JrBB Phillies

            On an absolutely beautiful evening at Fleet Park, we saw a precursor to the Phillies of 2007.  37 Phillies batters went to the plate in 4 innings.  We had 2 Ks, 6 walks and the rest were either hits or ROE.  Impressive offensive production!  Couple that with 2 errors and you can score a lot of runs, while holding the opponent to a few.

            Orion pitched very well to open, throwing 50 pitches in 3 innings, recoding 7 Ks, 1 ER on 1 hit.  Peyton pitched well in the 4^th, with 1 ER and a K.  He struggled a bit in the 5^th, before being relieved by Justin, for his Junior Baseball debut.  Justin’s ER average approached triple figures!! But it was a good first outing.  Orion finished the 5^th to get us out of there before parents started getting antsy.

            Defensive plays coupled with the 9 Ks, included a strike ‘em out/throw ‘em out double play to end the first.  Orion struck out the lead-off batter and the 2-slot batter reached on a poolee error.  Orion struck out the #3 batter and Joe gunned down the runner going to third.  We started the scoring early in the bottom of the 1^st. Peyton singled and scored on a PB.  Orion doubled and scored (I believe) on Joe’s ROE.  Poolee Bashara ROE before Dirk RBI’d Joe.  After 1:  Phillies 3, Pirates 0.

            In the top of the 2^nd, Orion hit the lead-off and #2 flied out to Austin at second.  Their # 6 batter ROE, scoring the runner before Orion struck out the last 2 batters.  Austin got in the books with his first base hit of the season to lead-off the 2^nd.  With 1 out, George singled to deep left-center.  Justin GO to SS, but scored Austin.  Peyton GO to end the rally.  After 2:  Phillies 4; Pirates 1.

            In the 3^rd, Orion K’d the first 2 batters.  The Pirate lead-off reached on a dribbler and the next batter walked, both runners eventually moved into scoring position.  A key defensive play was Justin’s catch in center, which he covered significant ground to get to, retired the side with the Pirates’ clean-up batter on-deck.  Orion led off the 3^rd with a triple to the fence in center, and scored on Joe’s single to left.  Dirk hit into a FC and Kyle ROE.  Austin hit into FC, scoring Dirk on a play at the plate.  The next sequence isn’t pretty, but it scored a lot of runs and I can’t be sure of the RBIs.  Chris, George and Orion all ROE, before Joe walked, scoring Kyle.  Dirk hit a shot to SS, beat the throw and scored at least Chris and George.  Don’t know how Orion got home, so I’ll give Dirk credit for that RBI, as well.  Kyle GO to the mound to retire the Phillies, but not before they had plated 8 runs, sending 13 batters to the plate.  After 3:  Phillies 12; Pirates 1.

            In the 4^th, Peyton relieved Orion, and Orion paid him back by snatching a liner to short for the lead-off out.  3 batters walk, one of them scoring on a PB, before Peyton got his first K.  With runners in scoring position a second key defensive play was made by Kyle at 2^nd, catching a fly to retire the Pirates.  Phillies piled on in the bottom of the 4^th, scoring 7 more runs on 12 plate appearances.  Don’t have any idea about these RBIs, but it all started with a lead-off walk to Austin.  Chris, George, Justin and Peyton all hit clean signles and all went on to score.  Orion GO before Joseph walked to reach base for the 4^th time of the night.  Kyle walked and scored before Austin got his second base hit of the night and we left 2 runners in scoring position when George flied out to SS.  After 4:  Phillies 19; Pirates 2.

     In the top of the 5^th, we threw a lot of pitches but not enough strikes to keep from seeing 13 Pirate batters come to the plate and score 7 runs, all earned on either walks or their 1 base hit.  Justin made his pitching debut in relief of Peyton, and Orion relieved Justin for the last 3 batters to get us out of there.  After 4 ½:  Phillies 19; Pirates 9.

            With the win, the Phillies take a half game lead in the Division.  We next play at Aragona-Pembroke on Saturday, May 27^th at 4:00, against the AP-1 Red Sox.  We come out of the Memorial Day holiday with a 6:00 game against the Royals.  Have a great and safe holiday weekend.

