Photo: Philliedelphia/Andrew Gillen
At the rate the Phillies are going, and with the apparent mindset of Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies front office, a sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates may not have been the wort thing in the world. The five-game winning streak was a ton of fun, but losing is really winning for this ball club. A lack of back-to-back victories reminds both the club and its fans that their is no chance at a playoff push, and the team itself needs a major overhaul. Amaro, David Montgomery, and the rest of the Phillies leaders must separate themselves from the thought that they'd be able to use a couple of wins to elevate the club back into a contending franchise. With all of that being said, it is still a deep desire in the hearts of all true Phils fans to see their team succeed, and so an intermittent win is desirable. One of the best chances at one of those would come tonight, with Cole Hamels taking to the bump against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Game: Philadelphia got off to a great start, scoring twice in the first inning alone. Ben Revere led the game off with a single, and moved over to second on an Andres Blanco bunt. Newly crowned All-Star second baseman Chase Utley stepped to the plate next, and gave himself a bit of a boost after struggling his last couple of weeks. An 0-1 swing just cleared the fence and landed in the Phillies bullpen for a two-run, Utley's seventh of the season. The Phillies opened up a 2-0 lead on Marco Estrada and the Brew Crew.
The Phillies would score a unique third run in inning number three. It involved Utley once again, when he singled with two away in the frame. Ryan Howard batted next, and he took a ball out into the right field gap over the shift. Chase Utley read the ball beautifully, taking off at the crack of the bat. While Howard was held up at first base when the ball was cut off in right field, Utley continued to wheel hard, rounding third and managing to score on the throw. With that, the Brewers were down 3-0 after the first three innings.
With the bases loaded and two away in the fifth, the Phillies threatened to score again. Marlon Byrd stood in with a big opportunity, but a ground ball up the third base line turned into a spectacular play by Aramis Ramirez. The frame finished up there, and Philadelphia stood still at three runs. It turned out to be an even tougher situation in the home half of the fifth, when the Brewers touched up Cole Hamels.
Khris Davis began it by singling on a full count pitch out to Domonic Brown in left field. Mark Reynolds bounced a ball over to Cody Asche at third, but a touch hop caught Cody off guard, and the ball rolled back behind the mound for an error. A third baserunner would reach in the form of a Jean Segura single, and Milwaukee now had three on, nobody out, and a big opportunity against Hamels.
Jeff Bianchi was given the chance to pinch hit for Estrada, and came through on the first pitch he saw. A liner into right field scored the first two runners, and forced Marlon Byrd to throw the ball into third. Segura was caught between bases and was tagged out, so the Brewers now stood with a runner on first with one away, while down just one run to the Phillies. Hamels, always the fighter, got the next two batters (Rickie Weeks and Ryan Braun) to ground out, and with five full innings completed, the score now stood at 3-2 Phillies.
The seventh nearly became disastrous for Cole Hamels. It started off innocently enough, with a Khris Davis walk and a Mark Reynold strikeout to begin the frame. A ten pitch battle would then ensue between Hamels and Jean Segura, one that saw Cole get frustrated multiple times with catcher Cameron Rupp. Eventually, Segura singled into right field to emerge victorious. Hamels remained in the game, at least long enough to face Martin Maldonado. A slightly shorter batter, eight pitches, also had a better result, a strikeout. It was Hamels's last battle, as Ken Giles came into the biggest situation in his young career. Four pitches in, Rickie Weeks sent a ball into the deepest part of the ballpark, but just short enough that Tony Gwynn Jr. could make the catch on the warning track for the final out, holding the Phillies lead at a single run.
With the score remaining at 3-2 into the ninth, Jonathan Papelbon was summoned to close out Milwaukee. He struck out the first two batters he faced, and forced Jean Segura to ground the ball right back to the mound for the final out. It was Papelbon's twentieth save of the season, and it gave the Phillies a 3-2 victory.
Impact: Two noteworthy outings, if not only for their trade implications. Chase Utley came away with two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored to lead the Phillies to victory. Utley has fallen off rather quickly since batting over .300 in the beginning of the season, and needed to pick himself up. Teams may certainly still be interested in Utley's services come July 31st. Jonathan Papelbon also had a great evening, retiring all three batters he faced, striking out two of them and recording save number twenty on the season. Pap could be another name headed elsewhere this month.
Up Next: Game Two of the four game series with Milwaukee commences tomorrow evening, when Kyle Kendrick returns to the mound to take on the Brewers Wily Peralta. The game is set to begin at 8:15 PM Eastern.
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
