The Good Phight

A Series of Unfortunate Events - Phillies fall to Cardinals, 8-3

2012-05-27T21:32:13Z

Roy Halladay pitched two innings, allowing four runs on a grand slam by Yadier Molina; and the Phillies were never able to... wait, what? Two innings? Yes. Halladay removed after two, pinch-hit for by Pete Orr, suffering shoulder soreness. The Phillies emphasized that this was precautionary, but even so, "shoulder" and "soreness" are two words that should never be used in a sentence together when describing pitchers.

More after the jump.

In the third, Mike Fontenot led off with a single, Orr bunted him over (YAY small ball!); Jimmy Rollins grounded out moving Fontenot to third, and Juan "Clutch" Pierre came through with an RBI single to right.

The Cardinals, though, tacked on more runs in the fifth, as Carlos Beltran took Chad Qualls deep with a three-run homerun. Really, who saw that coming. In the sixth, Mike Adams also took Chad Qualls deep. Astonishing. Qualls' seven homeruns allowed is the most in the majors for a reliever. Fantastic.

In the eighth and ninth, the Phils scrounged two garbage-time runs, on a force-out grounder by Shane Victorino and another RBI single from Pierre. Jose Contreras continued to pitch well, with a scoreless seventh inning, and Raul Valdes pitched a scoreless eighth. Joe Savery appeared to be pitching well, and even recorded his first career at-bat.

In the silver linings department, the Phillies won the series from the Cardinals, on the road, capturing a semblance of revenge for last year's NLDS. Putting aside the circumstances of today's loss, wining three of four in St. Louis has to be looked at as a great series.

The real story, though, is Halladay. As of press time this afternoon, no new information is available. He was removed as a precaution suffering shoulder soreness; he will be reevaluated Tuesday, may not make his next start. It appears this is something that's been ongoing for a few starts, according to Rich Dubee. Way to go Dubes. This isn't good. It could be merely unfortunate, or it could be a disaster.

Fangraph of beshittedness:

Source: FanGraphs

The Phillies drop to 25-24, one game over .500, currently 4.5 out of first. Tomorrow, they play the first game of a three-game set against the Mets in New York.

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everybody.

Zolecki - Halladay removed after two with shoulder soreness

2012-05-27T20:19:24Z

Zolecki - Halladay removed after two with shoulder soreness

Phillies announce Halladay left today's game with right shoulder soreness. Said he left as a precaution.— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) May 27, 2012

To be reevaluated in a couple days, MRI not scheduled yet.

Seeking Dead Birds: Phillies at Cardinals Game Thread, May 27, 2012

2012-05-27T18:00:30Z

The Phillies seek a modicum of revenge for last year's surprising postseason defeat at the hands of the Cardinals, going for the four-game sweep in St. Louis.

Roy Halladay goes for the Phillies on a steamy Missouri afternoon, and will be opposed by Adam Wainwright, who sat on the bench last fall recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Discuss the game below.

Next Game

Philadelphia Phillies
@ St. Louis Cardinals

Sunday, May 27, 2012, 2:15 PM EDT
Busch Stadium

Roy Halladay vs Adam Wainwright

Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to center field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 95.

Complete Coverage >

Roy Halladay

#34 / Pitcher / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 6-6

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 14, 1977

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2012 - Roy Halladay	4-4	10	10	0	0	0	0	70.1	65	28	28	5	13	56	3.58	1.11

Adam Wainwright

#50 / Pitcher / St. Louis Cardinals

Height: 6-7

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 30, 1981

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2012 - Adam Wainwright	3-5	9	9	1	1	0	0	52.2	55	31	28	7	17	49	4.78	1.37

Kyle Kendrick is Pretty Good at Baseball - Phillies win 4-0 over St. Louis

2012-05-27T02:44:58Z

The Phillies won the third game of a four game series in St. Louis, 4-0, on the strength of a dominating performance from erstwhile laughingstock Kyle "Toolbag" Kendrick and a two-run double from John Mayberry Jr. off Cardinals' starter Jaime "Mr. FIP" Garcia.

Winning (and potentially sweeping) the road series against last year's playoff villains is a pretty good narrative for this game, but really, the story has to be about Kyle Kendrick. More after the jump.