    The game on this day was the re-scheduled game from the rain-out on 15 April.  With a tornadoes watch in effect and Mike Milligan umpiring, we took the field as the home team.  Our defense started in the first inning and played excellent baseball for that inning and 4 more.  It goes without saying that Jacob pitched a "top shelf" game--5 innings, 57 pitches.  It also goes without saying that our defense played "Phillies" baseball--2 errors, every position except right field recorded an out or an assist.  Joseph caught another exceptional game, allowing no runs on PB.  [Coach/'Dad' Miller can't charge Marcus with an error in order to record this as a No Hitter--it's kind of like did you really make the birdie if it was a 2 foot gimme.]  Jacob was in full command of the game from the mound.  He threw 29 pitches through 3 innings--36 through 4, finishing with 57 total.  He walked only 2, struck out 6.

    In the opening stanza, Marcus caught a fly ball off the lead-off batter.  Peyton gloved the second fly in center off the Yankees pitcher.  The 'no-hitter' was spoiled when Zack hit a sharp line drive to short for a single, and ended up on 2nd when aggressive defenders uncovered 2nd base.   On the first of only 2 walks, Zack went home on the only PB that could have resulted in a run, but was called out for not sliding with a play a the plate.  In our half, we sent 8 batters up.  Jacob singled and Sam ROE by center field.  Marcus singled to load the bases.  All these hits were powerful drives to the outfield.  Peyton followed suit with another shot to left center, scoring Jacob.  Sam scored on a PB to Orion, who walked to re-load the bases.  Joe didn't play traditional, conservative baseball!  With 2 strikes, he lays down a Milner sacrifice bunt, scoring Marcus who was going on a squeeze when Joe fouled off strike 2!  [Good initiative, good execution, Joe!]  Austin grounded to 1st for the 2nd out, scoring Peyton.  After 1:  Phillies 4; Yankees 0.

    The 8 pitch 2nd didn't take long.  Jacob struck out the first and third batter on 7 pitches.  He did hit the second batter who stole second.  On the steal attempt to third, Joe threw to Orion who was waiting fro Cooper, out but feet!  Phillies sent 8 more batters to the plate in the 2nd.  Chris 'took one for the team' to lead-off.  Jacob ROE to right, scoring Chris.  Sam flied out and Marcus tripled to the fence, scoring Jacob and chasing Liam off the mound.  Liam was replaced by Scotty Heller.  Peyton's 5-3 GO scored Marcus from 3rd.  Orion and Joe walked before Austin GO for the 3rd out.  After 2:  Phillies 7; Yankees 0.

    The 9-pitch 3rd inning started off with a 3-pitch K.  A U3 Go to Sam and a 5-3 GO (Orion to Sam) finished off the first 10 Yankee batters of the game.  Phillies didn't score in the bottom of the 3rd, despite getting the first two batters on base.  George was HBP and replaced at first by Chris.  Josh singled to right on a Texas-leaguer, but Chris was CS at third.  Although Josh stole his way to 3rd, Jacob flied out to SS and Sam GO to 2nd.  After 3:  Phillies 7; Yankees 0.

    In the 7-pitch 4th, Jacob helped himself in a 1-3 GO of the #2 Yankee hitter.  Josh "I want the ball" Coplon gloved a fly in short right for the second out.  Big George brought the crowd to their feet by catching a towering fly to left to retire the heart of the Yankee order.  Looking for 3 runs in the bottom of the 4th, the Phillies got 4 when they again sent 8 batters to the plate.  Marcus ROE to SS and stole 2nd.  Peyton walked before Orion singled, scoring Marcus.  With 2 outs, George singled to the line in right, scoring both Peyton and Orion.  George advanced to 3rd on a PB and a sharp single to left by Josh.  Always working the crowd, George scored on a PB during Jacob's at-bat, before Jacob GO to the pitcher.  After 4:  Phillies 11; Yankees 0.

    The 5th was the longest top half inning of the game.  Kelleher walked on 7 pitches and stole 2nd and 3rd.  With Kelleher constantly threatening to steal home, Joe kept every ball in front, to deny the opportunity.  Meanwhile Jacob struck out 2 batters before nearly preserving the shut out by initiating a stellar run-down of Kelleher caught in no-man's land.  An errant throw to Orion, allowed Kelleher to score before Jacob struck out the last batter.  After 4 1/2:  Phillies 11; Yankees 1.  Game over before the storm.

