Howard Homers, Madson Sets Record As Phillies Sweep Reds

Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) – Ryan Howard and Michael Martinez homered to help the Phillies win another of Vance Worley’s starts, as Philadelphia completed a four-game sweep of the Reds with a 6-4 victory.

Philadelphia hadn’t swept a four-game series in Cincinnati since 1916, and completed the feat Thursday thanks to Worley (10-1), who limited the Reds to four runs in six-plus innings.

The Phillies have won his last 13 starts, the longest stretch for the team this season. The rookie right-hander hasn’t lost since May 29.

Worley allowed a three-run homer to Chris Heisey before being pulled, but by that point Philadelphia had built a 6-1 lead, thanks to the Howard and Martinez homers.

Reds starter Mike Leake (11-9) also gave up four runs in six innings, but took the loss because he gave up the first three runs in the game, and Cincinnati’s offense couldn’t erase the deficit.

“I wasn’t attacking them,” Leake said. “I needed to go after them and not worry about them nickel-and-diming or getting the big hit.”

The Phillies’ bottom half of the order was responsible for setting up a rally that led to a 3-0 lead in the second inning.

Hunter Pence, batting fifth, hit a one-out double before Raul Ibanez worked a five-pitch walk.

Brian Schneider’s single to right brought in a run, and a Wilson Valdez base hit to short loaded the bases. Worley then slapped a ball back up the middle to make it 2-0, and though a strong throw from center fielder Drew Stubbs nailed Schneider at the plate, Shane Victorino followed with a single to bring a third run in.

Worley made the lead stand by shutting down the Reds for the first six innings. Only one runner reached third base during that span — Brandon Phillips, who led off the third with a double, moved up a base on a groundout, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Joey Votto.

But that was Cincinnati’s only run until the seventh inning.

“I got myself in trouble a couple times as usual,” Worley said. “I found a way to get out, and I think as the game went on, my stuff got better.”

The Phillies added some insurance runs before then. Howard crushed a pitch, which Leake left up, over the center field wall with one away in the sixth inning. The solo blast was his 30th homer of the year, and extended his streak of 30-homer seasons to six.

Martinez, who is less noted than Howard for his power, went deep in the seventh to push the Phillies’ lead to five. With Valdez on base and two away, Jared Burton threw a 3-2 pitch letter-high, and Martinez pulled it over the right field wall.

It was the infielder’s third of the season in 72 games.

Philadelphia needed the extra runs after the Reds rallied in the home half. Stubbs doubled and Ryan Hanigan singled to put runners in scoring position for pinch-hitter Heisey, who was reinstated from the disabled list Thursday.

Worley hung a slider on the outer half of the plate, and Heisey took it the opposite way and over the right field fence.

The shot brought Cincinnati within 6-4, but the Phillies’ bullpen held onto the lead. After Brad Lidge fanned Phillips and walked Edgar Renteria, Antonio Bastardo got Votto to ground into a double play.

Bastardo struck out the side in the eighth before Ryan Madson worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 26th save.

The Phillies outscored the Reds 21-6 during the series…Madson made his 461st relief appearance for Philadelphia, moving him past Tug McGraw (460) for most in team history…Heisey hit his 13th homer…The Phillies won the season series, 7-1.

Cliff Lee Had Two Historically Good Months

Phillies 3, Reds 0: Cliff Lee Nearly Goes The Distance As Phils Win Third Straight

The Phillies dealt the Reds their second straight shut out as Cliff Lee almost went the distance, earning his 15th win of the season in the process. Lee had dominated the Reds all night allowing just five hits and striking out seven. However, after getting the first two outs of the ninth quickly, Lee got into some trouble. He gave up a double to Joey Votto, walked Jay Brice and hit Miguel Cairo with a pitch to load the bases. Charlie Manuel opted to bring on Ryan Madson, who got Yonder Alonso to foul out to third for his 25th save of the season. It was the 19th shutout from Phillies pitching this year, which leads the majors.

Ryan Howard provided all the scoring the Phils would need in the top of the first when he grounded out to drive in Shane Victorino, who got on base four times tonight. The Phils second run came courtesy Hunter Pence’s 18th homer of the year in the sixth and Chase Utley knocked in Victorino in the 7th to round out the scoring.

The Phillies will go for the sweep tomorrow at 12:35pm with Vance Worley on the hill.

Cliff Lee Goes For Sixth Straight Win Tonight Vs Reds

(Sports Network) – The Reds have been dealt the tough task during this series with the Phillies of facing some talented starting pitchers that are well rested. That trend continues this evening when Cliff Lee takes the hill for the first time in nine days looking to win his sixth straight start in the third of four straight games versus Cincinnati.

The Reds came into Monday’s opener having won four straight, but were bested by Cole Hamels in his return from a stint on the disabled list. Last night saw Cincinnati square off against Roy Halladay, who pitched for the first time since Aug. 21 because of rainouts and off days, and the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner hurled seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball in a 9-0 rout.

Halladay won his 16th game of the season and was backed by four home runs from the offense. The right-hander did his part at the plate as well, roping a three-run double for his first RBI of the season.

“That consistency means a lot to pitchers,” he told the Phillies’ website. “It’s hard when it’s broken up as much as it’s been in the last couple weeks.”

Ryan Howard had two of the four homers, giving him 29 on the season and putting him over the 100-RBI mark for a sixth consecutive season, which is a club record. Howard has reached 30 homers in each of his previous five seasons.

