About Last Night

Dan Uggla hit .179 last year and is currently batting .222

Last night’s Phillies game was one of the more painful games to experience in recent memory. There was a blip of a good feeling early in the game when Ryan Howard connected on an Ervin Santana fastball and sent it over the fence in right center field to give the Phils a 1-0 lead. It was his second in as many games. Even though it was a solo shot, I can tell you that there isn’t a better feeling as a Phillies fan right now than watching Ryan Howard hit a home run. It’s what he’s supposed to do and we took it for granted for so long that we could not get used to the feeling of him not being capable. Here’s to The Big Piece being capable and healthy in 2014.

From there not much happened until the last two innings of the ball game. Second year catcher and already tenured Phillie killer Evan Gattis swatted a 2 run home run off Phillies starter Roberto Hernandez in the 6^th inning to take a 2-1 lead. Gattis had three homers against the Phillies last year, and he was their backup catcher! Whether it’s Brian McCann or Gattis it seems like the Braves guy behind the plate will do damage against our Phillies.

So after Mario Hollands got through the 7^th inning without allowing a run the Phils desperately needed to keep the game close in order to have a chance against the Braves bullpen that boasted the best ERA in the Majors last year. Job not done. BJ Rosenberg entered the game in the 8^th, his 3^rd appearance in as many days, and got lit the _____ up! Gattis asked the bartender for another round and got it. This was his second multi-home run game against the Phillies. Ugh. Next up was Dan Uggla and he sent one into Harry The Ks restaurant in left. Not to be outdone, Andrelton Simmons made it back-to-back-to-back jacks (sounds like a Tom Emanski commercial). Rosenberg’s ERA for the game looked like an 8 on it’s side as Larry Bowa undoubtedly said to Sandberg before the Simmons home run ball landed, “I think you can go get him now.”

So the Phillies were completely dead in the water down 5-1 entering the bottom of the 8^th against the Braves bullpen and their lefty specialist Luis Avilan. Tony Gwynn Jr, making the most of Ben Revere’s injury, led the inning off with a walk. This is a cardinal sin that way too many relievers commit.  Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley both followed with singles to load the bases for The Big Piece. He struck out looking. No matter, Marlon Byrd sent a two strike low and away pitch through the hole on the right side for a two run single to make the score 5-3 Braves with one out and two men on.

Dom Brown was next up and he picked one hell of a time for his first home run of the season. He sent a scorching line drive out to right field on a 1-0 pitch. All of a sudden the Phillies dropped five quick runs on the Braves and took the lead in the bottom of the 8^th for the second game in a row. What a tremendous feeling this was for the few thousand that remained in the ballpark and the dedicated fans still watching.

What a tremendously short lived feeling it was.

I sent my father a text “It’s Pap time” as the 8^th inning ended.  Unfortunately for the Phils, Jonny Paps had been used in three straight games and was unavailable to nail down his 4^th consecutive save. In came lefty fireballer Jake Diekman, who clearly was not ready for the moment, his first career save opportunity.

As is Phils’ bullpen tradition, Diekman committed the cardinal sin and walked the leadoff man to start the 9^th. He did that on four pitches that weren’t close. Next up was the dangerous Freddie Freeman and Chase Utley managed to make his first bad play of the season. Freeman hit a slow chopper to Utley and Chase tried to flip to 2^nd for the force but his play was to first for the sure out, safe all around. Heap big trouble. Of course, Diekman then walked Justin Upton to load the bases with one out. There was a wrench in my gut.

Diekman then managed to strike out the obviously dangerous Evan Gattis on three pitches, the last one blew him away at 98 MPH just so he could toy with our emotions a little more. Up stepped the man with the biggest forearms and the worst batting average you’ve ever seen, and Dan Uggla did not miss the meatball of a hanging slider Diekman served up to him. GRAND SLAM. Braves take the lead 9-6 on Uggla’s second home run in as many innings.

That was all she wrote for the Phillies on Mondee night.

The moral of the story is that the Phillies bullpen is not very good (putting it nicely alert!) and it’s being over used because the starters have not made it past the 6^th inning in all but two of the games. When the bullpen gets over used then the shaky relievers are not available and the terrible ones have to pitch in key spots. I think Jake Diekman has what it takes talent wise, but his head was not there last night and it cost the Phils dearly.

Hope springs eternal though as constantly banged up set-up man Mike Adams returns to the fold tonight and Cliff Lee is on the bump. Couple that with AJ Burnett still scheduled to make his next start and Cole Hamels being close to a return and the Phils could be looking good going forward. Especially if the offense keeps ticking like it has.