Game 115 Recap: Phillies 3, Braves 2
by royhobbs on Aug 14, 2009 11:22 PM EDT
30 comments
To me, these are the types of losses that hurt the most. There are no real excuses, or reasons to point at why the Braves failed to win this baseball game. You can't be mad at the umps, you can't be mad at any particular player, you can't be mad at Greg Norton; he nursed out a walk. You can't really be mad at Bobby Cox, who showed he was serious by going with his 1-2 bullpen options in the 8th and 9th. Both teams played good, hard baseball tonight, and the Phillies just got the better end of it.
Jair Jurrjens did his job, by contributing seven innings, with the exception of the fourth inning, were all solid, and economical, with him throwing first-pitch strikes to something like 21 of the first batters he faced, and 74 of his 103 total pitches all thrown for strikes. His only true mistake was the first pitch strike to Chase Utley in the top of the 4th, who blasted it out to deep right field. And despite the Braves showing some good fortitude by making up for the brief defecit immediately in the following bottom half of the inning with a Ryan Church double, scoring Yunel Escobar, they could provide no further offense the remainder of the game.
Unfortunately his counterpart in Joe Blanton, despite allowing baserunners in every inning, spread them out well, and got out of the messes for minimal damage in seven effective innings.
The Braves stranded eight men on base, but this isn't one of those games where we could look back and simply blame Jeff Francoeur or Jordan Schafer for untimely strikeouts and/or GIDPs. The Philadelphia outfield was absolutely everywhere this particular evening, hauling in every flyball or warning track shot, with a little bit of an assist to Mother Nature who was blowing inward from right field most of the evening. Despite the 1-for-12 performance from our 4-5-6 hitters, they put the balls in play, but between Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth, they managed to catch nearly everything hit up in the air. As a team, the Braves struck out a paltry three times, which is positive.
There were two key plays in this game, I would have to say - in the 5th inning, with Nate McLouth on third, Brian McCann demolishes a pitch to straightaway-center. All the people around me began to stand, and the collective gasp of 36,000 people awaiting to see the beauty of runs, and then Shane Victorino plasters himself against the outfield wall, and peels himself off, with a baseball in his glove. Ensue 36,000 people groaning. Had the highlight catch not occurred, it was a guaranteed off-the-wall go-ahead RBI double.
And then we have in the top of the 9th, Rafael Soriano hanging a slider, which Ryan Howard blasts into left-center seats, to take the lead, and despite the mediocrity of 2009 Brad Lidge, combined with the Braves' capability to frustrate and not make life easy for Lidge, the end result is still the same, with Lidge recording the cumbersome save, for the Phillies win.
As for Soriano, some are already wondering what the deal is - is something wrong with him, or is it just the law of averages reeling him back in from his previous four months of more-or-less sheer dominance? Honestly, this is the only part where I scratch my head, and wish Bobby were still using the Soriano/Mike Gonzalez tandem based on match-ups versus roles.
Tomorrow's another day, and let's hope the Braves can turn the tables and keep this streak of winning series up. And goody for us, FOX is picking up the game for wide-spread regional action, which also means funky start time at 4:05 p.m. EST. Kenshin Kawakami takes the hill against Cole Hamels.
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Shit
tough, tough, tough loss.
The bright side is we really couldve won this game tonight. it was just one of those nights when we couldnt catch a break (outside of the Feliz error in the 4th).
I guess you have to lose one every once in a while…
Hopefully KK can bring his A game tomorrow and we can whoop on Hamels. Im all for starting another 5 game winning streak.
7/24/2009 - "The Phillies are too far ahead in the NL East for the Braves to make a run." - Buster Olney
REMEMBER THAT BOYS.
by mvhsbball on Aug 14, 2009 11:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
And this is why I thought you should do the recaps. Awesome.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
by cbwilk on Aug 14, 2009 11:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I missed being able to watch the game tonight, but a quick read over the game thread looks like we had opportunities but couldn’t get the ball to fall where a Philly outfielder wasn’t.
