Phillies Bullpen Woes Continue

The Philadelphia Phillies had the game won. They had just came back from a two run deficit to tie the game at 7, in the bottom of the 8th inning. With the new closer, Ryan Madson entering the game, the game seemed won after the Toronto Blue Jays made a lineup mistake.

When the Blue Jays brought in Jeremy Accardo to preserve the lead, they also wanted to bring in Rod Barajas, and bat Accardo 8th, and Barajas 9th in the lineup. The Blue Jays then failed to make the switch, so Barajas was left leading off the 9th inning with the game tied at 7.

With Madson pitching, the game seemed all but won, but Madson gave Barajas a fat pitch that he sent over the center field wall to put the Blue Jays ahead by one run. The score would stay that way for the rest of the game. The final score was 8-7 in favor of the Jays.

The game was pretty much that way the whole game. One team would take the lead, only to have the other come right back and retake the lead. The starting pitching was not bad, but the story of the game was the bullpen. The Blue Jays used every pitcher that they had but one, and the Phillies pen was not much better.

With the score 5-4 in the 7th inning, and J.C. Romero relieving Chan Ho Park, Toronto made their move. With Scott Rolen on second base, Adam Lind brought him home with a single to center field to tie the game.

The scoring did not stop their though. The very next inning the Jays struck again. With Clay Condrey in for Romero, Vernon Wells singled to right to score Marco Scutaro, and advanced Aaron Hill to second. Then, Scott Rolen batted in Scutaro with a double to left center.

It was then the Phils turn to score some runs. With the Jays leading 7-5, and pinch hitter Greg Dobbs at the plate, pitcher Brandon League threw Dobbs a fat pitch that ended up in the seats. That made the score 7-6. Jimmy Rollins then doubled to left to put the tying run on second. With a new pitcher in, Shane Victorino drove in Rollins with a single to center. That tied the game at 7.

But just as you thought the Phils had this one in the bag, in the top of the 9th, Barajas struck with his homer to straight away center that proved to be the winning run. The scoring then ended their, as closer B.J. Ryan shut down the Phightins to end the game.

Recent call-up John Mayberry Jr. hit his 2nd homerun of the year, and Jayson Werth and Rollins also homered in the game.

This time around, the story of the game was the bullpen. The Phils pen has been overworked so far this season with the unreliability of the starting rotation. The Phils do not possess the youngest staff, but they got the job done last year, but the magic wears out when you try to take advantage of the magic.

With skipper Charlie Manuel calling for an A-List starter, and another piece for his pen, the Phillies problems may be coming to an end soon. One thing is for sure, the Phillies cannot go on like this for long. The relievers are too tired now to back up the starter even when they out in a good day at work and go 7 innings strong. Can they pull it together, or will the tired arms, and lack of arms prove to be the undoing of the Phillies in September?