Weekend & Homestand Notes

Huge victory by our Phillies on Saturday night!! The Phillies hammered Pirates closer Matt Capps for 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to win the game 8-7. The Phillies are now 7-1 on their current homestand. The team trailed 7-3 entering the final frame, before Matt Stairs hit his 4th pinch hit homer of the season. Four batters later, with Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley on base, Ryan Howard tied the game with a deep drive into the left-center field seats. The Phillies then loaded the bases and Paul Bako won the game with a single that drove in Raul Ibanez to give Tyler Walker his first win as a Phillie. The series and the first half of the season wraps up Sunday at 1:35pm, when "Jay" Happ (5-0, 3.04 ERA) faces (1-2, 4.50 ERA). The Phillies now enjoy a 4 game lead over the 2nd place Marlins in the NL East.

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After batting .309 with a .970 OPS in May, Carlos Ruiz is batting .179 in 27 games since then. Historically, July is Ruiz's worst month for batting average and OPS (.210 and .606 respectively).

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The Phillies bullpen has been superb on the current homestand. In 23 2/3 innings pitched, the relief corp has struck out 29 batters, allowed only seven walks and surrendered just 4 earned runs. That's a 1.52 ERA in 8 games.

A member of the 'pen who has been remarkably solid is Chan Ho Park. In the past 5 weeks, since June 7th, Park has posted a 2-1 record, in 19 2/3 innings pitched, and has allowed just 4 earned runs (1.83 ERA) through 14 games.

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While the GM Ruben Amaro continues to not comment on the Phillies' potential negotiations with Pedro Martinez, ESPN had some footage in the past day or so, of Pedro wearing a Phillies cap at his work out for team scouts on Friday. Below is a very low quality screen grab.

Comments

Amanda said…

What an awesome game!

And hopefully Ruiz will start to get back on track.

Nice screenshot of Pedro.

July 12, 2009 at 11:18 AM

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 73

Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...

PhoulBallz Interview: First round pick Bryson Stott

Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign. En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good. You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day. I would say that's the biggest difference. But I...

Velasquez shut down, Eflin on deck?

Eflin with Reading in 2015, image- Jay Floyd Following Vincent Velasquez leaving his start after just two pitches for the Phillies on Wednesday, righty prospect Zach Eflin was pulled from his start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley at Gwinnett. The 22-year-old sports a 5-1 record with a 3.14 ERA and a .210 batting average against in 10 starts for the IronPigs this season. He could take the place of Velasquez if he is required to miss any additional time. Initial word on Velasquez after he threw two fastballs that clocked in the 86-87 MPH range (considerably slower than the 94 MPH he averages) and was swiftly pulled from his outing, is that he has a biceps strain. He'll be further evaluated in the coming days. Prior to the regular season, Eflin got a taste of competing against big leaguers when he was charged with 12 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits while striking out two and walking one with a wild pitch in three innings of work in an intrasquad exhibition that pitted the Phils...

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