Happ Beats Nats a Day Early

J.A. Happ threw two scoreless innings Friday night, and Raul Ibanez got the key hit, as the Phillies defeated the Nationals, 10-6. The Phils face the Nats in a doubleheader on Saturday, with Brett Myers taking the ball in the first game, and J.A. Happ getting the start in the...Wait. That's not going to work now, is it? What happened here? It's an interesting story, actually. A tale of exhilarating highs, and tragic, though not entirely unexpected, lows. A saga of heroes (Ryan Howard), villains (Willie Harris), and incompetence (the Usual Suspects).

With a doubleheader a day away, the Phillies needed starter Joe Blanton to eat some innings. The needed Eight-Inning Joe Blanton. (Well, maybe not the eight-inning/six-run Joe Blanton. The seven inning/four run version would be preferable, actually.) Blanton rose to the occasion and contributed...five innings/four runs allowed. Thanks, Joe! Blanton was actually fortunate to only surrender four runs, as he permitted five hits and six walks in his one-hundred and one pitch outing. It was lucky that he was facing one of the worst teams in MLB, or Blanton would have departed with worse than just a 4-1 deficit.

The Phillies rallied against the weak Nats' bullpen, scoring two runs in the sixth, and three more in the seventh. The three in the seventh came courtesy of a Ryan Howard homer, and gave the Phils a 6-4 lead. They just needed their bullpen to hold the lead for the final three innings. Scott Eyre (two outs) and Ryan Madson (four outs) got through the seventh and eighth, without any damage. Brad Lidge entered to close out the Nats in the ninth, with the Phils' WE at 95.4%, after he retired the first batter. A walk, a single, and a fielder's choice later, and the Nats had runners on first and second, with two outs. Fortunately, all that stood between the Phils and the win was journeyman infielder Willie Harris. He of the lifetime .669 OPS. Unfortunately, Harris chose this opportunity to produce offensively, and hit a game-tying double. Lidge was able to strike out Austin Kearns to end the inning, but another save had been blown. (Is it time to DL Lidge, and get AAA reliever Gary Majewski into the bullpen, with Ryan Madson taking over as closer? Quite possibly.)

The Phils were forced to burn reliever Clay Condrey in the tenth inning, and then pinch-hit for Condrey in the top of the eleventh. (Chris Coste, the only backup catcher/last position player on the bench at that point, was used as the pinch-hitter, which sentenced Carlos Ruiz to finish the game behind the plate. Given their weak bench options, I'd like to see Coste pinch-hit more. If Ruiz had to leave the game with an injury later, they could just move Jayson Werth behind the plate. Werth's father had appeared in six MLB games (two starts) as a catcher, so this should be fine. Then pitcher Brett Myers could enter the game as an outfielder, and alternate with Raul Ibanez in left or right, depending on the batter. The possibility of an oufield where Ibanez is the second-best defensively, and centerfielder Shane Victorino covers two-thirds of the ground, would be preferable to another Miguel Cairo pinch-hitting appearance. Besides, it is rather unlikely that Ruiz would get hurt, right?) Coste singled, but the Phils failed to score in the eleventh.

Manager Charlie Manuel had an unappetizing dilemma facing him in the bottom of the eleventh. He could use J.A. Happ, or Jack Taschner, to pitch. If he chose Happ, the Phillies could win Friday, but would have to get creative to handle the pitching shortfall on Saturday. If he chose Taschner, the Phillies would get to leave about four batters later with a loss, but with their Saturday pitching plan in place. Manuel made the right call, and brought in Happ. Happ did his job, and an Ibanez two-run single keyed a four-run twelfth. Happ had beaten Washington, just a day earlier than planned.

Drew Carpenter will be recalled from AAA to start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, with Miguel Cairo (finally!) DFA'd to free up a spot on the 25-Man Roster. (Carpenter was already on the 40-Man Roster.) I am assuming Cairo will still be available in the first game. (It might have been preferable to start Carpenter in the first game, and then option him back to AAA before the second game, in exchange for another player. A bullpen arm, such as Mike Koplove or Gary Majewski? Not sure why the Phillies didn't do that.) Considering that Jack Taschner was avoided on Friday night, his days may also be numbered. Brad Lidge was ineffective, again, so perhaps a DL trip is pending. The Phillies have much to consider, when determining roster moves in the next few days.

So, two Phillies games on Saturday. (How great is that?) Brett Myers needs to eat some serious innings in the opener. Drew Carpenter just needs to keep the Phils in the second game. A five-inning/four run outing would suffice. Yep. Carpenter just needs to put up a Blanton Start. Hopefully, the Phils can sweep today. They need these W's. And, hopefully, FOX will let out-of-market viewers watch the early game on MLB.TV.