Phillies-Dodgers: Phils Rally but Falter in 10th

Yesterday was a sloppy game by the Phillies, as they lost the series finale to the Los Angeles Dodgers by a 5-3 score in 10 innings. While the starting pitching was spot-on from Cole Hamels, the offense was practically nonexistent. The Phillies literally ran themselves out of innings with repetitive poor base running.

Jimmy Rollins was placed back in the leadoff spot in the lineup and started the day with a double down the right field line. Rollins would later score in the inning to give the Phillies an early 1-0 lead when Ryan Howard hit a sacrifice fly to the outfield. The offense was then silent until the ninth inning.

Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Howard, and Jayson Werth failed to record a base hit all day, with only Utley reaching base on a walk and being hit by a pitch. That gave almost nothing with which Raul Ibanez could work; he notched a pair of hits on the day.

Down 3-1 in the ninth inning, and down to their final out, the Phillies put together an improbable rally that was capped off by a Carlos Ruiz double to right center field to bring home the tying run.

In the extra inning, Chad Durbin recorded the first two outs and then struggled to record the third out. The Dodgers were able to whack some hits all over the field and eventually scored two runs in the inning to take a quick 5-3 lead. The Phillies went down quickly in the bottom of the 10th to drop to 16-16.

On the bright side, though, Hamels was Hamels once again. Despite not getting a decision in the game, Hamels went seven innings allowing only two runs, one of which was unearned. While he made a mistake on a pitch to James Loney that was hit for a home run, he struck out nine batters. Had he received some offensive support, he would have won his second game of the year.

Also, the Phillies continue to show that a game is never over until the final out is recorded. They already have a large serving of come-from-behind victories to show for it.  Yesterday, they demonstrated that they will play every out until the game is over.

Of course, most of the game was pretty much garbage, but when it counted in the bottom of the ninth inning, this team did not quit.

Neither should the fans.

The loss capped off another poor home stand for the Phillies, in which they went 2-4 and lost both series after winning the first game. The Phillies are now in a tie for second place with the Atlanta Braves and are two games behind the New York Mets.

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