This past weekend the Phils left the comfort of Citizens Bank Park and traveled to Seattle to take on the Mariners. Unfortunately the Phils were unable to continue their hot streak and dropped 2 out of 3. Here is a complete breakdown of the Phils Mariners series. In Friday night's series opener it was a pretty low scoring game as predicted. Roy Oswalt pitched a solid game giving up 4 earned runs over 6.1 innings. On the other end Mariners' starter Michael Pineda was simply dominant and had a no-hitter going until Shane Victorino singled in the 6th inning. Chase Utley then followed with another single to score Jimmy Rollins from third and make it a 3-1 game.
But as the Phils tried to battle back the Mariners pulled further away. In the 7th Brendan Ryan singled to score Ichiro from second. It was 4-1 in the 8th and the Phils chances at an 8 game winning streak didn't look too bright. But just when I thought it was over Victorino continued his streak of late game heroics by blasting a solo homerun to left field to make it a 2 run game. Herndon pitched a scoreless bottom of the inning to keep it a 4-2 game. The Phils made a little noise in the 9th against Mariners' closer Brandon League but were unable to get anyone home and their 7 game winning streak was snapped.
Saturday night was a true pitcher's duel between Felix Hernandez and recent call up Vance Worley. Worley pitched 5 innings surrendering just 1 run while Hernandez pitched 7 and only allowed 3. Both teams got a decent amount of baserunners but were unable to get many runs home. The Phils finally managed to break the 1-1 tie in the 7th inning thanks to Victorino. With the bases loaded Shaner fought off an inside pitch that bounced just inside the foul line for a ground rule double giving the Phils a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning Michael Stutes and Antonio Bastardo combined to pitch a scoreless inning. Bastardo then stayed in the game and pitched a scoreless 8th. The Phils added some insurance in the top of the 9th when Shane Victorino nailed a 2 run homer. Even though it wasn't a save situation, Madson got the call in the 9th and was able to secure the 5-1 victory.
On Father's Day Cole Hamels put forth a great effort pitching 6.1 innings and allowing 2 earned runs. But Cole recieve no run support as Mariners' pitcher Jason Vargas baffled the Phillies hitters all day. The Phils were way too aggressive at the plate and swung at lousy pitches. The Phils typically have trouble against off-speed pitchers because they are an aggressive fast ball seeking bunch of hitters. Vargas eventually went the distance and earned a complete game shutout and in doing so secured a Mariners series victory.
After the Phils recent homestand you really can't get too mad at them for losing this series. They still hold a 5 game lead over the Braves in the division and they are 8-2 in their last 10. Still the Phils need to find a way to be more consistent at the plate. The Phils put up just 7 runs over the weekend and they can't afford to take days off at the plate.
Their is still time for the Phils to turn this road trip around. They will travel to St. Louis on Tuesday where they will take on Albert Pujols and the Cardinals. The Phils will send Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt to the mound and hopefully Ryan Howard will come alive in his hometown and wake up this offense.
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