Neither Brandon Webb nor Cole Hamels were dominant today, but the two aces matched up in a tense duel that was tied at two when each left after seven innings.The Phillies survived a crazy 7th. With the Diamondbacks clinging to a 2-1 lead, Webb and Stephen Drew led off with singles. Conor Jackson attempted a bunt, but it was hit too hard - right at Pedro Feliz who tagged third, but couldn't turn the double play. Then came the real oddity. Orlando Hudson singled to right, and Geoff Jenkins fired home, freezing Drew on third. Hudson didn't see that the runners ahead of him had stopped and kept running toward second, which Jackson occupied. Coste looked Drew back to third then threw to Howard, who ran up the line to tag Hudson. Score that 1B, 9-2-3. Mark Reynolds struck out to end the threat.
"If the Phillies don't win this game after giving up no runs in that ugly inning, they might be done for the season," I said to Christine.
The Phils might have been on the same wavelength, scratching across the tying run in the 7th on an RBI double by Jimmy Rollins. In the 8th, they remembered they're an elite offensive unit. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard greeted reliever Chad Qualls with singles before Pat Burrell gave Clint Hurdle a lesson in what it means to be an All-Star, hitting a three-run homer. Pedro Feliz added a solo shot. Although Brad Lidge gave one up in a messy 9th for the All-Star closer, the Phillies held on 6-3. It actually felt like the kind of Phillies game we have grown accustomed to in recent years.
Observations from the stands: The park was filled with grass skirts, leis and the sounds of ukuleles as the Phillies celebrated Shane Victorino's Hawaiian heritage. We worried that the soothing music would put the team to sleep - and they don't like to be woken up. ... Danny K sang Tiny Bubbles before the game. ... The opera company Savoy, led by Dan Rothermel, sang the anthem. It was serviceable, but they looked like they were dressed for a prom on a very hot day at the park. ... In the 1st, Ryan Howard dropped an easy foul ball. Hamels hung his head, seemingly in disgust. He struck out the batter on the next pitch. ... Kudos to whomever caught Chad Tracy's homer in the 2nd for not caving into the boos and throwing the ball back. 1) It's a stupid tradition. 2) It's not Philly's tradition, it's Chicago's.In the 4th, Chris Young attempted to bunt his way on. It looked looked a foolish strategy when it went right up the middle and seemed like an easy play for Hamels or Coste. But neither touched the ball, and Young was safe. ... In the 5th, Feliz turned a nifty double play, spearing a liner and then catching Drew off first base. Howard had to leap to catch the throw but came down on the bag to get the out. They played Van Halen's Jump after the inning ended. ... The Phillies' first run came from an RBI double in the 5th by Hamels, who might have thought early on that was the only way he was going to get any runs today
Scoreboard messages: Yesterday's loser, Adam Eaton, was booed when he appeared on the recorded "Happy Birthday" announcement. We haven't seen such a reaction to an appearance on the scoreboard since Jose Mesa's young kid was part of the pregame message at the Vet in 2003 telling the fans the rules of conduct. Searching for any online references to this, I found out that Jose Mesa's kid - not certain if it's the same one - was drafted by the Pirates a few years ago and is seemingly out of baseball already.
More observations: The Phanatic really enjoyed hula dancing. I was surprised he didn't wear a coconut bra. ... In the 6th, Charlie Manuel half-heartedly jogged to third to argue a call. It reminded me of watching Howard chug into foul territory to chase a foul pop. ... In the 7th, when the Phanatic was trying to spur a rally, he was drilled with a foul ball by Victorino.We've never mentioned it before, but one of Christine's favorite parts about Sunday games is the starting nine, in which they send out little kids to all the positions to wait for the real Phillies to take the field and give out autographs. She loves looking at the strange alignments - sometimes the left fielder runs all the way to the wall, other times he's barely out of the infield. At least one infielder is always cemented on a base. We also think it's probably best to be chosen for second base or shortstop because the kid gets not just one of the best players on the team, but two of the best because because Rollins and Utley usually huddle with their kids.
Today was something new. Stationed at first was not Who, What or I Don't Know. It was Base who was playing first base. Jimmy Base, that is.That's a wrap: The win ensures the Phillies break for the All-Star game in first place despite an awful stretch and a big winning streak for the Mets.
The Red Sox beat the Orioles 2-1 today behind Daisuke Matsuzaka. Kevin Youkilis has a contusion after getting hit in the thigh, and his All-Star start is in jeopardy. A little foreshadowing: Last night while playing Baseball Mogul, Youkilis went down for two months with a broken forearm in the computer game.
Hopefully, the real-life injury isn't serious. Anyway, the Rays also lost, so the Red Sox regained control of first place.
With both our teams leading their divisions, Tuesday's game could determine whether the World Series starts in Fenway or Citizens Bank. I don't see the National League winning for the first time since 1996, when another venerable stadium hosted its last All-Star game. But they didn't make as big of a deal about Veterans Stadium then as they're doing for Yankee Stadium now.
Utley and Lidge are ready to report to New York. Cholly gave them their warm-up jerseys in a cheesy pre-game ceremony. I've never seen that before; I wonder if Major League Baseball makes all the teams do it. By the way, their replica jerseys, which look like the Yankees' road grays, are on sale now. You can also buy an All-Star Game program, which is customized to your favorite player, which means Chase Utley, if you root for the Phils.
