It was only the sixth inning, but there already was a trail of brake
lights ablaze outside Citizens Bank Park.
For a minute, it felt a little like Dodger Stadium, where leaving
early is fashionable.
In Philadelphia, though, leaving early generally has more to do with
disgust than being cool. And that was clearly the case last night as
Phillies fans watched their team get hammered, 10-2, by the Los Angeles
Dodgers.
The Dodgers entered the game ranked 13th (among 16 teams) in the
National League in runs and 14th in slugging percentage.
That didn't stop them from pounding out 14 hits, half of them for
extra bases.
Phillies starter Cory Lidle (8-8) was lit up for seven runs, all of
which came in the fifth inning, when he faced seven batters without
getting an out.
Reliever Rob Tejeda gave up two more runs in the frame as the Dodgers
went up by 9-0. The Dodgers made it 10-0 an inning later, and many in
the crowd of 31,164, at least those who didn't pack barf bags, headed
for the parking lots.
The loss dropped the Phillies 41/2 games back in the NL wild-card
chase. They remained third, five games behind first-place Washington, in
the division.
The Phils showed some warts early, particularly an inability to move
runners and get them home from scoring position.
But in the end, it was starting pitching that failed them most.
"I had a game plan against these guys and I didn't execute any
pitches," Lidle said. "Even in the [scoreless] fourth inning, I was
missing my spots by a foot. If I'm not hitting my spots, it's going to
be ugly."
Just when the Phillies need their starting pitching to step up, Lidle,
one of the club's most dependable arms in the first half, has turned in
two poor outings since the all-star break.
In just 71/3 innings, he has allowed 19 hits and 14 runs.
Manager Charlie Manuel sensed that teams are beginning to lay off
Lidle's bread-and-butter pitch - a sinking fastball - while keying on
his off-speed stuff.
Lidle said that was the case in his last outing, but added that his
problem last night was purely poor location.
"I can't pinpoint why I'm in a rut," he said. "It might be something
with my balance. I'm throwing across my body. I haven't been able to
make adjustments to get my location back to where I need it."
Lidle's troubles in the fifth began with a leadoff single by Mike
Edwards. Lidle had the next batter, Jayson Werth, 0-2. He threw a
splitter, it hung, and Werth hit it out to right.
Lidle then walked No. 8 hitter Jason Repko, and pitcher Derek Lowe
singled. Oscar Robles followed with an RBI double to right, and Cesar
Izturis had an RBI single, putting runners at the corners with no outs
and the Dodgers up, 4-0.
With dangerous
Jeff Kent batting, Izturis stole second, opening first
base. Manuel thought about having Lidle walk Kent but decided against
it, and Kent hit a 1-0 fastball for a three-run homer.
(right).
"A walk came into my mind, but with no outs I didn't want to do it,"
Manuel said. "If there was one out, we would have walked him and tried
to set up a double play."
Said Lidle: "[Kent] is the one guy in that lineup I don't mind
walking. I got stubborn, challenged him, and made a pitch over the heart
of the plate. He was right on it."
Kent's blast made it 7-0, more than enough for Lowe, who held the
Phillies to two runs (both unearned) over seven walk-free innings and
won for the first time since June 6.
Bobby Abreu went hitless in two at-bats, He is 3 for 22 since his win
in the all-star Home Run Derby, dropping his average to .296.
| Final |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
R |
H |
E |
| Los
Angeles |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
14 |
1 |
|
Philadelphia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