I hope they channel the Braves that played the Dodgers recently (with the painful first game loss) and play the remainder of this series like that one.
by NCChopper on Aug 14, 2009 11:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
This game is in Philly and we walk away winners by a margin of 7 or 8 to 3 instead of only scoring 2. Dang Victorino
by McCann's the Man on Aug 14, 2009 11:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
bring back smoltz
This has happen too many times now of Soriano blowing games for us heck we might be tied with Philly wasnt his blow chances . Smoltz can do at least this much . I’d take aflyer on Wagner and Woods if the teams were willing to pay half of there salary for next year . We just cant afford anymore of these . Medlen has seemed to pretty good why not give him a chance .
by ~~banditwolf~~ on Aug 14, 2009 11:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Soriano blows 3 games and you want to bring back Smoltz? That’s a litle ridiculous.
by Gage23 on Aug 15, 2009 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’m going to ignore bandit’s over-reaction but I do question Bobby’s decision to put Soriano in to start the ninth. Howard has drastic splits when it comes to facing a righty or lefty. They said he’s .190 vs lefties this year, I don’t know why Bobby wouldn’t just leave Gonzo in to face him and then possibly Ibanez. When a guy has that drastic difference in his splits, you need to take advantage of it
by McCann's the Man on Aug 14, 2009 11:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, I didn’t get that one either. It wasn’t as if Gonzo was getting smacked around. Yeah, he gave up a double, but it wasn’t hit particularly hard, just in the perfect spot. And he managed to work out of a situation with a runner in scoring position with nobody out. Why not at least let him pitch to Howard since the pitcher’s spot didn’t come up in the bottom of the 8th? Or at least send Boone Logan out there in crunch time. The numbers don’t lie, Howard straight up is not hitting lefties this year. Gonzo could have made him look a fool, but alas. 6 back is still doable, but it needs to be 4 by Monday morning.
by BraveSaluki on Aug 15, 2009 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
Like I said, this is one of those games, where I wish Bobby still did the match-ups with Soriano/Gonzalez. I know the Phillies are rich in lefties/switch-hitters, but it makes perfect sense to send your best lefty to take on their best lefties. Howard’s OPS drops drastically against lefties, and Bobby didn’t exploit it.
I was glad to see Bobby go straight to his best relievers for the 8th and 9th, because it showed that he was in it to win it, and not playing for extra innings by sending in O’Flaherty and Moylan. But upon further review, I’m disappointed that he’s long fallen back into the rut of role-relief pitching instead of playing the numbers. I know good relievers should be able to dispatch of good hitters, regardless of the side they swing from, and Soriano still made Ibanez look silly, but the reality is that Mike Gonzalez is the one that should’ve been in the game at that time. If any team was built to make a manager re-consider, it’s the Phillies and the heart of their order.
No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.
by royhobbs on Aug 15, 2009 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Woulda, coulda, shoulda……..
Time to move on and hope for a win tomorrow…..
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.
by HEYJUDE on Aug 15, 2009 1:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The most frustrating thing about tonight is that Soriano looked like the Soriano from pre-All Star break. I know it’s hard to tell cuz you were at the game, but calling Soriano’s HR ball a hanger is a little unfair. Howard hit a pitchers pitch (outside third @ the knees). Then Soriano made the next three batters look completely overmatched.
by J-Turn14 on Aug 15, 2009 2:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
You have to have a lefty face Howard in the ninth especially considering how badly Soriano has sucked in the last week. That loss was on Cox.
by redwards95 on Aug 15, 2009 6:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Geez, and as if to rub salt in the wound…this morning when I went to the Braves MLB site, clicked on the headline to read the wrap up, it links directly to the Phillies site instead.
Likely to miss today’s game, so I hope the guys can bounce back and take this HOME series away from the Phils.
by NCChopper on Aug 15, 2009 7:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Philadelphia’s outfield play won it for them. Against anyone else’s outfield, the score is 5-2 and Howard’s home run doesn’t matter. Games like this happen. Put it behind us and go get ’em today.
by John Holton on Aug 15, 2009 8:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
All our guys were trying to hit homers, when they should have been playing smart.
(self-appointed President of Yunel's Cartel~~~)
"The future is no place to place your better days." - Dave Matthews ~ RIP Roi
by Chief Noc-A-Homa on Aug 15, 2009 9:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
0-8 with RISP definitely does not need to happen again today.
by NCChopper on Aug 15, 2009 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This. This team has been guilty of that too much this season. I’m a fan of small ball. Sometimes you only need to score one run at a time and things will fall into place. It looked like we were getting the hang of that through July and early August, but sometimes we just look like a completely different team out there.
by Gage23 on Aug 15, 2009 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, Bobby’s stated plan for using Soriano/Gonzo for matchups has apparently been long forgotten. You gotta play the matchups on Howard. It set up perfectly to leave Gonzo in, and i wouldn’t have questioned the move at all if it had gone bad.
"Ohhhh Shit."-Bobby Cox, 3/28/09
by 10-4 on Aug 15, 2009 9:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
we need this series reallyyyyyyy bad. but we can only pickup one game now
Roosy
by geapsquash on Aug 15, 2009 10:01 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
fuckin Victorino………
I thought hurricane season was over........
by bravesguy311 on Aug 15, 2009 10:18 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
FYV but at least I get to watch todays game on....
