Phillies showing why a five-game series is a risky endeavor
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Phillies showing why a five-game series is a risky endeavor
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
Ryan Howard and the Phillies have surrendered home-field advantage. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)
These five-game series are always risky business and by losing Game 2 to the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday night at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies have shown us exactly why.
The Phillies are the better team because they have a superior starting rotation. They proved that over the course of the 162-game season. They won 102 games, the Cardinals won 90.
But the 162-game season and a five-game division series have about as much in common as liberals and conservatives.
If this were even a seven-game series, Cliff Lee would likely get a chance at redemption after giving away a 4-0 lead during the Phillies' 5-4 loss to the Cardinals. Instead, the possibility now exists that Lee will have to live with Game 2 as his final and lasting memory of the 2011 season.
Rest assured, he did not pass on more money in New York because he thought he'd come to Philadelphia and pitch one poor postseason game that could change the course of the Phillies' entire season.
The offense, of course, is not blameless here. One hit and two baserunners in six innings against the Cardinals' bullpen is inexcusable.
"Definitely frustrating," said catcher Carlos Ruiz, who along with Placido Polanco, is hitless in eight at-bats through the first two games of the series. "We knocked out their number one pitcher in (Chris) Carpenter and then after that we can't score another run. You have to give credit to their bullpen."
What may be equally frustrating for the Phillies is that nothing Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa did in the first two games of this NLDS reeked off genius.
He went with Kyle Lohse in Game 1 and the former Phillie was knocked around for five runs and two home runs in the sixth inning of an 11-6 Phillies victory. LaRussa came back with Carpenter on three days' rest in Game 2 and his ace gave up four runs in the first two innings before leaving after three.
Nevertheless, the resilient Cardinals flew home Monday morning with the series even and now they get to pitch Jaime Garcia, the young lefty who has posted a 0.96 ERA in four starts over the last two seasons against the Phillies. Garcia allowed just one earned run in 15 innings against the Phillies this season and was 9-4 with a 2.55 ERA in 15 starts at Busch Stadium.
The Phillies counter with Cole Hamels, who provided them with a complete-game shutout against Cincinnati to complete a three-game sweep of the Reds in last year's division series. Hamels is coming off his worst month of the season. He went 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA in September and allowed nine home runs, one fewer than he had surrendered during the first five months of the season.
One of Hamels' September losses came to the Cardinals the night after the Phillies clinched their fifth straight division title. He allowed four runs on seven hits, including home runs to Allen Craig and Albert Pujols, the second and third batters in the St. Louis order. Hamels was 7-3 with a 2.93 ERA on the road this season, so he's not likely to be rattled by the hostile environment at Busch Stadium.
Even if the Phillies were to lose Game 3, they would still have a favorable pitching matchup in Game 4 with a resurgent Roy Oswalt likely going against Edwin Jackson.
But by losing Game 2 Sunday night, the Phillies' margin for error in this five-game series shrunk considerably. This is now a best-of-three series and the first two games are in St. Louis.
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Comments (79)
if your scared get a dog— dwilly- Good thing that Charlie played the Braves so tough into the 13th. It gave the STL staff a much needed day of rest. Charlie's playing checkers and LaRussa is playing chess. That's the mismatch.— JTM-LA
- Good thing that Charlie played the Braves so tough into the 13th. It gave the STL staff a much needed day of rest. Charlie's playing checkers and LaRussa is playing chess. That's the mismatch.— JTM-LA
- saving JMJ in the seventh was definitely the right call for Cholly;....Gload is the #1 pinch hitter and JMJ is too valuable and needed for later on if need be;...he plays so many different positions and plays them well and he is needed as a eighth or ninth inning homerun threat as he can go deep on any pitch on any at-bat,.....no, gload the load was the right call as much as i don't care for him— SyddBarrett
- When the starting pitcher gives up 5 runs on 12 hits, the Phillies deserve to lose. When the Cardinal pitchers completely over-power the feeble Phillies hitters, they deserve to lose. This team is not too swuft and must re-evaluate every aspect of their game!— jpelle36
- But Remember! The Giants beating Lee twice last year ... that was a 'fluke', right phans? ha ha ha— stegner
- Cards were talking about being resilient as if they're the only ones who are. Having watched this Phillies team, we know they do not quit, no matter how emotionally draining it is to watch the offense sometimes. Anyone who thought the Cards would be easy hasn't been paying attention. Hell, I remember the 1980 Houston series; this one has been tame so far compared to that 5 game coronary-inducing roller coaster. Buckle up, and put up your elbows when you head for home plate guys.— ijj
- Missed the post game. Did Cholly say he needs to put his team in a better position to win ?— NewMick314
- should let Reid manage the Phils and Manuel can take over coaching dutie for Eagles --certainly neither of them is very good at his current job— warbiscuit
I agree with you on that one, robynk.
