Skip to main content

Phillies, Howard Crumble in NLDS

It happened again. Much like 2010, Ryan Howard failed in the final at bat of the postseason, in Philadelphia, and a visiting club danced on the Citizens Bank Park field.

As awful as that scenario is for Phillies fans, the scene was worse this time around as Howard fell to the ground after he dribbled a grounder to second base and exited the batters box. Howard, who is set to start a 5-year/$125 million contract extension in 2012, clutched his lower left leg and was helped off the field by trainers and coaches. The injury, suspected to be a torn achilles tendon, could result in Howard missing the entire 2012 season.

Howard will have an MRI on Saturday for official diagnosis on the extent of the issue.

The Phillies again came up short in a crucial playoff game, allowing the Cardinals, who bursted into the playoffs with a late season surge, to continue their surprising ascent with a 1-0 victory.

From the start in the deciding game 5 of the opening round playoff series, the Cardinals took control, as shortstop Rafeal Furcal led off the game with a triple against Phils ace Roy Halladay. Skip Schumaker then drilled a double down the right field line to plate Furcal with the game's only run.

Halladay was exceptional the rest of the way, spreading out 4 hits and a walk over the next 7 innings, but he was outdueled by his former Toronto teammate Chris Carpenter. The Cardinals' right-hander shined, allowing just 3 hits through 9 innings, to notch his 6th career victory in the postseason.

The outing for Carpenter was a full 180-degree turn from the effort he put forth in game 2 of the series, when he did not make in beyond the 3rd inning.

Heavily favored throughout the entire 2011 campaign, Philadelphia will now head home to reflect on what could have been, while wild card entrant St. Louis will head to Milwaukee to battle for the right to play in the World Series.

_______________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...

5th spot, Wall, Old timers, Links

The race for the Phillies' fifth starter spot is still on. While it's not fully fair to compare Grapefruit League stats, when some of the pitchers have had "B game" and scrimmage outings mixed in, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco look to be falling behind Chan Ho Park and "Jay" Happ. Happ added to his solid Grapefruit League stats (2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in 4 games) today against the Rays. Pitching coach Rich Dubee had been displeased with Kendrick even before he surrendered 8 earned runs in 3 innings of work yesterday against the Braves. Park has been working on improving his change up, with (Coach) Jamie Moyer. Park noticed Moyer's location control on his change, so he sought out Moyer to teach him the grip and positioning of the ball. Moyer, of course, feels good about helping anyone on the Phils' staff. Park has been coached by greats like Nolan Ryan with the Rangers and Sandy Koufax with the Dodgers, so Moyer is in great company. Park is working h...

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...