Dateless, I schlepped out to the ballpark last night to see the Phils take on the Marlins. What a bizarre game! Starting pitcher Kyle Kendrick, in what was surely the worst start of his young-ish major league career, gave up seven(!) runs in one-and-a-third innings. The performance was shockingly bad. Boos rained down on Kendrick as he left the mound. Even for a boo-friendly city like Philly, the noise was striking.
I didn’t boo, though. Sure, Kendrick’s not doing his job effectively lately. But it’s obvious he’s trying. It’s obvious he wants to be pitching well. I might boo apathy, but I’m not going to boo “mere” incompetence.
After Kendrick’s removal from the game, manager Charlie Manuel put in J.A. Happ. The Phillies probably intended to save Happ for Thursday’s game against the Brewers (the team is in a bit of a bind in pitching because of a Sunday doubleheader forced by Saturday’s rain-out). So Kendrick’s poor pitching caused the team to put Thursday’s game in jeopardy. Ay, caramba. (Indeed, as it turns out, the Phillies must use 45-year-old Jamie Moyer on Thursday on only three days’ rest.)
Despite going down 7-1, and then 9-1, the Phillies made a run for it. Ryan Howard led a three-run charge in the fourth inning with a homerun. And in a very exciting sixth inning, the Phillies scored four more runs, with hits by serveral different players. In the end, though, the Phils couldn’t quite get back what Kendrick gave up. The final score was 10-8.
The loss combined with, darn it, a Mets win left the Phillies two-and-a-half games behind the Mets in the standings. It’s small consolation, but the Brewers—who currently lead the race for the wild card—did lose. After the good year the Phillies have had, it’ll be a real shame if they don’t manage to make the playoffs. Ugh.