Connie Mack is back as he and Steve break down the Philadelphia Phillies, Flyers, and 76ers on My Two Cents.

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** Photos courtesy of Sport Illustrated

The Phils took the lead in the second as, with two men on, and with two men out, Jimmy Rollins hits an RBI single, scoring Placido Polanco, who had earlier singled, then stopped at second base on Freddy Galvis’ single, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while sending Galvis, who had earlier singled, over to third base. The Phils then added to their lead as Galvis scores on first baseman Matt Adams’ fielding error of Juan Pierre’s grounder, giving the Phils a 2-0 lead, while sending Rollins up to second base as Pierre was safe at first. The Cards got a run back in their half of the second as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Shane Robinson hits an RBI double, knocking in Adams, who had just doubled, cutting the Phils’ lead down to 2-1. The Cards then tied the game up at two-all in the third as Rafael Furcal hits a lead-off home run, his third home run of the season, after the play was first reviewed by the umpires and upheld. The Cards then took the lead in the fourth as, with a runner on third, and with nobody out, Yadier Molina hits an RBI single, knocking in David Freese, who had started the inning off with a triple, on a ball that Shane Victorino had lost sight of in the twilight sky, giving the Cards a 3-2 lead. The Phils would tie the game up at three-all in the seventh as, with one man on, and with one man out, Pierre hits an RBI double, scoring Cliff Lee, who had started the inning off with a single. The Cards tried to retake the lead in the eighth as, with one man on, and with two men out, Molina, who had just singled, tried to score on Adams’ double to center field, but is thrown out at the plate on a strong throw by Victorino to Galvis, who then threw the ball to Ruiz, who then applied the tag for an 8-6-2 third out of the inning. The Phils would take the lead in the tenth as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Hunter Pence hits a two-run home run, his eleventh home run of the season, knocking in Pierre, who had started the inning off with a single, giving the Phils a 5-3 lead. That would end up being the final score as Jonathan Papelbon recorded his fourteenth save of the season as he threw a 1-2-3 tenth inning.

Cliff Lee received a no-decision as he threw seven strong innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and three walks, while he struck out seven. Jose Contreras and Jake Diekman combined for a scoreless inning, giving up two hits (one hit each) between them, while striking out a batter (Contreras). Raul Valdes (2-0, 0.00) got the win as he pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk, while striking out two. Jonathan Papelbon recorded his fourteenth save of the year as he threw a scoreless inning, striking out a batter. Kyle Lohse also received a no-decision as he pitched six and a third innings, giving up three runs, only two of which were earned, on six hits. Mitchell Boggs received his second blown save of the year as he pitched one and two-thirds innings, giving up a hit and a walk. Jason Motte (3-2, 2.70) took the lost as he went two innings, giving up two runs on two hits, as he struck out a batter.

The Phils had nine hits in the ballgame, with Juan Pierre (Single, Double, RBI) and Cliff Lee (Singles) both leading the team with two hits apiece. Jimmy Rollins (Single, RBI), Hunter Pence (Home Run, 2 RBIs), Carlos Ruiz (Double), Placido Polanco (Single) and Freddy Galvis (Singel) had the other five Phils’ hits. The final Phil run scored on an error. The Phils also had a walk in the ballgame.

The Phils (24-23, 5th East) will continue their visit with the Cardinals (25-21, 2nd Central). The game will be played at Busch Stadium (III) and is to start at 7:15 pm EDT (6:15 pm CDT). The Phils will send to the mound Kyle Kendrick (0-4, 5.23), who is coming off a lost against the Nationals on May 21, as he went seven innings, giving up just two runs on six hits and two walks, while he struck out four, in the Phils’ 2-1 lost. He will be going for his first winning start, while trying to continue the Phils’ present winning streak. The Cards will counter with Jaime Garcia (3-2, 3.55), who is coming off a no-decision against the Padres on May 21, as he pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk, while he struck out seven, in the Cards’ 4-3 win. He will be trying to end the Phils’ present winning streak. The Phils will be out to increase their winning streak to four straight, while trying to win the four-game series.

Why is the win/loss stat still heavily relied upon when determining who should be an All-Star, an MVP or a Cy Young winner? Lee is a prime example of why this should not be an influential factor in those decisions or in figuring who the top pitchers in baseball are.

You can then see why Lee is obviously frustrated as evidenced by an altercation in the dugout last night with Shane Victorino. After two missed fly balls in the 4th inning, one by Victorino and one by Hunter Pence, the Cardinals took the lead in the game, leading to another no decision for Lee.

The two balls were lost in the twilight and probably not really anyone’s fault. But the chain of events did emphasize a larger issue; this Phillies offense is wildly inconsistent and the starting pitchers are rightly annoyed. In fact, assuming Lee spoke for everyone last night, I am glad they are annoyed. It shows that they actually give a crap. And maybe this little outburst will light a fire under the rest of the team.

