BOX SCORE
Still to be determined is whether the little powwow that Charlie Manuel had with his team will have a lasting impact.But for one night, at least, it seemed to work.The Phillies scored early and often enough in beating the lowly San Diego Padres, 7-3, at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night (see Salisbury's Instant Replay). The win snapped a three-game losing streak that culminated with Manuel laying into his boys during a clubhouse meeting on Wednesday night.Charlies pep talk hit home, said John Mayberry Jr., whose two-run homer in the second inning got the Phils off to a quick start. There was a sense of urgency. We had to pick it up.Winning pitcher Vance Worleynine strikeouts in six innings of three-run ballnoticed the urgency when he walked through the clubhouse door Friday afternoon.I think guys were a little more focused, he said. It was a little more quiet. There wasnt as much music in here.Guys just needed to figure some things out. Guys took it to heart.The three losses that preceded Manuels meeting all came at the hands of the Mets. The bullpen took the loss in all three games, though there was plenty of other ugliness to go around.After the third loss, Manuel blew his top.How mad was he?He was real mad, said Carlos Ruiz, one of Friday nights hitting stars.How red was Manuels face?As red as my face is now, said a laughing Ruiz, who always has a ruddy look.Its easy to laugh when you win a ballgame and help the cause with a two-run homer and an RBI single.Ruiz said Manuels talking-to was deserved.It was good. We needed that, he said. Charlie said a lot of good things. We thought about it. He was right. We didnt show too much energy.Fridays night win left the Phils at 15-18, hardly a stellar slate, but a step in the right direction.The timing of Manuels meeting couldnt have been better with the Padres in town. They have the NLs worst record, team batting average and slugging percentage. In short, the Padres are a team you can get going against. Whats more, starting pitcher Worley had recently had success against them, striking out 11 in seven shutout innings on April 19.Worley pitched solidly in picking up his third win. He was supported by the longballMayberry in the second and Ruiz in the fourth. Mayberry had three RBIs, all with two outs. The three RBIs doubled his season total. His home run was his first of the season, ending a 71-at-bat drought.Its nice to get off the goose egg, said Mayberry, who has tinkered with his stance and is a little more upright at the plate.While Mayberry has sputtered all season, Ruiz has been hotter than a hibachi since spring training. He had six homers and 40 RBIs in 410 at-bats last season. This season he has six homers and 22 RBIs in 94 at-bats and is hitting .340.Ruiz is this teams early-season MVP and he may end up in Kansas City for the All-Star Game if he keeps it up. The 33-year-old catcher has never made an All-Star team. Hed like to. And if youre into more important things you might like this quote:I feel great and Im so happy we won this game, Ruiz said. Yeah, Id like to make the All-Star Game. But my first thing is to win and bring this team back to the World Series.Theres a man with his priorities in order.After struggling three nights in a row, the bullpennamely Antonio Bastardo and Chad Quallscombined on three scoreless innings to put away the Padres. Bastardo went two innings and struck out three. Qualls struck out a pair. The Phils still have the worst bullpen ERA in the majors, but you wouldnt have known it on this night.Jake Diekman and Juan Valdes, newcomers to the bullpen, did not appear in the game. Hector Luna, another player added from Triple A on Friday, was announced as a pinch-hitter, but did not appear.The Phils will add another playerinfielder Mike Fontenotfrom Triple A on Saturday. Catcher Erik Kratz was sent to the Triple A after Friday nights game.
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com.