The Phillies' inconsistency at the plate has hampered their play early this year. Their struggles have left them in second to last in the NL East with a 9-11 record, winning four of their last ten.
Roy Halladay pitched another quality game yesterday allowing three runs in seven innings but the offense failed to back him up yet again in a 5-1 loss.
The Phils showed signs of life in their series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, scoring 20 runs in their last 19 innings, but they couldn't figure out Cubs starter Paul Malholm. Malholm has not been nearly as good this year as the Phillies made him look on Saturday, coming in with an 8.36 ERA.
Phillies stranded runners early on in the game and allowed Malholm to work his way out of jams. Their only run came on a solo shot from Ty Wigginton. Wigginton has been a surprising bright spot for the Phillies, he's hitting .320 and has a hit in each of the Phil's last nine games.
The Phillies need to start some urgency on the field and some more patience at the plate. It's much too early to write them off, but it if this pace continues for too long there is definite cause for concern. They need to stop waiting for Utley and Howard to show and start playing baseball. If they don't strand runners the pitching will win games.
Joe Blanton will be on the hill tonight for the Phillies who will try to cause a little more of a stir at Citizen's Bank Park, where they are only 3-4 so far this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment