The Phillies lost a “must” game to the Yankees, 7-2.  Now, even if they win out, they need help from the Blue Jays to win or force a tie for the division.

Elniery Garcia started and battled with less than his best stuff.  The Yankee batters were able to sit on his fast ball and make solid contact in a lot of their at bats.  Even so, he kept the Phillies in the game and certianly deserved better defense than that played behind him today.  My line for Garcia was 4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.  However, I am not the official scorer and his actual line was –

• 4.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
• He faced 21 batters and threw 12 first pitch strikes.
• He threw 73 pitches, 49 strikes.
• He got 10 swing-and-miss strikes, 8 called strikes, 16 fouls, and 15 balls in play.
• The 15 balls in play included 3 infield ground balls, 3 fly outs, 1 pop up, and 8 base hits.
• The 8 base hits included 4 line drive singles, 2 doubles off the left field wall, and 2 hard hit ground balls through Damek Tomscha at third.  One was waist high on his glove side where he didn’t have to move his feet and he whiffed on it. The other went right through the wickets.  The first miss didn’t figure in the scoring, the second miss scored in the fourth inning.
• Garcia had escaped the second inning when Grenny Cumana “ole-ed” a ground ball that would have been the third out.  This one was charged as an error.
• Garcia picked off a runner after a lead off walk in the second.

Alexis Rivero came on and pitched 3 innings of 4 hit ball.  He was in trouble in both the fifth and sixth innings.  A line drive double play back to the mound helped him out of the fifth.  Curious Yankees’ base runnng baled him out in the sixth.  With runners on first and second and one out, the runner on second started-stopped-started-and stopped.  The runner on first followed him but missed the second stop and got caught off first by catcher Joel Fisher to Jesus Posso to William Cuicas.  After the tag, Cuicas fired home to nail the other Yankee runner at the plate.  Rivero had a quiet 1-2-3 seventh inning.

Jaques De Gruy allowed 4 hits and a walk while giving up 3 runs in his 2 innings.

The Phillies scored a run when Olvy Marte was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.  Later in the game, Marte doubled in Carlos Duran who had doubled.

Gustavo Martinez went 2-4 with 2 singles.  William Cuicas had the only other hit, a two-out triple.

Cuicas entered the game to replace Venn Buter who made a sprawling, inning ending catch in the second inning.  He made an over-the-shoulder catch then landed awkwardly on the cinders that make up the warning track and crash/rolled into the fence.  I think he was lifted as a precaution.  I saw him walking around soon after, and he didn’t appear to be in any discomfort.

The last game of the regular season is at home on Thursday.