Brad Penner – USA TODAY Sports
Well, things didn’t go so well yesterday. Sell!!! I am riding that roller coaster all the way to the trade deadline. The Philadelphia Phillies just gave that game away to the New York Mets. The Phillies had the bases loaded in the fifth inning with no outs and got only one run; that was the turning point. The long, hot day (95 degrees) left the Phillies at 49-49, as they failed to get to two games over .500 for the first time this season. I feel awful just saying that. Cole Hamels wasn’t that good, but Zack Wheeler was there for the taking.
In that fifth inning, the Phillies actually had Chase Utley with a 2-0 count, Dominic Brown with a 3-0 count and Darin Ruf with a 3-0 count in consecutives at bats after loading the bases. Yup, some great at-bats took place. Then, of course, Delmon Young struck out with the bases loaded. That is a recurring theme. Young is a decent hitter but might be the worst situational hitter I have ever seen. By the way, the Phillies are now 6-15 in Hamels’ starts this year. Lovely…
So the Phillies will try to take the series from the Mets today and will send Cliff Lee (10-3, 2.86 era) to the bump. Lee, fresh off his All-Star appearance, will face his All-Star teammate. That would be the young stud Matt Harvey (7-2 with a 2.35 era), who apparently no New Yorker knows what he looks like. Harvey, in his young career, is 3-0 with a 1.37 era against the Phillies. Hopefully, the Phillies can stay above .500 for more than a day. That would be nice.
Joseph Hickman is a Philadelphia Eagles writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @phillytugger, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.