Oops...I'm wrong about the match up possibility...the Phils couldn't have played the Brave in the NLDS.- This comment has been deleted.— caught-u-sleepin
- Totally agree with you. Nobody knows what Hymee is going to do tomorrow night.. he could get shelled. Victorino has hit lefties all year, and The Piece has been much, much better against lefties this year.
To your point, Victorino is a little cold right now too, but everybody else is getting on base. They could have blown the doors off the Cardinals last night, and let off the gas when they got the 4 run lead. Hopefully it doesn't come back to bite them.— CK_Philly - The Phillies know they let a 2-0 series lead slip into the night yesterday. They'll be angry tomorrow. Hamels and Oswalt lock it down... Phillies in a rout tomorrow, and win a close game 4 to take the series.— CK_Philly
- How can the Phils expect to win the World Series with only one .300 hitter in the line-up? Yes, they did it in 2008. But that was a fluke. Top teams have several .300 hitters.— orange rhino
- Phils have the clueless manager disadvantage --if it's close game Chollie has no clue whom to use off bench or bullpen— warbiscuit
- Anybody notice that Giants baseball cap the 49ers QB was wearing after they beat the Eagles? The curse has been placed, Jobu the Giant is in your house.— channelclemente
- You dont throw the game to let another team in the playoffs, but you do EXACTLY what the Yankees did--let all your callups play. Anyone with eyes and who can read stats knows the only team that could give us a headache are a veteran team like the Cards who just happen to have the best player in baseball the last 6 years (even not 100%). I said it the night they won in extra innings-Cards would have had to play a 1 game playoff vs. Braves, JUST TO GET IN. Let them play the extra game. If all of your call-ups win, so be it. This is an absolute disaster. Does anyone here trust Hamels in an almost must win game 3 on the road?— shirleyf
- Six of one, half a dozen of the other. If it were the Braves, they'd have just as good a chance with their pitching (starters and bullpen) and offense as the Cards would have. If it were tied 1 to 1 with the Braves now, another "shirleyf" would be making the identical argument you are.
As to Hamels, I have faith in him, but not much in the offense against lefty Garcia at home, especially. However, I have much more confidence in Oswalt and Halladay to win it in 5, if not in 4. - Did anybody notice T LaRussa whining about the strike zone and then almost suddenly it changes? I thought the home plate ump was calling a good game until then. Hats off to the Cards for being aggressive against Lee. Thats the only way to have success against him.— etc757
- Sorry but you just don't throw games against one team so you don’t have to play another in the playoffs. Bad karma; you just don't do that in baseball. Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t understand the game. So what, the cards are a good team. that's why they're in the playoffs. Everyone needs to relax. Last night was just a bump in the road. Best of three now. I'll take Hamels/Oswalt/Halladay over Jaime Garcia/Edwin Jackson/Kyle Lohse any day of the week. Tomorrow night Hamels will lock it down on the road and the playoff pressure will be too much for the young Garcia. Phils will be alright.— LJK
- Agreed...but carpenter is sure to start game 5, not lohse — Cheesedog
- It is not over - Cole will lock things down and Garcia will choke. I know the stats don't say that, but the stats say Cliff Lee is 94-1 when he has a 4 run lead. Stats are made to be broken - go Phillies!!!
— Pastor Lee - The Phillies have not played well at Citizens Bank Park in the postseason in recent years. This series will probably go five games, but I don't blame fans for jumping off the Phillies bandwagon at this point, especially given the Phillies lackluster effort in Game 2.— Gnip Gnop
- The Phillies have not played well at Citizens Bank Park in the postseason in recent years. This series will probably go five games, but I don't blame fans for jumping off the Phillies bandwagon at this point, especially given the Phillies lackluster effort in Game 2.— Gnip Gnop
- Im still going with Phils in 4 games, its one game not two, cmon on Philly whatever happened to us being the toughest city in america
- Two trends surfaced in this game...
No.1....Phils do NOT win after a game blow out ll-6!
No.2....After scoring heavy in the first innings, the
Phils bats go to sleep and don't wake up! There
is no comeback in this team!— Lynnwood - Interesting you noticed that. About 1/2 way through the season I was talking to my mom about the Phils, and she mentioned any time they score 10 or more runs, the next game they almost always lose. Very weird. As for the comebacks, they do that very well when they do not score many runs early. Also weird.
