JRoll Slams Past Cards

As seen on Phillies Nation.
There is no doubt the Phillies have been clutch with the bases loaded. Jimmy Rollins joined the club. His sixth inning salami gave the Phillies the lead in their 14-6 win. It also was their eighth grand slam of the season, which tied a franchise record set in 1993 and 2005 for most grand slams in a season.

It didn't take long for the Phils to jump on their former teammate, Kyle Lohse. Raul Ibanez and Pedro Feliz's RBI singles gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Lohse lasted only four innings. He gave up three earned on four hits and three walks. Luckily for him, he was not tacked with the loss because Julio Lugo tied the game at three with a RBI double.

When the Phillies saw Rick Ankiel earlier in the year, he landed on the disabled after making a fantastic catch, running into a brick wall. He has given the Phillies a lot of trouble in this series. He went 3-for-4 with three runs batted in during the opening game. Today, he homered to give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead in the sixth. Ankiel finished the day 3-for-5.

Then, Jimmy Rollins struck. With two outs, and two on, Greg Dobbs had a great at-bat fouling off pitches and worked a walk to load the bases. Rollins didn't disappoint, breaking his 0-for-8 streak with the bases loaded by clubbing a go-ahead grand slam to right field. Victorino immediately followed with a homer to make it back-to-back jacks. The Phillies lead 8-4 and did not look back.

The Cardinals inched a run closer in the seventh after a brief delay because a fan shined a laser on Julio Lugo. The delay may have took Chan Ho Park out of his rhythm. He allowed a RBI double to Matt Holliday (2-for-4), but escaped further damage by getting out of a jam.

The runs kept pouring in for the Phils, who scored 11 runs in the sixth and seventh inning combined. Carlos Ruiz singled, Rollins (2-for-5) doubled, Victorino (4-for-4) singled, and Howard (2-for-5) doubled, each driving in runs.

The Phillies 14 runs were plenty for Rodrigo Lopez and the depleted bullpen. Lopez made it through six innings, allowed four runs (3 earned) on 10 hits and a walk.

Call of the Day: Phillies clinch the 1980 NLCS.

"Swing and a drive to right center field. Maddox is there!"

Cardinals Have Holliday Against Happ

Originally posted on Phillies Nation.

Welcome back to Earth, J.A. After pitching well all season long, J.A Happ lost his first game since his his Major League debut in 2007.

The St. Louis Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Rick Ankiel's RBI single. He drove in Matt Holliday, who got an infield single in his first official at-bat as a Cardinal. Holliday wasn't close to being done.

A 48 minute rain delay paused play, but Happ was back on the mound once the game resumed. Happ was pitching fine, but all his trouble came in the sixth inning. Usually, when Happ gets into jams, he gets out of them. Friday was a different story. Holliday, Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina each had RBI singles. Ankiel doubled to give the Cardinals a five-run cushion.

Happ allowed five earned runs on ten hits in six innings. Granted, he wasn't backed with the best defense as there were some sloppy plays (most notable by Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz). On a positive note, he made hitters earn their way on; he did not walk a batter.

The Cardinals did not look back. The score was 7-0 in the seventh, thanks to a RBI single by Mark DeRosa, and yet another run batted in from Ankiel. Julio Lugo homered in the eighth.

Albert Pujols is usually the one who has the big game. Pujols went 1-for-4, but was backed by teammates Ankiel (3-for-4, 3 RBI) and Holliday (4-for-5).

The offense was pathetic and didn't help their own cause. They had plenty of opportunities to score, by managed just one run in the seventh inning on a wild pitch. They left 10 runners on base and were 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

The 8-1 loss destroys Happ's undefeated streak. He is now 7-1 this season, but his earned run average is still under three.

In baseball news, Vicente Padilla has been diagnosed with Swine Flu.