Phils Split Day-Night DoubleHeader with Fish
After looking lifeless in game 1's 7-1 loss, the bats came out aggressive in the night cap, knocking in 5 runs in the 2nd, and 2 in the 5th, in a 7-4 win over the Marlins. Both Placido Polanco and Raul Ibanez with 2 run doubles. Starter Roy Oswalt(W, 11-13) going 7 innings, surrendering 4 runs on 6 hits, 7 strikeouts, and a walk.
Entering game 3 of the 4 game set against the Fish on Tuesday night, the Phils trail 1st place Atlanta by a 1/2 game, and lead San Fran by 1 1/2 in the Wildcard.
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Chase Utley and Placido Polanco each had two hits and two RBI, and Roy Oswalt won his fifth straight decision as the Phillies downed the Marlins, 7-4, to close out a day-night doubleheader and inch closer to the division lead.
Philadelphia lost the opener of the twin-bill, 7-1, thanks to Florida's Adalberto Mendez pitching six shutout innings in his major league debut, but with the win in the nightcap and Atlanta's loss to Pittsburgh earlier in the day, the club pulled within a half-game over the National League East front- runners by stopping a short two-game slide.
Oswalt (11-13) survived home-run balls to Mike Stanton, Hanley Ramirez and Cameron Maybin to get the win. The right-hander was charged with four runs on six hits and a walk to go with seven strikeouts in as many frames.
Anibal Sanchez (11-9) didn't have as much success as Mendez, surrendering seven runs on seven hits and three walks in four-plus innings for the Marlins, who had won four of five coming into this four-game series.
"The worst of it was a lot of walks, a lot of balls, a lot of being behind in the count. That's not good for me," Sanchez said.
In the away second, Stanton gave the Marlins an early lead by crushing a payoff pitch into the second deck in left.
The Phillies responded with a five-spot in the bottom half. After loading the bases with no outs, Sanchez walked Carlos Ruiz to force in a run before Shane Victorino, who had three hits, plated Raul Ibanez with a base hit.
Though Dominic Brown was thrown out at home on the play, Polanco kept the inning alive by lacing a ground-rule double down the third base line to bring in a pair. Utley followed with a run-scoring single to left for a 5-1 game.
Oswalt walked Logan Morrison in the third in front of Ramirez before yielding a home run to the slugging shortstop, then served up a solo long ball to Maybin two innings later.
"The pitches I threw to Hanley (Ramirez) and (Cameron) Maybin were just poor pitch selection. Played right into their hands," Oswalt admitted.
The Phillies got two of the runs back in the home fifth, as Polanco tripled off the wall in center to start the inning and raced home on Utley's single up the middle. Ibanez's one-out double made it a three-run game, and the bullpen behind Oswalt finished it off.
Ryan Madson retired three straight in the eighth after J.C. Romero walked the leadoff batter, and Brad Lidge worked around a two-out single in the ninth for his 21st save of the season.
Game Notes
This doubleheader was made necessary when the middle contest of a slated three-game set in Philadelphia on June 9 was postponed...The four earned runs were the most Oswalt has given up since his debut with the Phillies on July 30. He had allowed just one run in 21 1/3 innings coming into the game...Stanton's home run was his 17th, Ramirez now has 21 and Maybin upped his total to eight.
