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The first round of the South Atlantic League playoffs was perfect for the BlueClaws. A win on the road Wednesday put the 'Claws in position to clinch a trip to the championship series with a win on Friday night against the White Sox affiliated Kannapolis Intimidators. And it didn't take long for the BlueClaws to convince the small rain-dwindled crowd that Friday would be the night. The scoring began in the first inning when DH Sebastian Valle singled home catcher Travis D'Arnaud. This began the small FirstEnergy Park crowd on a full night of yelling, celebrating and rally towel waving. The Park seemed about 1/4 full most of the night, but the volume of their cheers sounded like the place was at capacity. Lakewood continued scoring in each of the next three innings. In the second inning, left fielder D'Arby Myers plated shortstop Troy Hanzawa with a double before Travis D'Arnaud smashed a big two-bagger that scored pro ball's stolen base leader Anthony Gose. In t...

The Metropolitans of New York (62-78) come to Philadelphia to face the Phillies (79-59) in a four game series beginning tonight. Read on for details on the pitching match ups and other key notes from this division rivalry. Friday, 7:05pm. Nelson Figueroa (2-4, 4.74 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (8-9, 4.32 ERA). Figueroa, a former Phillie, has a 3.00 ERA over his last three starts, with a 1-2 record. Colbert is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA and .457 batting average against in 2 starts against NYM this season. Hamels has a 2.65 ERA in 15 career starts in September. David Wright against Cole Hamels- 8-for-20 (.400 avg) with a homer and 3 RBI. Saturday, 4:10pm. Mike Pelfrey (10-10, 4.83 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (12-9, 4.98 ERA). Pelfrey is 2-2 in his last 4 starts with a 5.32 ERA. In his career against the Phillies, Pelfrey is 4-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 8 games. Pelfrey's road ERA in 6.55 in 2009. Moyer is once again taking "Jay" Happ's turn in the starting rotation, while Happ deals with an obli...

For $500 in the category of Slumping Balding Men, the answer is, "The Phillies reserve hitter who went nearly two months without a hit before he reminded phans exactly why they fell in love with his burly behind last October, by hitting a pinch hit grand slam homerun." Who is Matt Stairs? Correct! ---------------------------------------- Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE !

Yeah, they do. Jayson Werth, Chan Ho Park and Ryan Madson led the Phillies to victory on Wednesday night. Werth had two hits, one was a leadoff homerun in the 8th inning to give the Phillies a lead. He also drove in two and scored two. It was Werth's 33rd homer of the season and his 4th in the past 7 games. Chan Ho Park got out of a jam in the bottom of the same frame, after an error and a double off starter Cliff Lee left the Nationals with 2 runners in scoring position, down by two runs. Park entered the game with no outs and shut down three straight batters after a walk to the Elijah Dukes, allowing just one of the inherited runners to score on a sacrifice fly. Ryan Madson then entered the game with a 1 run lead, in place of struggling closer Brad Lidge. A leadoff single to Justin Maxwell was followed by Maxwell's steal of second. It seemed like an all-too-familiar road save situation by the Phillies' bullpen. The threat of the tying run was quickly erased w...

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Let's all thank Charlie Manuel for finally reaching a point where he had seen enough of Brad Lidge. Lidge was in the midst of another nerve racking outing on Tuesday against the Nationals, when Manuel pulled Lidge for reliever Ryan Madson. The Phillies entered the bottom of the 9th inning holding a 2 runs lead, but Lidge quickly loaded the bases with Nats. Upon entering the game with just one out, Madson retired Washington's best two offensive threats, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn, in order. Manuel continued telling reporters after the game that Brad Lidge is still the team's closer. That's not exactly what many phans wish to hear at this point, but at least Charlie has begun to consider other options. The other big event of the evening was that both Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez hit their 30th homeruns of the season. Along with Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth, they become the first foursome in Phillies team history to all hit 30 or more homers in the same season. The 2009...

