Photo Courtesy: Andrew Gillen
Just two games into the 2014 campaign, fans have already begun to question some of the decisions manager Ryne Sandberg has made, especially when it comes to the bullpen. Mario Hollands and B.J. were called upon to pitch in a tie game in the ninth inning, and eventually gave the win away to the Rangers. With Hollands never having made a major league pitch before, many scratched their heads concerning the move to put him in during such a tough situation. Nevertheless, the rubber match was to be played tonight, and former bullpen arm Robbie Ross took the mound for Texas. Kyle Kendrick would be making his season debut as well, and he'd have to do it without his usual shortstop behind him, as Jimmy Rollins left the team to be with his wife during the birth of their child.
The Game: The Philly bats were able to get off to a quick start, scoring right away off of Ross. Despite Ben Revere leading things off with a strikeout, Carlos Ruiz just missed his first homerun of the season, doubling off the high left field wall. Chase Utley would then follow by grounding a ball into center field, pushing Ruiz up to third. Chooch would score, though, as Leonys Martin bobbled the ball. The error allowed Philadelphia to take the early 1-0 advantage.
In between a Ben Revere ground out and Chase Utley fly out, Carlos Ruiz was able to work a walk in the top of the third inning. He would move up to second base on a wild pitch, but that would not matter when Ryan Howard blasted a 400+ foot homerun into the stands, his first of the season. Make the score 3-0 Phillies.
Meanwhile, Kyle Kendrick had a stellar performance going. Despite a rough first inning where he allowed runners to reach second and third with nobody out, Kendrick worked his way out of a jam and settled in quite nicely. Through six innings, he allowed no runs to the opposition. He did get touched up in the seventh, after allowing a one out triple, which was really a mishandled ball by Revere, to Mitch Moreland. Leonys Martin singled to bring Moreland in, ending the shutout and moving the score to 3-1.
Mario Hollands returned to the mound tonight, and was succesful, throwing a ten pitch 1-2-3 eighth inning. Jonathan Papelbon was then tabbed to close things out, and just could not do so. Adrian Beltre singled to lead things off, and after a Rios strikeout, Moreland doubled to put runners on second and third. Jim Adduci then recorded an infield single to Cody Asche at third, and brought Beltre in for the team's second run. A single by Martin into center field tied the game at three. Donnie Murphy then worked a walk to load the bases with one away. Shin Soo Choo then took to the plate, and reached a 3-2 count. Papelbon's next pitch was high from the moment it left his hand, and the game finished with a walk-off walk.
Impact: As Tom McCarthy pointed out at the end of tonight's broadcast, the Phillies have wasted two straight days of stellar starting pitching. Both A.J. Burnett gave 1-run, 7-inning performances that should have been more than enough to eran victories. Instead, the bullpen became the downfall for the second night in a row, and the game's highest paid closer could not do his job adequately. Now, the Phillies stand at 1-2 when they should certainly have been at least 2-1, and can't be very sure about the current situation in the bullpen.
Up Next: The Phillies will have their first off day of the season tomorrow, as the team takes the trip up to Chicago to battle the Cubs. Travis Wood takes the mound for the boys in blue, while Roberto Hernandez will make his Phillies debut at 2:20 Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Andrew Gillen is a Managing Editor at Philliedelphia
