For seven innings the Phillies looked dead in the water once again. J.A. Happ brought his A-game, but the offense brought their F-game.
With just 5 hits in the first innings and a rookie pitcher doing the unthinkable-dare I say it shutting a team out for 6-plus innings, this game had heartbreak written all over it.
Utlimately, J.A. Happ came out of the game in the 7th after putting some runners on base only to see two of his base runners score.
Happ's statline reads like this from last night: 6 1/3 innings, 2 earned runs, and 5 strikeouts. He now has 8 strikeouts in 11 innings over his two starts and a respectable 3.27 ERA.
My only criticism with Happ is his strikes to ball ratio. He was nearly at 1:1 last night and it's important for a young pitcher to get ahead in the counts particularly in the beginning of games. Lack of control in games has doomed many a young pitching prospect in the majors.
So it goes, the Phillies finally got off the schnide and ended their 4-game losing streak. They are staring down the barrel of losing their 9th series in 10 series' so it's imperative they win this one today.
And, like they said during the game last night it's amazing that the Phillies are still in first place. No need to hammer that one home again. The NL East is atrocious and ripe for the taking.
A pitcher and a bat are just the remedy for the Phillies. But, they better get moving because the Brewers and Cubs already snagged two arms off the market.
And, a bat as I've been saying for the past few weeks is a close #2 to their top priority. I'm not saying they should go out and get Matt Holliday, but a utility guy who has a great approach to hitting should certainly be in order.
The Phils take on the Cards at 1:05 in the rubber match today. Jamie Moyer takes the hill against Braden Looper.
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Sixers make it official with Brand
Elton Brand was quite impressive in his press conference yesterday. The thing I was most impressed with is that he took less money ($10 million to be exact) to come to the Sixers because he appreciated how aggressive they were in trying to woo him over.
He was impressed with the fact that they cleared all sorts of cap space and were willing to go the extra mile and move a few players for a trade exception to get $15 million under.
Sure, he came here for money too, but the guy is a class act and perfect for the team and the city.
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