A Night at the Ballpark

Last night I was lucky enough to receive three free tickets from a generous friend for the ballgame against the Pirates. The seats were great, you can see mine, my roommate and my girlfriend's vantage point in the picture above. From the angle we were sitting, you can really see more nuances of the battle between pitcher and hitter that you don't normally get to appreciate on TV.


For instance, in his first at bat and during the first 3 pitches of his second at bat, Ryan Howard looked clueless. The Pirates started lefthander Wandy Rodriguez and he entered the game with an ERA under 1.00. This did not bode well for the Phillies considering they had been shutout by a lefthander the night before and been struggling mightily against lefties all season. Howard is a large portion of that struggle, he entered the game batting 2-18 on the season against left handed pitching. Well after making up his mind and swinging fastball, even though it’s obvious to the 32,000 in attendance (yes only 32,000 + paid last night) that he would not be getting a fastball, he struck out and was clearly way out in front of the pitch. This frustrates me a little bit I must say. My frustration was mitigated a bit because Chase Utley had lined a tracer over the fence while batting second in the first inning.

With the score 1-0 Phils after 1 it was time for Roy “Doc” Halladay to go to work. I was at the game last Friday night against the Cardinals when Halladay got a de facto complete game for finishing 7 strong innings and allowing 2 runs before the sky opened up and ended the game early. Needless to say, I was excited to see what Doc would bring to the table after two straight solid starts that followed his disastrous beginning to the season.

Well ladies and gentlemen, I’m not trying to jinx anything here but it looks like Doc is starting to regain his mojo. I was skeptical after the Marlins start because, well they’re the Marlins. But after seeing his last two starts in person I have to say I’ve been impressed. He’s getting swings and misses. He is keeping the ball down in the zone and his velocity is almost back to normal. He was hitting 92 regularly Friday and was hovering around 89-91 MPH on the gun all last night. He may not have been 2010 Roy Halladay but let’s go inside the numbers a bit here. He pitched 6 innings and gave up 1 hit! 1 earned run, walked 2, and struck out 8. He struggled a few times trying to put hitters away which caused his high pitch count but I can live with those totals. The lone run that scored came after he got the first 2 outs of the 4th, then gave up a walk and a hit by pitch before a single tied the game.

So with the game tied at 1 in the 4th inning The Big Piece waltzed to the plate with 1 out and nobody on. Man did he look awful getting himself in the hole 0-2 flailing away at breaking pitches. He barely hung on foul tipping the third pitch he saw and then fouled a ball down the 1st base line to keep the count 0-2 after 4 pitches. My roommate sitting next to me is saying “No way you give him a pitch to hit here.” This is what every one in the stadium who knows anything about baseball is thinking. Howard will chase and strikeout if you can make a pitch. Well, Wandy made a pitch alright. He hung a curveball and Howard didn’t miss. He sent a majestic moon-shot into the upper deck and the Phillies took the lead 2-1. The crowd went wild. This would be the high point of the game. Howard doubled his season total with that blast and now has 2 in 77 at bats. :(

Halladay exited in the bottom of the 6th for pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen who came through with a clutch RBI single to give the Phils a 3-1 lead and leave Doc with a solid chance for his third straight victory. It was not to be though. The Phils bullpen imploded, starting with a home run given up by Antonio Bastardo in the 7th and ending with Mike Adams literally soiling himself on the mound while giving up 3 runs without getting an out in the 8th. 5-3 Pirates.

The Phils got a man on in the 8th but Ben Revere knows how to kill any kind of rally. I don’t know how the fastest guy on the team has already grounded into 4 double plays but it is killing me. I had to look this stat up and who do I see leading the league in GIDPs? Michael Young already has 6! Erik Kratz also has 4 and the Phillies lead the National League with 22 double plays in 22 games. Double plays are soul crushing, especially to a team like the Phillies that struggles to score so mightily. The Pirates closer Jason Grilli, who has yet to allow a run all season, struck out Utley with a man on to end the 9th.

Pirates win 5-3.

Phils record when I’m in attendance: 2-1.

As an aside, I have to say that Citizen’s Bank Park really offers a nice variety of food options. Friday night my seats were in right field so I ventured back to Bull’s Barbeque and had a delightfully tangy pulled pork sandwich. Last night I strolled over to Ashburn Alley and braved the line at Campo’s to get myself “The Heater” which is basically a buffalo steak sandwich with pepper jack cheese. My roommate went with "The Schmitter" - good times.

The Phils have clearly not started to click this season and this loss dropped them to 9-13. They trail the Braves by 6.5 games and need to start turning it around before the mountain is too big to climb. There are encouraging signs from all of the better players on the team, but it needs to start happening on a more consistent nightly basis. The big three pitchers all look like they can dominate and that should prove to be a leg up if the Phils can provide some offense. That starts with Howard homering more than once every 40 at bats. Chooch comes back this weekend. Time to get going!