The Phillies (77-58) continue their road trip tonight when they visit the Nationals (47-90) to begin a 3 game series. These two teams have not met since May 31st. The Phillies currently have their longest road losing streak of the season intact...5 games. The Phillies are 5-1 this season at Nationals Park. Read on for details on pitching match ups and other notes from this series. Tuesday, 7:05pm. Pedro Martinez (3-0, 3.52 ERA) vs. John Lannan (8-10, 4.09 ERA). Cristian Guzman is a career .375 hitter (9-for-24) off of Pedro. Martinez has a 2-0 record with a 5.73 ERA in 2 road starts for the Phillies. Lannan is 0-5 with a 5.89 ERA in 7 career starts against the Phillies. At home this season, Lannan is 5-1 with a 2.62 ERA in 14 starts. Pedro Feliz is 7-for-14 with a homerun and 5 RBI against Lannan. John Lannan is the pitcher who broke Chase Utley's hand with a pitch in 2007. Wednesday, 7:05pm. Cliff Lee (5-2, 2.81 ERA) vs. Garrett Mock (3-7, 5.63 ERA). Lee's ERA in his last 2 ...

Have you heard that Ed Wade, Chris Coste, Mike Bourn and Jason Michaels just beat the Phillies in four straight games? I am stunned that I have to write about this. Charlie Manuel said it best on Sunday when he told the media, "We had a bad series, and that’s saying it lightly, I guess. They outplayed us. They deserved to win. We keep playing like that it’s going to be tough for us to win [many more games]. We did almost everything we could do to lose." There are certainly different ways to take a series sweep like this. The Phillies could be displaying their inconsistencies and showing they aren't a lock for the NLCS or even the playoffs. On the other hand, the Phillies still own a 6 game lead in their division, and this series in Houston shouldn't discredit the season the Phillies have had thus far. This time last season, the Phillies were trailing in both the division and the wild card standings. Heading into the 2nd weekend of September 2008, the Phils were 3 1/2 ...

Grab a hot dog and enjoy your day!!

Ruben Amaro Sr. was a Phillies infielder from 1960-1965. Amaro Sr. was a versatile fielder who could play all four infield positions. His father, Santos, had been a solid player in Mexico, but had prohibited Ruben from following in his footsteps. Ruben Sr. ignored his father's wishes, and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1954, prior to being traded to the Phillies organization. Amaro's skills and fielding range impressed manager Gene Mauch, who raved about his abilities to reach batted balls that other shortstops could not get to. In 1961, Amaro was the Phillies' everyday shortstop and batted. 257 with 1 homerun, 32 RBI and a .700 OPS. The next season, however, Amaro missed half the season serving in the Army reserves and lost his starting gig to Bobby Wine. As a result, Amaro began rotating around the Philadelphia infield, over the next couple seasons. Amaro had little power at the plate, but managed to reach his single season career high in homeruns in 1964. That sa...

Brett Myers warmed up in the Phillies bullpen on Friday night, but was not called upon to pitch in his first game since May 27th. The Phillies chose instead to use Tyler Walker and Jack Taschner. Myers is expected to pitch in a 6th or 7th inning middle relief role, upon his return to game action. Raul Ibanez continues to slump and that made it easier for manager Charlie Manuel to give Ibanez a night off against a tough lefty like Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez. Ben Francisco got the start on Friday in Houston. Francisco got one hit in four at bats and is batting .217 since joining the Phillies. Raul, meanwhile, has become Pat Burrell, performance wise. Burrell made a name for himself, as a Phillie, by being inconsistent, but generally averaging things out with good offensive totals by seasons' end. Over the first two months of the season, Raul had a .332 batting avg. Since then, Raul has a .222 batting avg. In 64 first half games, Ibanez had 22 HR and 60 RBI. In 42 second half game...

The Phillies (77-54) visit Ed Wade and the Houston Astros (63-70) this weekend for a four game series. This will mark the first time these two teams have faced each other this season. Read below for pitching match ups and important notes from this series. Friday, 8:05pm. Cliff Lee (5-1, 1.80 ERA - NL) vs. Wandy Rodriguez (12-9, 2.93 ERA). Cliff Lee is 7-3 with a 2.67 ERA on the road this season. Batters are hitting .211 off of Lee since he joined the Phillies. Lee's last start, a loss to the Braves, was only the second time all season that Lee has surrendered more than one homerun in a game. Wandy Rodriguez is 3-8 with a 4.63 ERA in 18 career games in September. At home this season, Wandy is 7-2 with a 1.73 ERA in 12 starts. Wandy has given up 6 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings against the Phillies in his career. Jimmy Rollins is 3-for-5 against Rodriguez with a homerun. Saturday, 7:05pm. Joe Blanton (9-6, 3.77 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (8-5, 3.80 ERA). In his last 12 starts, Joe Blanton i...