Raise your hand if you predicted that, by Memorial Day weekend, Kendrick would have more wins than Cliff Lee. Raise your hand if you thought he would be tied for the team lead in shutouts (with Joe Blanton!). Raise your hand if you thought he'd manage a seven-hit complete game with no walks on only 94 pitches (70 for strikes!). None of you raised your hands, did you.

Kendrick, who has been described on these pages recently as a "black hole," a "bucket of suck" and a voodoo lord, and making a spot start in place of an injured Vance Worley, threw first pitch strikes to 26 of the 32 hitters he faced, scattering seven hits against four strikeouts. What makes this all more impressive is who these hitters were. Coming in to tonight, they collectively ranked first in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits, triples, homeruns and total bases; or, in the immortal words of Harry Doyle, they "lead the league in most offensive categories, including nose hair."

After Jimmy Rollins was robbed of a homerun leading off the ball-game, both pitchers settled down. The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the fourth, when Shane Victorino doubled in Hunter Pence on a ball that Matt Holliday couldn't keep out of the corner. Then in the sixth, they tacked on insurance. After Placido Polanco led off with a double and Pence and Victorino drew walks, Mayberry lined a double to left, scoring Polanco and Pence. Freddy Galvis then grounded out, but Victorino was running on contact and scored easily. The 4-0 lead was more than enough for Kendrick.

This win is certainly satisfying for another reason, one I alluded to earlier. This win of a road series is certainly a step towards vengeance for last year's NLDS defeat by the Cardinals and their obnoxious squirrelly allies. It's especially fitting that the final out was by David Freese, on a called third strike. Booya.

Fangraph of Aceness:

Source: FanGraphs

With the win, their fourth in a row, the Phillies improve to 25-23, four games behind the division-leading Washington Nationals. The fourth and final game of this series is tomorrow afternoon at what my iPhone assures me is 2:15PM. Somehow I expect it'll be on somewhat sooner /timezone'd.

Aroundtheleaguearoundtheleaguearoundtheleague

Lehigh Valley 2, Charlotte 3

Tyler Cloyd: 5.2IP, 7H, 2ER, 3BB, 3K, HR

Domonic Brown: 2 for 4, third straight game in CF!

Cody Overbeck: 2 for 4, 2B, K

Kyle Hudson: 2 for 3, 2B, OF assist

Reading 4, Harrisburg 5

Drew Naylor: 5IP, 8H, 4ER, 4K, 2HR

Michael Cisco: 3IP, 4H, ER, 7K

Tyson Gillies: 1 for 1, BB

Cesar Hernandez: 2 for 5, CS

Darin Ruf: 1 for 4, BB, K (currently hitting .343/.420/.562)

Leandro Castro: 0 for 3, BB, K

Sebastian Valle: 2 for 4, HR, K

Clearwater 1, Daytona 3

Garett Claypool: 3IP, 3H, ER, BB, 4K

Brody Colvin: 2IP, 4H, ER, K

Cody Asche: 2 for 4, 2B, K, SB

Anthony Hewitt: 1 for 4, 2K

Drew Hillman: 2 for 3, HR, CS-PO, E7

Lakewood 1, Hagerstown 10 (game one)

Lino Martinez: 3IP, 4H, 4ER, 3BB

Gauntlett Eldemire: 0 for 2, BB, K, SB, OF assist

Kelly Dugan: 1 for 3, 2B

Harold Martinez: 0 for 3, 2K

Brian Pointer: 0 for 2, K

Lakewood 7, Hagerstown 5 (game two, in progress, further bulletins as events warrant)

Josh Wanrer: 3.2IP, 6H, 5ER, 3BB, 2K

Luis Paulino: 2.1IP, 6H, BB, 3K

Gauntlett Eldemire: 1 for 3, 2B, HBP

Kelly Dugan: 1 for 3, 2B, BB, SB

Kyrell Hudson: 1 for 3, HR

Aaron Altherr: 0 for 3, 2K

Brian Pointer: 1 for 2, 2B

Uphill Both Ways: Phillies at Cardinals Game Thread, May 26, 2012

2012-05-26T23:00:03Z

Although I was born and grew up in Pennsylvania, most of my father's side of the family (going back over a century) is from in and around the St. Louis/eastern Missouri area. As a result, I've been there a few times.