Hunter Pence and Raul Ibanez added home runs for the Phillies, who own a 7 1/2 game lead for the top spot in the NL East.

Lee looks to extend that advantage tonight in his first start since a win over the Mets on Aug. 22. Lee threw seven shutout innings in that one, his third scoreless outings in his past four, and scattered three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. The southpaw also set a new career high with 191 strikeouts, surpassing the mark of 185 set a season ago.

“I was throwing a lot of strikes early. Working ahead in the count,” said Lee, who is 4-0 with a 0.58 earned run average in four starts this month and hasn’t lost since July 25.

Lee, who turned 33 on Tuesday, beat the Reds on May 26, giving up four runs over eight innings with eight strikeouts as part of his 14-7 mark and 2.71 ERA on the season. Lifetime versus Cincinnati, he is 5-2 with a 4.66 ERA.

Philadelphia has won nine of its last 10 regular-season meetings with Cincinnati in addition to its sweep of the club in last year’s NL Division Series and appears headed to a fifth straight division title.

The Reds, meanwhile, are unlikely to get a chance at defending their NL Central crown as they sit 13 1/2 games off the pace after falling back below .500 at 67-68.

One bright spot continues to be Brandon Phillips, who extended his hitting streak to 13 straight games since moving into the leadoff spot. He is batting .429 (24-for-56) in that span, but couldn’t help the Reds overcome Bronson Arroyo’s shaky 5 1/3-inning outing in which he allowed five earned runs.

Dontrelle Willis will look to get the Reds into the win column in this series tonight with his first victory since June 5 of last year.

The left-hander has gone 0-3 with a 4.10 ERA in nine starts since joining the Reds rotation and has pitched some decent outings. He hasn’t factored into the decision of his past two starts, including a 4-3 win over the Nationals on Friday. Willis allowed three runs on six hits and five walks over seven innings, throwing a season-high 123 pitches and matching a career high with three hits at the plate.

The 29-year-old former Marlin has plenty of experience versus the Phillies, going 8-7 with a 4.33 ERA in 21 outings against them.

Phillies 9, Reds 0: Roy Halladay Dominates As Phils Rout

Prior to tonight's game, we took at look at the four most recent starts that Roy Halladay and Bronson Arroyo had made against the Reds and Phillies respectively. In short, Halladay had dominated and Arroyo had been dominated. Tonight, things followed that script perfectly. Roy Halladay threw seven scoreless innings while Arroyo was charged with five earned runs as Phillies blew out the Reds 9-0 at Great American Ballpark.

Halladay didn't just do his work on the mound, he impressed with the bat as well. With the bases loaded in the sixth inning, Halladay came to the plate and hit his second career double, driving in all three runs in the process. The hit also ended up Arroyo's night.

Ryan Howard hit two of the Phillies four homers on the night giving him 29 for the year and pushing him over 100 RBI for the 6th straight season, setting a club record. Raul Ibanez and Hunter Pence went deep as well. The Halladay/Lidge/Schwimmer combined shutout tonight was the 18th that a Phillies pitching has thrown this year, which is the best in the majors.

The Phils send Cliff Lee to the hill looking for his sixth straight win. He will be opposed by Dontrelle Willis, who is still looking for his first win of the season.

Roy Halladay Has Been Pretty Good Against The Reds Recently

Tonight’s pitching matchup between the Phillies and Reds features Roy Halladay vs Bronson Arroyo. Recent history would tell us that this is a mismatch of near epic proportions. Courtesy of STATS INC, let’s look at the previous four times these guys have faced the team they’ll face tonight.

In his last four starts against the Reds, Roy Halladay has a 1.91 ERA and a postseason no hitter. In his last four starts against the Phillies, Bronson Arroyo has an ERA of 10.00, has given up 9 HRs and lasted an average of just over 4 innings per start.

To sum up, tonight features complete and total ownage versus total futility.

Phillies 3, Reds 2: Shane Victorino's 8th Inning HR Lifts Phillies

Shane Victorino hit a two run homer in the 8th to break a tie and Cole Hamels looked strong in his return as the Phillies beat the Reds 3-2 at Great American Ballpark. Victorino had gone hitless in his previous 11 at bats, but with Wilson Valdez on base and the score tied 1-1 in the eighth, Shane deposited a pitch in the right field stands to give the Phils the lead for good.

The biggest story of the night though was the return of Cole Hamels, who threw six strong innings in his first start since coming off the DL. Hamels was taken out after throwing just 76 pitches, likely just to take it easy on the lefty in his return. Hamels allowed two hits, struck out seven and allowed one run as he looked to show no ill effects from the shoulder inflammation that put him on the DL. In fact, the only run Hamels did give up, was due to Hunter Pence’s slip on the warning track, which would have likely resulted in a harmless fly ball out. However it ended up as a triple for Brandon Phillips, who would score on a Joey Votto groundout.

The Phillies would also benefit from a bad play in the outfield when Reds’ rookie Dave Sappelt misplayed a Wilson Valdez line drive that resulted in an RBI double.

Ryan Madson would pitch the ninth for his 24th save. Roy Halladay takes the hill tomorrow against Bronson Arroyo.

Cole Hamels Returns As Phillies Face Reds

The Phillies come off a full weekend of rest thanks to Hurricane Irene as they are now set to face their most grueling stretch of the season