The Phillies (26-28) have come really close to getting the team to .500 but it just isn’t something they can accomplish it seems. The Boston Red Sox home and home series was looking good for the team, but winning last night would have put the team at .500 and they didn’t do that.
Of course it never helps when a team comes out and throws 4 runs on the board in the first inning as the Red Sox did last night, they controlled the tempo of the game and though the Phillies had some chances with runners on base and did score 2 runs in the bottom of the first inning, we couldn’t deliver and then the bullpen came in to put the game out of reach for the Phils.
The Phillies gave Jacoby Ellsbury a free pass to run the bases last night, as he stole 5 bases in the game, that hasn’t happened to the Phillies since 1916. Those kind of things don’t help the Phillies look like a solid team defensively. In fact, a Red Sox player had never stole 5 bases in a game before last night, so Jacoby has the record for most steals in a game now by a Boston Red Sox player.
Here’s the most Boston steals in a game:
The Brewers come into town tonight, they are at 19-33 on the season in the NL Central, but that doesn’t mean that the Phillies will have an easy time with them. It’s the teams with this kind of record that is actually more difficult for the Phillies to win against.
Cole Hamels goes again for the Phillies tonight, he is at 1-8 on the year, and needs a win tonight to reverse this trend. It would be nice if he could lower his 4.43 ERA too, as the Brewers are pitching with Yovani Gallardo who is 3-5 with a 4.79 ERA.