Sooooooooooooooooo
So Taguchi came up huge tonight in an 8-6 victory over the Mets at Shea Stadium.
Sooooooooooooooooo
Todd Zolecki
So Taguchi couldn't have been happier last night at Shea Stadium.
He finally got a hit.
And a big one, too.
“I am a small part,” he said. “It’s not me. It’s the team.”
But his bases-loaded double in the top of the ninth inning helped the Phillies to an improbable 8-6 victory over the New York Mets, who entered the three-game series tied with the Phillies for first place in the National League East. Taguchi, who led the majors with a .407 average as a pinch-hitter last season with the St. Louis Cardinals, snapped an 0-for-16 streak as a pinch-hitter this season with the Phillies. His performance at the plate and some struggles in the outfield had buried him deep on Charlie Manuel's bench.
So deep that Taguchi had just five at-bats in June and just four at-bats in July. So deep that Manuel has been using Eric Bruntlett as Pat Burrell's late-inning defensive replacement.
"That was a big for So," Manuel said. "I've known So can hit. But at the same time he needed to hit, and it's been hard to get him playing time because of our outfield situation."
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Jim Salisbury talked with Pat Gillick before last night's game about what's ahead before the July 31 trade deadline. Brian Fuentes? Maybe. Matt Holliday? Stop dreaming.
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Joe Blanton didn't pitch as poorly as his line indicated. Carlos Delgado should have been struck out on a 0-2 pitch in the third inning, but he checked his swing (even though replay showed otherwise). Delgado eventually golfed a breaking ball out of the ballpark for a two-run homer.
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In the Phillies Notebook: Brett Myers kept quiet a night before his first start since June 27, Kris Benson probably won't help the Phillies this season and Charlie Manuel isn't changing his philosophy about Pat Burrell.
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The Mets haven't blown a three-run lead in the ninth inning since Sept. 20 last season against the Marlins, when they were busy choking away the NL East title. ... Greg Dobbs had his big-league leading 19th pinch-hit in the ninth inning. That is the most pinch-hits for a Phillie since Greg Gross had 19 in 1982. ...Brad Lidge has converted 25-straight save opportunities, which goes back to Sept. 25 last season with the Houston Astros. That ties Lidge's career best. He has coverted 22-straight save opportunities with the Phillies, which ties Billy Wagner for most consecutive saves in a single season.
I have to say something that I have said all year long...Greg Dobbs is the BEST hitter in the league when it comes to an 0-2 count. No one is more clutch as a pinch hitter or with an 0-2 count.— cg- Don't know about you guys but that was a great feeling last night!! Hopefully this is the start of something. Come one Myers we need you tonight!!— Beef69
Jimmy Williams and Joe Blanton are the unsung heroes of this win. Their plan and execution of walking Santana with two outs in the seventh, and then getting Reyes to a 3-2 count with two outs was brilliant. Reyes fouled of three? 3-2 pitches which had Santana doing suicides between first and second in 95 degree heat. It got Santana out of the game, (not before giving up a HR to Victorino), and allowed the Phillies to strafe the Mets bullpen like they usually do.— RAS- kdkime- apparently, Milt got tossed arguing the checked swing, and Cholly got tossed arguing about Milt's ejection.— mbphilly
- CG: I agree, we need to give Blanton a chance. Things I liked about him: He attacked the hitters and pounded the zone(at least early on) .....He challenged hitters with the high fastball.....He pitched inside and jammed quite a few hitters......He has a nice, tight slider that he mixed in well.....Things I didn't like: A couple 4 pitch walks, which shows a lack of concentration......2 hit batters, probably trying to overthrow......He got his slider up too much....... 4 of the first 5 outs were flyballs + 2 HR's at Shea, concerns me when he pitches in CBP. We'll just have to give it some time and see where he goes from here once he settles in.— bski
- I think maybe Blanton was a little nervous in his first game with a new team, even Sabathia was a little wild in his first start for the Brewers.— cg
- One other point- I don't think Blanton equals Eaton. If Eaton pitched last night he would've left after three innings, not six, the score would've been 8-1 and there would be no possibility of ninth inning heroics. At least he (and the bullpen, again) kept us in the game. I'm willing to give Blanton a pass for last night, first start in a new league and pitching on I think 11 days rest.— KMG
- I can't believe Chase didn't get booed!!! Maybe the Mets fans have a new respect for him, and have adopted him as one of their own. LOL! Of course, I'm sure they were happy he went 0-fer! He DID make that GREAT diving catch to save extra bases and end the inning. And who didn't love those two outs at the plate! Without our great defense, this could have been a whole different outcome.— Norma
- Norma: I thought I heard them boo Rollins & Utley at least at the first at bats?!? A great win (even though I turned off the TV after the top of the 8th inning thinking it was a lost cause!!)Any Phils win is sweet but against the Mets much,much sweeter.— KarenA
- met fans didn't boo 'cause they didn't understand that Utley was cursing them in the derby. They just assumed he was crying..boohoo....(LOL)— jeff gross
- maybe if they had booed him he would have gotten a hit or two— jeff gross
- if youre going into a game saying 'we're going to beat santana for 9 innings' then youre going to lose. if a team doesnt have a shields/rodriguez or a romero/lidge combo then you want that starter out of there as soon as possible, while keeping the game close. they knew they didnt have wagner (not like wagner has never blown a save vs the phillies before, though).— mikeb
- KarenA....I'm surprised at you! You know our 'phightins NEVER give up!— Norma
- Norma: I hang my head in shame (LOL!) I was getting frustrated with their lack of offense and thought here we go again! Glad I was wrong and that things turned out the way they did. Let's hope the baseball Gods smile upon us and that Brett Myers has found his mojo and kicks butt tonight! GO PHILS!— KarenA
The one sore spot that's getting overlooked in all this is the fact that Carlos Ruiz again hit into what by all rights should have been a rally-killing DP. Trust me, I'm as thrilled as anyone that Reyes missed the bag, but that won't happen often. (It was very remeniscent of the interference call at 2nd last year that sunk the Mets at CBP.) The inning looks a lot different with the Mets up 5-3, a man on third and 2 outs. Theoretically, if you still get doubles from So and Rollins, then Howard grounds out, the game is then tied going to the bottom of the 9th. But who knows what would have happened. The point is that Ruiz is still a huge hole in the lineup offensively. And it's one thing to not hit. It's another to kill rallies.— bobby
