Photo: Philliedelphia/Andrew Gillen
A single win in the month of June was one of the (very) few shreds of hope the Phillies and their fans had to hang on to going into tonight's ballgame. On the field, nobody was performing to a particularly high standard, and the pitching was not much better. Off the field, the team has announced the signing of their first round draft pick Aaron Nola. While the move doesn't help the team immediately, it does give them a glimmer of hope for a few years down the line, as Nola combines with the likes of Jesse Biddle and Maikel Franco to lead the future of the major league squad. But enough of the future talk. Tonight, A.J. Burnett set out to redeem himself in a matchup against the San Diego Padres and the hot hand of starting pitcher Ian Kennedy.
The Game: Neither team had a hit through the first two innings, and it seemed inevitable that a 1-0 final was forthcoming. It become even more palpable when Burnett gave up his first hit of the game in the third. Will Venable was batting for the second time, and took the 3-1 pitch deep for just his second home run of the season. A 1-0 advantage for the Fathers three innings in.
After the anxiety built up a bit, a sigh of release collectively graced the Philadelphia fans, as a multi-run fourth inning popped up for the Phillies. Ben Revere got things going when he nearly had his second career homerun. Instead, it bounced off the halfway point of the right field wall, and it turned into a leadoff double. A wild pitch moved Revere to third, and with one away, Chase Utley opened the Phillies scoring. A single into right field brought Ben in and but Chase on base. Ryan Howard followed with a single of his own, putting runners on the corners. This allowed Marlon Byrd to break into double digit homeruns for the second straight season. The three run bomb put the Phillies up 4-1.
Each team would tack on a single run each later in the ballgame. In the bottom of the sixth inning, after he singled with one away, Chase Utley was brought home on a Marlon Byrd RBI sacrifice fly. The next inning, Carlos Quentin led the inning off with a double. One batter later, Quentin had moved to third, and first baseman Yonder Alonso sacrificed himself for the team's second run. With seven full innings played, Philadelphia held a 5-2 advantage.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Phillies managed to get the bases loaded with nobody away. Ben Revere and Jimmy Rollins each singled to get things started. Chase Utley was up next, and he bounced a ball toward the middle of the field. Everth Cabrera attempted to tag Rollins between the bases and throw Utley out at first, but neither attempt was successful. Apparently not wanting to show up their opponent, the next three Phillies (Howard, Byrd, and Brown) all struck out.
Jonathan Papelbon came in to pitch the ninth inning in his first save opportunity since May 24th. May 24th. He'd allow a double and a single, then plunked Rene Rivera with two strikes and two away to load the bases. However, none of the runners would score, and the Phillies collected their second win of June in a 5-2 victory. It was also the 300th career save of Papelbon's career. He is the third youngest player and second fastest pitcher (in terms of games played) to reach that milestone.
Impact: A couple of players came out with some impressive performances. A.J. Burnett looked much better than he had in his last handful of ballgames. In 7.1 innings, Burnett was on the hook for just two earned runs, and allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out three. On the offensive side of the game, Marlon Byrd strung together a nice evening. Four RBIs, a hit, and a run scored on his tenth home run was his final line. A rise in numbers like these could spell some trade rumors surrounding Byrd as we move toward July 31st.
Up Next: Coming off his outstanding performance against the Reds, Cole Hamels takes to the hill against Tyson Ross and the Padres in Game Two of the series tomorrow night.
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
