Another day, another wasted pitching performance for the Phillies.
Two days after squandering a strong start from Cole Hamels in New York, the Phillies returned home and could not cash in on a good outing by Cliff Lee. The veteran left-hander went seven innings and, if it weren’t for a pair of errors by third baseman Cody Ashe, might have pitched a shutout (see story). That was manager Ryne Sandberg’s take after the 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels left the Phillies are 17-20 and 1-7 against American League clubs.
In their last two games, Hamels and Lee have allowed just one earned over 14 innings. All the Phillies have to show for it is two more losses -- two more wasted opportunities, right, Ryno?
“Absolutely,” Sandberg said. “The guys have thrown well. I thought Cliff was outstanding tonight with his stuff. I thought he could have pitched a shutout with that kind of stuff. That was shutout stuff.
“Cole Hamels pitched a good lengthy game, battled through it on Sunday. Starting pitching is our strength, and we’ve seen it nearly every game. Defense is the next side of it to back up the pitching and timely offense.”
Poor bullpen work by Antonio Bastardo on a day when Jonathan Papeblon called in sore scuttled Hamels’ seven-inning, one-run effort in New York on Sunday (see story).
Tuesday night, with a big crowd of 41,959 on hand to get a peek at local-boy-made-good Mike Trout, the Phillies were betrayed by their defense.
Asche, the 23-year-old third baseman and veteran of just 83 big league games, doubled his season total by making three errors in the game.
“The kid had a tough night,” Sandberg said. “Those things can happen.”
Two of Asche's errors came in the sixth inning when the Phillies’ two-run lead turned into a two-run deficit. The Angels scored four runs in the inning, all unearned. Asche made a fielding error and a throwing error in the inning.
“Those are plays I’ve got to make, no way around it,” Asche said.
Lee has been plagued by poor run support throughout his time in Philadelphia. Now, the defense has gone bad. In his previous start in Toronto, he gave up five seventh-inning runs after centerfielder Ben Revere misplayed a ball into a triple.
“When you don’t play complete baseball it’s hard to win at this level,” Lee said. “If your pitcher’s not throwing strikes, your team’s not swinging the bat, or you’re not playing solid defense, it’s hard to win. We’ve just got to do a better job of playing well-rounded baseball.”
The Phillies' offense produced only four hits in the game.
Despite all the inconsistency the Phils have shown, Lee still believes this team can contend. If it doesn’t, he could still end up with a contender at the trade deadline.
“I think we can (contend),” Lee said. “You’d like to be in a better position right now, no doubt. I think if we just play more consistently we’ll have a chance. It helps that the Braves have played poorly lately and let everyone back in it a little. There’s still a lot of season left, and we’re fortunate that we’re not in a bigger hole than we could be in. It all boils down to playing good fundamental baseball.”
Lee pointed the finger at himself for allowing a walk and a two-run double in the sixth, but the damage could have been avoided had Asche played better defense. The youngster made a third error late in the game.
“I think we all know he wasn’t doing that on purpose,” Lee said. “It’s a tough position. He got some funky balls. The last one was really tough. There’s nothing you can do but turn the page and come in tomorrow and try to get a win.
“I didn’t help the cause in the sixth,” Lee added. “It ended up being a bad inning.”
And another bad game at home. The Phils are 6-10 at Citizens Bank Park.
“That’s a little surprising,” Sandberg said. “That’s something we need to improve on, no question about that. This place has to be a homefield advantage.”
With the crowd cheering Trout’s every move, the Phils almost seemed like strangers in their own ballpark Tuesday night.
The Phillies play Trout’s Angels again on Wednesday afternoon. After watching the Phillies lose their last two games with poor relief pitching and poor defense, one has to wonder what aspect of the game will go bad this time.