When I was about eight years old, we visited distant relatives who worked for Anheuser-Busch, who gave my brother and me stickers and plush toys (!!!) for a mascot from a new ad campaign that Bud Light would be launching that fall. Spuds McKenzie, of course. Looking back more than 25 years, it's kind of amazing how brazenly child-oriented that ad campaign was.

Why am I discussing this? Because good or bad, Kyle Kendrick makes me want to drink a lot of beer. And against Jaime Garcia, it's prime 30 pack season.

Discuss the game below.

Next Game

Philadelphia Phillies
@ St. Louis Cardinals

Saturday, May 26, 2012, 7:15 PM EDT
Busch Stadium

Kyle Kendrick vs Jaime Garcia

Clear. Winds blowing out to left field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 95.

Complete Coverage >

Kyle Kendrick

#38 / Pitcher / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 6-3

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 26, 1984

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2012 - Kyle Kendrick	0-4	10	5	0	0	0	1	32.2	39	22	19	5	11	20	5.23	1.53

Jaime Garcia

#54 / Pitcher / St. Louis Cardinals

Height: 6-2

Weight: 215

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jul 08, 1986

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2012 - Jaime Garcia	3-2	9	9	0	0	0	0	58.1	67	24	23	1	15	43	3.55	1.41

You Be the Lip Reader - Cliff Lee/Shane Victorino Fight

2012-05-26T14:03:12Z

Unfortunately, the team hasn't released an official transcript of last night's fight between Cliff Lee and Shane Victorino. So, we'll just have to do our best.

Below, share with us your unofficial lip reading of last night's confrontation. Don't hold back - it can't be any worse than lip reading Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, or Barack Obama.

Raul Valdes Pulls Down Cardinals' Pants And Laughs At Them: Phillies 5, Cardinals 3 (10 Innings)

2012-05-26T05:37:04Z

(Our mighty and benevolent bloglord WholeCamels has introduced a contest on Twitter to write a recap in the FanPosts section where the winner gets frontpage'd. This is my feeble attempt.) EDITOR'S NOTE: Good enough for me! Thank you, and enjoy! - WholeCamels

May 25, 2011.

Most remember this day as the day Oprah Winfrey bid farewell to The Oprah Winfrey Show. It was, after all, a monumental occasion in talk show television history. However, there are a few out there who remember this day for something else. These loud-mouth, classless scumbags think not of Oprah Winfrey when they think of May 25, 2011. No. Instead, they think of a man. A myth. A legend. They think of Wilson Valdez. They think of Wilson Valdez's finest hour when he came on to pitch in the 19th inning after playing 18 innings at second base while going 3 for 6 at the plate. These people, Philadelphia Phillies fans, think of greatness.

May 25, 2012

It is precisely 366 days later. Once again a man named Valdezs finds himself on the mound pitching the 19th inning. The opponent is different, but after a rough start that includes a single, a sacrifice and a walk, Raul Valdes stands on the mound and looked into Tyler Greene's eyes with a look that can only be described as "I Am Valdes Hear Me Roar". Strike 3. Matt Holliday now walks up to the guillotine, quivering with a very rightful fright. He knows the inevitable outcome. Try as he might to make contact, Matt Holliday can only swing aimlessly at strike three. The mightiest of gods had been reduced to the merest of mortals. Extra innings we would go again on May 25. Again, thine hero's name is Valdes.

There are other details from this game. Details such as Jimmy Rollins singling home Placido Polanco, Cliff Lee's slump continuing, Carlos Ruiz blocking the plate like a MAN, Hunter Pence hitting a game-winning 2-run home run in the 10th inning, and Jonathan Papelbon picking up a save. But all these details are insignificant when compared to the accomplishments of the great Valdes.

On most days, the Valdezs is a nothing. A nobody. A replacement level waste of space. But on May 25, he transforms himself into something larger than life. And for this, I, your humble guest-recapper, can only bow down in awe.

Two Pence: Phillies 5, Cardinals 3 (10)

2012-05-26T04:07:46Z

Cliff Lee still hasn't won a game, but the Phillies prevailed in ten innings thanks to a two run blast from Hunter Pence that gave the Phillies a 5-3 victory over the Cardinals.

More later...