GaryMrMets
05-30-2006, 01:11 PM
http://philadelphia.comcastsportsnet.com/view_content_1p_box.asp?ID=31348
Howard Hits 18th Homer in 11-2 Win
by Tom Cialino
ComcastSportsNet.com Contributor
After committing a throwing error in the top of the fourth that allowed the Nationals to tie the game, Ryan Howard knew that he would have an opportunity to atone for it at the plate.
He did so with an act that has become somewhat of a ritual over the past month: a home run to the opposite field.
This one was a three-run homer that broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth and put the Phils up for good. It was his league leading 13th in the month of May and 12th to the opposite field. The Phillies added five more in the seventh to down the Nationals, 11-2.
“If I make an error or something like that, I feel like I have to find a way to get it back somehow,” Howard said. “Fortunately, it landed on the other side of the fence, and we got three runs out of it. I would have been satisfied with one or two if it was a line drive off the top of the wall.”
Said Charlie Manuel: “That’s how you cover up mistakes. You let in one and knock in three, that’ll be all right. I’ll take that.”
Manuel is also impressed with Howard’s ability to drive the ball to all fields.
“He’s hit more home runs to the opposite field than anybody I’ve been around,” Manuel said. “That amazes me.”
“I guess if I pull one that will make for big news,” Howard quipped.The night did not end without bad news, however. Starting pitcher Jon Lieber was forced to leave the game with a left groin strain after fielding a ball in the second inning and has been placed on the 15-Day DL (see box). As a result, the Phillies purchased the contract of relief pitcher Brian Sanches from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“Usually with an injury like that, it takes a while,” Manuel said.
“Also, it could be nagging too.”
Clay Condrey, who had logged only three innings this season before Monday, replaced Lieber and pitched four innings without allowing an earned run to pick up his third career win. It was Condrey's longest outing since May of 2003, when he was a member of the Padres.
“He cuts and sinks the ball,” Manuel said. “He throws nothing straight. When I saw him in Triple-A, he used to be about 86-88 [mph]. Now, he’s throwing 88-91. He’s got good command, and he’s a very low-demeanor guy. He doesn’t panic. He’s just out there staying cool and trying to throw strikes. Those kind of guys can be very important to you.”
“That’s baseball,” Condrey said. “You try to go out there, make your pitches and get quick outs.”
Condrey, who attended the same high school as Nationals manager Frank Robinson, is a former starter who has seen limited work as a reliever this season.
“For me, it’s a confidence booster, Condrey said. “As a team, it really helped out the bullpen. You didn’t have to have a guy up every inning.”The Nationals were also forced to turn to the bullpen earlier than they would have liked when Chase Utley smashed a line drive off the ankle of starter Michael O’Connor. After giving up a run in the first and second innings, O’Connor was beginning to settle down and had retired eight straight batters before leaving the game.
“He really got his breaking ball going and started to throw it for strikes,” Manuel said.
With O’Connor gone, the Phillies teed off on the Nationals’ bullpen, adding three runs on Howard’s round tripper in the sixth, five more in the seventh and one in the eighth. Howard believes that Gary Majewski, the reliever the Nationals inserted following O’Connor’s injury, entered the game at a severe disadvantage.
“Relief pitchers kind of have to get mentally ready,” Howard said. “When you’re just kind of thrown into the fire like that, it’s tough. When you warm up in the bullpen, you’re getting a chance to get loose and know what you want to do. When you’ve got to warm up on the field like that, it’s a different atmosphere.”
Part of the reason the Phillies were so successful against the Nationals' bullpen was their penchant for drawing free passes. In both the sixth and seventh innings, key walks placed runners in scoring position for the middle of the lineup.
“When you’re patient at the plate and are looking for good balls to hit, you will walk,” Manuel said. “The more patient we get, the more runners we will have on base and the more chances we will have of scoring runs. When we can manufacture some runs, that’s when we will be a good club.”
Notes
Mike Lieberthal pinch-hit for Lieber in the second inning, marking his first at bat since going on the DL on May 5. Carlos Ruiz was optioned back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. … Bobby Abreu doubled in the eighth inning, tying him with for third place on the all-time franchise list with Sherry Magee. …Howard homered for the third time in as many games for the second time in his career. His 35 RBIs in May are also a league high. … The 11 runs the Phillies scored marked a season high. Over 7,800 of the 33, 682 fans in attendance were of the walk-up variety.
Jon Lieber was placed on the 15-day disabled list after injuring his left groin on Monday night in a 11-2 win over the Washington Nationals.Lieber suffered the injury while fielding a ground ball in the second inning. He left the game for a pinch-hitter in the bottom half of the inning.
"It's sore," Lieber said. "I've never had any problems with my legs."The Phillies placed the right-hander on the DL after the game. The club filled his spot with reliever Brian Sanches, who was 2-2 with a 2.49 ERA and seven saves for Triple-A Scranton.
Lieber gave up one run on two hits. He struck out one and didn't walk a batter.
Washington also lost its starting pitcher Michael O'Connor, who was struck on the left ankle by a Chase Utley line drive in the sixth inning. After a couple of warm-up pitches, O'Connor left the game.
"I really didn't have a chance to react, it got me pretty good," O'Connor said. "It's just a little bruise. I'll be OK."
O'Connor said he would be ready to make his next start.
"We'll have to wait and see tomorrow," Washington manager Frank Robinson said. "He took a pretty good shot. I watched him throw (warm-ups) and he was wincing on every pitch."
