Broxton Can't Handle the Chooch

Once again, the Dodgers used Jonathan Broxton to try to lock down a game against the Phillies and once again, the Phillies were the ones actually closing things down.

After Carlos Ruiz smashed the double that scored Jayson Werth and Ben Francisco to lock down another dramatic comeback win, he seemed to have a more difficult time surviving the celebratory barrage delivered by his teammates than he did catching up with the pitch from Broxton that Ruiz drove high off the left-centerfield wall. Ruiz was chased down by Phils players between first and second base, after the winning run crossed homeplate, to congratulate him.

Broxton, who has struggled in the second half, has a 10.13 ERA in 8 outings since the All-star break. Philadelphians have no intentions of hiding their growing love for Broxton, whose reputation as a Phillies punching bag gets larger each time he faces them. The implosion marked the third straight season that the Dodgers experienced a memorable collapse to the Phillies with Broxton on the mound.

The first came in game 4 of the 2008 National League Championship Series, when Matt Stairs hammered a huge homerun to give the Phillies a win.

The next instance occured in game 4 of the 2009 NLCS, when Jimmy Rollins capped off another remarkable comeback, by driving home two runs with 2 outs in the 9th inning.

Broxton's troubles on Thursday night began when he hit Placido Polanco with a pitch. He then walked Mike Sweeney and Jayson Werth to load the bases. Ben Francisco grounded a ball through the legs of third baseman Casey Blake, scoring Polanco and Sweeney, and setting the stage for Ruiz's walk-off style heroics.

The Phillies trailed the Dodgers 9-2, entering the bottom of the 8th inning. Rally time began there, as the Phils plated 4 runs to decrease their deficit to just 3, after Jayson Werth, Ben Francisco and Wilson Valdez each got RBI hits.

The win for the Phillies kept the team just 1 game behind San Francisco in the NL wild card chase and 2 games behind Atlanta in the NL East standings.

Bonus notes...

The Phillies' starting pitcher for all 3 Broxton melt downs- Joe Blanton.

On base for Matt Stairs' 2008 HR- Carlos Ruiz.

Scoring the winning run on Jimmy Rollins' walk-off hit in 2009- Carlos Ruiz.

Man who delivered the walk-off hit in 2010- Carlos Ruiz.

_______________________________________

Get down with PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Comments

Mike McGuire Living a Dream With Favorite Team

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Every young ballplayer grows up wishing he could play for his favorite team. Mike McGuire has an opportunity to do just that after signing with the Phillies organization in July. McGuire was a 43rd round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. Early scouting reports liked McGuire's abilities, despite some arm trouble. He advanced as far as High A Level Kinston last season. While there, he posted an 0-3 record with a 5.46 ERA in 9 games, 8 of which were starts. The Indians weren't happy with McGuire's efforts this spring and released him. McGuire caught on with the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, where he stayed in shape and pitched against other formerly affiliated minor leaguers. As a starter with the Skyhawks, McGuire went 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 8 outings. From there, just as all players in those independent leagues hope for, the 24-year-old McGuire got noticed. The Phillies wer...

Harry's Plaque Has Misprint

At the ballpark today for the first time since Harry Kalas was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday, I noticed an error in the text on his plaque. Verbage on the plaque reads like this... Voice of Phillies baseball on radio and TV for 39 seasons. Teamed with Richie Ashburn from 1971 until 1997. Harry was on the air for all of Mike Schmidt's 548 home runs, five Phillies no-hitters, seven National League Championship Series, three World Series, the first and final games at Veterans Stadium and the Citizens Bank Park 2004 opener. Received the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award in 2002 for "Major Contributions to Baseball" and was inducted into the broadcasters' wing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. His calls were legendary, especially his signature home run call, "Outta heeere." On October 29, 2008, he brought utmost joy to Phillies fans: "The 0-2 pitch, swing and miss , struck him out. The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 Worl...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog