First off, I’d like to say that as a first time blogger on this
site, I’d like you all to know that I love this. Writing about the
Phils and MLB to an audience that cares…that is great! So to the
game…

Some Headlines:

Lieberthal retires a Phillie.
Utley hits his MLB leading 20th HR.
Jamie Moyer improves to 8-0 lifetime against the Fish.

Some Stats:

Moyer (W 6-3): 7 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 K, 0 BB
Waechter (L 0-1): 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, BB
Lidge: (S 13):  1 IP, 2 K
Utley: 1-2, HR (20), RBI, 2 BB, SB
Burrell: 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Jenkins: 1-2, 2-R HR (5), 2 RBI
Jacobs: 2-4, 2 HR (13), 4 RBI

The Game:

The Phillies opened up the game with a run after Utley stole second,
and Howard singled him in with 2 outs. In the next inning, Jacobs led
off with the the first of his two homeruns for the Marlins, and by the
time the top of the third inning was over the Marlins put 5 unanswered
runs thanks in part to another Jacobs HR.  However in the bottom of the
inning the Phillies got a couple back when Rollins took advantage of an
error to score from third, and Utley who has homered in all 3 games of
this series hit his MLB leading 20th HR to get the Phillies within two
runs.  Meanwhile Moyer settled down and had a stretch where he retired
7 straight to keep the Phils in the game, until the 6th, when Waecther
came into the game, and there was all this talk about how crazy he was
against right handed hitters. With So Taguchi coming up, and a man on,
Charlie Manuel made one of those decisions to insert Jenkins. The guy
hasn’t had a pinch hit all season! What was he thinking putting Jenkins
(a righty) against this guy!? Better Jenkins than Taguchi I guess…and
then…Geoff Jenkins Two Run Homerun to Right Field!!!!! Can you
believe this game is tied up at 5?!!!!! Well it was one of those
choices where if Jenkins struck out Manuel looks dumb, and if he hits a
homerun…he looks… like a genius.  And so onto the 7th where with 2
outs, Burrell (who had a two out RBI yesterday) came up to the plate
with Victorino on second, Howard (who was hit by a pitch) on first, and
looked back as the first pitch bounced off Rabelo’s glove to the wall,
a wild pitch which advanced the runners to second and third. And then
after a couple of pitches, Burrell hits one down the line in left, and
if you were watching he thought it was foul so he was running half
heartedly with the bat still in his hand halfway down the line before
realizing “Oh crap it fell in…” Burrell slid safely into second, and
watched as he put across what would be the two game winning runs for
the Phils.

What does this win mean?

The Phils take 2 out of 3 from the Marlins for their 5th win in 6 games
on this homestand so far, and wrestle first place from the Marlins for
the second time in three days. It also means the Phillies have insured
a .500 homestand, and set the tone for the remaining 15 games against
this tough division foe.

Looking ahead: