9:53 AM: The Phils are now 3-0 this postseason when we do a live blog and 1-2 when we don’t, so you know what that means. You can’t say we didn’t do our part. And we’re starting over 10 hours before game time, so that can only help, right? I’ll have my lucky shirt on, too. I’m still debating whether to go with the mask on or off on my Chooch bobble-head, but I’m leaning towards off.
11:03: Extra-base hits have been really hard to come by, but Howard and Werth start off the 8th with back-to-back doubles to tie it! Really impressive to do that off those good relievers. Now we need to get Werth over and get him in. But Rollins pops it up. All these years later, and he still does that WAY too often.
Let’s get the Blanton talk out of the way right now. As everyone knows, if the Phils had gone with Halladay on short rest tonight, they would’ve had to also throw Oswalt and Hamels on short rest. The bottom line is, Hamels on short rest is not something they’re willing to consider, so throwing Halladay today makes no sense. Why won’t they throw Hamels on short rest? I’m not sure. Dubee’s reasoning was, “He’s never done it before”, which is not really a valid reason at this point. We’ve been hearing that since the ’08 playoffs. I understand the logic in not wanting him to make his first ever short-rest start in the playoffs, but why not have him throw on short-rest once or twice during the regular season to see how he handles it? Either the Phils’ brass really doesn’t think he can handle it, or he’s told them he doesn’t think he can (wouldn’t put it past him, unfortunately).
Anyway, all that is a moot point for this postseason. Again, if they’re not willing to throw Hamels on short rest, Blanton is the right pick for Game 4.
10:06 AM: Everyone agrees that the term “must-win” is over-used in sports, then they go ahead and use it anyway. This is not a must-win. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hugely critical, but do you really think the Phillies can’t possibly win three straight games with the pitchers they have coming? If Halladay could manage a win tomorrow (obviously not far-fetched), then they’d be coming home, with momentum, needing to win just two in a row behind Oswalt and Hamels. Anyone who thinks that’s an impossible scenario is crazy. Is it likely that they’d win those three in a row? Nope. That’s why tonight is so important.
11:21 AM: [Bry, jumping in] You’re right, Doogan, in that the term “must-win is wholly over-used. The only must-wins are elimination games. That being said, being down 2-1 is no fun for the fans.
A lot of thoughts at the start of the series have changed and many have not. At the beginning, it was hard for some people to imagine the Giants winning this series at all. That thought is clearly out the window now because they are very much in the series and, though I haven’t checked with Vegas, I would probably handicap this series right now as a pick ’em. So, it’s very much up in the air.
I, however (and maybe because of my fatalistic Philadelphianism), gave the Giants a puncher’s chance, at the very least. But, when this series started, I honestly couldn’t imagine a scenario where the Giants would win this series without winning Game Four. That belief has not really changed that much now. If the Phils can win tonight (against a rookie pitcher), they are down to a best-of-three series, with homefield advantage, with all three of the big guys due to pitch, on full rest. So, even with two frustrating losses in this series, the Phils are one win away from regaining the status of “prevailing favorite” again. So, all is not lost. Keep the faith.
1:47 PM: Maybe the key to turning around this series is Chase Utley. What a rough postseason he’s had, getting it started with two throwing errors in Game 1 of the LDS. He has just one single in this series, and he cost the Phils a run last night in what should’ve been ruled an error but was called a single. He also couldn’t come up with a ball to his left that was a legitimate single, but was a ball that Utley often comes up with, and he might’ve been able to get Huff at 1st to save another run. Knowing how intense he is, and how much this all means to him, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get things going tonight, with the bat and the glove. Chase Utley is not the type of guy that buckles in the face of adversity. The Phils need him to spark the offense.
3:20 PM: [Bry again] Another key, I think, is the bottom of the order. That is where, it seemed, that the Phils had the greatest advantage. The depth of the lineup was so much stronger for the Phils than the Giants. But, so far, the bottom of the Giants order has highly outperformed their Philly counterparts. A lot of this falls on Raul Ibanez, who, when he is on, has to be one of the best #7 hitters in the game, but right now, he looks lost. With a still shaky J-Roll at #6 and Ibanez at #7, the Phils order, all of a sudden, looks more shallow than the puddle of a lineup that the Giants throw out there every night.
