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(Sports Network) – While the Philadelphia Phillies wait for Roy Oswalt to approve a trade to them, they will shoot for a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Citizens Bank Park.
According to multiple reports, the Phillies and Houston Astros have a deal in place that would send Oswalt to the two-time defending National League champions. The only thing standing in the way is Oswalt, who must waive his no-trade clause.
With or without Oswalt, the Phillies are the hottest team in baseball right now. They won their seventh straight game on Wednesday, as prized prospect Domonic Brown stroked an RBI double on his first major league swing and Roy Halladay tossed his major league-leading eighth complete game of the season in Philadelphia’s 7-1 win.
One of the most heralded prospects in baseball, Brown was summoned from Triple-A Lehigh Valley after the Phillies disabled center fielder Shane Victorino, who suffered a left abdominal strain during Tuesday’s series opener.
The 22-year-old Brown was in the starting lineup for his big league debut, playing right field, and narrowly missed hitting a home run in his first at- bat in the second inning. He went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and scored two runs.
Carlos Ruiz doubled twice and knocked in three runs for the Phillies, who have won 10 straight at home.
“It’s obviously been a lot more fun,” Halladay said. “I think it’s important we carry it on the road. We seem to play well at home here lately and we need to carry it over.”
Philadelphia remains 3 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East standings after the Braves beat Washington on Wednesday.
Miguel Montero’s two-out RBI double in the ninth inning spoiled the shutout bid for Halladay (12-8), who recorded nine strikeouts and did not issue a walk.
Arizona’s Edwin Jackson (6-10) gave up five runs on eight hits and walked two in five-plus innings to absorb the loss, the sixth in a row for the Diamondbacks.
Heading to the hill for the Phils tonight will be righty Kyle Kendrick, who is 6-4 with a 4.60 ERA. Kendrick beat the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, holding them to a run and six hits in seven innings.
Kendrick will be making his fourth start against the D-Backs, but has yet to record a decision against them while pitching to a 6.23 ERA.
Arizona, meanwhile, will counter with newly-acquired lefty Joe Saunders, who was picked up from the Angels in the recent Dan Haren deal. Saunders, an All- Star in 2008, has hit a rough patch in 2010, having gone 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA that’s considerably higher than his career 4.29 mark.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said Saunders. “It’s going to be fun to go out there with my new club and pitch. I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m anxious to get out there.”
Saunders has pitched well against the National League, going 6-3 with a 3.80 ERA in 11 starts that includes a win in his only other matchup against the Phillies.
The Diamondbacks took two of three from Philly earlier in the year, but the Phils are 8-3 in their last 11 against Arizona and 26-16 against the D-backs since the 2004 season.
One of the most heralded prospects in baseball, Brown was summoned from Triple-A Lehigh Valley after the Phillies disabled center fielder Shane Victorino, who suffered a left abdominal strain during Tuesday’s series opener.
The 22-year-old Brown was in the starting lineup for his big league debut, playing right field, and narrowly missed hitting a home run in his first at- bat in the second inning. He went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and scored two runs.
Carlos Ruiz doubled twice and knocked in three runs for the Phillies, who have won a season-best seven games in a row and 10 straight at Citizens Bank Park.
Miguel Montero’s two-out RBI double in the ninth inning spoiled the shutout bid for Halladay (12-8), who recorded nine strikeouts and did not issue a walk.
Arizona’s Edwin Jackson (6-10) gave up five runs on eight hits and walked two in five-plus innings to absorb the loss, the sixth in a row for the Diamondbacks.
The Halladay-Jackson matchup was the first in nearly 19 years of two pitchers who tossed a no-hitter in the current season. The last occurrence took place on September 6, 1991, when Wilson Alvarez was opposed by Nolan Ryan.
The lineup for tonight’s game has been released, Domonic Brown will be starting in RF and batting 6th.
Polanco 4
Dobbs 5
Ibanez 7
Howard 3
Werth 8
Brown 9
Ruiz 2
Valdez 6
Halladay 1
The Phillies have called up their top prospect, and currently the top prospect in the entire minor leagues, Domonic Brown. He’ll be wearing #9 and starting in RF.
Jayson Werth will shift to center to fill in for Shane Victorino.
