Phils Offensive Party

There was a buzz Monday night in South Philadelphia; you could feel it. When Chase Utley's name was announced, the sell-out crowd at Citizens Bank Park exploded into wild applause and cheers. The 5-time All Star, the unsung Phillies leader, the man Chase Utley was back in Phillies pin-stripes. Although Utley went 0-5 in his season debut, his presence alone clearly made a difference.

Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a single to right field. After Chase Utley flew out to center, Placido Polanco fisted a homerun into the left field seats to give the Phils a 2-0 lead. The Phils then exploded for a 7 run 3rd capped off by a Jimmy Rollins 3 run homerun. Raul Ibanez added a solo shot in the 4th to give the Phillies 10 runs on the night.

On the mound Hamels looked strong early on. He had his cutter and change up working and his fastball was consistently in the mid 90's. The only hiccup in Cole's outing came when he allowed a 3 run homerun to Jay Bruce in the 4th. After that Cole settled down and pitched well. In relief Stutes, Bastardo, and Baez all pitched a scoreless innings. The Phils would eventually win by a final of 10-3 to take game 1 of the 4 game set.

Back from his knee injury Utley had some hard hit balls and looked pretty mobile in the field. I feel that it is no coincidence that the Phils exploded for 10 runs on the same night as Utley's season debut. Utley is a leader and overall he makes everyone around him better. Cole responded nicely after giving up a 3 run homerun and really settled down to earn his 6th win of the year. Overall a great welcome home party for Mr. Utley.

Last night was a different story. Vance Worley got the start in place of the injured Joe Blanton. The Reds scored first on a Scott Rolen RBI single in the first inning. The Phils responded with 2 runs in the 2nd off a Raul Ibanez RBI double and a Dom Brown sac fly. Carlos Ruiz hit an RBI double in the 4th to give Worley a comfortable 3-1 lead. Worley gave up 2 freak runs in the 5th and the Reds tied the game at 3. No runs were scored by either team until the top of the 9th. Ryan Madson came into the 9th to try and preserve the tie. Unfortunately he and Polanco both had throwing errors and the Reds loaded the bases. Jay Bruce then hit a bases clearing double to give the Reds a commanding 3 run lead. Unable to battle back in the bottom of the inning the Phils lost by a final of 6-3.

Even after the loss, the great thing about this pitching staff is that the Phillies will throw Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in the final 2 games of the series. Roy Halladay will pitch tonight and be opposed by Travis Wood. Wood is a righty and as a result Chase Utley and Dom Brown will have the night off.