5:21: Well, just found out that Ben Francisco is in the lineup for Ibanez, so I guess it’s up to Francisco and company to come through at the bottom of the order. Oh, and for the record (and for reasons I don’t have time to elaborate on), the more I think about it, the more I agree with the Blanton decision tonight.
5:45: Yeah Bry, it looks like Charlie shares your concerns about the bottom of the order. I think putting Francisco in is a pretty good decision. He hit lefties really well this year (even though he’s barely played over the last couple months) and he gives some added range in the big AT&T Park outfield and some added speed on the base paths.
7:06: Less than an hour now until the first pitch. The first inning could be crucial. In the top half, the Phils have a chance to put an early run or two on the board, which would immediately relax them and help put the abysmal offensive performance of Game 3 behind them. The bottom half is key because Blanton has really struggled in the first inning this year, and considering he hasn’t pitched in 3 weeks, that is even more of a concern than usual.
8:00: Wow, terrible called strike 3 on Victorino to start the game. That ball really looked inside. A walk would’ve been really nice there.
8:06: No runs for the Phils, but at least Bumgarner didn’t look great, hitting Polanco and walking Victorino (even if the ump didn’t think so). Of course walks and HBP’s are not what we need. We need HITS and RUNS.
8:17: Not the start we needed, as Posey lines an RBI single. Blanton bounced three pitches in front of the plate, two for wild pitches. I think they were change-ups, but hard to tell considering they only went 59 feet. Posey’s single came on a curveball, which McCarver somehow thought was a cut fastball? Anyway, the Giants seize momentum right away here, and the Phils hitters have to resist the temptation to start pressing.
8:27: Well, the Phils hit two balls hard in the 2nd, but Werth’s liner to right-center was caught and Jimmy is picked off to end the inning. Good to see Jimmy has the confidence to run, but it looked like he was having a lot of trouble figuring out Bumgarner’s motion. He was jumping back to first on a lot of his pitches. He argued after the pick-off that it was a balk. I have no idea if it was or not, but I do know that was a great play by Renteria to make that catch and tag at second.
8:40: Ruiz strikes out on a pitch that was in the same spot as the one that Victorino was called out on. Guess the Phillie right-handers will have to swing at these inside pitches. That’s not going to help struggling hitters.
8:49: Time to get the bullpen up, Charlie. Posey doubles in Huff, and only two nice plays by Rollins have prevent four straight hits to start this 3rd inning. Kendrick needs to be up and throwing immediately.
8:53: I guess I shouldn’t bother paying attention to McCarver’s arguments, but he’s not the only who’s said that the Phillies should’ve started Halladay tonight and Blanton tomorrow. That makes no sense. I know that Halladay is our best pitcher, he’s the Cy Young winner, and he pitched a no-hitter last week, BUT he was our third-best pitcher for the last two months of the season. So, how does it make sense to pitch Halladay on short rest twice and not throw Hamels again at all? Even factoring in the Halladay no-hitter, Hamels has given up less runs in the postseason than Halladay. It just makes no sense, and I’m officialy done talking about this Game 4/Blanton/Halladay thing. Now, EVERYBODY HITS!!!
9:06: A nice opportunity goes by the wayside. 2 on with one out, but they can’t get a key hit. Werth hit one hard again, but right at Ross in right. Frustrating!
9:09: Utley makes a play very similar to one that he didn’t make last night that allowed a run to score. That has to feel good. My Chooch bobble-head now has his mask on. Good things are coming. Really.
9:18: Yes, Chooch, yes! The first two batters on here in the 5th, and the Phils have something going. Blanton will come up to bunt. It is HUGELY important that we get at least one run out of this inning.