After much anticipation, Brown is finally on his way to the big leagues. The 22-year-old outfielder batted .327/.391/.589 with 20 homers, 68 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 343 at-bats between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, including a .346/.390/.561 batting line since being promoted to the Triple-A level. He was recently ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the sport in Baseball America’s midseason list.
ESPN's Keith Law was effusive in praise of Brown.
Is there anything he can't do? He's destroying everything in his path in Double-A and is probably just some defensive refinements away from being big league ready. I don't think he's next off the list to the big leagues, but with Raul Ibanez providing below-average offense and defense in left, I'd have to think the Phils are looking at Brown for a second-half call-up.
We here at SB Nation Philly are excited, considering Brown made our list of Philly's top 5 athletes under 25 while still in AAA.
(Sports Network) – Roy Halladay tries to extend the Philadelphia Phillies’ season-high win streak to seven games this evening when they continue their three-game set at Citizens Bank Park against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Halladay won for the first time in three starts on Friday against Colorado, as he held the Rockies to five hits over eight scoreless innings, while striking out nine to improve to 11-8 on the year to go along with a 2.28 earned run average.
“I thought we did a good job of mixing pitches,” Halladay said. “We did a good enough job of keeping them off balance.”
Halladay, who has completed at least six innings in all but one of his starts this season, had tossed nine scoreless innings without getting a decision in his previous start at home, where he is 7-4 on the year with a 1.71 ERA in 12 starts.
He has beaten the Diamondbacks both times he has faced them, while pitching to a 3.86 ERA.
The Phillies continued to gain ground in the National League East on Tuesday, as Ryan Howard finished 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, three RBI and two runs scored in a 9-5 win in the opener with Arizona.
“It was a see-saw game, but we felt pretty good,” said Howard. “We just felt like we’d win this game.”
Cody Ransom and Jayson Werth also both hit two-run blasts for the Phillies, who have also won nine straight at home. With Atlanta’s loss to Washington the Phils now trail the Braves by 3 1/2 games in the division.
David Herndon (1-2) gave up two runs and coughed up a lead during the sixth inning in relief of starter Cole Hamels but picked up his first major-league win.
Philadelphia played the game without Jimmy Rollins, who fouled a pitch off his foot on Monday, and then lost Shane Victorino to a strained oblique. Rollins may miss this series, while Victorino could be headed towards the disabled list, paving the way for top-prospect Domonic Brown to be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Mark Reynolds homered and drove in a pair, while Adam LaRoche and Stephen Drew knocked in a run apiece for the Diamondbacks, who have dropped five in a row.
Jordan Norberto (0-1) took the loss after being charged with two runs and two hits while not recording an out.
“We know we are playing a good club, a club that is hot,” said Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson. “We had opportunities, just didn’t convert them.”
Heading to the hill for the Diamondbacks this evening will be righty Edwin Jackson, who has lost his last three starts. Jackson was defeated by San Francisco on Friday, allowing six runs (four earned) and eight hits in six innings to fall to 6-9 on the season, while raising his ERA to 5.01.
Jackson has faced the Phillies nine times and is 3-4 against them with a 4.25 ERA.
The Diamondbacks took two of three from Philly earlier in the year, but the Phils are 8-3 in their last 11 against Arizona and 26-16 against the D-backs since the 2004 season.
Shane Victorino left tonight’s game in the seventh inning with a left oblique strain. At this point we don’t know the extent of the injury or whether Victorino will miss any time. However, if he does, The Good Phight argues that it should be John Mayberry Jr. that gets the call to replace him, not uber prospect Domonic Brown, as everyone seems to be hoping.
If you bring Brown up now, then either Ibanez or Brown will have to play in every game vs. lefties. I think the right choice would have to be Ibanez, but whatever – either way, this cuts against giving Brown the call. If Ibanez gets the at-bats, then Brown will be sitting in a lot of games, which will be bad for his development. If Brown gets the at-bats, then you’re throwing a green kid to the wolves in the middle of a pennant race. Brown has a .673 MLE OPS vs. lefties this year. There is no good reason for making him hit against real-life major league lefties at this time.
Be sure to check out The Good Phight for the full argument as to why Mayberry is the right choice and the discussion that follows.
With the Braves' second straight loss to the Nationals tonight, the Phillies are now just 3 1/2 games back of the NL East lead. As Todd Zolecki points out, they were seven games out last Thursday.
