Heading into today's series finale with the Marlins, the Phillies ranked 19th in Major League Baseball in runs with 579. This series, offense has not been the highlight, with the Phils taking the first two games by a combined score of 5-2. The Phillies can thank their pitching for that, with their starters throwing quality outings and the bullpen doing their job to close things out. Entering today's game, the Phillies bullpen led the majors with an ERA of 1.92. since August 5th. Though the Marlins were without Giancarlo Stanton again, rookie right-hander, David Buchanan, was looking to continue his strong run of starts in hopes of snagging a spot in the rotation next season. The Marlins were counting on Tom Koehler to help avoid the sweep during today's Sunday matinee.
The Game: With runs being tough to come by in this series, the Phillies looked to strike first and that is what they did. Freddy Galvis singled to lead off the bottom half of the third and advanced on a passed ball by Marlins catcher, Jarrod Saltalamacchia. David Buchanan struck out then Ben Revere grounded out to second, moving Galvis to third. Maikel Franco snuck a broken bat single up the middle to score Freddy Galvis, making it 1-0 Phils.
Unfortunately, the Marlins got that run back in the top of the fourth thanks to a solo home run to right center off the bat of Enrique Hernandez to tie things at one a piece.
Chase Utley, who coming into this game was hitting just .234 since the All-Star game, led off the bottom of the fourth with his 32nd double of the season. Ryan Howard drew a walk, laying off some breaking balls he may normally swing at, to put runners on first and second with no outs. Grady Sizemore followed with a single to right to load the bases for Domonic Brown. Dom grounded into a 4-6-3 double-play, but it scored Utley to make it 2-1 in favor of the Phillies. Carlos Ruiz flared a bloop single to left off the end of the bat to score Howard from third, extending the Phils lead to two at 3-1.
David Buchanan, at 89 pitches, exited the game after a throwing error with one out in the seventh. He made a nice play to the left of the mound, but threw low to Howard at first and he couldn't make a clean scoop. With a runner at first, Ryne Sandberg opted for the lefty on lefty matchup with Antonio Bastardo. He got Christian Yelich to fly out to left and Reed Johnson to go down swinging.
Ben Revere started the bottom of the eighth with a single and then stole his 45th stolen base and also advanced to third on Saltalamacchia's bad throw to second. Maikel Franco fouled out then with the infield in, Chase Utley grounded a ball to short. Adeiny Echevarria made a nice throw home but Ben Revere avoided the tag with his slide, giving the Phillies a nice insurance run, 4-1.
Jonathan Papelbon came in the ninth looking for his 19th save in as many tries against the Marlins. He walked a tight rope, giving up a lead-off double to Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Then, he walked Enrique Hernandez and gave up a single to Adeiny Hechavarria, loading the bases with none out. A 12 pitch at-bat with Jordany Valdespin ended in an RBI groundout to first, bringing the Marlins to within two, 4-2. A high chopping infield single off the bat of Christian Yelich scored Enrique Hernandez from third, making it 4-3. Justin Bour ripped a single to center to score Hechavarria, tying things up at four. A wild pitch allowed Christian Yelich to score, giving the Marlins a 5-4 lead.
While heading to the dugout, fans voiced their displeasure with the blown save with boo's and Papelbon responded by "adjusting his jock strap", which he denied later, saying it was not a gesture to the fans. Joe West saw what he did and tossed Papelbon, which didn't settle well with the Phillies closer. You can see the sequence of events by clicking here. Today was Papelbon's 50th game finished this season. His '16 option vests with 55 games finished in 2015, or total of 100 in '14-15.
Freddy Galvis led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk against Marlins closer, Steve Cishek. Cody Asche came in to pinch-hit for Papelbon and singled to left. That would be all they would be able to get though, as Revere, Franco and Utley all struck out against Cishek, giving the Marlins a 5-4 win.
Notable Offensive Statistics:
- Ryan Howard: 2-3, R, BB
- Chase Utley: 1-5, R, 2B, RBI
- Carlos Ruiz: 1-4, RBI
- Freddy Galvis: 1-3, R
Impact: David Buchanan put together another good start holding the Marlins to one run in 6.1 innings. He was removed earlier than some would have hoped, after throwing just 89 pitches. Luckily, Antonio Bastardo retired the next two hitters, putting the Phils rookie in a position to win. Justin De Fratus threw 10 pitches in a scoreless eighth, but Jonathan Papelbon blew the save in the ninth, surrendering four runs. He had given up just two earned runs in his previous 22 innings. Nothing big to note of on the offensive side of things today. The ninth inning wasn't pretty and the home plate umpire made some questionable strike calls, dooming the Phils in the end. Ryan Howard had a nice day at the plate, gathering two hits, a walk and a run. Maikel Franco got his fifth RBI of his young MLB career as well with a single to score Freddy Galvis in the third.
Up Next: The Phillies head out west for a four-game set with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park beginning Monday night at 10:10PM. Game one features a pitching matchup of Jerome Williams for the Phillies (3-1, 3.44) and Andrew Cashner for the Padres (3-7, 2.40).
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
