GaryMrMets
06-28-2004, 02:56 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/9027926.htm
Posted on Mon, Jun. 28, 2004
Phils grab 3-0 lead against Schilling, then get pounded
By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer
BOSTON - Larry Bowa pictured Curt Schilling being a little too jacked up against his former team.
Maybe he'd overthrow a little bit.
Perhaps he'd leave a lot of pitches up in the zone.
That delightful little fantasy almost came true yesterday at Fenway Park. Pat Burrell and David Bell hit solo home runs in the second inning, and the Phillies took a three-run lead into the bottom of the third before the Boston Red Sox came back to pulverize them, 12-3.
"You have to try to make that lead stand up," said Bowa, the Phillies' manager.
The Phillies finished a disappointing trip to Montreal and Boston 2-4 and dropped a game behind the Florida Marlins in the National League East.
The Phils will open a 14-game homestand tonight against lowly Montreal at Citizens Bank Park leading into the all-star break. They will play four games against Montreal, three against Baltimore, four against New York, and three against Atlanta.
None of those teams has a record above .500. Seems like a perfect opportunity to make a run.
"It's a very important stretch," Phillies catcher Todd Pratt said. "I told the team after this game that our goal is 10 games over before the all-star break. I think everybody needs to step it up. I think that's a very reachable goal. We need to do it. If we do that, I think we start running away."
To be 10 games over .500 at the break, the Phillies will need to finish the home stand 11-3. That doesn't leave much room for error, and it certainly means that they will have to improve offensively.
The Phils were 1 for 14 (.071) with runners in scoring position yesterday. They left 12 runners on base and struck out 11 times.
"Our Achilles' heel has been LOBs and strikeouts," Bowa said. "That's the reason we didn't score a lot of runs in critical situations. We can't do that every game, but we do that a lot. LOBs and strikeouts - since I've been here, that's been our M.O."
Unlike the Phillies, the Red Sox capitalized on their chances.
Manny Ramirez stepped up with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the third against Phils starter Brett Myers (5-5). Myers threw a 1-2 sinker that he wanted down and in. Instead, it stayed over the middle of the plate. Ramirez ripped a ground-rule double to right field to score two runs.
"It just happened like that," Myers said. "I had good stuff. I guess I didn't execute like I should have."
Nomar Garciaparra followed with a ground-rule double to center to score two more runs and give Boston a 4-3 lead.
David Ortiz hit a two-run homer to center off Myers in the fifth to make it 6-3.
But the Phillies were still alive. They had runners on first and third with one out in the sixth when Schilling, who raised his record to 10-4, struck out Jason Michaels and Pratt.
"I was in danger of turning that into a ball game," said Schilling, who allowed eight hits, three runs and two walks while striking out seven in six innings. "First and third, I'm thinking if I don't make some pitches, then I am out of the game. And they're back in it. That's the first time this season I have been able to reach back."
The Phillies had runners on first and third with two out in the seventh, but Burrell struck out swinging against Mike Timlin. The Sox scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, then scored four times in the eighth off Billy Wagner to turn a possible comeback for the Phils into an impossibility.
So the Phillies headed home disappointed.
They are 38-35.
They were 39-34 at this time last season but also were 91/2 games behind Atlanta.
Bowa thinks that just one team from the NL East will make the postseason. Marlins manager Jack McKeon said the same thing over the weekend.
"We're right there," said Pratt, who thinks that 90 victories will win the division. "If you think about all the adversity we've had, the inconsistencies, we're only a game back. And I will say this - and you might not believe it - we are the best team in our division. I feel pretty good about these [next] 14 games."
Is now the time?
"It would be nice to run off some wins," said Jim Thome, who served as the Phillies' designated hitter yesterday. "Not one or two. Seven, eight, nine in a row."
http://www.philly.com/images/philly/inquirer/9030/81542876570.jpg
Former Phillie Curt Schilling delivers a pitch for the Red Sox in the first. He gave up second-inning homers to Pat Burrell and David Bell but improved to 10-4.
