Game chat: Phils hope to resuscitate lifeless lumber

The Phillies have gone 22 innings without scoring against an opposing starter and have been blanked in 28 of 29 innings. They'll try to reignite their thundersticks in Game 2 tonight from Citi Field.

Preview: The Phillies swap out the 6-7-8 hitters tonight, but they're not the only ones who've struggled over the last seven days. Shane Victorino is hitting .105/.227/.158. Ryan Howard is producing at a .188/.316/.375 clip. Placido Polanco is hitting just .200/.294/.333. They've also run into some problems on the mound, posting a 6.58 ERA over the same stretch. For the Phillies, Joe Blanton (1-2, 5.06) looks to build on a solid, seven-inning start in his previous outing. He'll face lefty Hisanori Takahashi, who shut out the Yankees over six innings in his first start since moving from the bullpen to the rotation. The Phillies (26-18) maintain a three-game lead over the Marlins in the bunched-up National League East. Only four games separate the Phils from the last-place Nats and Mets.

Notes: Before the game, it was revealed that Carlos Ruiz has been playing through a sore shoulder since late April, reportedly making it difficult to throw. ... It would be impossible for close Scott Mathieson to pitch any better than he has for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. According to Morning Call beat writer Jeff Schuler, Mathieson "made his eighth save look easy Tuesday night, getting the final three outs on just nine pitches. That's after throwing 28 pitches the night before in a two-inning save." The 26-year-old right-hander is 2-0 with a 0.76 ERA, 5 saves and a 26/6 K/BB ratio in 23 2-3 innings. ... Yesterday in Reading, right-hander Drew Naylor tossed a three-hit, complete-game shutout over Portland. He's 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA this month. Both Mathieson and Naylor are included on the Phillies' 40-man roster... Finally, Beerleaguer's senior correspondent scouted Lakewood this weekend and offered his take over e-mail on former first-rounder Anthony Hewitt: "Horrible, horrible."

Comments

[Gsl]

Sophist- We do probably have differences in our opinions on hitting philosophy but IIRC that was more of the discussion last night.

Tonight, as you say, I noticed another failed opportunity to score with a guy on 3rd, < 2 outs, and its contribution to the offensive funk.

Wasn't trying to draw any conclusions about an individual ability or long term team performance. If I was, you and others are right, I better come with the numbers.

I maintain that a big problem recently has been leaving those easy runs on base. The runs that can score without a hit. I don't feel like it should take a huge amount of statistical analysis to show this.

[Old Phan]

I had a "feeling" that last night would be the night Cholly would have the team meeting. Glad they're having it tonight.
My feeling about the meeting was right, but my feeling it would be last night was wrong.

[GBrettfan]

Breaking news from Comcast Sportsnet: Rumor has it that Jayson Werth shaved his beard. In a reverse Samson move?