phrustrated philly phan

Tim Hudson had his best outing of the year and the Braves defeated the Phillies 3-1. Hudson dominated for seven innings while striking out 8 batters. Jimmy Rollins went 0-5 with 3 strikeouts and a game ending groundout on a 2-0 pitch. A bad way to end the game on an outside pitch that Rollins tried to pull but rolled over to Marcus Giles. Hudson's counterpart, Cole Hamels, had another progressive outing. Hamels is establishing himself as a quality pitcher. Hamels threw 6 innings and surrendered only one run on a suicide squeeze. In his last three starts, Hamels is 2-1 with a 2.24 ERA. Hamels was pulled in the top of the seventh for a pinch hitter. Charlie Manuel substituted Pat Burrell in with two outs and a runner on second. Burrell swung at a 3-0 pitch and grounded out to Giles. Typical Burrell at bat, he should have been taking all the way. Had that been Utley or Howard swinging 3-0, I would have had no problem, but Burrell should have a red light. The bullpen was shaky in the seventh inning. Geoff Geary was credited with two earned runs though one was scored off a double given up to Scott Thorman by Aaron Fultz. Rick White pitched a scoreless inning. Manuel jumped the gun on replacing Hamels. Hamels was pitching brillantly and Burrell is by no means a sure thing as a pinch hitter. A terrible move by Manuel. The Phillies best scoring chance came in the eighth inning of Danys Baez, Wayne Franklin, then Tyler Yates. With the bases loaded, Victorino on third; Utley on second; Howard on first, David Delluci drove a pitch to the wall that Andruw Jones hauled in. Victorino tagged and scored the Phils only run. With the Reds victory the Phillies fall to 3 1/2 games out of the wildcard.

Tip of the Cap- Cole Hamels for another impressive outing. In six innings, Hamels surrendered six hits and one walk while striking out six. Hamels is showing great development and looks to be as good as advertised. With him and Myers, I believe the top of the rotation is set for some time.

Wag of the Finger- Charlie Manuel and Pat Burrell. First, Manuel for pinch hitting Burrell in the seventh and removing Hamels while Hamels was pitching great. Then Burrell for swinging at a 3-0 pitch and grounding out to second base.

Tomorrow's Game- The Phillies finish their road trip with a 1:05 game against Chuck James and the Braves. James is 4-3 with an ERA slightly over 5. The Phillies counter with Randy Wolf who is looking for some significant improvement over his last couple starts. Lets hope for a good finish to the road trip. Don't forget the wildcard leaders, Cincinnati Reds, come to town this weekend so lets get out and support the Phillies this weekend.