Back to normal

The Red Sox and Phillies won in typical fashion; the Sox blew by the Mariners 11-3, and the Philles beat the Braves 6-2.

The Phillies, as usual, kept it close enough, blowing a 2-0 lead in the 6th before putting away Atlanta late in the game. The winning hit was an RBI triple by Chase Utley, of course. Another three and two-thirds shutout innings by the bullpen.

In afternoon action, Tim Wakefield and the bats took care of Seattle with no apparent drama. Jacoby Ellsbury pinch ran, so maybe he'll be OK.

Kevin Youkilis ended his record error-less streak at 1B, and Manny Ramirez homered, somewhat mirroring the different directions they're headed in public opinion. Everyone thought Manny would wind up being the bad guy in their little spat the other night, but it turns out players say Youk is to blame. I guess the Greek God of Walks thinks only He knows the strike zone.

Nonetheless, the Sox appear to have circled the wagons, and it seems like this will be just a footnote in the season.

Sox-Phils interleague history, 1999: The Phillies won two of three in Fenway. We had just graduated from college and didn't have the extra money or vacation time, so we didn't go to any of the games. In the first game, Tim Wakefield, then a reliever, quashed a Phillies 8th inning rally (started by a Ron Gant triple) to save the 6-4 lead. In the finale, Randy Wolf pitched a strong seven and one-third innings, out-dueling Mark Portugal (then a Red Sox). Other winners: Brian Rose and Robert Person. Other losers: Paul Byrd and Bret Saberhagen.

Phils lick Braves; Sox lick their wounds

Christine was a little cranky tonight as Chris Coste popped up his first pitch in the 9th with the tying run on second and two outs in a 2-1 game.

"When Jamie Moyer gives up two runs, the Phillies should not be losing the game," she said earlier.

But Braves 2B Kelly Johnson dropped the pop-up, allowing the tying run to score; Pedro Feliz, trying to score the go-ahead run, was thrown out at home.

The Phils survived Tom Gordon's scary 9th inning and scored two in the 10th inning, highlighted by Shane Victorino's second triple of the game. The bottom of the 10th was also scary for Christine - who was blaming me for confidently starting a "Phillies win" post - as Brad Lidge put two on. Another hit seemed like it would tie the game, but Shane-O gunned out the tying run at home. Phils win, 4-3.

Will the Gordons match the Griffeys?: One of Gordon's sons, Devaris Strange-Gordon, was drafted by the Dodgers.

In Looneyville: The Sox lost an 8-0 drubbing to the Mariners, ending their 13-game home winning streak. Bartolo Colon had his first poor outing. Only three of his six runs were earned, but he can only blame himself for making two errors.

Suspensions have been handed down for yesterday's fight. Red Sox: Coco Crisp, 7 games; Jon Lester, 5 games; and Sean Casey, 3 games. Rays: James Shields, 6 games; Jonny Gomes, 5 games; Edwin Jackson, 5 games; Carl Crawford, 4 games; and Akinori Iwamura, 3 games.

Manny and Kevin Youkilis patched things up, but still no strong indication what that dust-up was about. They say Jacoby Ellsbury is day-to-day.

Sox-Phils interleague history, 1998: Phillies swept two in Boston, then split two at home. I can't believe they played four games home and away without a day off. I don't remember interleague play being set up like that. I digress. I had come down to Trenton from North Jersey for a school function, so Christine and I caught the Wednesday night game at Veterans Stadium. It was our first major league game together; we had been to a couple of minor league Trenton Thunder games previously (when they were an affiliate of the Red Sox, not the Yankees).

What a treat. Steve Avery was knocked out in the third after giving up seven runs. The Sox chipped away at Carlton Lower, but could only manage a not-as-close-as-it-looks 11-8 loss. Gregg Jefferies was the star of the game for the Phils. A general admission ticket cost $5. Other winners in that series were Wayne Gomes, Mark Portugal and Bret Saberhagen. Other losers were Tom Gordon (then a starter), Derek Lowe and Matt Beech, who in subsequent years would be part of a more infamous footnote in SoxandPhils lore.

