Sox hand Phillies another tough defeat
BY TODD ZOLECKI
Knight Ridder Newspapers
BOSTON - This latest loss left Charlie Manuel at a total loss.
His players can’t explain it, either.
“I don’t know what we can do,” Manuel said after Monday’s 8-7 loss in 12 innings to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. “I don’t know what we can do” right. . . . It seems like everything we do kind of backfires on us. I think about everything I possibly can. We have a hard time knocking runners in. It always comes back and gets us. And we can’t hold people. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
The Phillies have lost 13 of 16 to drop to 35-40, the furthest they have been under .500 since April 29. The series started horribly before they even reached Fenway. Boston police arrested Brett Myers on Friday on a domestic assault and battery charge in an incident involving his wife, Kim. The Sox then crushed the Phillies that night, 10-2. The Sox won the final two on walk-off extra-inning hits from designated hitter David Ortiz.
“I’m not exactly sure where we are,” closer Tom Gordon said. “I know we’re still second, but if you ask anybody in the clubhouse, they’ll tell you that we’re not playing like a second-place team. We’ve got to figure out what we can do to pick one another up. We’ve got three months left in the season. We can’t continue this play.”
In other words, it’s time to fish or cut bait. The Phillies are 12 behind the New York Mets in the NL East, and 5 1/2 back in the wild card - with seven teams in front of them.
“We’ve got to turn it around,” Gordon continued. “That’s the thing. If things don’t happen soon for us, and we get nine or 10 games back in the wild card, it’s going to be kind of tough to catch up. If you’re looking at maybe three or four or five games in September - that’s tough.”
So, what went wrong Monday?
Righthander Cory Lidle had allowed two hits through five innings before he got into trouble in the sixth. After a leadoff walk to Ortiz, Lidle allowed three hits to his next four batters to score two runs to make it 2-0.
Manuel removed Lidle, who had thrown 109 pitches.
Lidle stalked off the mound and whipped his glove into the dugout. He eventually headed up the damp runway to the clubhouse. Manuel pursued, and a team source said they exchanged words in the runway. The source said Lidle, who also expressed his frustration in being pulled after a start June 15 against the New York Mets, wanted to clean up his own mess.
Lidle didn’t make himself available to comment afterward.
The Red Sox scored four more runs in the sixth to make it 6-0. The Phillies scored five runs in the seventh to make it 6-5. Chase Utley hit a solo homer off typically unhittable Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon in the top of the ninth to tie it.
But the Phillies blew numerous chances to win throughout the game.
First, they were 3 for 18 with runners in scoring position. They left runners on first and second in the 10th. They had a runner on second with one out in the 11th, but couldn’t score. They took a lead in the 12th on Jimmy Rollins’ double to left, which scored Shane Victorino.
The Phillies just needed to hold the Red Sox.
Clay Condrey pitched because the Phillies had used Gordon earlier, and because Arthur Rhodes wasn’t available for personal reasons. Condrey allowed a leadoff double to Coco Crisp before he recorded the next two outs. Then Kevin Youkilis singled to left-center. Crisp rounded third and headed home, but Victorino bobbled the ball before he had a chance to throw home.
“If I don’t bobble it, I have a chance,” Victorino said. “But I would have had to have made a perfect throw.”
Condrey then walked Mark Loretta to put runners on first and second.
That’s when Ortiz stepped up and laced a single to left-center to score Youkilis and win it. Ortiz had hit a game-winning two-run homer in the 10th inning in Saturday’s 5-3 victory.
“When things get rough, you’ve got to hang with them,” Manuel said. “Because they can get rougher.”
That’s hard to believe.
Written by on June 27th, 2006 with
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