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Ryan Howard finished 2-for-4 with a two- run homer, three RBI and two runs scored as Philadelphia rallied past Arizona, 9-5, in the opener of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
Cody Ransom and Jayson Werth also each hit two-run blasts for the Phillies, who set a season-high for consecutive wins with their sixth in a row and have also won nine straight at home.
David Herndon (1-2) gave up two runs and coughed up a lead during the sixth inning in relief of starter Cole Hamels but picked up his first major-league win.
Mark Reynolds homered and drove in a pair, while Adam LaRoche and Stephen Drew knocked in a run apiece for the Diamondbacks, who have dropped five in a row.
Jordan Norberto (0-1) took the loss after being charged with two runs and two hits while not recording an out.
Per Charlie Manuel, Jimmy Rollins has a very sore foot and will be out for a couple days. No DL.
About a half hour ago, David Murphy reported that Jimmy Rollins was seen entering CBP on crutches. A few moments ago we learned that Rollins is not in tonight’s lineup.
Rollins had x-rays done on his foot after he fouled a ball off it last night. The x-rays were negative but Jimmy was noticeably limping for the rest of the game. The official diagnosis was a bruise.
In his place, Victorino leads off.
(Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Phillies are starting to play like the team that won back-to-back National League titles. Tonight they shoot for a sixth straight win when they open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia completed a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Monday, as Brian Schneider hit a two-run triple and Joe Blanton threw six solid innings in a 5-4 victory.
Blanton (4-6) struggled early and was pulled after throwing 85 pitches, but limited the Rockies to two runs to get the win, his first since June 24. He gave up six hits and walked three.
Brad Lidge recorded the save, but only after giving up a two-run homer to Seth Smith and working out of a bases-loaded jam for the second straight day.
"I wasn't thrilled today," Lidge said afterward. "I actually had a better fastball and better command today, and it just doesn't show. You just never know what's going to happen. But like I said, obviously when you have a three- run lead, you can't give up three runs. I feel great that we won the game, I feel great that I got my job done."
Placido Polanco and Greg Dobbs each had two hits for the Phillies, who took advantage of a variety of fielding mishaps by the Rockies to win their eighth straight at Citizens Bank Park.
It is Philadelphia's longest home winning streak since 1991, when it won 16 in a row.
Hoping to continue that streak tonight will be lefty Cole Hamels, who has been terrific in his last three starts. Hamels did not get a decision on Thursday in St. Louis, despite giving up just one hit in eight scoreless innings of his team's 2-0 win.
Hamels, who is 7-7 with a 3.40 ERA on the year, has allowed just one earned run in his last three starts, spanning 22 2/3 innings. He lost to the Diamondbacks earlier in the year, but is 2-1 lifetime against them with a 3.38 ERA in four starts.
Arizona, meanwhile, will counter with righty Rodrigo Lopez, who will move up a day to take the spot of departed ace Dan Haren. Lopez has lost his last two starts and is 5-9 with a 4.58 ERA on the year.
Lopez is 1-1 with a 6.27 ERA in three starts against the Phils.
Arizona enters tonight's tilt after getting swept in a four-game set by the San Francisco Giants over the weekend. The Diamondbacks have lost eight of their last 11 games.
The Diamondbacks took two of three from Philly earlier in the year.
Recap: Phillies Beat Diamondbacks In Extra Innings
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Wilson Valdez helped Philadelphia celebrate its acquisition of pitcher Roy Oswalt with a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning, as the Phillies completed a three-game sweep and won their eighth consecutive game with a 3-2 win over Arizona.
The Phillies acquired the ace right-hander from Houston earlier Thursday to bolster the club’s starting rotation as the stretch run gets underway. Oswalt flew to Washington, D.C. on Thursday night and will start for his new team when Philadelphia opens a weekend road series against the Nationals on Friday.
Kyle Kendrick pitched 6 1/3 innings of four-hit ball, and Raul Ibanez homered in Philadelphia’s 11th straight win at home. Kendrick yielded one run and struck out five with three walks for the Phillies, who now sit 2 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East.
Miguel Montero hit his third home run of the season and finished with two RBI for the Diamondbacks, who have lost seven straight games.
Joe Saunders made his first start with the D’Backs after he was traded to Arizona in the Dan Haren deal on Sunday. Saunders was charged with two runs on nine hits and four strikeouts over seven innings.
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Jul 29 10:34p by Jason Brewer - 0 comments