What the *&^%$?????

You would expect that the mid-game benching of reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins for not hustling would be the story tonight on a blog dedicated to all things Red Sox and Phillies.

Unfortunately, it isn't.

The Red Sox couldn't just quietly finish their sweep of the second-place Rays, who were looking for blood after some questionable plays last night. (I haven't seen them; I can only go by Globe accounts, so I make no judgement.) Coco Crisp accused Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett of a shady block of second base in the 6th inning on Wednesday. He took revenge with a hard slide into 2B Akinori Iwamura in the 8th.

Tonight, James Shields beaned Dustin Pedroia in the 1st. In the 2nd, he nailed Crisp, igniting what looks to be (from Globe photos) a great brawl. Crisp, Shields and Jonny Gomes (who pummeled Crisp when he was held down by C Dioner Navarro) got ejected.

Things got worse from there: Jacoby Ellsbury sprained his wrist in the 4th inning; it bent backward and rolled up like the ground tarp. Then, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis got into some sort of shoving match; it looked like Manny threw a punch. I'm not the biggest believer in intangibles anymore, but I wonder if David Ortiz's injury has contributed to the Sox losing their cool all around.

Oh yeah, Manny left the game in the 7th with a tweaked hamstring. Great.

But the Sox held on for a 7-1 win, sweeping the Rays, who now trail by 1.5 games. It looks like we have a new spirited rivalry brewing. (I'm still rooting for Tampa Bay to keep the Empire out of the playoffs.)

I thought this would be the quirky news of the day: A matinee 5-0 shutout by Cole Hamels was overshadowed by the fact that J-Roll was removed from the game for not hustling. He popped up to short left field. The shortstop dropped the ball, but J-Roll wasn't hustling and remained on first instead of second. Charlie Manuel is getting props; the star shortstop is saying the right things.

There is no explanation. I just didn't do it. It happens every once in a while. Sometimes the manager gets you. It shouldn't happen. I'm not disappointed in myself. I know better. Just go out there and make sure I don't do it again. Nothing to get disappointed about. Something you learn from. Don't do it again.

Draft day: The Red Sox took high school SS Casey Kelly. I once interviewed his dad. The Phillies also took a high schooler, Anthony Hewitt, with their top pick.

Sox-Phils series: We're days away from the Red Sox-Phillies series. It'll be the first time since 2001 that we've gone to the entire series and probably the first time ever both teams have squared off as legitimate World Series contenders. With Red Sox fans grating on people more than ever and Phillies fans emboldened by last year's division crown yet still frustrated by the championship drought, things could get ugly in Philly when the Red Sox come to town.

We thought we'd take a look back at the on-field history of these teams that are sometimes linked as interleague rivals but always linked by me and Christine.

1997: This was "pre-C" (pre-computer with decent Internet and pre-Christine). So to me, this series was probably just a box score in a Yankee-covering newspaper, no different from games against the Twins or Mariners. In a June series featuring two teams more than 15 games out, the Sox swept at home. Winning pitchers were John "Way Back" Wadsin, Aaron Sele and Jeff Suppan. Losers were Ricky Bottalico, Scott Ruffcorn and Curt Schilling. The Red Sox won the first game in the 10th inning when Ricky Bo hit Troy O'Leary with the bases loaded. Attendance ranged from 25,000 to 27,500.

[Photo credit: Boston Globe]

Brett's back, but I'm in trouble

With the Red Sox and Rays battling for first place on ESPN and the Phillies hosting the Reds, tonight was a night where we toggled between channels on just about every pitch. In the early innings, I noted only one team (the Rays) had a hit.

The Sox struck next, with four hits and three runs off Edwin Jackson in the 3rd inning to ride a solid Josh Beckett start to a 5-1 win. They're back in first place by a half game.