9:25 PM: We got the one run we had to have, but it’s still somehow disappointing? Chooch is thrown out at the plate, and Victorino makes a base-running mistake by not going to second, and so he doesn’t score on the Utley single. Bumgarner is very suddenly gone from the game. Good things and bad things happening here. I’m fine with sending Ruiz, but that mistake by Victorino is hard to stomach when you consider how hard runs have been to get. Of course, credit goes to him for that big hit.
9:31: There it is, boys! Hits! And Runs!!! Casilla makes a mistake and Polanco puts it where they can’t catch it, in the left-center gap, and the Phils take a 3-2 lead. Now they have the sacks packed with J-Roll up. Last time Jimmy batted with them loaded was that big double in Game 2.
9:38: Alright, let’s get a good inning from Joe here and keep this going.
9:53: Well, Blanton gives one back, but Contreras comes on to K Posey and end the inning. Contreras has been throwing the ball great, but I’m not sure why they brought him in there. He’s due up 3rd this inning, so I assume he’s done. That leaves the 6th and 7th innings to piece together before we can get this to Madson and Lidge. Translation: more runs could very possibly be needed.
10:03: Alright, so Durbin is coming in and he’ll face at least Burrell, Ross, and Sandoval. After that the Giants will go to a pinch-hitter. That will most likely be Uribe, but if it’s a lefty, we’ll probably see Romero come on for that hitter and Torres. When the top of the order comes back up, I guess it will be Madson, even if it’s the 7th inning. This will take some real strategizing by Charlie and Dubee if this stays a 1-run game.
10:12: Well, you can’t pitch much worse than that, Durbin. Thanks, bud. 5-4 Giants. And now he’s staying in to face the lefty Ishikawa???
10:26: Both teams making some questionable bullpen decisions, as the Giants now bring in Lopez to face Victorino, Utley, Polanco. Bochy is showing a lot of confidence in the left-hander. Hopefully, he’s Durbin-esque.
10:32: Lopez easily works around a lead-off walk to Victorino. McCarver mentioned it, and I’m not sure why they didn’t put the hit-and-run on there. Seemed like a pretty perfect opportunity, and it could’ve avoided the double play. With the pitcher spot not due up until 7th this inning, Lopez will be able to stay on and face Howard. Bastardo is about to make his postseason debut. Let’s go, Antonio.
10:37: Again, I have to disagree with Charlie. Why would you ever let Bastardo face Posey? Our least reliable reliever, who is left-handed, against their best hitter, who is right-handed? Sounds like trouble.
10:39: And….Posey pokes a double to right field. This management of the bullpen has been a mystery to me ever since Blanton was pulled.
10:52: They really needed a DP ball to get out of that bases loaded jam, and Madson got one from the portly Sandoval. That bails out Rollins who booted a grounder. This game is turning into quite the adventure. Hopefully the Phils can embark on an adventure of their own in the 8th.
11:17: Choo-choo-choo-Chooch!! Guns down Torres for the second out of the 8th. This game has gotten very intense. Here we are, a tie game in the late-inning of the League Championship Series, and a pivotal game, no doubt. I always like the Phillies’ chances in these pressure-packed situations, but I am a little worried about what we have left in the ‘pen. Madson is done now, and Lidge will come on for the 9th. After that, all we have left is Kendrick and Romero. Luckily, the Giants don’t have a ton of options left in their pen either, but Brian Wilson is probably ready to go two innings.
11:27: To my surprise the Phils are going to Oswalt in the 9th. I love it. He’s on his side throwing day anyway, so he can give them an inning, maybe even two? It hasn’t been a particularly well-pitched game, a well-played game, a well-managed game, or a well-umpired game, but it may be turning into a classic.
11:41: OK, not a classic, just a real tough loss for the Fightin’ Phils. The Phils thin bullpen was exposed here, as Durbin and Bastardo were touched for runs. Blanton wasn’t bad, but couldn’t get through the 5th inning. This kid Buster Posey is a great hitter, and he showed it tonight. Now the Phils have forced themselves to do this the hard way. They’ll have to go win three straight to get back to the World Series for the third straight year. I’m looking forward to it. It’s gonna be epic.
THE BIG PANDA SCARES ME!