From the archives: Utley vs. Sanchez
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From the archives: Utley vs. Sanchez
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
I'm not sure whether it was the shadow of the Cliff Lee story, or whether it was the weariness of West Coast travel, or whether last night's 7-2 Phillies loss was exactly as it seemed: unexciting. A normally sure-handed team committed two key errors, and the Phillies suffered a rare second straight off-night. It was their first back-to-back losses since July 1-2 in Atlanta.
The one piece of action that did occur - other than Pablo Sandoval's personal quest to show Charlie Manuel that he was wrong for leavin ghim out of the All-Star game - was a sixth-inning at-bat between Chase Utley and Giants lefty Jonathan Sanchez. Sanchez's first pitch of the inning sailed screamed directly at the head of Utley, who ducked out of the way. Although it didn't seem like a situation in which Sanchez would be throwing intentionally -- Manuel said he thought Sanchez deserved the benefit of the doubt -- Utley reacted the way many of us would if another grown man unleashed a deadly object at our noggin. He took a step toward the mound and glared menacingly -- although, having been around Utley, that might have been his version of smiling -- before returning to the batters box. Later, he stepped out of the box as Sanchez was getting set to start his wind-up.
Gamesmanship?
"I wasn't ready and he started his wind-up," Utley said, "so I just wanted to make sure I was ready to hit."
Utley might have cracked a mischievous half grin when offering that assessment. But, again, it is Utley, so it is difficult to tell.
"The adrenaline is always flowing," Utley said. "The last thing you want to do is let that affect your at-bat."
Utley got the last laugh, connecting on a solo home run to end the at-bat. Phillies reliever Tyler Walker later hit Ryan Garko with a pitch, prompting a warning to both benches.
Otherwise, it was a fairly ho-hum game, at least from the Phillies perspective.
In a side note: Carlos Carrasco makes his Triple A debut tonight for Columbus at Lehigh Valley. He will be opposed by Pedro Martinez, perhaps making his final rehab start before being ready for a return to the big leagues.
I don't even follow baseball and I know that JeffM is about as stupid as they come.— Bazalite- the stupidest thing said on here is that the phillies offense is overrated. Whici offense would you rather have? All teams score 13 or 12 runs some games and then only score 2 or 3 other games. Just dumb commemnt.— meknowitall
- This offense is the least inconsistent in the league, which is why they are so feared. The best part of the standoff between Sanchez and Utley was Sarge's comment afterwards. "Cadillac Time. That's what you get!"— HandNik
- Yup most good offense teams like the 27 yankees, score 6 runs a game never more never less. That is one of the stupidtest comments I have ever read macknow.— ktdb05
- Jeff1234 ... and how did the Mets do under the lights last year? Oh wait, that's right ...— psu9495
- Question to those who were able to stay awake for the entire game, does anyone know what prompted Sanchez to throw at Utley? Was he trying to back him off the plate since Utley crowds? Did something in earlier innings prompt it? Also, does anyone think this will carry over into the game tonight, Sat. or Sun? Just wanted to hear some thoughts..... Big props to Walker for going in high and tight. Welcome to the Giants Garko!!— J.H.S.
- jeff1234 First of all, i am glad you can count - you must be a Mutts fan with an elementary education! Secondly, can you name a better offense than this one??? Big Red Machine of the 70's?, 1920 Yankees? This weak offense contribited to a 19-3 record very, very recently!— PhilliesPhorever
- Hey Jeffy, its called baseball. A team can tear it up for two nights then be human the next night with cold bats, happens to every single team. Good luck in September up there in NY, im sure Reyes will be so clutch for you guys...— philsfan in the atx
- Stating the obvious here, but THAT is why we love Chase "WFC" Utley.— Rauuuul
- Are they supposed to win games 13-10? That would just mean that their pitching is bad. 13 runs are 13 runs, there is no such thing as piling it on. Besides that, their run production went down in the play-offs because you are constantly hitting against play-off calibur pitching, and good pitching always beats good hitting (unless you want to count the thrashing they gave C.C., which would totally undermine your idiotic point.)— richards4captain18
- I actually agree with trungy. I am certainly not saying that the offense isn't a quality offense, but it is true they are inconsistent. Just look back prior to their winning streak when they were 4-13 or whatever. I'm sure you will find quotes from Charlie Manuel himself that he didn't like the way the offense was playing. Still other times he mentioned that the offense has to play better. I saw a stat during last night's telecast that the Phillies were ranked 20th in MLB in batting with RISP. I realize you can pull stats from anywhere to prove any point you want to make, so take it for what you wish. In addition, the Phillies have been below average in situational hitting over the past 2-3 seasons. As for the Arizona series, I'm not sure getting 6-7 hits in a game is great offense and the Arizona defense (or lack of) directly contributed to 4-5 of the Phillies runs that series. But it is not an argument, I'm just agreeing that my favorite team might not be the absolute best at something.— MrPhillie
- Parkwood???— majorgas
- hey jeffmacnow - maybe you haven't heard...pitching wins championships! It's always hard to hit in the playoffs, no matter who you are. and it doesn't matter how many runs your team has in a given game, as long as you score enough to win. It doesn't mean you have a "bad offense" idiot. Funny how manager after manager and pitcher after pitcher from other teams talk about how great our lineup is, the latest one being Dan Haren. So do you they are all stupid??— betsy72
- Is everyone named macnow a moron? Utley, Howard, Ibanez, Victorino, Feliz, Rollins, Werth...all overrated. Last time I checked, genius, they were still World Champs. One of those "better opponents" sure won't be those stinking Mutts. How's it feel to be out of the race by August 1st??— spliffbunker1
- I think it's hard to call an offense that has produced like this one over a 162 game season. Yeah, everyone has streaks, but when a team never seems to be out of a game, that's the real measure of consistency.— HandNik