The Phillies got their first hits off Edinson Volquez in the 4th inning, leaving young Brett Myers the last one seeking history. He retired the first 13 before walking Adam Dunn in the 5th. I got nervous when Joey Votto came up in that inning because I just picked him up for my fantasy team, and according to Christine, it's always my fault if someone on the fantasy team hurts her Phils. Votto walked, and the no-no remained in tact until Votto doubled in a run in the 7th. Christine kicked me. Phillies lost 2-0.

Although the offense was a no-show and Myers lost his no-no, the important thing may be that he's now put up two real good starts in a row. Both of our teams are in first place, and it's very possible that the showdown in Philly in less than two weeks could be a World Series preview.

If it is, I'm going to need some shin guards in October.

Baseball Mogul update: After a meltdown in game 6, I won game 7 of the NLCS and then went on to win the World Series against the Rangers. Memo to the Phillies brass considering Pat Gillick's replacement: Hire me, and I'll win the big one in 2010. {Memo to Greg: In real life, you don't get to replay game 7 of the World Series when things don't go your way.}

Somehow, the bullpen didn't blow it

I'm hoping that the Phillies have one of their patented offensive explosions on Wednesday because the back end of this bullpen is getting a little beat. Tom Gordon and Brad Lidge made it interesting in the 8th and 9th innings tonight, but they managed to get out of their respective innings with minimal damage, giving the team a 3-2 victory over the Reds.

Neither Gordon nor Lidge was sharp tonight. Gordon allowed a lead-off triple, which scored on a sacrifice fly, before facing pinch-hitter Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey came out to a nice ovation from the fans but didn't hit No. 600, as he walked on four pitches. Flash then managed to get out the next two batters. Lidge also faced only five batters, but it felt like a lot more - maybe because of his 20 pitches, only nine were strikes.

Adam Eaton pitched well again, his third good start in a row. Good thing too, considering that Kris Benson can't stay healthy.

Chase Utley continued his hot streak by going 2-for-3 with a walk, a RBI and a run. Baseball's infatuation with the second baseman is reaching new levels every day; I've run out of adjectives to describe his play right now. He continues to lead the NL in all-star voting and is second in baseball behind only David Ortiz. (Theo Epstein swears that Ortiz will be OK, but he'll still be out for at least two to three weeks and won't be playing in the Philadelphia series.)

[I hadn't considered that aspect of his injury.]

But come on, Phillies fans, where's the ballot-box stuffing for Pat Burrell? He added another two RBIs tonight with his 6th inning home run. He continues to rank sixth in outfield voting, trailing undeserving players like Griffey and his lofty .255 batting average, non-home-plate-touching cheater Matt Holliday, and whiny, unoriginal Met Carlos Beltran. Show Pat the Bat some love (eww, not like that) and throw some votes his way. (Josh Hamilton, too. I'm a sucker for a good comeback story like his.)

The Phillies lead in the division is now 2.5 games, after the Braves came back to beat the Marlins.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox also staged a comeback tonight to beat the Rays 7-4. The Sox now trail in the division by only half a game and are 22-5 at home this year. Which means they're 14-20 on the road. So two weeks from now, there might be some pretty spirited conversations and blogging going on around here. We counted out to the possible starting pitchers - Moyer, Kendrick and Eaton vs. Lester, Colon and Wakefield. Well, it's not as bad as some past pitching match-ups that we've been witness to. Check back later in the week as we reminisce over the last 10 years of Phillies-Red Sox interleague games.

Smooth sailing for the Phils, not so much for the Sox

The Phillies held off the Reds 5-4 tonight, keeping their hold on first place. Kyle Kendrick didn't pitch particularly well, but the bullpen kept the game in check. Another great game all around for the 2008 MVP Chase Utley. Even Harry Kalas doesn't know how to handle it. After Utley ended the game with a diving catch, Harry revived his "Chase Utley, you are the man," but it sounded forced. Tom Gordon pitched a clean 8th without a chat with Jimmy Rollins.

