Flash ... aaaaahhhhhh!
Tom Gordon came up huge in last night's 7-4 victory over the Padres. He's been on a roll since opening day.
Flash ... aaaaahhhhhh!
Todd Zolecki
Tom Gordon had said that his Opening Day appearance against the Nationals haunted him for a while.
He allowed five runs in 1/3 inning in an 11-6 loss to the Nationals on March 31. It gave him a 135.00 ERA. It gave him an earful from Phillies fans. But it seems he has exorcised the demons. Since that disastrous appearance, Gordon is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA. In those 11 appearances, he has allowed five hits and five walks in 10 innings. He has struck out 12. Opponents have hit just .139 against him.
He has helped make the back end of the Phillies' bullpen one of the most formidable in baseball.
He came up huge in last night's 7-4 victory over the Padres at Citizens Bank Park.
Gordon entered with the bases loaded and one out and the Phillies holding a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning. He got two groundball outs to end the inning to maintain a 3-2 lead.
It was a great job.
It was the game.
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Last night's victory assured the Phillies will enter May with their first winning record since 2003.
So no more slow start talk? What will we do with ourselves?
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In the Phillies Notebook, Charlie Manuel is uncertain how he will use Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino, Charlie Manuel thinks Brett Myers needs to condition himself better, Jimmy Rollins' ankle continues to improve, Tadahito Iguchi returns to Citizens Bank Park after helping the Phillies make the playoffs last year and more.
Comments (18)
No more slow starts. I am glad to have that streak behind us. The Phills are just a 1/2 game out and I think May will be an even better month. Howard will start to get on track and Myers will settle down.— GHOSTPHAYCE- How come no one mentions that the Phillies were 7 for 8 with runners in scoring position last night and that they did it without hitting any home runs. I cant remember the last time the Phillies scored 7 runs without a home run.— kr1spy
- Good to know Charlie has such depth in his outfield. Nice to see Victorino get some wood on the ball. Good pitching match last night. Nice touch from the Phillies fans at the game in giving Maddox a round of applause when he was taken out of the game. Looking forward to an even better month of May.— KarenA
Comment removed.- Spy, you are so right....multiple hits from multiple sources is a great site to see, not just 4 solo HRs in a losing cause. It's about darn time and if they don't get rid of that big albatross hanging around the order (Howard) soon he's liable to drag the entire team backwards, just as likely as he is to propel it forwards by getting hot. Funny thin is even if he gets hot, the majority of the outs he makes are still strikeouts, which kill a rally and stop a surging offense right in it's tracks. I'd much rather see him hit 25 HRs and put wood on the ball most ABs. Look at him last night, pathetic. The single against the shift was mere chance and a broken bat, not planned or good hitting at all. Time for the big guy to smarten up!— Mark1npt
- I tell people all the time.......It's not all about the long ball! Glad Flash is out of his funk. Loved the bottom of the 8th. With Chase's double, I guess everyone else said, "I can do that." And they did. Of course, the 9th is always full of drama. LOL!— Norma
- The bullpen has been a very pleasant surprise. Let's hope it continues.— Bizzle
Amazing what a solid back of the 'pen will do for a team. If the Romero/Gordon/Lidge combo holds up (with help from the middle relief), that changes everything. Suddenly the starting rotation isn't such a worry. Especially when Jimmy and are back in action/form. Myers does concern me. If he doesn't get it together, then it's just Hamels as your stopper/winner. On that topic, I have rarely seen coaches talk so bluntly about a player's situation when the player is still on the team. Rather refreshing compared to the CIA, er, I mean Eagles.— bobby- Two of my biggest worries coming into the season was (of course) the bullpen, and I really thought we weren't nearly deep enough in the outfield. I've been proven all but completely wrong with the outfield, and the bullpen has been an incredibly nice surprise so far. Let's hope this IS a slow start and we'll head into September with the division all but locked up!— Reggie Noble
- All true. I listened to the game from SD station. The announcers, ole Ted Lightner hates Philly but with soothing, sarcastic aphorisms. The team still has starting pitching problems. I would not be surprised that if Eaton has another bad start, that Carpenter or Carrasco gets a chance at the 5th position.— KGKoons
- I think Werth should play almost everyday until it's proven he can't do it. He’s a former #1 pick that was derailed by injuries. He’s got a .954 OPS, (.805 vs. righties & 1.177 vs. lefties) this season. Last season Werth had a OPS of .863 (.760 v Right, 1.058 v l) both years Werth has been better then Victorino at the plate. I mean we all know Victorino is a super valuable player, but if they play Werth in center and Jenkins in right against righties and play Vicortino in center and Werth in right against lefties they will maximize the three at the plate, without sacrificing much defense at all.— B Dub
- It's pretty funny that posters are talking about baseball fundamentals (singles over hrs) and devaluing Victorino. Werth's the hot bat, play him -- competition can be good and our park mitigates good defense. But let's not forget that Victorino has much better range, a gun for an arm, and while he's got work to do in getting on base, he stole 37 bases last year, doesn't clog up the bases, and is decent at bunting.— grantlar
- I think we need to stop booing Flash. He has pitched the Phils out of some tough jams lately. Let's be a little more patient with Howard. He'll come around when the weather gets warmer. I think it was great of the fans giving a hand to Maddux last night. It shows that we Philly fans have some class.— MarvV
- What happened to Sergio Robles?— Nick from the Northeast
- In a flat out race to 1st out of the batter's box, I think Werth might just beat Victorino......Shane's stealing abilities only come into play if he's on base, something he was doing far too infrequently this year before getting hurt.— Mark1npt
- I'll be a little kinder to Howard when he performs a full season and not just parts of the season.....when you're making 10$ mil, you gotta deliver the whole season, not just when it's warm!— Mark1npt
- Its warm 5/6 of the season Mark1inloserville. Werth deserves to play(I picked him up in fantasy and he has helped keep me in first) but ultimately it Cholly's decision. Werth reminds me a little of Delucci. great in spurts, lets allow Cholly decide when he gets those spruts. Hamels looked great last night, I love his competitiveness. At least him and Howard show emotion when things don't go there way.— Truth
- A strike out isn't the of the world. With two outs, it ends the inning without scoring runners just like any other kind of out. With fewer than two outs, it might not move a runner over or sacrifice a run home, but it also doesn't lead to double plays, which are true rally killers. Me, I'll take Howard's strike outs in exchange for 50 home runs a year and the fear he creates in the minds of opposing pitchers and managers, which helps the hitters around him get on base.— Jeffrey
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