Sooooooooooooooooo
So Taguchi came up huge tonight in an 8-6 victory over the Mets at Shea Stadium.
Sooooooooooooooooo
Todd Zolecki
Wait, is that So Taguchi being congratulated by teammates? Oh, you bet it is. (SETH WENIG / Associated Press)
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.
Comments (68)
MEET THE MESS!— frankatlasalle- Zo....I LOVE your headings! LOL!— Norma
Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! First off, Blanton gets a pass for it bein his first start for the Phils. We'll deal with him next time. But that 9th inning is the Phils of old (May and June!). So Taguchi, you ARE the man. He had to come through at some point, and no better time than tonight. This was a night for resurrected heroes. Werth, Howard, Ruiz, and ROLLINS. Jimmy had that magic in the 9th, and it showed in thepost-game interview. Props to Charlie for giving the umps what for. Let's hope this sets the tone for the rest of the series and the season, and Brett Myers can be the hero tomorrow night. THAT, my friends, is why we watch sports. Go Phils!— bobby
Comment removed.- Related Note: "The Mets announced the start of their greatest moments at Shea Stadium promotion Tuesday. Fans can go online to select their 10 favorite moments at the stadium, which is closing after 45 seasons." I'll start the bidding by nominating tonight's game. Who's with me??— bobby
- Comment removed.
- Keep VIC.— respect
- #2 greatest moment at Shea Stadium: Knocking Glavine out of the first inning against the Fish on the day they needed a win.— Mike H.
- Even brought a smile to MY face...
- Only way it would have been better if Harry was there calling the game.— joeyjoejoe
- Who gets dropped from 25 man active roster to make room for Myers?— shoeshineboy
- Mike Cervenak.— Norma
- I missed Harry, too!— Norma
- Here's food for thought - if Cholly disagreed with Delgado's check swing, why not go out and argue right after to give your pitcher a break (he was 30 pitches deep into the inning) instead of waiting until between innings. One thing to argue, another thing to know when to argue. Great comeback regardless - this could be the game that breaks the "situational hitting" slump!— kdkime
- Like I told my friend the Mets fan, their bullpen would find a way to give up a 5 run homerun.— cg
- Great win but I'm not convinced it is the game to turn around the hitting and winning slump. However, we have to start somewhere. The Phils are not even a 9th inning team. While they've recorded many "comeback wins," there have been precious few 9th-inning comeback wins (I believe they are 4-39 when behind entering the 9th.) The offense came through in the 9th, but until then they were not very good. Again, consistency is the key...consistency within a single game and consistency over an entire season. Hopefully the Phils will be consistent the rest of the season. Thanks Phils for a great win!— MrPhillie
- Comment removed.
- Let's not get too excited here, folks...we didn't beat a good team...and we didn't beat a good pitcher. He handed it to us for 8 innings. We beat a bad bullpen again. That's the only way we beat teams, and we haven't even been doing that lately. Nevertheless, it's nice to see the Mets choke again. Now, if Burrell can take Wagner deep again late tonight or tomorrow it'll be a very nice series. Ahem....does Blanton = Eaton? Stats say yes.....what exactly did we change?— Mark1npt
- He is Sooooooooooo Taguchi !!!!!— phillybob
- Mark1npt-if we can't get excited about that win, over the Muts, then we'll NEVER get excited.— KMG
- I'm not saying this win is going to turn everything around for us, but it certainly was nice to see for many reasons. It's great to see them never give up. It's great to see them play a solid defensive game. The Burrell-Rollins hookup and Werth's throw nailing Chavez at the plate twice, Utley's diving play, Howard making two nice plays (the short hop ball and the play where the bat went flying over his head). Without those plays the game is out of reach. These are the types of plays they have not been making and that they certainly must continue making on a regular basis for us to have any shot. Anyway, I'm hoping they have regained their focus and we will see them put together a good run over the last 62 games.— bski
- Let me add that I still can't believe So Taguchi had a clutch pinched hit!— KarenA
