Howard's Walkoff HR Celebration in Philly!

 

Ryan Howard hit a three-run monster HR with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th at Citizens Bank Park Wednesday night to propel the Phillies to a come-from-behind 6-3 win.

Starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez put the Phils in a position to win, again, going 5 2/3 and allowing just 2 runs.

Nonetheless, the Phils fell behind 2-0.  Then, in the bottom of the 3rd with 2 out, Chase Utley looked at 2 straight strikes to fall behind 1-and-2 against Colorado's Jordan Lyles.  Utley fouled one off, then another, syncing to the pitcher's rhythm.  Then, Utley took the next pitch to deep right field for a double, his NL-leading 22nd of the season. 

The next batter was Ryan Howard. Howard had already struck out swinging on 8 pitches in the 1st inning.  This time, he looked at ball one before singling to right to bring Utley home and put the Phils on the board, albeit still trailing 2-1.

Then, with 2 out in the 5th, Marlon Byrd fouled 2 balls off with a full-count on him, before singling to shallow left to plate Ben Revere and knot the score at 2.

A solo HR off reliever Jacob Diekman in the 8th put Colorado back on top, 3-2.

Then, in the bottom of the 9th, with LaTroy Hawkins pitching for Colorado, Phils third baseman Cesar Hernandez flied out.  Then, Tony Gwynn Jr. was safe at first on a throwing error by Colorado second baseman Josh Rutledge and Ben Revere singled to right, to put 2-on with 1 out and the Phils still trailing 3-2.

The next batter was Jimmy Rollins.  Rollins lined out to left, and Colorado pitcher Boone Logan relieved Hawkins.

There were now 2 out, with 2 Phillies on-- Tony Gwynn Jr. at 2nd and Ben Revere at 1st.  However, Logan had already blown 2 saves this season, while converting none successfully.

Chase Utley was the first batter he faced.  Utley, the consummate professional, Utley the veteran hitter, Utley with the 3rd best batting average in the NL at .335. 

Before Wednesday's game, Phils manager Ryan Sandberg had said of Utley:

“He grinds out every at-bat.  The way he’s playing the game, moving on defense, running the bases, his at-bats, his power stroke is back with all the doubles and home runs.  He’s just real steady, real steady and professional.”

Logan looked intimidated.  He threw 3 straight balls and appeared poised to load the bases by walking Utley, promptly.

Then, something heroic happened-- although at the time it may have surprised or even frustrated some Phillies fans and players alike.  Utley swung at ball 4. 

"Chase looked like he wanted to win the game, prolonging his at-bat with an aggressive swing on 3-0," Phillies manager Ryan Sandberg said after the game.

Utley fouled the pitch off to keep the at-bat alive.

So Logan went after him, and the veteran second baseman won the contest, singling to right, which was enough to plate Gwynn Jr. and advance the speedy Revere to third base.  Utley moved to second on the throw, having tied the game at 3 apiece.  He had stretched his at-bat and turned it into gold, tying the game with his cool stroke. 

Now the Phils had runners at 2nd and 3rd for Ryan Howard.

Howard had homered in game 1 of the series, a breakout game where he collected 3 hits and 5 RBI, including a HR.   Howard is a notorious Colorado killer.  However, he had been given the night off in game 2, failing in his lone pinch-hit appearance.

Howard came up in a big spot with the series on the line, this being the tie-breaker game 3 rubber match.  There were 2 on, but 2 out.   

In the third inning Howard had come through. 

Could he do it again with the game at stake vs. 29 year-old lefthander Logan?

Ball 1.

Revere at third, Utley at 2nd, representing the winning runs in the home half of the final frame.

Foul-ball strike 1.  Two more strikes would end it, Howard's Achilles heel (so to speak).

Strike 2 looking-- shades of too many playoff exits in recent years.

Ball 2.  Utley leading off 2nd, Revere inching down the third base line toward home.

Next pitch fouled off, staying alive and staving off extra-innings, already 2 strikes down.

Final pitch of the at-bat?