Posted on Mon, Jun. 28, 2004
Phils grab 3-0 lead against Schilling, then get pounded
By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer
BOSTON - Larry Bowa pictured Curt Schilling being a little too jacked up against his former team.
Maybe he'd overthrow a little bit.
Perhaps he'd leave a lot of pitches up in the zone.
That delightful little fantasy almost came true yesterday at Fenway Park. Pat Burrell and David Bell hit solo home runs in the second inning, and the Phillies took a three-run lead into the bottom of the third before the Boston Red Sox came back to pulverize them, 12-3.
"You have to try to make that lead stand up," said Bowa, the Phillies' manager.
The Phillies finished a disappointing trip to Montreal and Boston 2-4 and dropped a game behind the Florida Marlins in the National League East.
The Phils will open a 14-game homestand tonight against lowly Montreal at Citizens Bank Park leading into the all-star break. They will play four games against Montreal, three against Baltimore, four against New York, and three against Atlanta.
None of those teams has a record above .500. Seems like a perfect opportunity to make a run.
"It's a very important stretch," Phillies catcher Todd Pratt said. "I told the team after this game that our goal is 10 games over before the all-star break. I think everybody needs to step it up. I think that's a very reachable goal. We need to do it. If we do that, I think we start running away."
To be 10 games over .500 at the break, the Phillies will need to finish the home stand 11-3. That doesn't leave much room for error, and it certainly means that they will have to improve offensively.
The Phils were 1 for 14 (.071) with runners in scoring position yesterday. They left 12 runners on base and struck out 11 times.
"Our Achilles' heel has been LOBs and strikeouts," Bowa said. "That's the reason we didn't score a lot of runs in critical situations. We can't do that every game, but we do that a lot. LOBs and strikeouts - since I've been here, that's been our M.O."
Unlike the Phillies, the Red Sox capitalized on their chances.
Manny Ramirez stepped up with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the third against Phils starter Brett Myers (5-5). Myers threw a 1-2 sinker that he wanted down and in. Instead, it stayed over the middle of the plate. Ramirez ripped a ground-rule double to right field to score two runs.
"It just happened like that," Myers said. "I had good stuff. I guess I didn't execute like I should have."
Nomar Garciaparra followed with a ground-rule double to center to score two more runs and give Boston a 4-3 lead.
David Ortiz hit a two-run homer to center off Myers in the fifth to make it 6-3.
But the Phillies were still alive. They had runners on first and third with one out in the sixth when Schilling, who raised his record to 10-4, struck out Jason Michaels and Pratt.
"I was in danger of turning that into a ball game," said Schilling, who allowed eight hits, three runs and two walks while striking out seven in six innings. "First and third, I'm thinking if I don't make some pitches, then I am out of the game. And they're back in it. That's the first time this season I have been able to reach back."
The Phillies had runners on first and third with two out in the seventh, but Burrell struck out swinging against Mike Timlin. The Sox scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, then scored four times in the eighth off Billy Wagner to turn a possible comeback for the Phils into an impossibility.
So the Phillies headed home disappointed.
They are 38-35.
They were 39-34 at this time last season but also were 91/2 games behind Atlanta.
Bowa thinks that just one team from the NL East will make the postseason. Marlins manager Jack McKeon said the same thing over the weekend.
"We're right there," said Pratt, who thinks that 90 victories will win the division. "If you think about all the adversity we've had, the inconsistencies, we're only a game back. And I will say this - and you might not believe it - we are the best team in our division. I feel pretty good about these [next] 14 games."
Is now the time?
"It would be nice to run off some wins," said Jim Thome, who served as the Phillies' designated hitter yesterday. "Not one or two. Seven, eight, nine in a row."
http://www.philly.com/images/philly/inquirer/9030/81542876570.jpg
Former Phillie Curt Schilling delivers a pitch for the Red Sox in the first. He gave up second-inning homers to Pat Burrell and David Bell but improved to 10-4.