Lee is frustrated more than most as he has received the least amount of run support. And for a guy that has a reputation of being laid back and never getting rattled, seeing him tee-off on Victorino last night speaks volumes. Clearly, he does care…a lot.

Victorino later made some great defensive plays to keep the Phillies within reach. A solid relay throw to Freddy Galvis turned into an out at the plate in the 8th inning as Yadier Molina tried to bowl over Carlos Ruiz. In his usual tough guy style, Ruiz held onto the ball despite the blow.

And Lee helped his own cause with 2 hits and huge run scored in the 7th where he went from first to home and looked good doing it. After the play, Lee probably could have used some oxygen, but he was just fine.

That run tied the game, which went to extra innings. And then Pence, who made the 2nd blunder in the outfield earlier, came out the hero with a 2-run homer in the 10th. Jonathan Papelbon closed out the 5-3 win for the Phillies 3rd straight victory.

Game 3 with the Cardinals starts tonight at 7:15pm; Kyle Kendrick will start.

Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography

The Phils took the lead in the first as, with the bases loaded, via a double by Placido Polanco, a walk by Hunter Pence and Carlos Ruiz being hit by a pitch, moving both Polanco and Pence up a base, and with one man out, Shane Victorino hits into an RBI force out, 3-6, scoring Polanco from third, while wiping out Ruiz at second base for the Phils’ second out of the inning, as he beat out the throw to first, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while sending Pence on to third base. The Phils then took a 2-0 lead as Ty Wigginton hits an RBI single, knocking in Pence, while sending Victorino up to second base. Two batters later, after John Mayberry, Jr. walks to reload the bases, moving both runners up a base, the Phils took a 4-0 lead as Freddy Glavis hits a two-run single, knocking in both Victorino and Wigginton, while sending Mayberry over to third base. The Phils then made it a 6-0 lead in the second as, with runners on the corners, and with two men out, Victorino hits a two-run double, knocking in Pence, who was earlier safe at first on a force out, 6-4, wiping out at second base Jimmy Rollins, who had started the inning off with a single, then stopped at third on Ruiz’s single, and Ruiz, who had just singled. The Cards would then start to chip away at the Phils’ lead in the third as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Matt Holliday hits an RBI ground out, 6-3, scoring Jake Westbrook, who had started the inning off with a single, then stopped at third base on Skip Schumaker’s double, making it a 6-1 Phils’ lead. The Cards then made it a 6-2 Phils’ lead as Carlos Beltran hits an RBI single, scoring Schumaker, before he would move up to second base on Ruiz’s missed catch error on Victorino’s throw to the plate. David Freese then made it a 6-3 Phils’ lead as he hit an RBI double, scoring Beltran. The Cards then cut the Phils’ lead down to 6-4 as Yadier Molina hits an RBI single, knocking in Freese, before he would go on to second base on the late throw to the plate. The Phils increased their lead in the fifth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Polanco hits an RBI single, scoring Galvis, who was safe at first on a 6-4 force out, as Mayberry, who had been safe at first on a throwing error by third baseman Freese, was wiped out at second base, and then moved up to second base on Rollins’ single, giving the Phils a 7-4 lead, while sending Rollins, who had just singled, on to third base. The Cards would get the run back in their half of the fifth as Holliday smashed a lead-off home run, his tenth home run of the season, making it a 7-5 Phils’ lead. Two batters later, with one man on, and with one man out, Molina tied the game up at seven-all as he crushed a two-run bomb to center field, his eighth home run of the year, knocking in Freese, as he was safe at first on a 6-5 force out, as Beltran, who had earlier doubled, is thrown out trying to go to third on Freese’s ground ball to short. The Phils retook the lead in the sixth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Galvis hits an RBI single, scoring Victorino, who had earlier singled, then stopped at second base on Wigginton’s single, giving the Phils an 8-7 lead, while sending Wigginton, who had just singled, up to second base. The Phils then took a 9-7 lead as pinch hitter Mike Fontenot hits an RBI single, knocking in Wigginton, while sending Galvis up to second base. The Cards would get a run back in the seventh as, with two men out, Freese hits a solo shot into left center field, his tenth home run of the year, making it a 9-8 Phils’ lead. The Phils would get that run back in the eighth as, with one man out,Wigginton hits a solo home run, his third home run of the season, giving the Phils a 10-8 lead. The Cards would get that run back in their half of the eighth as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Schumaker hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Steven Hill, who had started the inning off with a double, then stopped at third base on Rafael Furcal’s single, making it a 10-9 Phils’ lead. That would end up being the final score as Jonathan Papelbon recorded his thirteen save of the year with a scoreless ninth, getting Hill to fly out to center field for the game’s final out.