You could hear Harry Kalas in your head:

"Long drive to deep center field, way, way outta here!  HOME RUN, RYAN HOWARD-- AND THE PHILS WIN IT!  Revere and Utley cross the plate and await Howard, who is mobbed by his teammates after a tremendous 3-run walk-off home run to win it by a score of 6-to-3!"

Howard's HR, his 9th of the season (a 29 HR pace), his 5th career walk-off, was measured at a gigantic 439 feet and for a night in May the Phils celebrated like champions.

Howard's stroke was his 5th career walkoff HR.

"Chase looked like he wanted to win the game, prolonging his at-bat with an aggressive swing on 3-0," Sandberg said.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/Ryan_Howard_walk-off_homer_leads_Phillies_past_Rockies.html#hHyC0fHwlopUuuwq.99

"Chase looked like he wanted to win the game, prolonging his at-bat with an aggressive swing on 3-0," Sandberg said.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/Ryan_Howard_walk-off_homer_leads_Phillies_past_Rockies.html#hHyC0fHwlopUuuwq.99

"Chase looked like he wanted to win the game, prolonging his at-bat with an aggressive swing on 3-0," Sandberg said.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/Ryan_Howard_walk-off_homer_leads_Phillies_past_Rockies.html#hHyC0fHwlopUuuwq.99

Ben 'Babe Ruth' Revere Equals 1st Man on Moon

Ben Revere points to sky in anticipation of falling frogs.

Occasionally, the Earth's atmosphere shifts, men carrying beer buckets on their heads inadvertently catch baseballs during professional games and other such momentous occasions occur that change the world forever.  Einstein, Edison, Ben Franklin-- and now Ben Revere.  Joining the historical ranks of namesake Paul Revere, Ben, Phillies CF, joined the ranks of historical importance known by few throughout the history of civilization.

The strange days of the Philadelphia Phillies continued for the 4th consecutive day.  This time it wasn't raining beer-- or baseballs.

It's all true:

Saturday, an actual Citizens Bank beer vendor caught a foul ball by accident while carrying a bucket of beer on his head (only in America).  [See it by clicking here.]

Sunday, the Phils were no-hit in MLB's first no-hitter of the season.

Monday, Kyle Kendrick won a game of baseball for the first time since August 2013.

Tuesday, Ben Revere hit his first home run since... FOREVER.

That's right.  Before pigs were officially spotted flying, Ben Revere took one deep over the right field fence.

“When I got to second base, I didn’t know what to do,” Revere said. “When I hit it I knew I got it good. When I looked up and saw [rightfielder Michael Cuddyer] look up it kind of hit me a little bit. I was trying not to smile, but some of the guys got on me. It was hard not to smile.”

“You have to give him credit for going out there for that many at-bats and to finally get that first home run,” said pitcher Cole Hamels, who also has one career HR. “It’s a special moment. Hopefully there will be more of that to come with not as many at-bats in between. We know he’s capable of doing it, but it’s an exciting moment for him. We’ll probably give him a good time -- the hitters will razz him a little more in BP tomorrow.”

True, the team lost for the 5th time in 7 games, but, hey, who's counting.  To his credit, Revere was:

“It was just a matter of time,” Revere said. “My game is to hit line drives and to hit the ball on the ground. I get in a lot of trouble when I hit the ball in the air. But this time it went over the fence. I wish we would have won the game, but it was a good feeling.”

Still, Ben Revere's first ever HR may be a good sign for the Phils that the sky will open up-- or maybe it's the ground-- and swallow their foes, propelling them to certain greatness-- or perhaps it's sunshine, on a cloudy day...

Either way, Ben Revere popped one.  WOW!  Watch it by clicking this link:

After 1,565 plate appearances, Ben Revere hits first career HR!

Phils Find Stroke

The Phillies finally found their stroke, pounding the Colorado Rockies 9-0 in game 1 of a 3-game series on Monday in Philadelphia.  Kyle Kendrick won his first game of the year and snapped a 10-game losing streak.  Ryan Howard had 5 RBIs and the Phillies put 12 hits on the board.  Hours before, they had managed 0 hits vs. the Dodgers in MLB's first no-hitter of the season Sunday.  The Phils made national headlines for another strange incident Saturday, when a Citizens Bank beer vendor inadvertently caught a foul ball with his beer bucket. 

