It’s been the story of the Phillies season. They are consistently inconsistent.
So one night after thrilling fans with a miracle comeback to beat the Mets in 13 innings and vault into first place, they promptly threw it all back Wednesday night.
Charlie Manuel was pushing all the right buttons during the Phils’ improbable win Tueday night. Not so last night.
Rudy Seanez?
Yep, that’s who was on the hill at crunch time for the Phils.
The fans had visions of a sweep as Kyle Kendrick walked a tightrope, consistently pitching out of danger. The Phils were clinging to a 3-2 lead over the Mets and their ace, Johan Santana.
Then they went to the bullpen. Scott Eyre was fine, pitching two scoreless innings, striking out three in the process.
Then Manuel handed the ball to Seanez. Not so good.
He gave up a home run to Carlos Delgado, his second of the game. Closer Brad Lidge, called on to put out the fire, didn’t fare much better.
The Phillies’ bullpen has been their strength all year. Last night it was their downfall.
Along the way they promptly fell out of first place. Instead of being up by a game and a half, they now trail by a half game. And they face a tough four-game series in Wrigley Field against the Cubs starting tonight.
One of these teams, the Phillies or Mets, is going to win the NL East. It just might come down to which bullpen throws away more games in the last month of the season.
Tuesday night the Phillies enjoyed the thrill of victory after being down 7-0. Last night they endured the agony of defeat after scratching out a lead against Santana.
So why would I feel a lot better about if it were just about anybody other than Rudy Seanez who threw the gas on the fire?
So one night after thrilling fans with a miracle comeback to beat the Mets in 13 innings and vault into first place, they promptly threw it all back Wednesday night.
Charlie Manuel was pushing all the right buttons during the Phils’ improbable win Tueday night. Not so last night.
Rudy Seanez?
Yep, that’s who was on the hill at crunch time for the Phils.
The fans had visions of a sweep as Kyle Kendrick walked a tightrope, consistently pitching out of danger. The Phils were clinging to a 3-2 lead over the Mets and their ace, Johan Santana.
Then they went to the bullpen. Scott Eyre was fine, pitching two scoreless innings, striking out three in the process.
Then Manuel handed the ball to Seanez. Not so good.
He gave up a home run to Carlos Delgado, his second of the game. Closer Brad Lidge, called on to put out the fire, didn’t fare much better.
The Phillies’ bullpen has been their strength all year. Last night it was their downfall.
Along the way they promptly fell out of first place. Instead of being up by a game and a half, they now trail by a half game. And they face a tough four-game series in Wrigley Field against the Cubs starting tonight.
One of these teams, the Phillies or Mets, is going to win the NL East. It just might come down to which bullpen throws away more games in the last month of the season.
Tuesday night the Phillies enjoyed the thrill of victory after being down 7-0. Last night they endured the agony of defeat after scratching out a lead against Santana.
So why would I feel a lot better about if it were just about anybody other than Rudy Seanez who threw the gas on the fire?
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