The Philadelphia Phillies won the first game of their series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night 8-7. Their record improves to 33-35.
- Kyle Kendrick turned in one of his worst starts of the season. Kendrick allowed seven runs on 10 hits and two walks over just 4.1 innings. He tossed only one scoreless inning, and pitched in trouble throughout the night.
- After the offense got the team back into the game with two runs in the fourth inning, Kendrick followed them up by allowing three more runs.
- Freddy Galvis has been struggling for the most part since taking over for Chase Utley, but he swung a hot bat tonight, hitting two triples and driving in four runs. Galvis’ second triple came with two outs in the seventh inning to tie the game at 7-7.
- Jimmy Rollins didn’t start tonight, but got a pinch-hit RBI single to give the Phillies the lead.
- Kevin Frandsen got the start at second base, and went 2-4 with a double and came around to score two runs. Frandsen’s average is now up to .288for the year.
- John Mayberry got the start in right field, and doubled home Frandsen in the fourth inning. Mayberry also worked a walk with two outs in the seventh inning, and scored on the second Galvis triple.
- Humberto Quintero also gave the Phillies a bit of a punch at the bottom of the order, going 1-3 and knocking in two runs.
- Jeremy Horst came into the came with two runners on and one out in the fifth inning, and got the finished the frame without allowing additional runs to score.
- Domonic Brown hit out of the three-hole tonight, but went just 1-5 with a single. Brown has cooled off a bit, he’s got just two hits in his last 18 at-bats.
- Mike Stutes pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
- Jake Diekman made his first appearance of the year in the seventh inning. Diekman began the frame by allowing a single to Carlos Gonzalez, but was able to get Michael Cuddyer and Todd Helton to ground out.
- Diekman was then lifted in favor of Justin De Fratus, who got the final out of the inning, stranding Gonzalez at third.
- Mike Adams pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
- Jonathan Papelbon earned his 13th save of the season.
Final Thoughts
We haven’t seen many brutal outings like this from Kyle Kendrick this season, so its hard to be too disappointed with him. It’s baseball, every player is going to have their high and low moments. Unfortunately, Kendrick hit a low and it could have cost the team a game. As long as he can pull himself together next time and not allow tonight’s rough outing to become a habit, its not a huge deal.
It was good to see the offense show a little fight, and pick up their starting pitcher with some big hits for the second straight night. The bats picked up 10 hits tonight (29 overall in the last two games), but this time they were able to generate eight runs. The majority of the damage was done by the bottom of the order. This was a strange night where Freddy Galvis and Humberto Quintero would combine for six RBI’s to help power the team’s come-from-behind victory. Give those guys credit for stepping up, but don’t expect an encore performance tomorrow.
The bullpen was just as important as the bats tonight. Kendrick couldn’t make it through the fifth inning tonight, and Charlie had to somehow squeeze 4.2 scoreless innings out of a group that has killed this team over the last week. But tonight was different. Jeremy Horst stranded his two inherited runners. Jake Diekman was thrown to the wolves to protect a one-run lead in the seventh inning, and he got two outs. Justin De Fratus came in to get a big out, and got the job done. Struggling Mike Adams managed his second straight scoreless appearance.
It was a job well done all around.
One of their best wins of the season, it looked like it was going to be another long disappointing night, then it turned into a great game, and finally a little bit of a nail-biter at the end.
I’m glad I kept watching!