What happened?
Scott Rolen and Rod Barajas homered to propel the Blue Jays to their second win in the series against the Phillies.
Who did what?
Jamie Moyer (4-6) gave up six earned in six innings pitched. He allowed 10 hits, two walks while striking out six.
Shane Victorino went 2 for 4.
Jayson Werth went 1 for 4 with a homer (11) and an RBI.
Scott Richmond (5-3) earned the win by giving up one run in eight innings. He gave up five hits, one walk and struck out 11.
Marco Scutaro went 3 for 4 with two runs.
Aaron Hill went 3 for 5 with a double (9), a homer (15), two runs and three RBIs.
Scott Rolen went 2 for 5 with a homer (4) and two RBIs.
Rod Barajas went 1 for 3 with a homer (5) and an RBI.
What does this mean?
In the first game of this series, the Phillies had trouble with clutch hitting and relief pitching. In game two, nothing seemed to go their way. The offense couldn’t get anything going, and Jamie Moyer was behind before he recorded an out.
All in all, it was a poor effort all the way around. Considering the Blue Jays’ struggles as of late, this should have been an easy series for the Phils. But instead, they are in danger of being swept for the second straight series, and they’ve now lost four of their last five.
Like I said in the recap of game one, this is eerily similar to their midseason struggles from a year ago, where they got hammered in interleauge play.
The Phillies should be running away with the division at this point, but they can’t seem to get out of their own way. When the starting pitching struggles, the bullpen falters. When the starters get knocked around, the offense can hardly make a whisper.
Of course, these are the games that really illuminate the team’s needs: starting pitching. Jamie Moyer is fine, and until the seventh, he wasn’t pitching bad. But with two rookies in the rotation, Ruben is going to have to get creative to fix the problem. Peavy is out of the question, and Oswalt is a long shot at best. And now that the Rockies are back in the picture, even Jason Marquis is looking less likely.
That’s not to say that the Phillies can’t win games with this rotation, because they certainly can. Hamels is going to pitch like Hamels, and Blanton has been the best pitcher as of late. Happ has only had one bad outing, Moyer has improved drastically since his woeful stretch, and it’s too early to make a call on Bastardo.
Regardless, the team cannot rest on its laurels with that as their starting five. The Phillies are very forunate to be three ahead in the division, but they cannot afford to tread water much longer.
What’s next for our heroes?
In the series finale, the Phillies will send Joe Blanton (4-3, 5.17) to the mound to face off against left-hander Brad Mills, who is making his first career appearance.
15 Comments on “June 17 Game Recap: Blue Jays 7, Phillies 1”
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:55 am
So why couldn’t you hit Scott Richmond tonight? Oh, he throws a curveball down and in to the left-handed hitters? Oh, my bad. I thought you guys were professional hitters and knew to lay off the garbage and wait for your pitch. No? Oh, ok.
June 18th, 2009 at 4:22 am
Ugh… I’m really starting to get some miserable errors on the site now, tons of them. But, it’s not enough to keep me away.
June 18th, 2009 at 7:59 am
They didn’t get swept by the Sox….
June 18th, 2009 at 8:15 am
@ Boz-
That part was awkwardly worded but I think Dash was trying to say theyve been in danger of being swept two series in a row, as you’ll remember the Phils lost the first two games to Boston over the weekend just as theyve lost the first two to the Blue Gays
June 18th, 2009 at 8:40 am
@Jon Very good, sir. Very good, awkward wording notwithstanding.
June 18th, 2009 at 9:26 am
The only thing worse than this miserable weather in the Delaware Valley is the miserable play on the field. After watching that game last night and waking up to even more rain, it’s becoming tough to get out of bed.
June 18th, 2009 at 10:43 am
I puked on my brand new Moon Shot shirt last night.
Worst two games set so far this season?
June 18th, 2009 at 10:55 am
raul to the dl
June 18th, 2009 at 11:12 am
On a brighter note: I was at the game last night (not the brighter note) and was wearing the RAUUUUUUL shirt that I got on some awesome website. A ton of people stopped me and asked where I got it and where they could find it…I directed them to this site and told them how awesome it is and that they have plenty more awesome t-shirts.
I just want to say that this site is amazing and I can be reading your blogs in my quiet office and start laughing hysterically while everyone looks at me funny. Keep up the good work:)
June 18th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Michael Taylor’s Numbers at AA:
.335 AVG .402 OBP .567 SLG 10 HR 42 RBI 10 steals .407 w/RISP
yet somehow John Mayberry is the better option? Don’t we have enough strikeouts in this lineup already?
June 18th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Time for the Phils to hit their midsummer slump so they can come back from several games down to win the division in the last week.
June 18th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
mike P, you’re right. the phils are like a romantic comedy. everything goes swimmingly until you hit that inevitable breaking point at some time during the summer when all seems lost.. they pick it right back up and take it in the end. cue the acoustic sappy love song
June 18th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Last night was probably the most frustrating game to watch all season. And tonights game will be even more frustrating if they can’t hit Brad Mills who is making his Major League debut with a 1-8 triple-A record and a 4.48 ERA.
June 18th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
@Adam
Well, they did hit Brad Mills, who did not impress at all.
June 18th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Dammit, this is the least of their worries, but do people have to pile on the ‘boos’ with guys like Barajas and Rolen? It always ends up bad for the Phillies it seems when they do…J.D. Drew, perfect example.
One loud assertive ‘boo’ would be fine once they are introduced in their first plate appearance, but then chill….
Wes Helms, Drew, Barajas, Rolen, etc…these guys always burn us. They must get so much satisfaction out of it. I hate that.