Tag: Joe Blanton

Yankees Turn to Sabathia on 3 Days Rest

85125458JM010_BALTIMORE_ORIC.C. Sabathia was matched up against fellow Cleveland Indians starter Cliff Lee in the opener of the Series.  Lee outpitched C.C. in that game, but only Sabathia was ready to go on three days rest, Cliff would need one more day before he could go.  So on Sunday night Joe Blanton would answer the bell for the Phillies versus big C.C.

Derek Jeter got the Yankees going in the 1st with a leadoff single, went to 3rd on a Johnny Damon double, and Derek would score on a Mark Teixeira groundout, and then Damon would be plated on a Jorge Posada sacrifice fly, after Alex Rodriguez was drilled by a pitch, Yanks up 2-0 with the Phils coming to bat.  Back to back first inning doubles by Shane Victorino & Chase Utley would cut it to a one run game, 2-1 after one.

BIG Ryan Howard got a leadoff single in the bottom of the 4th, stole 2nd, and scored on a Pedro Feliz base knock to knot the game at two.  It was time for New York to get to work in the top of the fifth, Nick Swisher started it with a base on balls, went to 2nd on a Melky Cabrera single, and then C.C. Sabathia struckout trying to bunt the runners up.  With one out Derek Jeter plated Swisher with a single, then Cabrera scored on a base hit off the bat of Damon, and the Yanks again had a two run lead, 4-2.

The Phillies got their first two guys on in the bottom of the 5th as Jimmy Rollins singled & Shane Victorino walked, bringing up Chase Utley (who had homered twice in game one off C.C.), BIG Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth, the meat of the order.  Two popouts & a strikeout later, and the threat was over.  Neither starting pitcher allowed a run in the 6th, Ben Francisco batted for Blanton, ending his night.

Chan Ho Park pitched a scoreless 7th.  When Sabathia delivered his 98th pitch of the night in the 7th it struck me, while thinking about this superhuman’s accomplishments, pitchers routinely went the distance in the olden days, often times throwing 200 pitches in a game, sometimes working on two days rest.  Still it was great to see this workhorse, C.C., going about his job, mowing down the top of the Phillies order, one, two…  But then Utley chased Sabathia from the game with his third home run of the Series off C.C. (so much for platooning), once again it was a one run ballgame, all six Philadelphia home runs being solo shots.  Damaso Marte was brought on to get BIG Ryan Howard to popup to end the inning, 4-3 NY.

There were two on & one out in the top of the 8th, Nick Swisher could’ve iced it, but he took strike three down the middle, shaking his head, rather than lighting up reliever Ryan Madson.  Joe Girardi didn’t want to have Mariano Rivera pitch more than one inning, thus Joba Chamberlain was called on to face the hot hitting Jayson Werth (down on strikes), Raul Ibanez (K’s him on heat), & Pedro Feliz took the kid over the wall for a game tying homer.  Oh brother, wasn’t supposed to happen that way if you’re a Yankees fan, what a ballgame, what a Series!  A wicked breaking ball to Carlos Ruiz, and Joba’s struckout the side, but now it’s all tied at four, going into the 9th.

I know this from experience, sometimes you try to save your closer for tomorrow, and then there is no tomorrow.  Chamberlain looked overpowering, but Rivera is overpowering.  Charlie Manuel called on his closer Brad Lidge to work a tie ballgame in the top of the 9th, getting the first two before Damon singled to left, stole 2nd & went around Feliz, and went all the way to 3rd (the Phillies had a shift on for Teixeira), he’s credited with 2 SBs on that one play.  Lidge hits Teixeira, bringing up ARod (1 for 13 in the Series).  Alex hits a double off the leftfield wall, big moments for big players.  With the Yankees up, Mo starts seriously loosening up to try to close it out with the lead.  A couple of insurance runs score when Posada delivers a single into leftcenter, continuing on to 2nd, where he is tagged out easily, 7-4 Yanks.