Joe Blanton received a no-decision as he went four and a third innings, giving up seven runs for his second straight start, this time on ten hits and a walk, while he struck out five. Raul Valdes got the win (1-0, 0.00) as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, getting out both men that he would face, as he struck out one. Chad Qualls collected his ninth hold of the season, as he pitched an inning and two-thirds, giving up a run on two hits, while he struck out one. Jake Diekman recorded his first career hold as he went a third of an inning, getting out the only man that he would face. Antonio Bastardo recorded his tenth hold of the season as he pitched an inning, giving up a run on two hits and a walk, while striking out two. Jonathan Papelbon recorded his thirteenth save of the season as he threw a scoreless inning, giving up a hit, as he struck out a batter. Jake Westbrook also got a no-decision as he went just three and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs on eight hits, three walks and a hit batter, while he struck out four. Brandon Dickman pitched an inning and a third, giving up an unearned run on two hits, as he struck out one. Fernando Salas (0-3, 6.32) took the lost as he pitched an inning, giving up two runs on four hits, as he struck out a batter. Victor Marte pitched one and two-thirds innings, giving up a run on three hits, while striking out three. Mitchell Boggs pitched one and a third scoreless innings, giving up a hit.

The Phils had a season high eighteen hits in the game, with Placido Polanco (2 Singles, Double, RBI), Carlos Ruiz (Singles), Ty Wigginton (2 Singles, Home Run, 2 RBIs) and Freddy Galvis (2 Singles, Double, 3 RBIs) all leading the team with three hits a piece, followed by Jimmy Rollins (Singles) and Shane Victorino (Single, Double, 3 RBIs) with two hits each. Pinch hitters Mike Fontenot (Single, RBI) and Pete Orr (Single) had the other two Phils’ hits. The Phils also had three walks in the game, as the offense was last night able to scored runs, although the pitchers almost let the game get away.

The Phils (23-23, 5th East) will continue their four-game series with the Cards (25-20, 2nd Central) with a night game tonight. The game will start at 8:15 pm EDT (7:15 pm CDT) and will be played at Busch Stadium (III). The Phils will send to the mound Cliff Lee (0-2, 2.66) who is coming off a lost to the Red Sox on May 20, as he threw seven innings, giving up five runs on nine hits and a walk, as he struck out six, in the Phils’ 5-1 lost. He will be out to win his first start of the season. The Cards will counter with Kyle Lohse (5-1, 2.91), who is coming off a no-decision against the Dodgers on May 20, as he threw five and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs on eleven hits and a walk, while striking out four, in the Cards’ 6-5 lost. He will be trying to put the Cards back into first place in the NL Central. The Phils will be out to give Lee his first victory of the season.

The Phillies got off to a hot start, scoring 6 runs in the first two innings, something they have been unable to do most of the year so far. But the 6-0 lead was on shaky ground fast as pitcher Joe Blanton self-destructed for his second start in a row.

Blanton allowed hit after hit until the game was tied, 7-7 by the 5th inning. Once again, manager Charlie Manuel left Blanton in too long and waited until he allowed the final 3 of those 7 runs that inning to pull him. In his last 2 starts, Blanton has allowed 19 hits and 13 runs. Ouch. I guess it was too much to hope his hot streak would last very long :O(

The game ping-ponged back and forth after that, with the Phillies offense continuing to battle back. Carlos Ruiz is still on fire and had 3 hits in the game. Four players, including Ruiz, had 3-hit nights. Both Shane Victorino and Freddy Galvis added 3 RBI each and even Mike Fontenot collected a pinch-hit RBI in a key situation.

And although the bullpen had some issues again, it was just that kind of night. Both teams were hitting and the end result was going to depend on who pushed harder. Ty Wigginton added the 10th run in the 8th inning with a solo homer, which turned out to be the game winner for the Phillies.

Game 2 starts tonight at 8:15pm. Cliff Lee will pitch.

Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography

In January of 2009 Ruben Amaro signed Cole Hamels to a 3 year contract to buy out his arbitration years and try to remove some of the unpleasantness that Hamels had in previous contract negotiations. I penned an article then discussing how Amaro should have made Hamels given up one or more of his years of free agency to get the guaranteed money then. Had he done so, things would be very different now for the Phillies budget.

Had Amaro gotten just one extra year included in this contract, something that is fairly standard when buying out arbitration years, Hamels would be signed for next season for much less money then he will command now. After 2013, the Phillies budget will have more flexibility and extending Hamels would be less of an issue.

Had Ruben Amaro negotiated better and gotten Hamels to give up one of his free agent years, the Phillies would not have to worry about him being a free agent at the end of this season. When Hamels would have hit free agency in this scenario, the Phillies would have been in a better position to sign the team’s best pitcher. Amaro has done good things as a GM, but this contract from 2009 will be marked as a blunder.

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