Philadelphia Phillies Drop Opener by the Bay, Lose to San Francisco Giants 7-2

Sloppy defensive play hindered the Phillies’ chances of winning last night in San Francisco. After striking first and taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Phillies failed to capitalize on some opportunities and handed the Giants extra outs. The Giants finally beat the Phillies 7-2 last night.

Rodrigo Lopez took the loss, his first with the club, but he was not totally at fault. With Lopez on the mound the Giants scored seven runs in four innings. Only three were earned runs. The rest were courtesy of errors from Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz. Chase Utley also had an error in the game.

Lopez was also hit hard by the Giants, including a two run in the third inning by Pablo Sandoval.

Sandoval had a good game, perhaps demonstrating to Phillies manager Charlie Manuel why he should have been added to the all-star roster for the National League. The Giants third baseman had two hits, a two run home run and a double, four runs batted in, and a run scored.

Tempers flared a little bit in the sixth inning when Giants starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez hurled a ball towards the head of Utley. Up 7-1 it seemed there was little reason to be sending a message to a guy like Utley. After stepping out of the box late on Sanchez, Utley sent a Sanchez pitch to the seats for a home run.

Utley may have won that showdown but the National League Wild Card leading Giants got the last laugh last night. Tonight the Phillies will send Cliff Lee out for his Phillies debut. They look to even the series before the tough Giants pitching hits this weekend.