The Phillies (41-35) dropped a tough one today to the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3. Philadelphia jumped out to a 3-0 lead with Roy Halladay on the mound, but that was not enough as Jay Bruce clubbed a two-run home run which completed the 25th comeback win of the sesaon for the Reds, which is the most in baseball.
Cincinnati have won seven of their last nine and are locked in a tie for first place in the NL Central with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Halladay went all eight innings for the complete game on the losing end as he couldn't hold on to a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth when he gave up the two-run shot to Bruce.
Roy gave up a career high 13 hits in the game and allowed all four runs while striking out 10 batters and didn't walk a single batter, which created a very unique stat line for Halladay as you can count on one hand the number of pitchers who have given up 10+ hits while striking out 10+ batters.
With the loss, it's Halladay's seventh of the season and fourth in six starts and concluded a shaky June for Roy. But a shaky month for him still equated to a 3.27 ERA, so Halladay hasn't been horrible by any means, but definitely more hittable then he's been in any other month this season.This was the second game the Phillies played since putting Chase Utley and Placido Polanco on the DL, as the fill-ins have performed admirably in relief of the many starters currently on the DL.
Last night, it was Wilson Valdez and Brian Schneider with two three-run home runs and today it was another three-run home run, this time by rookie catcher Dane Sardinha in the fourth inning. The home run was Sardinha's second since his call-up last week.
The Phillies couldn't get the big hit today as they left seven men on base and went 1-7 with runners in scoring position.
This was a tough series for the Phils as they should have won two out of three against a very scrappy and resilient Reds team as games like this have to go in the win column considering the Phillies were able to get their ace a three run lead and not to mention they held a one run lead in the eighth inning.
The Phillies get a much needed break as they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the hapless Pirates in a four-game set..
Cole Hamels will get the start tomorrow night after having his roughest start of the season last Saturday against the Blue Jays, but Hamels is still looking lightyears better than his 2009 counterpart. Hamels is 6-6 on the season with an ERA of 4.08 and a outing against the Pirates could easily get the left-hander back in his groove.
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