Photo: Philliedelphia/Andrew Gillen
They lost two of three games against the Marlins, and got buried in the National League Eastern Division Standings. They were swept in a three game series against their cross-state rival Pittsburgh Pirates. So, as of 2:10 eastern time, was it any surprise that the Phillies had an opportunity to sweep a four game series against the team with the best record in the National League? Obviously. However, it was the exact scenario Philadelphia was in for this afternoon, as David Buchanan prepared to head into battle against the Milwaukee Brewers. Matt Garza, with an ERA of 1.77 in six career appearances against the Phillies, got the nod for the Brew Crew.
The Game: Just as you may have expected, the teams combined for just a single hit through the first four innings. In fact, Milwaukee's Matt Garza had a perfect game going until surrendering a one-out walk to Marlon Byrd in the fifth. Still, Garza continued to toss a no-hitter through six. David Buchanan, meanwhile, matched up against his veteran counterpart pitch-by-pitch. Headed into the home half of the six inning, the only baserunners the rookie dealt with were from a second inning single and a fifth inning hit by pitch. His first matchup of the sixth frame came against Carlos Gomez, and Gomez walked away victorious. The 2-1 pitch was clobbered into the Milwaukee bullpen in left field for a solo home run. The Brewers held on to a 1-0 lead at that point.
Jimmy Rollins made sure the Phils would not have a repeat from earlier this season, when the team was no-hit by Josh Beckett and the Los Angeles Dodgers. A on-bagger out to Ryan Braun broke up Garza's no-hit bid, and Chase Utley jumped on the train right away. He singled in the next at bat, and suddenly, the Phillies had two on with nobody out. As it has seemed to have gone all season, however, the Phils could not come through. Two straight ground outs and a fly ball out to center field ended the threat, and seemed to spell the end of the Phillies'day.
Inning eight was led off with a Domonic Brown fly out, innocently enough. Cameron Rupp, however, would come up next, doubling into right field. Cesar Hernandez stood in to pinch hit for Buchanan, walking to put two guys on. A groundout by Tony Gwynn Jr. advanced both runners, but sent two batters down. It looked as though Philadelphia would blow a second opportunity, at least for the time being. With Will Smith replacing Matt Garza on the mound, though, everything broke loose. First up was Jimmy Rollins, whose base hit brought in the Phillies first two runs. A walk to Chase Utley set up Ryan Howard, who's liner into left field was eventually called a ground-rule double.
Smith then made the decision to intentionally walk Marlon Byrd, loading the bases for Cody Asche. Asche did his best to replicate Ryan Howard, sending a ground-rule double of his own into right field to bring home two more runs. In his second at bat of the frame, Domonic Brown singled to collect two RBIs, and within that eighth inning alone, the Phils jumped out to a 7-1 lead. They'd even add on two more in the ninth when Ryan Howard notched his fifteenth home run of the season, a two run shot to move the score to 9-1.
After he tossed seven innings, David Buchanan was replaced by Antonio Bastardo in the eighth inning. Jake Diekman did the same for Bastardo in the ninth, and with both pitchers collecting 1-2-3 frames, the Phillies walked away with the 9-1 victory. Not only were they able to overcome the odds an secure today's win, but they did the improbable in sweeping the four game set against the National League's top team (using records, at least).
Impact: While it is great to see the Phillies string together a respectable streak of wins, let's not forget what this season is about. It has become an accepted fact that this is not a playoff contending ballclub, and selling is the only option at the trade deadline. Too many more wins into the All-Star Break and toward the July 31st trade deadline could be devastating, should the front office see this team becoming anything more than they truly are.
Up Next: The Phillies return home after a 5-5 road trip to take on the Washington Nationals. A.J. Burnett takes to the mound for the Phillies, while Jordan Zimmermann gets the start for Washington in the 7:05 start.
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