Equally strange was Kyle Kendrick winning a game of baseball Monday.  "It was tough. It was a grind," Kendrick said of his losing streak, which dated back to 8/6/13. "I tried to keep games close, pitch deep and give us a chance.  Some of those wins and losses are out of your control."

Meanwhile, the team got news that Cliff Lee is being "re-evaluated" rather than cleared in rehab and will remain on the DL for his left elbow strain.  "It's definitely better, but it's still there," Lee said. "No sense in rushing it."   Lee expounded:  “If I felt good today it would be another week or so and hopefully I could come back after the 15 days is up, but now it looks like it is going to be longer than that.” 

“If I felt good today it would be another week or so and hopefully I could come back after the 15 days is up,” Lee said. “But now it looks like it is going to be longer than that.”
Read more at http://fightinforphilly.com/2014/05/26/cliff-lee-injury-update/#cyYBRX004DIGzXGe.99

Ryan Howard, who entered the month hitting .184 with 27 S.O. in 76 AB, had become a vacuous hole in the clean-up spot lately, sinking like dead weight and taking the team down with him.  Sunday, he went 3-for-4 and raised his season average to from .224 to .236.  He had gone 2-for-30 in his previous 9 games, begging the question: 'Why is he still in the 4-slot?!'

To which the obvious answer is an even more unsettling, 'Who else could be?'

"We got good pitches to hit and we jumped out early," Howard said. "Our approach was similar. Sometimes when a guy is on, he's on. You can have a bad day yesterday, but next day is a fresh start."

Chase Utley continued his offensive on the entire league with 3 hits of his own, raising his average to .337 (#3 in the NL) with a .556 SLG %.  At 35 years old, Utley is leading all NL second basemen with a .958 OPS and the entire NL with 21 doubles.  He is a lead candidate for his 6th All-Star appearance.  He was voted the starting NL starting 2nd Baseman via fan voting from 2006 to 2010.

"It was a good bounce-back game for us," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "It was good to see Kendrick was solid against a good lineup."

The Rockies, who lead MLB in batting average, runs, hits, doubles, RBI, on-base %, slugging %, total bases and OPS, largely due to the fact they play in a park the size of most walk-in closets, were handcuffed by Kendrick, whose previous shutout was on April 26th, 2013.

"I didn't have my best command, but I made pitches when I needed to," Kendrick said. "No runs is all that matters."

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/05/26/3203917/howard-kendrick-lead-phillies.html?sp=/99/104/#storylink=cpy

Kendrick went 6 2/3, allowed 6 hits, no runs, walked 4 and S.O. just 2.  He lowered his season ERA from 4.53 to 4.04, while improving to 1-5.

Game 2 of the 3-game set will be played 7:05 PM ET, May 27, 2014@Citizens Bank Park.

A resurgent Cole Hamels will play host to Jorge De La Rosa:


Colorado: De La Rosa (5-3, 3.91 ERA)
Philadelphia: Hamels (1-2, 4.30 ERA)

De La Rosa has gone 5-0 in his last 6 outings, allowing just 9 earned runs in his last 40 innings pitched.  He has pitched only 14 1/3 innings vs. Philadelphia since 2011, but posted a 1.88 ERA against the Phils during those 2 starts, holding them to a team average of .174.  Of course, he will face a lot of familiar faces in the lineup Tuesday.

Hamels, meanwhile, has allowed just 5 runs in his last 21 innings of work, but is merely 1-0 during that span.  Hamels has S.O. 32 and walked 7 in 27 innings in May.  His troubling 1.41 WHIP is well above his career WHIP of 1.15.  He is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA vs. Colorado since 2011.

The Phils are 5 games out of First Place in the NL East.  Only 2 teams in the division have winning records and one of them is Miami, who schizophrenically own MLB's best home record at 20-8 and worst road record at 7-17.  So, that leaves the door open for the Phils to ascend.  They will have to do more than pour it on every few days.  They must hit with consistency, starting with their big, too often ugly cleanup hitter, to compete.

