BOX SCORE
Winning, like beauty, has a way of hiding certain flaws. And with a 65-39 record, nine straight series victories and no back-to-back losses since early June, the Phillies have been able to mask some ugliness.
But against the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants over the past three nights, it was as if those blemishes were put on display with a magnifying glass. Oh sure, even though Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay did not take a turn against the Giants, the Phillies again proved that they can pitch with any team in baseball. However, after the 4-1 defeat, those missed opportunities were costly.
As a result of that, the knee-jerk reaction is that the Phillies might not be able to handle the defending champs. Or, worse, the Giants are in the Phillies heads.
Theyre not in our heads, manager Charlie Manuel said after the Phillies first back-to-back defeat since June 4. I dont think so, at least.
The Giants, of course, beat the Phillies in six games during last Octobers NLCS where they held them to just a .213 batting average and piled up 56 strikeouts in 53 innings. Meanwhile, against Matt Cain in Wednesdays 2-1 loss and Tim Lincecum on Thursday night, the Phillies core group of hitters didnt exactly tear the cover off the ball. Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez all went 1 for 8, while Ryan Howard went 0 for 8. The best hitter was Shane Victorino who went 2 for 7 with a walk in the two games against the Giants aces.
To complicate things a bit, the Giants acquired six-time all-star Carlos Beltran from the Mets to bolster their languid offense. The Phillies are in the market for a hitter, too, and after the showing over the past two games against the champs, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. might be looking for one with more alacrity.
MLB
Though Beltran went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts batting out of the No. 3 spot in manager Bruce Bochys lineup, two of the hitters behind him delivered. Pablo Sandoval, the Giants new cleanup hitter, clanged one off the foul pole for a homer to lead off the second, while Aubrey Huff, walked, doubled and scored a run off Phils starter Kyle Kendrick.
I guess it amps us up to do what we did to them during the playoffs and then to come back here and do it again, Lincecum said, in seemingly attempting to get in the Phillies heads.
So if the Giants arent in the Phillies heads, they definitely are eating their lunch. Considering that Lincecum missed out on starting in the first two games of the series because of a stomach virus, its a wonder he could keep the lunch down.
I felt like Lincecum changed speeds good, but I felt like we could have worked him better, said Manuel about Lincecums three-hitter over six innings. We had four walks in the game, but I felt like we chased a lot of pitches out of the strike zone. Then again, thats kind of how he pitched us tonight.
In dropping consecutive games for the first time since June 4 and losing two out of three for the first time in 10 chances, the Phillies suddenly are without an earned run since Tuesday. During the past two nights, the Phillies needed the Giants to help them score runs.
They certainly were not helping themselves.
Yes, the Phillies had plenty of chances. For instance, Rollins led off the first with a double off Lincecum and was promptly bunted over to third. Two innings later, Kendrick singled and Rollins walked to put two on with one out and the heart of the batting order coming up.
Plus, Carlos Ruiz led off two innings by getting on base. One was a walk in the fifth and then there was the double to start off the seventh. Ruiz scored the Phillies only run when an error by reliever Ramon Ramirez set the table for Utleys RBI double.
Meanwhile, the Phillies got just one unearned run against Cain on Wednesday. The Giants pitcher got just one strikeout, but also gave up just one hit with a runner in scoring position.
Still, Manuel wasnt impressed even though the Phillies a 9-13 against the Giants in the regular season since 2009. Then there is the matter of the Giants dancing on the Phillies lawn after Game 6 last October, too
You say theyre great pitchers, but I dont know how great they are, Manuel said. Longevity is part of it and thats where greatness might come by. Its a consistent game, but I look up there tonight and see a fastball at 92 at the best. I see a good changeup and saw curveball and cutter. It was good pitching, but at the same time, weve beat that. Ive seen us beat that.
Not so much against the Giants, though.
I think we can get them, Manuel said. If you want to know the truth, I know we can get them. I think its just a matter of us putting it together and playing the right way.
E-mail John R. Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com.
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