Offensive Behavior: Phils Pound Reds, 12-5

15 hits? 12 runs? Based on the offensive numbers of last night’s game, you’d think it was played by some other team with a beating heart.

Still the Phillies, though.  It won’t ever be not the Phillies.  But it sure is refreshing to see them play not like themselves.

Roy Halladay was not on fire, giving up four straight base hits to start the game, including a bases loaded double to Jay Bruce.  Somehow, the Reds managed to score only two runs that inning, thanks in part to Dom Brown hosing Chris Heisey at the plate.

Over the next few innings, the score would be jockeyed back and forth as both Doc and Reds starter Mike Leake failed to stabilize their team’s position.  Ryan Howard singled in Juan Pierre in the second and clobbered a shot into “That Ball is Absolutely Hammered”-ville to tie the game in the third.

Erik Kratz solidified his backup catching/nuclear power role by giving the Phils the lead with a solo shot, which in turn was equalized by a big Reds fifth inning that went double-double-single-single-pickoff play in which Brandon Phillips manages to score before they can smother Jay Bruce off second.

5-3 at this point, but the very next inning Chase Utley and Juan Pierre both had RBI before Dom Brown stepped up in a tie game and doubled in Ryan Howard and John Mayberry and made every body feel good and warm inside.

At this point, the Reds courteously backed off a bit on the scoring, but the Phillies, their mouths covered in slop, rudely continued without considering anyone’s feelings.  They scored in every inning but the second, the biggest games had by Ryan Howard (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R), John Mayberry (3-for-5, 3 RBI, 3 R), and Juan Pierre (3-for-4, 3 RBI, 1 R).

Doc, unaccustomed to being picked up by his offense, was naturally disappointed in his own night, (seven innings, 5 ER, 10 H), but gave way to a suspiciously eventless bullpen–Rosenberg, Bastardo, and Lindblom allowed two hits and nothing else over 2.2–and as always, did not have to carry as much guilt as he did.

"“I feel like everybody contributed but me.”  **light, sad smile**–Roy Halladay"

When It All Went Right

Dom Brown’s RBI double got the lead back, raised the youngter’s self esteem, gave us all hope about his clutch-ness, and was generally just an exciting little moment to have that didn’t even lead to the Reds coming back.

Of course you could also argue that everything went right when the Reds stepped on the field, having lost 12 of their last 13 against the Phils.

Most Attractive Play

Let’s give a little fatherly love to a guy who needs it the most.  Antonio Bastardo K’d two Reds looking in a row to end the 8th with two runners on.

Hero

Hey wow, Placido Polanco returned last night and went 2-for-4 with a run.  That’s fun.

Villain

I don’t know what Jay Bruce’s (3-for-3, 3 H, 2 RBI, 1 BB) problem was last night, but he seemed to be in the middle of everything, like some sort of horrible bacteria that makes everyone around it look like diseased-ridden monsters.  Gross.