- anyone notice how we put this win together after Charlie got tossed? I wonder what our record is when he's not in the dugout— jeff gross
- Taguchi had to revert to his norm at some point this season. Maybe this it. He was over .400 as a pinch hitter last season. Somewhere between .400 and today is where he will end up. If I'm Charlie, I find a way to get Taguchi an AB tonight. From 90 miles away and over the TV, it looked to me like Jimmy Rollins had some life in him for the first time in a while. A little more spring or spark. Not all game. He began with his limp ground outs. But something clicked. And it wasn't in the 9th. Like the July 24, 2004 come-back against the Yankees that sparked the Sox WS run, we could look back on this game later. Both teams were under extreme pressure. One choked.— Joe in Haddonfield
- jeff gross: "anyone notice how we put this win together after Charlie got tossed? I wonder what our record is when he's not in the dugout" ... Good point. Not that I think the Phillies won because Charlie is not there, but a big moment in the game IMO was when Jimy Williams pinch-hit Dobbs for Pedro Feliz, which I don't think Charlie would have done. If Feliz strikes out there, or grounds into a double play, that ninth inning looks a whole lot different.— acerulli
- Pinch-hitting Dobbs for Feliz, that's a great point! We need to do stuff like that a little more often. It took me a whole inning to figure out where we were in the order- that's how unused to PH'ing for anyone but a pitcher I am! Sometimes you have to get a little creative and put the player's feelings aside.— bobby
- ...and Mark the Downer comes around, once again, to spew some negativity. Hey Mark, even if it were true, which it isn't, that the Phillies weren't beating "aces" like you say, why is it such a bad thing that they keep themselves in games against the Webbs and Santanas and then win the game late against that team's bullpen?— Billy The Kid
- Mark, it don't matter who you beat, or how you win, as long as you do it. I'll take 100 wins against # 5 pitchers over 60 wins against aces any time— jeff gross
- KMG had it right: If you can't get excited over a win like last night's, you should turn in your remote and hang up your team logo underwear. Sports is just not for you.— bobby
- Zo, Good job on ESPN's First Take this morning. I couldn't agree more, the pitches that went out of the park were good pitches especially Delgado's golf shot. Blanton did pretty well and I think everyone should just give him a chance.— cg
- 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
- WHERE IS CHASE UTLEY?— Truth
- bobby... i agree with your concerns about Ruiz, but that ball was NOT a double play ball. Reyes only had a reasonable chance at one out, and should have thrown to first to get Carlos. Instead, he botched it completely...just Reyes being Reyes (DUMBEST player in MLB, despite his ridiculous skills)— acerulli
- acerulli-would you rather have Rollins or Reyes?— Truth
- acerulli, OK I'm willing to assume that particular ball was not a sure DP. But that's just chance, a matter of a few feet. Ruiz still hit a chopping infield grounder in a clutch situation. He just seems to be unable to make solid contact with any regularity. We don't need or expect him to be an RBI guy, but any big-leaguer should be expected to hit .250 and get the ball out of the infield every now and then, especially when the game is on the line. The tough thing is that Coste is now struggling as well.— bobby
- I thought the key to the ninth was Shane's busting it down to 2nd. It totally threw Reyes's concentration off and kept the inning alive.— freebistat
- Give me Jimmy over Reyes any day. Jimmy keeps his head in the game.— freebistat
- Now someone is saying Jimmy's head is in the game. YOU ppl never cease to amaze!— Truth
- BOBBY: God help me for defending Ruiz here, but I think he did hit the ball hard last night. Weren't both of his hits sharp and back through the box, almost getting Santana both times? I'm with you, I think he's an unproductive black hole in the lineup. I guess I'm just in a more forgiving mood for two reasons. 1) Ruiz has been killing us and we've been on him all year. I have no intention of throwing him a parade. I just think it would be ok to back off today, since he was productive last night. 2) It really seems like it's going to be only Ruiz and Coste behind the plate for us the rest of the way. As you said, Coste is struggling. I'm guessing that means we will be seeing more of Ruiz. If that is the case, I'm going to try my best to think positively and hope that, after last night, maybe Ruiz can help us with the bat a bit. (or at least not hurt us as much as he has up to this point)— bski
