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.

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For full gameday, visit Phillies Nation.

St. Louis Cardinals (53-46) at Philadelphia Phillies (54-40).

Kyle Lohse (4-6, 4.21 ERA) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (2-0, 2.60 ERA)

The Phillies look to rebound after an awful performance on Friday. This could be one of Rodrigo Lopez's last starts with Pedro Martinez in the waiting. The Phillies couldn't have asked for more out of Lopez since his callup. In 17.1 innings, he has allowed only five runs. He has struck out 13 and walked five.

Lopez will be faced by the former Phillie, Kyle Lohse. Lohse was roughed up by the Phillies earlier this season. In 4.1 innings, he gave up six earned runs, including home runs to Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth. At Citizens Bank Park, Lohse is 2-0 with a 3.52 ERA. It is very important for the Phillies offense to jump on Lohse early before he gets into a groove.

Streak Ended

The Phillies halted their 5 game winning streak today, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3.

Cole Hamels struggled giving up 5 runs, 4 earned, in 6 innings of work. Cole Hamels lacked command to his fastball, and really could not find that Cole Hamels groove. He issued a 3 run homerun to Joe Mather, and a solo home run to Ryan Ludwick. Ludwick would homer again off Ryan Madson.

Hamel's counterpart, and former teammate, Kyle Lohse, cruised through his first 5 innings of work. He didn't allowed a hit until Cole Hamels got the first hit off him in the 4th inning. Lohse got into some trouble in the 5th inning as he allowed 3 earned runs, 2 on a Pat Burrell home run. Lohse was taken out as his pitch count reached 92 on a hot night.

The Cardinals bullpen did not allow a hit to the Phillies.

Is there a reason to worry about Hamels? This is his second consecutive poor outing. Plus there was a recent rumor about him pitching with a fractured elbow. Hopefully it isn't anything serious. Earlier this year, he had two consecutive poor outings, but rebounded nicely after that, and pitched terrific. Maybe that is the case again.