Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Answer at game 162

The final series may mean something to both teams, because Jimmy Rollins and the Philadelphia Phillies might have a shot on October 3. Will you enjoy the journey or wait until September ends?

TAL’S HANDY CAPS

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Check out: Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Edge of the ledge

CAP-SIZE HINDSIGHT: 3-1 Triumph

TYPE	PLAYER	REASON
The Crystal Champagne Toast	Chooch Ruiz	Five-Star Performance
The Penthouse	Chase Utley Chooch Ruiz Nate Schierholtz Cole Hamels	* Hit A Sac-Fly RBI For A 1-0 Advantage In The 1st * Smacked An RBI Double To Take A 1st-Inning Lead Of 2-0 During His 3 For 4 Day * Produced An RBI Single, Increasing The 1st-Inning Score To 3-0 During His 2 For 4 Afternoon Escaped Runner-At-3rd 1-Out Jams In The 5th & The 6th Fired 7 Solid 5-Hit Innings
The Fun House Of Mirrors	Juan Pierre Chooch Ruiz	* Avoided A Hand Tag At 2nd In The 1st * Escaped A Line-Drive DP During The 1st
Rally Tal & Cap	5 Players & 3 Runs	* A BB (J-Roll), A Single (Pierre), A Sac-Fly RBI (Utley), An RBI Double (Chooch) & An RBI Hit (Schierholtz) In The 1st
The Workhouse	Home SP	* A 37-Pitch 1st Inning
The Animal House	Cole Hamels	Punched Out The 1st 3 Batters In The 1st
The Leather Warehouse	2 Starters	A Runner Gunned Down At Home By Brown (Throw) & Chooch (Plate Dive & Tag) In The 4th
The Kangaroo Court House	Cole Hamels	Had Throwing Errors In The 4th & The 6th
The Outhouse	3B Ump	Missed The Tag On The Over-Slide SB In The 6th

Above Asterisks ( *) = Corresponding Plays And/Or Events

MASKED SEPTEMBER NUMBERS:

GB 2nd WC: 3.5
2ND WC Pos: 5
Elimination No: 12

Video Revealed J-Roll’s HR In The 5th

NITECAP INSIGHT

The Final Day:

It has taken a smorgasbord of events for this season to unfold in this way. In fact, the end result has been a strange year, which is far from over. That said, there are more chapters in this book, which might include facing the Nats a second time during October. To start, the red pinstripes danced just beneath .500 with a hanging-on mentality, and then dropped into the cellar, languishing there for a long stay. Now, they are trying to float above the .500 mark.

Chase Utley Records The 1st-Inning Force Out At 2nd

Since some wonder why, there are reasons. Three of their stars had incremental maladies. Everyone knew since the previous NLDS that Ryan Howard was going to be on the DL in April. Chase Utley again had a balky-knee issue in March, and his presence was put on hold for a 2nd straight campaign. Doc Halladay dismissed early reports on his velocity, but his numbers started to deteriorate in May. When the good Doctor went on the shelf, the rotation lost its ace and anchor. Cliff Lee was battling the mental aspect of his adversity, and Cole Hamels initially struggled to fill Doc’s shoes. Then, they were locked in the basement until their 3 elite players got reacclimated.

Things would have been smoother with Hunter Pence, Shane Victorino and Joe Blanton, but the 3 returning performers were not completely productive until after the trading deadline. This also affected acquiring a veteran reliever for the 8th to set up Jonathan Papelbon. Meanwhile, Doc and Ryno are still not at their best.

Series 3:

TEAM	W - L	GMS	VERSUS
Cardinals	3 - 0	3	'Stros
Dodgers	1 - 2	3	@ Nats
Pirates	0 - 3	3	Brewers
Brewers	3 - 0	3	@ Pirates
D-Backs	2 - 1	3	@ Padres
Padres	1 - 2	3	D-Backs

* Series 2

Dom Triples In The 4th

Antonio Bastardo, Phillippe Aumont, Jeremy Horst and Josh Lindblom are going to succeed most of the time. That means it will take every single one of the 14 remaining games to earn a tie for the 2nd wild card. This final push is like Ryno in his battle with his healing body to do more than it can. The core 4, the horses, the closer and Chooch Ruiz–fighting through his foot problems–will not be enough without assistance from some unlikely heroes. The positive is that there are some candidates who will see an opportunity to taste championship champagne, knowing their contribution is critical. Caution: There are speed bumps along the way to the final 27 outs on the regular schedule in October, and until then there will be uncertainty, like 2007.

