Photo: Philliedelphia/Andrew Gillen
If you read today's preview (which I very much hope you did), you knew that tonight's matchup was between the Phillies ability to get on base in road games vs. the Marlins immense success at home. Sandwiched between those two were the staring pitchers, A.J. Burnett and New Jersey native Anthony DeSclafani. It was the start of a 54-games-in-55-days stretch, as you may have heard Tom McCarthy mention two or thirty-eight times. The first inning of tonight's contest saw nearly 40 minutes of action, 67 pitches thrown, and four runs scored between the two teams. Would it be the sign of things to come for the night, or would the pace quicken as the game went on?
The Game: So how did the first inning take so long? It began with 32 total pitches thrown from the raw righty DeSclafani. Jimmy Rollins, leading off for a fourth straight game, worked his at bat into a five-pitch single. Carlos Ruiz followed with a big fly ball to Ozuna in center for the first out. With DeSclafani rattled through two batters, he'd end up walking Chase Utley to set Ryan Howard up. A high 91mph fastball was ripped out to right field toward Giancarlo Stanton, taking him to the edge of the warning track. Utley pulled into third while Howard slid to second, and Rollins scored to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. Marlon Byrd's groundout to short scored a second run, and A.J. Burnett would come to the mound with a two-run lead.
Despite getting the first out quickly, Burnett's struggles started when he plunked Derick Deitrich on the knee. Giancarlo Stanton walked like Utley did, and there were now two runners on base. A single by Casey McGehee scored the Marlins' first run. A single off the bat of Garrett Jones would load the bases. Following a strikeout, Burnett became frustrated with home plate umpire Will Little's strikezone. Eventually, the frustration lead to a bases loaded walk to Marcell Ozuna, and the game was tied up at two after one inning.
A third inning double by Garrett Jones scored Stanton for the Marlins' third run, giving them the temporary lead. The Phillies, however, would regain their advantage in the fifth. For the first time this season, A.J. Burnett doubled, knocking the ball to Marcell Ozuna in center. It turned out to be vital for his performance, as Jimmy Rollins followed up by mashing his sixth homerun of the season, a two-run shot that gave the Phillies the one-run lead.
The away team would get back at it in the sixth. Ryan Howard led off with a strikeout, but Marlon Byrd picked him up by doubling out to Christian Yelich. Brad Hand would then come in for relief, and immediately surrendered a walk to Cody Asche. A wild pitch allowed both runners to score, but a Domonic Brown strikeout seemed to end the threat. With the pitcher's spot on deck, Hand intentionally walked Gwynn to load the bases. This gave John Mayberry Jr. a chance to pinch hit, and the walk ended up hurting the Marlins. Mayberry singled to a deep Yelich in center field, deep enough to bring two runners home and extend the Phillies lead to 6-3.
Jake Diekman replaced Burnett after 96 pitches, and had an excellent outing. In two full innings, Diekman struck out three, one of which was Adam Hechavarria looking. After a night of questionable ball/strike calling, Marlins manager Mike Redmond finally had enough, and voiced his opinion to Will Little. Little grew impatient, and ejected Redmond. The second year manager got his fill, kicking dirt and making a long-winded appeal.
Diekman was finished after the seventh inning, and Mike Adams was summoned into the game. A walk and a double for McGehee and Jones put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Saltalamacchia was up next, and he popped the 2-1 pitch down the third base line in foul territory. Asche was there in time, but could not come up with the tough play. For some reason, the official scorer called it an error, and the followup single by Salty scored an unearned run. With two on and still nobody out, Adams struck out the next two batters, and forced Reed Johnson to groundout to Asche for the final out. The Phillies still clung to a 6-4 advantage.
Jonathan Papelbon came in to pitch the ninth, and amidst family emergencies and body soreness, he was a bit shaky. He first walked Yelich, but was able to get two consecutive groundouts to put two away. Stanton made it to first on one of those outs, and moved to second on defensive indifference. McGehee walked next, and with two on, a bloop single by Jones scored the Marlins' fifth run. That ended Papelbon;s 15 inning scoreless streak, but he could still collect the save. Saltalamacchia batted next, a flew out to Tony Gwynn Jr. on a 1-2 pitch. The Phillies secured their 6-5 victory for their third consecutive W.
Notable Phillies Performances:
Jake Diekman: 2.0 IP, 3 K, 0 H, 1 BB
Jimmy Rollins: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Cody Asche: 0-for-3, 2 BB, 1 R
Impact: After losing four straight to a combination of the Mets, Angels, and Reds, the Phillies have now won three consecutive ballgames. In all three games, they have at least six runs scored and seven hits, combing for 26 runs and 29 hits total. With a starting rotation pitching quite well, this hint of an offense finally putting things together is a fantastic sign. With two games remaining against a division foe, and two series against the Dodgers and Rockies at home, the Phillies need to continue to hit the ball the same way they have been.
Up Next: Game two against the Marlins in their home ballpark starts at 7:10 eastern, when Kyle Kendrick will take on hard-throwing Nathan Eovaldi.