— verve - I absolutely believe the Phillies will bring this series back to CBP, or even win it in 4. If they do bring it back to Philly, I want each and every fan at "the Bank" to start chanting "whiner, whiner,..." every time LaRussa walks to the mound. Go Phils!!— doug1834
- Fans just know the history of Philadelphia sports teams. And they have had so many disappointments! Philadelphia sports teams have written the book on disappointments.— slade1955
- Reading dumb comments here is pretty ordinary, like the number of people here who claim the Phils are really down 2-1 because they are sure to lose game 3. Notice these are some of the same people who on Saturday night claimed the Phils were really up 2-0 because Lee was starting game 2. But the guys claiming Charlie is to blame because he went for the win Weds against the Braves are just plain insane. Every one of you would have ripped him if he hadn't. Every one of you would have been upset with him if he didn't get to 102 wins, much less 101 or 100.— SFPhillyphan
Comment removed.- Maybe RAJ should hire Francona to manage the rest of the postseason.— sonnybuoy01
- Silly delaina - work instead of reading Philly.com? Hahahahahaha— dlscholt
- Halladay did his job. After watching Lee -- not get it done -- I can really appreciate Halladay's effort. Now it's up to Hamels, who's been lackluster the last two postseasons, and this year needs to step up and establish his past World Series MVP form. Cardinals might be the best playing team in the playoffs right now. The Philies, are the best team. Something's got to give. Go Phillies.— JRum
- Should the Phils lose game three, they will likely still win the next two behind Oswalt and Halliday.
- Participation in five game series is not a 'risky endeavor' for the Phillies. The use of 'risk' implies that there was another potentially safer option available. The Phillies did take a 'risk' by choosing not to let the Braves win the final game of the regular season.— wallytron
- Comment removed.
- On Wenesday I watched and wondered why we were still sticking it to the Braves so we could eliminate them to play the Cards who we had trouble beating this year. I still do not understand all of Charlie's moves even last night. No matter what happens this season I still would like to see Manuel moved to "Senior Baseball Operations Consultant" and Ryan Sandberg as manager next year rather than let the Cubs get him.— Bermar
- Game 3 is a loss for the Phils. Big question is, which Roy Oswalt shows up for game 4? If it's the bad Oswalt, Phils are toast. It's a 50/50 proposition. Oswalt has just as many bad outings as good outings. Cards in 4.— scootch
- All those losses to Garcia were without pence and polanco in the lineup. Their chances are better now, and it would be great if they finally get their due, but the psychological advantage has to go to the cards with Garcia on the mound. — Cheesedog
- A game 3 loss is not a given. The Cardinals bullpen had one good game. They don't have enough talent for a second.
- While Cliff Lee is clearly the better pitcher than Oswalt, it is HE who is actually less predictable. Oswalt has certainly had an uneven year, but that is due to a bad back and having a "head case" over his tornado ravaged home. Those are past and I have a lot of confidence Little Roy is his consistently good self again, hitting 95 on the gun. Then Halliday, if needed. Phils in 4 or 5.
- Bobphxville - I'll give a partial pass because I assume you're talking about the Cards/Braves facing each other in a tie-breaker, but you're wrong about us facing the Braves because we would be playing the Dbacks if the Braves were in.— shadesofdeath
- Great comment rolo!— MrPhillie
- i hate how philly.com sport article pages automatically plays loud commercial all the way down the page so that you have to frantically scroll down and press the pause button as it's blasting through your speakers while at work.— rolo 9
- Get an "ad-blocker" for your browser. I use Google Chrome with an ad blocker extension and I don't any of that annoying stuff. It's great. — scootch
- Its awful hard to think that in this season of great expectations.. we could be looking at elimination after Tuesday. Hamels gave up long balls to Pujols and Craig last time vs. STL in addition to giving up homers in almost every outing since his return from the DL.. I have a sinking feeling and I wish I didn't..— bradco
- Most of the blame falls on Cliff Lee. It may not be fair, but aren't games like this the reason he is making $126 million? Yeah, Shane could have caught Allen Craig's flyball that ended up a triple and a better throw by Ibanez would have gotten Theriot at the plate. But Lee is paid to give up less than four runs per game. Yes, the offense was pathetic over the last six innings. The "weakness" of the Cards was supposed to be the same bullpen that shutout the Phils on one hit. But again, Lee is not paid to give up 12 hits in 7 innings. Everyone is human, so hopefully Cliff gets a chance to redeem himself.— MrPhillie