- Just read Zo's little blurb in the Inquirer, that both J.Roll & Chase got booed a little last night. (Guess my hearings going!) But that J.Roll still got the louder boos! Those Mutts just can't let go, can they? LOL!— Norma
- Maybe they will promote local hero So Taguchi to #1 RH pinch-hit bat when Werth is playing? Coste has been killing us there lately.— RAS
- Just put a few minutes reading the Mets Blog. Apparently the villain de jour is neither Rollins or Utley, but rather Victorino. I never realized how much his style of play gets under their skin. Last night after Victorino scored the tying run, he stood on home plate for a few seconds and clapped at the Mets dugout. As a payback, they want him beaned, ostensibly in retaliation for three hit batsmen and a Santana brushback last night. Tonite's game will be interesting to say the least. Keep an eye on the subplots.— RAS
- Great intelligence, RAS. Adds a bit more drama to tonight's game. I'm sure Bret wouldn't hesitate to bean someone if needed.— bobby
- If these clowns dont smack Maine around, im going to be pi$$ed off. They can never hit this guy and I just cant understand why. He is a decent pitcher, but he dominates the Phils and I just dont get it. If they cant built on last nights win, then forget it....they must put the mets back in their hole while they have the chance!!— Clinton, NJ
- Will CHASE UTLEY show up?— Truth
- How long will the Golden Boy get a free pass in this city?— Truth
- Ryan (three runs, maybe more Madsen) has blown the game wide open......time for this trade bait to go.......— Mark1npt
- Truth, as long as he goes out and plays hard everyday, fields better than howard with less Ks and a higher batting average Chase is good. Philly likes players that go out, bust their butts, and puts forth 110% and that's what Chase does every time out there. Why do you always go back and start on Utley? You get all defensive when it comes to Howard and Rollins but I don't think I've ever seen Chase NOT run a play out or try to lay out to make a play. If you're going to pick on one guy then pick on them all including you precious Howard and Rollins.— cg
- cg......I couldn't have said it better! But we have to admit....The Mets sure seem to have his number in this series. At least he got another ball hit to him, with the bases loaded, for the final out of the inning! Chase, himself, always says that if he can't get a hit, he hopes his defense helps the team. And that usually happens. Hope he wins a Gold Glove someday!— Norma
- Well, Brett's back...he seemed to settle down after the 1st. Madson and our hitting killed us tonight.— cg
- Not too bad an outing from Brett. The main thing I liked....He never panicked!— Norma
- I thought Brett's debut was a bit shaky. He almost seemed a bit hesitant to throw a strike for fear of getting hit too hard. I didn't think the Phils offense was too bad. There were several hits that were hit hard (ie. Burrells 2nd at bat was almost a HR)Nice to see Jenkins w/a HR. Reyes as talented as he is can be very obnoxious. Chris Wheeler was too funny dissing him for the way he showboats when he runs the bases after hitting a HR and the dance in the dugout. Let's hope our "senior" pitcher can provide us with a series win this afternoon. GO PHILS!— KarenA
- Yeah, Reyes IS really obnoxious with that HR trot! Wild Thing hates it, too. And said so several times during the post-game show. LOL! I hate any kind of showboating. It's fine to be *happy* after a great hit or play. But face it guys....It's your job to play well!!!— Norma
- Re: the notion today that the Mets didn't hit Meyers last night....The Mets knew that Myers knew that he had no control over his pitches, therefore they did not good swings. Discretion is the better part of valor in that situation. It's not worth getting killed over. Also, why isn't Utley bunting against the overshift, especially the way he is (not) hitting lately?— RAS
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