Photo Courtesy: Andrew Gillen
Cole Hamels made his much anticipated debut for the Phillies last night after missing all of Spring Training and a good portion of April. Given that pitchers typically aren't expected to be at their peak just after an injury, Hamels wasn't supposed to look that great. However, to the delight of all Phillies fans, the crafty left-hander was fantastic. Despite running into the pitching machine that is Zack Greinke, Hamels had a stellar return. Even though they were handed the loss, the team had to feel good going into tonight's game knowing that they had a chance to take 3-of-4 from a team many see as World Series favorites. Kyle Kendrick would be the one to lead them to the field, while the Dodgers sent veteran Dan Haren out to start.
The Game: Through the first three innings, the Phillies were able to collect four hits, including two doubles, and a walk, and could not get a run home. As we've seen plenty of times before, this trend typically results in an unfavorable ending. Kendrick would get bitten a bit by the lack of support in the fourth, when he gave up his first runs of the game. Adrian Gonzalez started off the frame with a double out toward Marlon Byrd in right field. Despite being able to get the next two hitters out, Kendrick could not keep Juan Uribe at bay. As he seems to do often, Uribe crushed a homerun, this time a two-run shot, that gave LA a 2-0 lead.
All that talk about a lack of run support, and the Phillies answered in the fifth. With one away, both Ben Revere and Carlos Ruiz singled, and there were runners at the corners for Chase Utley. Utley rolled a ball over to Gonzalez at first, who couldn't handle it, and Revere was able to score. Now with two runners on, Ryan Howard sent the ball back to Haren on the mound. Marlon Byrd then stepped up with runners on second and third, and he sent a ball deep into right field for Yasiel Puig. Puig had a chance to make a diving catch, but just missed. Both runners scored, and Kendrick now got to throw with a 3-2 lead.
In the first year of full replay in the league, the Phillies seemed to have run into it quite a number of times. Singles by Hanley Remirez and Adrian Gonzalez with one away in the fifth set the scene. Yasiel Puig bounced a ball to Asche at third, and Ramirez took off toward home plate. Asche threw toward home, drawing Carlos Ruiz into the basepath. Ramirez slowed his run and was tagged out. A replay was viewed to determine whether or not Chooch blocked Ramirez intentionally. Ultimately, it was decided that Ruiz was forced to play the ball there, and the out call stood. Andre Eithier would ground to Howard next, and the inning was over.
Replay would reign again in the sixth, when a Juan Uribe ground ball to Freddy Galvis at third was ruled an infield single. A look back showed Galvis took longer than he should have to mkae the throw, and a hustling Uribe just beat the throw. Maybe. Larry Bowa gave Ryne Sandberg the go ahead to challenge the play, and the umpires would go under review for the second straight inning. Another lengthy conversation ensued, and the call was upheld, but not necesarily confirmed, as the play was very close. A single later in the inning by Dee Gordon sent Kendrick to the showers and brought Jake Diekman into the game to face pinch hitter Matt Kemp. Diekman used some 98 mph heat to get Kemp out, and end the threat.
Mike Adams came in to pitch the seventh in replacement of Jake Diekman. He was able to get three quick outs in the inning, and looked good on all of them. The issue lies in that, sandwhiched between the three outs was a first-pitch homerun to Adrian Gonzalez. That scoring play tied the ball game up at three runs a side.
In the ninth, Brian Wilson would come on to pitch for the Dodgers in a tie ball game. Cody Asche put a couple smiles on faces by singling off of Wilson to start the inning. After Tony Gwynn lined to center field, Ben Revere poked a single past Ramirez to put two runners on. Carlos Ruiz then took to the plate, looking to extend his hot streak. Having already been on base four times tonight, Chooch continued his hitting by doubling down the left field line. Both runs would score, and the Phillies would have a 5-3 lead. It was Ruiz' sixth extra-base hit of the series, the most by a Major League hitter in any series this season.
Chase Utley was intentionally walked in hopes of getting Ryan Howard to ground into his second double play of the evening. However, Wilson plunked him on the hand to load the bases. With that, manager Don Mattingly took the ball and replaced Wilson with Jamey Wright. Marlon Byrd came up next, and collected RBIs number 3 and 4 on the night with a single. A walk to Domonic Brown would load the bases once more, but both Freddy Galvis and Cody Asche recorded outs to end the insurance run frenzy.
Jonathan Papelbon had been warming for a close game, but was put in anyway with the 4-run lead. He'd face Dee Gordon, Matt Kemp, and Hanley Ramirez in the inning. While Gordon and Kemp went down without a hiccup, Ramirez reached on a walk. Adrian Gonzalez would give him a difficult at bat, but flew out to end it. Papelbon didn't earn a save, but closed out a 7-3 game victory, and 3-1 series victory, for the Phillies.
Impact: A four game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers would have surprised no one, considering the current stage of this team. However, a lethal combination of timely hitting and exceptional starting pitching helped propel the Phillies to three wins over a World-Series contending ballclub. Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, A.J. Burnett, Kyle Kendrick, Carlos Ruiz, and Ryan Howard all had reasons to smile following this four game set, and heading into a struggling Arizona ball club, there is no reason this team cannot go 6-4 or even 7-3 overall on the trip.
Up Next: The Phillies will begin the final leg of their extended 10-game West Coast trip. They'll travel to Chase Field to face the Arizona Diamondbacks and Josh Collmenter in Game One. Roberto Hernandez will be handed the ball for Ryne Sandberg's club in the 9:40 eastern time game.