- Phils may be sorry that they knocked Atlanta out. It may have been preferable for the Cardinals and the Braves to have worn out their pitching staff while facing each other. Also we might have not have had to face a team that we were 3 and 6 against during the regular season, but instead a team that we were 12 and 6 against.— Bobphxville
- The 2008 Phillies won NOT because of Charlie Manuel BUT despite of HIM. This team should have learned its lesson last year with a hot team, The Giants had great pitching and timely hitting. Something we seem to lack at times. WE let this team into the series. We could have lost to the Braves and drew the D-Backs. Now-we are going to lose this series-DOES farmer boy Charlie get called out for some of his dumb moves. WHY pitch to the 8 hitter-pitch to the pitcher.Hot batters-walk them-don't give their people the chance to beat us and just watch us go down in flames....this is looking bad....— kingofpoker
- Wow is the End of the World near too ~ don't dare show up at the parade,loser — Phightinsfanatic
- If you intentionally run away from tough opposition, you don't deserve to win it all. To be the best, you have to beat the best. If you can't, you're not the best. — verve
- Cholly probably would have used mayberry if a guy was on base. Probably should have pinched hit him for Polly or chooch in the ninth anyway because those two are 0 for the series.— palmyra21
- Phils are due against Garcia. We'll hit him hard.— Dan Theman
- Francisco's at bat was a waste of time....bats have been missing most of the season.— bdunf
- Why is Francisco on the postseason roster? Also herndon and Stutes. Great idea to sit Mayberry and not get his hot bat in there in the late innings. Really paid off..............NOT— Trot
- Herndon is not on the current post-season roster. Francisco makes sense to be on the roster but I definitely would have pinch hit Mayberry instead of Francisco last night. I also would not have let Lee start the 7th. Put Worley or Blanton in at that point. If they implode, you pull the same Lidge move you made when Lee imploded. — s
- Tough loss. Series could easily be 2-0 I see Garcia winning the matchup against Hamels. Let's face it: the Cards are a tough team and the Phillies are going to have to play like champions to becoome champions. This series is going down to the last inning. Phils loss would not be a total shocker. You wonder why the fans are quiet? THEY ARE HOLDING THEIR BREATH! (HTML deleted)— TedPo
- Tough loss. Series could easily be 2-0 I see Garcia winning the matchup against Hamels. Let's face it: the Cards are a tough team and the Phillies are going to have to play like champions to becoome champions. This series is going down to the last inning. Phils loss would not be a total shocker.
You wonder why the fans are quiet? THEY ARE HOLDING THEIR BREATH!— TedPo - No need to panic yet. Hope we can start to hit.
— philsfansince1946 - We will be back for game 5 to see Roy H. win it in Philly. And Berkman will not hit an HR in inning 1.— rossinkrantz
- I also think it will go to 5 games now. We split in SL, then come home and watch Halladay show why he's the ace of the staff. — s
- Depends on which Roy Oswalt shows up for game 4. If it's the bad Oswalt, it's over. — scootch
- Yea cause that trashcan the Cardinals are gonna run out there is CY Young Jr. Please the Cardinals need to rely on a 25 yr old w limited innings tonite. We have World Series MVP Hamels on the hill.
- Going to be a tight series.I hope the missing bats is a temporary thing.— HO HUM
- The playoffs are risky whether it's 5 or 7 games, as our loss last year to the Giants showed. The Cardinals and Brewers are very capable of ousting us. The Tigers are capable of beating the Yankees. Etc.— eman
- We have the home field advantage. We fans should start acting like we have it.— 24sDad
- Change "have" to "had". — scootch
- We have the home field advantage. We fans should start acting like we have it.— 24sDad
- Not anymore you don't. — scootch
- M60--Probably was waiting if the game went into extras--in a game the Phils lost 4-3 at home to the Cards in Sept, they knocked around Jason Motte pretty good--so with the middle of the lineup due up, I'm sure he elt like they could at least tie it However, I remember that the Dodgers had a pitcher that had the Phils number in the regular season in 09, and in the playoffs, they rattled him around pretty good. And as Lee showed, what happens in the regular season doesn't necessarily happen in the playoffs.— bobbyuk
- Wonder why CM didn't bring in Big John's bat instead of Ben in the 7th...— M60tanker
- Totally agree here.....Chuck watches a great game and had no clue there. You have to go to JMjr there esp with a lefty pitching but then again, no reason Cliff should start the 7th after getting past the 6th. Start 7th with Vance and take your chances. Yes easy to second guess things but look at Chuck's decision making during a game the last 5 years and you will see he is clueless with making these decisions and his bench coaches must be as well. Mayberry needs to bat in that spot pure and simple. Mayberry needs to start tomorrow as well, but knowing Chuck, he might roll out Gload or see if he can add Bowker to start instead. — jollyrancherk3
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