Roy Oswalt Can’t Lead to Series Clinch– Bats Still in Slumber (NLDS 4)
October 6, 2011
In the 2009 NLDS vs the Rockies, the Phillies left Philadelphia with the series knotted at 1. They won the next 2 games in a freezing Denver, but they were not easy as they grinded out both victories. In Game 4, the Phillies were down 4-2, but had a dramatic 9th inning when they scored 3 runs to win it 5-4. On Wednesday, the Phillies had an early 2-0 lead, but the Cardinals scored 5 unanswered runs to win it 5-2 and were unable to mount a late comeback this time. Roy Oswalt could not repeat his feat once again against the Cardinals as he allowed 5 runs on 6 hits in his 6 innings pitched. Edwin Jackson allowed 3 hits to the first 3 batters he faced in the game which led to 2 Phillies runs, but the Phillies offense fizzled after that point as they only hit 4 in the final 8 frames.
The Phillies got out of the gate early when Jimmy Rollins led off with a double then Chase Utley brought him in with a triple. Hunter Pence singled to bring in Utley, but that was the only offense the Phillies had for the day. The 3 other Phillies who reached off Jackson were Rollins with a 3rd inning single, Placido Polanco who led off the 5th with a single, and Chase Utley who drew a leadoff walk. The only other frame the Phillies had multiple base runners came in the 8th against Fernando Salas. Pinch hitter Ross Gload led off with a single then advanced to second on a balk before pinch runner Michael Martinez ran for him. 1 out later, Utley reached on an infield single to move Martinez to third, then he scored on a wild pitch. The Phillies were unable to continue the inning when Pence grounded out then Marc Rzepczynski came on to face Ryan Howard. Howard continued to be a disappointment in his home town as he is 0-8 with 5 strikeouts in a park that he thrives in 2 NLDS games.
After Jackson allowed 2 runs in the top 1st, the Cardinals got 1 of those runs back. Skip Schumaker hit a 1 out single then scored when Oswalt allowed a double to his former teammate Lance Berkman. Oswalt had a rough time in the 4th, when he gave 2 freebies to start off. Berkman led off with a walk then hit Matt Holliday with a pitch. David Freese doubled to make Oswalt pay for those free passes. Then in the 6th inning, Holliday singled with 1 out then after Yadier Molina flew out, Freese continued to give the Phillies nightmares when he homered to give the Cardinals a 5-2 lead. Joe Blanton and Brad Lidge each pitched 1-2-3 innings.
The loss forced sudden death for both teams and will send the series back to Philadelphia. It is up to Phillies ace Roy Halladay to play the role of stopper again as he attempts to put the Phillies in their 4th straight National League Championship round. The Cardinals will bring out Chris Carpenter who got lit up early and did not last long in his previous start, but the offense cooled down and Cardinals pitchers retired 21 straight Phillies. Roy Halladay will try to shut down the Cardinals, but the Phillies offense also has to contribute and not burn golden opportunities to score since those chances are rare in the playoffs. In addition, the fans could bring energy to the Phillies, but only if the Phillies offense gives them something to cheer about. So winning is not all about the Citizens Bank crowd being loud, but it also has to do with taking advantage of opportunities when the door is open to get the crowd in it. Will Halladay perform successful surgery on the Cardinals and will the Phillies offense get back to hitting? Will the sellout Bank crowd rattle Carpenter?
This is one thing I want the Phillies to do… win!
Caught: 1-2 (3)<-
Missed: 1-0 (1)
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