The Associated Press
http://philadelphia.comcastsportsnet.com/images/content/phillies/052906-abreu_small.jpg
Bobby Abreu drives in Jimmy Rollins with the Phillies' 11th run of the night with an RBI double in the eighth inning of Monday's victory over the Nationals. (AP)
Howard Hits 18th Homer in 11-2 Win
by Tom Cialino
ComcastSportsNet.com Contributor
After committing a throwing error in the top of the fourth that allowed the Nationals to tie the game, Ryan Howard knew that he would have an opportunity to atone for it at the plate.
He did so with an act that has become somewhat of a ritual over the past month: a home run to the opposite field.
This one was a three-run homer that broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth and put the Phils up for good. It was his league leading 13th in the month of May and 12th to the opposite field. The Phillies added five more in the seventh to down the Nationals, 11-2.
“If I make an error or something like that, I feel like I have to find a way to get it back somehow,” Howard said. “Fortunately, it landed on the other side of the fence, and we got three runs out of it. I would have been satisfied with one or two if it was a line drive off the top of the wall.”
Said Charlie Manuel: “That’s how you cover up mistakes. You let in one and knock in three, that’ll be all right. I’ll take that.”
Manuel is also impressed with Howard’s ability to drive the ball to all fields.
“He’s hit more home runs to the opposite field than anybody I’ve been around,” Manuel said. “That amazes me.”
“I guess if I pull one that will make for big news,” Howard quipped.The night did not end without bad news, however. Starting pitcher Jon Lieber was forced to leave the game with a left groin strain after fielding a ball in the second inning and has been placed on the 15-Day DL (see box). As a result, the Phillies purchased the contract of relief pitcher Brian Sanches from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“Usually with an injury like that, it takes a while,” Manuel said.
“Also, it could be nagging too.”
Clay Condrey, who had logged only three innings this season before Monday, replaced Lieber and pitched four innings without allowing an earned run to pick up his third career win. It was Condrey's longest outing since May of 2003, when he was a member of the Padres.
“He cuts and sinks the ball,” Manuel said. “He throws nothing straight. When I saw him in Triple-A, he used to be about 86-88 [mph]. Now, he’s throwing 88-91. He’s got good command, and he’s a very low-demeanor guy. He doesn’t panic. He’s just out there staying cool and trying to throw strikes. Those kind of guys can be very important to you.”
“That’s baseball,” Condrey said. “You try to go out there, make your pitches and get quick outs.”
Condrey, who attended the same high school as Nationals manager Frank Robinson, is a former starter who has seen limited work as a reliever this season.
“For me, it’s a confidence booster, Condrey said. “As a team, it really helped out the bullpen. You didn’t have to have a guy up every inning.”The Nationals were also forced to turn to the bullpen earlier than they would have liked when Chase Utley smashed a line drive off the ankle of starter Michael O’Connor. After giving up a run in the first and second innings, O’Connor was beginning to settle down and had retired eight straight batters before leaving the game.
“He really got his breaking ball going and started to throw it for strikes,” Manuel said.
With O’Connor gone, the Phillies teed off on the Nationals’ bullpen, adding three runs on Howard’s round tripper in the sixth, five more in the seventh and one in the eighth. Howard believes that Gary Majewski, the reliever the Nationals inserted following O’Connor’s injury, entered the game at a severe disadvantage.
“Relief pitchers kind of have to get mentally ready,” Howard said. “When you’re just kind of thrown into the fire like that, it’s tough. When you warm up in the bullpen, you’re getting a chance to get loose and know what you want to do. When you’ve got to warm up on the field like that, it’s a different atmosphere.”
Part of the reason the Phillies were so successful against the Nationals' bullpen was their penchant for drawing free passes. In both the sixth and seventh innings, key walks placed runners in scoring position for the middle of the lineup.
“When you’re patient at the plate and are looking for good balls to hit, you will walk,” Manuel said. “The more patient we get, the more runners we will have on base and the more chances we will have of scoring runs. When we can manufacture some runs, that’s when we will be a good club.”
Notes
Mike Lieberthal pinch-hit for Lieber in the second inning, marking his first at bat since going on the DL on May 5. Carlos Ruiz was optioned back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. … Bobby Abreu doubled in the eighth inning, tying him with for third place on the all-time franchise list with Sherry Magee. …Howard homered for the third time in as many games for the second time in his career. His 35 RBIs in May are also a league high. … The 11 runs the Phillies scored marked a season high. Over 7,800 of the 33, 682 fans in attendance were of the walk-up variety.
Jon Lieber was placed on the 15-day disabled list after injuring his left groin on Monday night in a 11-2 win over the Washington Nationals.Lieber suffered the injury while fielding a ground ball in the second inning. He left the game for a pinch-hitter in the bottom half of the inning.
"It's sore," Lieber said. "I've never had any problems with my legs."The Phillies placed the right-hander on the DL after the game. The club filled his spot with reliever Brian Sanches, who was 2-2 with a 2.49 ERA and seven saves for Triple-A Scranton.
Lieber gave up one run on two hits. He struck out one and didn't walk a batter.
Washington also lost its starting pitcher Michael O'Connor, who was struck on the left ankle by a Chase Utley line drive in the sixth inning. After a couple of warm-up pitches, O'Connor left the game.
"I really didn't have a chance to react, it got me pretty good," O'Connor said. "It's just a little bruise. I'll be OK."
O'Connor said he would be ready to make his next start.
"We'll have to wait and see tomorrow," Washington manager Frank Robinson said. "He took a pretty good shot. I watched him throw (warm-ups) and he was wincing on every pitch."
The Associated Press
http://philadelphia.comcastsportsnet.com/images/content/phillies/052906-abreu_small.jpg
Bobby Abreu drives in Jimmy Rollins with the Phillies' 11th run of the night with an RBI double in the eighth inning of Monday's victory over the Nationals. (AP)