Looking for their fourth straight win for the first time this season, the Phillies went into tonight's game scoring 26 runs over their last three. They managed to score five more tonight, but Kyle Kendrick never got into a groove as the Phillies ended up getting routed by Miami, 14-5. Kendrick left pitches up in the zone early and allowed the Marlins to get momentum when it mattered most.
The Game: The Phillies got on the board right out of the gates. Carlos Ruiz was ruled out at first base on a grounder, but replay showed the first basemen's foot was off of the bag, so the call was overturned. Ryan Howard made it count as he ripped an RBI double down the left field line to score Ruiz and give the Phils a 1-0 lead. Marlon Byrd followed with a single to knock in Howard and make it 2-0 in favor of the Phillies.
The Marlins would answer in the bottom of the opening frame, though. Derek Dietrich lined a double to left and then Kyle Kendrick walked Giancarlo Stanton. Casey McGehee singled in Dietrich to cut the lead in half. Garrett Jones drove in Stanton via the sacrifice fly to tie things up at two a piece.
Miami added on another in the third. Dietrich followed his double in his first at-bat with a triple in his second. Giancarlo Stanton slapped an RBI groundout to second, scoring Dietrich from third, giving the Marlins a 3-2 lead. It wouldn't last long.
In the bottom of the inning, Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche led-off with back-to-back single. A Dom Brown groundout moved the runners to second and third. Tony Gwynn Jr. singled to right field to drive in Byrd to knotting things up at three a piece. That was all they would get as Kyle Kendrick grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The back-and-forth would continue. Garrett Jones doubled to start the bottom of the 4th and Jarrod Saltalamacchia moved him over on a deep fly ball to center. Marcell Ozuna singled in Jones, giving the Marlins the lead at 4-3. Christian Yelich singled in Ed Lucas, who walked earlier in the inning, to give Miami a two run lead, 5-3.
The Phillies had an opportunity to score some runs in the top of the fifth, but Giancarlo Stanton made a gorgeous diving catch to end the Phillies threat, stranding the bases loaded.
Ed Lucas singled to lead off the bottom of the 6th. He was erased on a force play off the bat of Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna moved to second on a Reed Johnson lineout, then Christian Yelich hit an RBI triple to give the Marlins a 6-3 lead.
Jeff Manship came in during the 7th and got two quick outs. He then gave up a single, walked a guy and gave up another single to load the bases. Marcell Ozuna blasted a grand slam over the wall in left to give the Marlins a commanding 10-3 lead.
The Phillies weren't done quite yet. Cody Asche singled to lead off the eighth. That brought up the struggling Dom Brown. He put those struggles aside in this at-bat as he smacked a two-run homer to left-center field, cutting the lead to 10-5.
The Marlins scored four more in the eighth, sealing the Phillies fate by a score of 14-5.
Notable Offensive Statistics:
Jimmy Rollins: 2-4
Ryan Howard: 1-4, 2B, RBI, K, R
Marlon Byrd: 2-3, RBI, BB, R
Domonic Brown: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
Impact: Jimmy Rollins moved into a tie for second with Richie Ashburn on the Phillies all-time hit list with 2,217. Kyle Kendrick looked bad tonight and that is all there is to it. He hasn't won a game since August of last season and he gave up six runs in 5.2 innings. The Phillies just can't seem to get a shutdown inning when they need it. They score two early, give two right back. It seemed like the two teams would go back-and-forth for longer, but the Marlins pitchers settled in and the Phils fell into a slump, stranding runners on base. It is a shame to see them lose to a lineup that has very little amount of threats other than Stanton. It was nice to see Brown hit a homer though I guess. The offense did plenty to win tonight, but the pitching was a disappointment. Manship, Garcia and Hollands all looked bad.
Up Next: The Phillies and Marlins conclude their series tomorrow when Cole Hamels (1-2, 4.40) takes the mound against Henderson Alvarez (2-3, 3.62) for at 12:40PM matinee. Alvarez pitched six innings and gave up three runs on 12 hits during his start on April 13th against Philadelphia. Hamels is coming off of a great outing against the Reds, where he went seven innings, gave up just one run and struck out ten.
Brandon Apter is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
