Six Things We Love About Last Night's Phillies Win

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With
two starting, All-Star outfielders shipped off in deadline-day deals in
exchange for generally unknown prospects, salary relief, a platoon
corner OF, and a relief pitcher, the Phillies more or less officially
conceded their chances for glory in the 2012 season. So naturally, they
kicked dirt and grumbled to themselves the way the rest of us would have
if our bosses got rid of our friends at work, right? 

Wrong! In what we can only assume is a 100% bona fide sign
that the Phillies will totally be back to form in 2013, the remaining
squadron opened their a series against the first place team with a
decisive 8-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. Here's what we loved
about it.  

Cliff Lee Got a Win!
On the final day of
July, a former Cy Young winner making more than $20 million this season got his second win of the season. Yes it's one of the better
examples of the hollowness of W's and L's, but we didn't need any more
of those. We needed examples of Cliff Lee being Cliff Lee. Zero runs
allowed, just five hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in seven
innings. Oh, and...

Stephen Strasburg Got Lit Up
The Nats' ace
made it through just four innings, allowing eight hits and six earned
runs, including long balls to Kevin Frandsen(!) and Jimmy Rollins. 
Related: Everybody Hits! Wahoo! 
Yes, in the wake of officially becoming sellers after fans got a wtf chuckle at the night's announced lineup, Phillies pitchers notched a combined shutout, and every starter had at least one hit, as did Lee's pinch hitter (see below).

The Top of the Fourth...Here's the
sequence of events that ended Strasburg's night. Having already allowed
Frandsen's second-inning stroke to center, which scored The Daily Beast,
Carlos Ruiz, who had doubled, Juan Pierre* scored in the third after
stealing two bases and skipping home after a throwing error by catcher
Jesus Flores sailed into left, more bad fortune awaited Strasburg in the
fourth. Laynce Nix flew out, JMJr doubled, and Frandsen grounded out to
second for the Phils' second out of the frame. With Cliff Lee in the
box, a simple lineup turnover wouldn't have been so bad. But Lee likes
to swing the bat, and he slapped a single to right, scoring Mayberry.
Lee then proceeded to swipe second during Jimmy Rollins' at bat. Who
knows whether that further unnerved Strasburg, but Jimmy got a hold of
an offering, slugging it to the wall in right, where Bryce Harper … I
can't accurately describe what Harper did. It involved misplaying the
ball, tumbling over with his ass in the air, and perhaps hamming it up
some while the ball rolled back toward the infield and Jimmy sprinted
the bases. That's a clown play bro.

[more on J-Roll's inside-the-parker and photos of Harper falling here]

*I thought for sure Pierre would be dealt yesterday.
Inexpensive, having a nice season with a .300+ average, speed off the
bench or in the lineup for a contender? Guess not.  
Dom Brown Got a Hit!
Before the ink was dry on the Victorino
trade papers, Domonic Brown was recalled from Lehigh Valley. He wasn't
in the starting lineup, but he appeared as a pinch hitter for Lee in the
top of the eighth. I wouldn't say Dom got all of it, but ya gotta love
that he at least got a hit in that AB. We'll be seeing a lot more of Dom
in the coming months, and not just as an injury fill-in injected into
the pressure cooker of a contending season. There will still be a ton of
pressure on him to prove he can play at the big league level though,
with Ruben getting to work on rebuilding the outfield for 2013.  

It Was Fun.In all likelihood, we don't
have postseason baseball to look forward to. But hey, we're a city that
knows how to enjoy baseball for what it is on a nightly basis, amirite? Not every
game needs to portend postseason success or failure. After yesterday's
sale, it's time to just sit back and enjoy the game. Last night was
perfect for that.

US Presswire photos

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