2nd Wild-Card Teams:

TEAM	W-L (8/31)	W - L	GB	W-L (SEPT)
Cardinals	71 - 61	84 - 72	-----	13 - 11
Dodgers	70 - 63	81 - 75	3.0	11 - 12
Brewers	63 - 68	80 - 76	4.0	17 - 08
Phillies	63 - 69	78 - 78	6.0	15 - 09
D-Backs	66 - 67	78 - 78	6.0	12 - 11

Tyler Cloyd Hurls A Dart On September 13 In Houston

PRECAP PITCH

Tyler Cloyd:

He has lasted 7 innings in 1 of 4 outings with 2 short-lived debacles. Against the Mets in late August at home, his ledger read: 6 complete, 7 hits, 3 all-earned runs, 2 BB and 5 whiffs on 102 tosses.

	STARTER	RECORD	TM	STARTER	RECORD	DAY & TIME
3	LHP Cliff Lee	06-08, 3.12 ERA	@ Nats	RHP Edwin Jackson	09-11, 4.13 ERA	Wednesday, Day

Matt Harvey Loads Up A 4-Seam Fastball At Home On September 12 Against The Nats

Matt Harvey:

He has worked 6.1 frames plus in 2 of 9 appearances with 2 clunkers. However, he is 0-2 with a 2.12 home ERA, which is 1.19 lower than on the road. His log against the Phils at the Bank in late August was: 6.1 innings, 6 hits, 2 both-earned runs, 2 free passes and 6 strikeouts on 98 bullets.

DELIVERY = PITCHER’S 2012	DEFINITION OF SEASON
Over The Top	Excellent
3-Quarter Sidearm	Good
Sidearm	Above Average
Short Arm	Approximately Average
Submarine	Below Average

Starters’ photos, not described otherwise, are in the 1st inning.

Quality number of the pitcher: 1 – 5

Slot on his club: 1 – 5

Ranking is 1 to 5 & 15 for the less adventurous.

*** = Approximately equal to after plus-and-minus computation

HURLER	B.J. Rosenberg	Gio Gonzalez
NUMBER	A Five	A Two
CLUB SLOT	Five	One
FOR 2012	1st Start	Over The Top
'12 RANKING	-- of 5 Categories	1st of 5 Categories
LAST START	1st Start	Changeup
LAST HIGH OR LOW	-- of 15 Categories	8th of 15 Categories

DISPLAY NOTE: Non-listed results can go up or down by

1 or 2 categories (This note will only appear when it’s relevant.)

* 1 Tick UP

	PITCH	INN	ER - R- H		PITCH	INN	ER
1	Gyroball	9 (CG)	0 - 0 - 3	10	Screwball	6	4
2	Fastball	9 (CG)	0 - 0	11	Knuckleball	5	3
3	Cutter	9 (CG)	3	12	Forkball	0 - 4.2	Monstrosity
4	Split Finger	7	2	13	Eephus Pitch	0 - 2.2	Disaster
5	Curveball	7	3	14	*Palm Ball	Ejected
6	Sinker	6.1	3	15	*Spit Ball	**Ejected+
7	Slider	6	2		*Breaking Ball	Injured
8	Changeup	6	3		*Fosh	Rain Interrupted
9	Slurve	5	2		*Knuckle Curve	Pitch Count
	** = Suspended				* = A 2nd Pitch Also

STATS APOCALYPTIC HORSEMEN CLIFF LEE
CLIFF'S LINE: 6 INN, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K & 109 DARTS

ACE	W - L	ERA	INN+	CONV	CG - SO	BAD	INN	ER	BB - IBB	SO
Total	34 - 23	3.48	6.1	59 of 86	2 - 2	12	582.2	225	114 -2	557
Hamels	17 - 06	3.05	6.2	21 of 31	2 - 2	03	215.1	073	050 - 2	218
Lee	06 - 09	3.16	6.1	23 of 30	0 - 0	02	211.0	074	028 - 0	207
Halladay	11 - 08	4.49	7.0	15 of 25	0 - 0	07	156.1	078	036- 0	132

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