Things weren't as smooth for the World Champs tonight, as they finished their series with the Orioles before beginning their big showdown with the first-place Rays. For the second time in a row, they wasted a great Tim Wakefield start. Tonight's culprit was Hideki Okajima (four runs in two-thirds of an inning). He's been in my fantasy team's doghouse, but I started him this week.

More importantly, with our best pitcher already on the DL, David Ortiz could be out for a month, or even the whole season. Not good.

Manny trivia: Guess which pitcher has been most victimized by the newest member of the 500-homer club? Jamie Moyer. Christine points out that J-Moy is 45. When Manny Ramirez is 45, Moyer will be 54 and more likely than Manny to still be playing then.

Finally, a nice day at the park

An innings-eating start by Jamie Moyer, a clutch comeback by the offense and a shut-down performance by the bullpen. It was quite a win for the once-again first-place Phillies, 7-5 over the Marlins. (And, for the first time this year, we went to a game when it wasn't raining, freezing or both.)

The Phillies hung tough, even after the Marlins took a 5-1 lead in the 3rd. The turning point came in the 6th with the Phillies down 5-3. Geoff Jenkins pinch hit for So Taguchi with Pat Burrell on and two out. Moyer, who had thrown 81 pitches to that point, was on deck. I mused out loud whether Charlie Manuel would let him hit if Jenkins hit a homer. As soon as I said it, Jenkins crushed one to right. (Moyer struck out and then pitched a good 7th, making Cholly look like a genius, according to Christine.) The rest of the game seemed like a formality. It was just a matter of how they would win it.

Burrell answered that with a two-run double to the delight of this guy in our section who must be the biggest Pat the Bat fan out there. He always wears his jersey and starts a pronounced clap every time Don Henley starts playing Burrell's intro music. Although Burrell won the game, it wasn't all good for his fan. A kid about 12 years old dumped some chocolate ice cream on the back of the jersey. (You can see some of it near his left shoulder.) We're not sure if he felt it because he didn't seem to wipe it off.

In-game notes: Ryan Howard made not one but two great plays in the field. A diving catch of a bunt in the 7th. The inning before, he speared a liner and then doubled off the runner at first. ... Marlins CF Cody Ross had a nice catch off Pedro Feliz in the 3rd. We'll be watching Web gems tonight. ... Mike Jacobs' 2nd inning homer hit a billboard that says "great home run." ... Tom Gordon started out shaky in the 8th, walking the first batter and going two balls on the next, Hanley Ramirez. Jimmy Rollins went to the mound. It worked. Ramirez struck out and the next two flew out.

Pre-game festivities: Michael Scott Lieberthal, possibly the greatest Phillie to ever don the tools of ignorance, signed a one-day minor-league contract to retire in the red pinstripes. He threw out the first pitch, then caught a second first-pitch from some corporate sponsor.

Observations from the stands: J-Roll, who had been using the song from the Geico caveman in the airport commercial, has gone back to rap intro music. The Geico music ended just as quickly as it started; it was weird. ... I filled out 19 All-Star ballots. It got tedious, but I didn't want them to go to waste. ... Saw some odd jerseys today. We thought we'd see plenty of Lieberthals, but saw only one on the way out. We did spot a Curt Schilling from his Phillies day and a Daisuke Matsuzaka hat. But the kicker was a couple near us wearing home and away Doug Glanville jerseys.


We thought it was funny because we were at the game when New Jersey native Doug Glanville signed a one-day contract to retire as a Phil. He may have been the last player to do this before today.

Giveaways: Like Mother's Day, Father's Day was celebrated early at Citizens Bank Park. Although not a dad, I'm older than 15 and qualify for the giveaway: a picture of a hat. On a hat. Sometimes the Phillies marketing department is quite clever; sometimes they got nothing. Here's the hat on a hat, next to the pink visor Christine got on Mother's Day. (We forgot to post a picture of it last month.)


Red Sox: Another decent outing for Bartolo Colon and Manny Ramirez's 501st homer led the Sox past the Orioles, 9-4.