Not that it matters, but Rivera faces pinch hitter Matt Stairs and then the top of the order.  A groundout, a popout, & a  groundout, all three to firstbase, and it’s over.  The Bronx Bombers now have a three games to one Series lead, with one ballgame in Philadelphia before heading back to New York (if necessary).  Philadelphia needs to win three straight, if not impossible, close to it.  Game five features Cliff Lee versus nasty A.J. Burnett on three days rest.  Joba Chamberlain was credited with the win in this one, but we all know it was C.C. Sabathia on three days, getting the job done.

Phillies Let the Good Times JRoll

JimmyRollins.hit-751600First inning of game #4 BIG Ryan Howard boomed a two run blast over the wall in right, catching up to a fastball & turning it around in a hurry, so much for the lefty lefty matchup, and I thought, “here we go again”.

Things remain the same until the top of the 4th when LA ties the score off Joe Blanton, a walk to Matt Kemp sandwiched between two outs started things off, Manny Ramirez lined a single to left sending Kemp to 3rd, James Loney then singled to right scoring Kemp, Ronnie Belliard draws a base on balls, Russell Martin gets a sharp single to left scoring Manny, then out number three on a Casey Blake groundout to end the scoring, but it’s a brand new ballgame.

The Dodgers take the lead when Kemp rips a two out solo homer off Blanton in the 5th.  LA adds to their lead in the 6th when Pedro Feliz commits a throwing error allowing Manny to reach base, after Loney pops out, Belliard pops one up just out of the reach of Jimmy Rollins & Raul Ibanez for a single, Martin strikes out looking, Blake serves a soft single to right scoring Ramirez & Belliard to 3rd, Wolf flies out after Blake steals second, Los Angeles leads by two into the bottom of six.

With one out in the bottom of the 6th Shane Victorino pulls a hard grounder down into the leftfield corner, when Manny airmails the relay throw over the cutoff man’s head Shane flies into 3B with a triple, Chase Utley rips a single to right scoring Victorino, coaches visit, Howard walks, wonder what the coach told Wolf?, pitching change as Ronald Belisario is called on to replace Randy Wolf, facing Jayson Werth.  A graphic shows Phillies 1st batters are 0-8 with 3 walks versus LA’s bullpen, here is the crazy talk from Chip Caray, “0 for 8 are the Philadelphia hitters against the first batter faced by these Dodger pensmen”, swear to God, that’s what he said.  Now 0 for 10, as Belisario retires Werth on a FC & Hong-Chih Kuo gets Ibanez on a fly to left, Phillies narrow the gap to one after 6.

That’s the way things remained heading into the bottom of the 8th, with two on & 2 out, Jonathan Broxton was called on to replace George Sherrill to get Werth to fly to right to end the threat.  With one out in the top of the 9th Rafael Furcal rips a line drive base knock, knocking Scott Eyre out of the game, closer Brad Lidge was brought into the game, Charlie Manuel was thinking (gotta stop ’em here), Furcal steals 2nd & Kemp strikes out, Lidge wild pitches Furcal to thirdbase, but lefthanded batter Andre Ethier (luckily Charlie Manuel must’ve fallen asleep, not replacing his righthanded pitcher with a southpaw to get the lefthanded hitting Ethier, he K’d to send the game to the bottom of the 9th.

Broxton was sitting in the Dodger dugout while LA batted in the top of the 9th, the adrenalin draining from his system as today’s closers are used to going one inning.  With one out Matt Stairs was sent up to pinch hit for Pedro Feliz, Stairs homered off Jonathan in the regular season, the relief pitcher was scared shitless & walked Matt, Eric Bruntlett was put in as a pinch runner, Carlos Ruiz was nailed on the elbow with a pitch, tying run on 2nd & winning run on 1st, pinch hitter Greg Dobbs popped out, leaving it all up to JRoll who lined a 1-1 fastball into the right-centerfield gap, driving home the tying & winning runs, Phillies win the game 5-4, and take a 3-1 series lead.  In order for the Dodgers to advance they will need to win three straight, highly unlikely.