AFN…bet you thought I was gonna say TV? Any house, I hope we hammer them…we got to be up for it….
Hope you know I don’t hate Victorino (but thought FYV was a nice reply to Bravesguy…)just only wish we had the old fenses from FCS still out there…he would have only made maybe one of the catches?
by bravestatoo on Aug 15, 2009 10:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
All I know is
I’m a little scared the rest of this series. I think we have a superior team sans power, but we just don’t seem to play well on national TV. Since the opener in Philly, we have been abysmal on FOX Saturdays & ESPN. I wonder if a national audience gives some of our guys the willies. I’m obviously hoping for the opposite though, and maybe we can gain a game on the Phillies. Ugh, we’re playing great ball and we’re STILL 6 back. Why won’t they lose?
There were probably 5 balls last night that we hit that would have been homers in that sorry excuse for a major league ball park they play in. Gotta hand it to their outfield, though. As big a baby Victorino is about the beer (I loved Joe Simpson’s analysis of the situation), he played a mean CF last night.
Tigers love pepper; they hate cinnamon.
by Jareth Cutestory on Aug 15, 2009 1:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Pathetic Excuse...
Obviously, I am a Phillies fan. But, that does not mean I am here to stir up any trouble. I like reading Talking Chop because I think there are a lot of intelligent baseball opinions on here. However, blaming a loss on not playing in a particular park is one of the most pathetic excuses I have ever seen. And, coming from Philadelphia, I have seen plenty of bad ones over the years. To make it worst, not only are some of your fans spouting this nonsense, but your manager has even uttered this ridiculous sentiment. Could you imagine the Phillies smacking some line drives around tonight that happen to be caught and blaming the loss on not playing at Petco? Exactly, it is that stupid. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the series, I think we will split the final two leaving Atlanta to fight another day.
Oh yeah, you are STILL six back because we are the better team!
by Neduol Caz on Aug 15, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
lol. pwned, i guess.
(self-appointed President of Yunel's Cartel~~~)
"The future is no place to place your better days." - Dave Matthews ~ RIP Roi
by Chief Noc-A-Homa on Aug 15, 2009 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
thanks for sticking up for your fellow Braves fan [sarcasm]
Just because people may not like the reasons I gave, they are true, nonetheless. I thought you and I rooted for the same team.
Tigers love pepper; they hate cinnamon.
by Jareth Cutestory on Aug 15, 2009 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
and what the hell is "pwned?"
Is that some cute little Internet slang? I speak English. What about you?
Tigers love pepper; they hate cinnamon.
by Jareth Cutestory on Aug 15, 2009 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
You post like a jerk.
You have bad grammar, and you obviously didn’t read the entire post. I credited your whiny outfielder(s) for making those plays. Try giving the Braves some credit, for once. We have better pitching and you know it. More power does not make you better. We haven’t had a consistent lineup all season due to injury, and we are still going to take the East. If you were such a great team, you Phillies would have run away with the division by now, but you’ve let two other teams hang around.
Your opinion is that my “excuse” is pathetic. I say my REASON is legitimate. We’ll see who’s the better team. Are we not 7-3 against you? Whom does that make better? Stay over on “the good phight.” We don’t want you here.
Tigers love pepper; they hate cinnamon.
by Jareth Cutestory on Aug 15, 2009 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I missed the game last night
So i’m pissed, but I’m not that worried. I knew game 1 was going to be the toughest of these to take, with JJ just having come off his worst two outings of the season, and facing Joe Blanton, who’s been pitching really well of late. And the Philadelphia offense picked up in the Cubs’ series, so I expected them to need cooling off the first night. Despite that, Braves just barely got edged out in a 9th inning where they had 2 runners on and one of their best hitters at the plate.
I look at our match-ups for the next two, and I think we’re in good shape. Hamels’ struggles continue, and Kawakami was just awesome in his last start, and pretty good the outing before, despite taking the loss. Then JV, who’s been our best pitcher this year, on Sunday against Happ.
Braves can still take two in this series. Chipper will showcase his RH power against Hamels today. Close to just 4 games back, with 2 more series’ against the Phils remaining. There’s still time.
by Bronn on Aug 15, 2009 1:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I like your positivity
and as far as Chipper, his LH swing has been looking VERY good lately. He was obviously swinging to put a hurt on the ball last night in the 7th (I think?), and just got a little under it. If he can continue to execute what he envisions himself doing like he has lately, the Braves can REALLY start rolling.
Tigers love pepper; they hate cinnamon.
by Jareth Cutestory on Aug 15, 2009 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Howard went down and got the slider. A hanger is one belt high just asking to get creamed. The one that he got was diving down to his shin away.
by cmdpsu15 on Aug 15, 2009 2:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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