Behind a strong outing from AJ Burnett, the Phillies (1-1) took the lead into the seventh. Unfortunately, the bullpen couldn't protect it as the Rangers (1-1) walked-off in the bottom of the ninth. A day after scoring 24 combined runs, the Phillies and Rangers found themselves in a scoreless game until the sixth.
The Game: Cesar Hernandez led off the sixth inning with a double into the gap in left center. Ben Revere followed with a sacrifice bunt, moving Cesar to third. Jimmy Rollins, fresh off his 200th homer in yesterday's matchup, ripped a single up the middle to score Hernandez. 1-0 Phillies. With a speedy Ben Revere on second, Rangers pitcher Martin Perez threw to second to attempt to pick him off, but Revere was ruled safe. Instant replay showed Revere was tagged before his hand hit the base, erasing a runner from scoring position. Marlon Byrd singled to put runners on first and second then Ryan Howard doubled to right, scoring Rollins. 2-0 Phillies. Had Revere not gotten picked off, the Phils could have had a three run lead.
Looking for a shutdown inning in the bottom of the sixth, Burnett surrendered a lead-off double to Alex Rios. A Mitch Moreland single past Hernandez at second was good enough to score Rios, cutting the Phillies lead in half. Rangers second baseman Donnie Murphy hit a shallow fly to right that looked like it may fall in but Marlon Byrd managed to make a spectacular diving play to retire Murphy. Byrd quickly threw to first to double-up Moreland, who was almost at second base on the play. End of the sixth, Phils had the lead, 2-1.
Jake Diekman came in for the Phillies in the seventh after pitching an inning yesterday. Shin-Soo Choo singled and was moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Elvis Andrus. Prince Fielder followed with a groundout, moving Choo to third with two outs. Adrian Beltre laced a double down the right field line, scoring Choo and tying things up, 2-2. With runners on second and third, Diekman struck out pinch-hitter Michael Choice to escape the inning with the game knotted at two a piece.
Fast forward to the ninth. After going down in order to start the inning, Ryne Sandberg called on left-hander Mario Hollands. Making his major league debut, Hollands couldn't find the strike zone. He walked Shin-Soo Choo, who was then moved over to second on a bunt from Elvis Andrus. Hollands walked Prince Fielder to bring up Adrian Beltre. Sandberg opted to go to BJ Rosenberg to face Beltre. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Beltre hit a line drive single to right, winning the game for Texas, 3-2.
The win in this one went to Joakim Soria (1-0, 0.00 ERA), while Mario Hollands (0-1, 27.00 ERA) took the loss.
Notable Phillies Statistics:
- AJ Burnett: 6 IP, 7H, 1ER, 2BB, 3K
- Antonio Bastardo: 1 IP, 2K
- Marlon Byrd: 2-for-3
- Ryan Howard: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
- Jimmy Rollins: 1-for-4, R, RBI
- Cesar Hernandez: 2-for-3, R
Impact: None of us were expecting a repeat of the offensive outburst. Cesar Hernandez had great at-bats and Howard continued to show patience at the plate, despite striking out late in the game on a breaking ball outside. Marlon Byrd has also looked very strong thus far. Defensively, Byrd & Hernandez made great plays in the field.
Pitching-wise, AJ Burnett turned in a solid outing, despite looking wild at times. He kept hitters off balance for the most part. As for the bullpen, Sandberg used Diekman, Bastardo and Rosenberg for a second straight day. Diekman looked shaky and Rosenberg faced one hitter and gave up the game-winner. Bastardo did fine while Mario Hollands couldn't find the strike zone and ultimately lost the game for the Phillies. With so much youth in the bullpen, outcomes may become very unpredictable. Hopefully they get stronger in the days to come. Don't get me wrong, things could have been much worse, but obviously you want to see more out of your young pitching early in the season.
Up Next: The Phillies and Rangers play the rubber match of their opening series Wednesday night at 8:05PM. Kyle Kendrick will take the mound for Philadelphia and will be opposed by Robbie Ross Jr. of the Rangers.
Brandon Apter is a Managing Editor for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
