On a beautiful day in Philadelphia the Philadelphia Phillies took on the New York Mets in the second game of a three game series. The Phillies won the first game behind two home-runs (including a grand-slam) by Ryan Howard and a nice outing by Vance Worley who got the start in place of Joe Blanton who was unable to pitch due to injury.
The Mets scored the first run of the game on Saturday in the 4th inning (an RBI single by Carlos Beltran) and Roy Halladay found himself in line for the loss as the Phillies trailed 1-0. In Halladay’s last home start he suffered a loss after getting roughed up by the Brewers’ bats. Halladay kept his composure, despite what appeared to be a narrowing strike zone by the home plate umpire late in the game, and the Mets were unable to score again.
John Mayberry, who got the start today in right field, hit a solo home-run in the bottom of the 7th inning to tie the score at 1-1. Later in the same inning, Wilson Valdez scored (sliding into home plate) on a sacrifice fly by Placido Polanco (who set the Phillies club record for hits in the month of April and is now batting a robust .398) and the Phillies took the lead 2-1.
Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Valdez all had one hit on the day and Polanco and Mayberry each added two. After a monster game the night before, Howard went 0-4 on Saturday. Ben Francisco was hit with a pitch & appeared to be in a good deal of pain, but stayed in the game. He was thrown out trying to steal second base later in the game.
Halladay scattered 7 hits on route to the complete game victory, walking one batter, and striking out 8. He now has a record of 4-1 on the season. Jonathan Niese took the loss for the Mets and his record dropped to 1-3.
The two teams finish the three game series tomorrow night at 8pm on the ESPN Sunday Night Game of the Week. Cliff Lee takes the mound for the Phillies as they look to complete the weekend sweep of the Mets.
2010: One of The Phillies League Best 95 WinsRoy Halladay Delivers the First Official Pitch of 2010 Season
The Philadelphia Phillies finished the 2010 Major League season with a 97-65 record, the best in all of baseball. After winning the World Series over the Rays in 2008 and losing last year’s World Series to the Yankees, the Phillies seem poised to make another run into late October/early November.
Phillies Win Fourth Straight NL East Title
Up first for the Fightins is the Cincinnati Reds who made the playoffs for the first time since 1995 after winning the NL Central with 91 wins.
Ryan Howard
The Phillies closed out August and September in post season form going 41-18 in late summer. There are also many additions to this 2010 Phillies that make them more dangerous than the 2009 or 2008 clubs.
Cliff Lee in 2009 NLDS
The first, and most obvious, is the starting pitching. Gone is Cliff Lee, the best pitcher the Phillies had last post-season. Instead the Phillies will turn to Roy Halladay (who will take the mound in game 1). Halladay is the front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award. In 2010 he became the first Phillies pitcher since Steve Carlton to record 20+ wins (finishing with 21). He finished the season as the team leader in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.
Phillies Ace: Roy Halladay
Roy Oswalt has been nothing short of spectacular since joining the Phillies. In his 12 starts since he joined the team Oswalt has a 7-1 record with a 1.74 ERA. His only loss came in his first game with Philadelphia just one day after being traded from Houston.
Finally, but no less important, is 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamel’s return to dominant form. Hamels posted a career best 3.06 ERA this season while also setting a career best in strikeouts with 211.
Cole Hamels Returned to Form in 2010
With three legitimate number one pitchers, and no need to use a fourth starter in the NLDS, the Phillies are in very good shape.
Then there is the return of Brad Lidge to the Lights Out closer the Phillies can rely on in the 9th inning. Lidge finished the season with 27 saves in 32 chances and down the stretch he really looked like the guy that helped the Phillies win it all in 2008 (instead of the guy that made Phillies fans all hold their breath with nervousness last year).
Lidge is a Big Piece of the 2010 Phillies Playoff Puzzle
The pitching alone would give Phillies fans more than enough to be hopeful about this post-season, but wait, there’s more.
Placido Polanco
The Phillies added third baseman Placido Polanco before the start of the 2010 season and Polanco ended the regular season as the club leader in batting average (.298) and had a .988 fielding average committing just five errors.
Wilson Valdez
Last season the Phillies didn’t have a bench that was up to the task. In 2010 they head into the post-season with a much improved bench that boasts new faces like Ross Gload, Mike Sweeney, Domonic Brown, Wilson Valdez, and Brian Schneider. The only hold-over from last year appears to be Ben Francisco who ended the final few games of the season as hot as anyone on the team.
Raul Ibanez at Bat Against the Reds
Phillies Catcher Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz
Underneath all of the new editions and reasons for Phillies fans to get excited this post-season, is the best top to bottom line-up in baseball: Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez, and Carlos Ruiz. Ruiz, batting out of the eight hole, never ceases to amaze in October.
Ryan Howard: Big Man, Big Swing
Phillies 2nd Baseman Chase Utley
What does Cincinnati bring to the table?
The Big Red Machine: Joey Votto
The Reds were the only team in the National League to score more runs than the Phillies this season. First baseman Joey Votto is the front-runner to win the league’s 2010 MVP award (finishing with 37 home runs, 113 RBI, and a .324 batting average). They also have ex-Phillie Scott Rolen at third base who, along with outfielder Jay Bruce, chipped in another 45 long balls for the Reds (Brandon Phillips and Drew Stubbs contributed another 40 home runs).
Likely 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto at Bat
Brandon Phillips Batting Against the Phillies
The big question for the Reds is their pitching.
Cincinnati Long Ball
Bronson Arroyo led the team in wins with 17, Johnny Cueto was first in both ERA (3.64) and strikeouts (138), and game one starter Edinson Volquez finished the season on a high note (31 K’s, 8 BB, and 17 hits in over 27 innings of work).
The Reds Led the NL in Runs Scored in 2010
In the end, with their dangerous line-up and above average pitching, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Reds win a game in this short series but the Phillies are the more talented team and know what it takes to win in the post-season. The Phillies went 5-2 against the Reds in the regular season. Our prediction is Phillies win in 4.
Ryan Howard at Bat vs. The Reds
Make sure to check back as Independent Philly will be at Citizen’s Bank Park to capture the action this week and will also be making in-depth predictions for each round of the post-season as the Phillies attempt to capture their second World Series title in three years.
**UPDATE: Placido Polanco was forced to sit out game one with a back injury and Wilson Valdez got the start at 3rd base. In his first post-season appearance ever, Roy Halladay threw only the second no-hitter (first since the 1950’s) in MLB playoff history. The Phillies won the game 4-0 over the Reds**
Independent Philly 
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