but he is ready to become a long-term closer. If the Phillies sign Madson to a three-year deal plus an option for a fourth, not only may it give him a boost in morale, it may also lock the Phillies’ end-game bullpen up for a good while.Brad Lidge just needs to go, he is not what he was in 2008 and we all know it. Brad, you were great for us in ‘08, you helped us reach what no Phillies team could for 28 years. We thank you and I wish you the best of luck in your career.As for more revamping that needs to be done, Raul Ibanez is 39-years-old. The lefty has proven to be a streaky hitter, though when he is hot he is very hot. The bad part is, he doesn’t get hot as much as he needs to be. John Mayberry is being held back, the kid holds spectacular talent and we have all been given just a glimpse of it. Give this guy a starting spot in the lineup and the righty won’t disappoint. Although Mayberry may be used as the Opening Day first baseman due to Ryan Howard’s Achilles rupture, the Phillies need to look into revamping their bench in case of future injuries.The Phillies won’t be the same next year and I can assure you that. Trades and free agent signings come at unexpected times. Ruben Amaro has proven this numerous times. The Phillies will be making a lot of changes this offseason. We the fans don’t know what will happen, but we can always assume. SW- Erik Seybold Tags: Phillies 62 days ago 4 Comments Short URL Share this post! Share on Facebook Tweet This! 4 Comments
Andrew says:October 11, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Alan says:October 11, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Capt. Scully says:October 12, 2011 at 4:29 am
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It’s official, Jonathan Papelbon is the newest member of the Philadelphia Phillies. Ruben Amaro Jr. announced today that the 30-year-old right-hander passed his physical and made it official.For the full press release, click here.After hearing reports that Papelbon had reached an agreement with the Phillies on Friday, most speculation revolved around a four-year deal that was reported to be worth about $50 million. The deal, in fact, is a four-year deal worth $50,000,058, which is the richest contract ever for a relief pitcher. The contract also holds an option for 2016 worth $13 million that automatically vests if he finishes 55 games in 2015 or 100 games combined in 2014-15.Papelbon went 4-1 with 31 saves and held a 2.94 ERA in 63 appearances this past season with the Boston Red Sox. He also had a career-best 87 strikeouts in 64.1 innings (12.2 K/9) and held opponents to a .207 batting average. Papelbon has garnered attention for being one of the most dominant closers in baseball today.“We are really pleased to bring Jonathan to Philadelphia,” Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro, Jr said. “He is among the elite closers in the game and someone who clearly has a passion to win.”With 217 career saves, a career 2.30 ERA, and a World Series championship (2007) under his belt, Papelbon ranks among the best active closers in the MLB. During this past season, Papelbon became the first player in major league history to collect at least 30 saves in each of his first six full big league seasons and became the fastest to 200 career saves. It took Papelbon just 359 games, topping New York Yankees’ Mariano Rivera’s previous record of 382 games.In 18 career postseason appearances, Papelbon holds a 2-1 record with seven saves and a 1.00 ERA. Seventeen of those postseason appearances were scoreless, including a 26-inning scoreless streak.Papelbon will join his new team when pitchers and catchers are due to report to Clearwater in mid-February. Papelbon will don #58 in the red pinstripes for the next four years.
JoeyM says:November 19, 2011 at 6:02 am