Howard is batting .378 with 14 RBIs over his past nine games against the Rockies.  He has 7 hits, 2 HR and 8 RBI in his last 2 games against them.

Cliff Lee headed to DL

MIAMI -- Cliff Lee will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a mild elbow strain, and thePhiladelphia Phillies are relieved the injury isn't more serious.

Lee might be able to return as soon as he's eligible to come off the DL, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said late Tuesday.

"It's never good news when you lose one of your No. 1 pitchers, but it's pretty mild," Amaro said.

When Lee underwent an MRI on Tuesday in Philadelphia, there were concerns the left-hander might become the latest major league pitcher to be sidelined by a serious injury.

Lee pitched 6 2-3 innings in a win over Cincinnati on Sunday. He has experienced mild elbow discomfort for the past three weeks.

"He has been able to pitch through it," Amaro said. "On Sunday, he felt a little more uncomfortable in his last couple of innings."

More than a dozen major league pitchers this year already have undergone Tommy John elbow surgery, including All-Stars Jose Fernandez, Patrick Corbin, Josh Johnson and Matt Moore.

The Marlins' Fernandez wore a sling as he watched batting practice Tuesday after undergoing surgery last week.

Lee was diagnosed with a grade one/two strain of his flexor tendon.

"That's better news than the other," teammate A.J. Burnett said. "You're happy for that."

The 35-year-old Lee is 4-4 this season with a 3.18 ERA in 68 innings. Amaro declined to say who will start for Lee on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Lee will rest for a week and is expected to resume throwing after that.

"We want to be cautious with him, and there's no reason to push it," Amaro said following Tuesday's 6-5 win over Miami.

Lee has thrown more than 200 innings every season since 2008, when he was the AL Cy Young Award winner.

When Cliff Lee's mild elbow pain turned into more serious discomfort, an MRI was ordered. The 35-year-old Lee, who has had no arm problems in his 13-year career, initially fought it.

"Cliff hates being hurt," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr said. "He hates having an issue. We had to kind of convince him."

Lee underwent the MRI on Tuesday in Philadelphia and later arrived in Miami. Amaro said the problem is purely an elbow strain, specifically a flexor pronator strain. Lee (4-4, 3.18 ERA) pitched through pain in his last three starts.

In a year that has seen Tommy John surgeries spike throughout baseball, a long-term injury to Lee – the rock of the Phillies' rotation – would be devastating.

Lee is also the Phillies' best trade chip should they be in a fire-sale position at the trade deadline.

Understandably, Amaro and the Phillies are worried.

"[When] one of our starters has to have an MRI, it's alarming," he said.

Lee has pitched 1,401 2/3 innings since the 2008 season, an average of 200 per season. Only Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia, James Shields and Felix Hernandez have thrown that many innings in that span.

Should Lee miss significant time, things could spiral downward fast. Cole Hamels and his still-massive contract would become the Phillies most desirable trade option, something the club would likely have to consider. A.J. Burnett, who has said he doesn't want to pitch beyond this year, could be attractive for a contender.

Having an injured Lee on the books could also be crippling for the Phils. He is owed at least $37.5 million over the next two seasons. With Hamels and Ryan Howard slated for more than $20 million apiece through 2015, Amaro's hands are tied in trying to create a competitive roster.

And without Lee on the field, the back-end of the rotation would weaken tremendously. It's hard not to think about the wide, relief-filled grin on Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg's face when the team signed Burnett over the winter. Without one of those top-three pitchers, the rotation was a liability and Sandberg knew it.

Lee's prognosis, however remains unknown. Many pitchers have missed little time with flexor pronator injuries, sometimes as few as two weeks. Others end up having Tommy John surgery.

The Phillies hope to have a diagnosis by Wednesday.

"Hopefully it's nothing serious, but we'll find out soon," Amaro said.

Lee is scheduled to start Saturday's game in Philadelphia, pending the MRI results.