Dice-K Nearly No-Hits Phils

As seen on Phillies Nation.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was four outs away from tossing a no-hitter against the Phillies. Juan Castro broke up the no-hit bid with a bloop single over the head of Marco Scutaro. For the Phillies, it was appropriate that the only hit came on a blooper since the Phillies hit the the ball hard most of the night.

Dice-K didn't exactly dominate. He had a high pitch count, walked four, and struck out five. Yes -- the Phillies weren't able to collect hits off him, but they did scorch the ball. The Red Sox made several incredible defensive plays. Dustin Pedroia made a leaping catch to rob Chase Utley. Jayson Werth lined a shot right back at Matsuzaka, who made an insane catch. Adrian Beltre dove to take a hit away from Carlos Ruiz, and turned it into a double play. Overall, the Phillies were hitting the ball hard, just right at fielders.

While Dice-K was literally unhittable, Kyle Kendrick was the complete opposite. He surrendered five runs, all earned. Kendrick cruised through the first couple of innings, but hit a rock in the fifth. The Red Sox already led 1-0 at the time, thanks to a sacrifice fly in which Raul Ibanez failed to nail David Ortiz at the plate. Kendrick was one out away from keeping it a one-run game, however J.D Drew, Ortiz, and Beltre each knocked in runs.

The Red Sox took a 5-0 lead, and did not look back. Matsuzaka got a lot of luck on Saturday, and perhaps things will come easier tomorrow for the Phillies with Roy Halladay on the mound.