    We sent 28 batters to the plate with only 3 strike outs, the Yankees sent 17!  With the exception of right field, every defensive position recorded either an out or an assist.  2 errors allowed only 1 run.  Phillies looked real good in this game.  Team defense shows that practice pays off and demonstrates the confidence that each player has in his own ability and in the ability of his team mates.  Batters putting the ball in play makes good things happen!  Intelligent at-bats allow runners to be in position to put pressure on the defense.  Aggressive base running amplifies that pressure. 

            Wow!  The scorebook looks like Egyptian hieroglyphics!  We tried some things at AP, and most of them worked well.  Chris got his first basehit of the season and also showed he can hit the ball hard.  (He plans to send Coach O’Donnell a “Thank You  Note.”  We sent 50—yep 50!—batters to the plate and struck out only 4 times.  Peyton showed well in his journeyman trip to the mound in the late innings.  No Triplett-coached team has ever had that many lineup changes in 3 games let alone 7 innings.  Keep up now, and we’ll see if we can closely re-create what happened today.

            Our first trip to AP was enjoyable, if excruciatingly long.  The Director of the Junior Division was official scorekeeper and we kept her busy AND she never lost her sense of humor.  The umpires were excellent; the Rangers Coach was professional.  We led off the first and got on the board quickly.  Jacob walked but was out on Sam’s FC.  Marcus singled and Orion walked to load the bases.  Peyton singled, scoring Sam and leaving the bases full.  Josh walked, scoring Marcus.  Justin ROE, scoring Orion, before the Rangers doubled us out of the inning.  After Jacob struck out the #1, 2, 3 batters on 14 pitches, the score was Phillies 3; AP Rangers 0.

            We added a run in the 2^nd off a single by Marcus scoring Jacob who had ROE.  Prior to the run, Chris got his first base hit on a shot to left.  He advanced to 2^nd on Jacob’s ROE, but was caught trying to stretch it to 3^rd.  Jacob struck out batters 4 & 5 before letting the next 2 on (walk & HBP) and then struck out the last batter to maintain his no-hitter.  After 2:  Phillies 4; AP Rangers 0.

            Josh drew a lead-off walk to open the 3^rd.  Chris also walked, with 2 outs.  Jacob ROE again, scoring Josh.  Sam doubled to right center, scoring Chris before Marcus flied out to retire the Phillies.  Jacob recorded his 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th strikeout in the bottom of the 3^rd, allowing only one batter to ROE.  After 3:  Phillies 6; AP Rangers 0.

            Orion and Peyton hit back-to-back singles to right to start the 4^th.  Dirk reached on an FC and Kyle walked loading the bases—Peyton at 3rd, Dirk at 2^nd.  Peyton scored when the catcher threw down to 1^st on a dropped 3^rd strike to Austin.  Joe singled to center, scoring Dirk before Jacob GO ending the top of the 4^th.  IN the bottom half, Jacob laid off on striking everyone out.  The first 2 batters were retired 1-3; the next 2 walked, before Jacob got his 10^th strikeout to strand those 2 runner.  After 4:  Phillies 8;  AP Rangers 0.

            In the 5^th, Sam was called out for stepping out of the box on a shot to center.  Marcus walked and eventually scored on a PB during Dirk’s at bat.  Josh singled but was out when Kyle reached on FC.  Peyton had walked and Dirk was HBP, and the Phillies left the bases loaded in the 5^th.  Peyton relieved Jacob in the bottom half, making his Junior Division debut on the mound.  He faced on 5 batters, struck out 1 and walked 2.  He helped his own cause by gunning down the lead-off after a brief moment of “if I can only find the ball!”  For some reason, the Rangers tried to steal home with bases loaded, and 2 outs.  They must not have recognized Marcus, the 3^rd Phillies catcher of the game.  Nobody steals home on Marcus or the Phillies!   After 5:  Phillies 9; AP Rangers 0.

            In the bottom of the 5^th, Justin, Josh and Chris re-entered the game and Jacob, Sam and Orion stayed in the dugout.   So, the batting order in the top of the 6^th was much changed.  Joe led off and ROE.  Justin, batting in the #1 slot, laid down a superb bunt and advanced Joe to second.  Chris struk out, but the 2-3 play on the dropped ball allowed Joe to go to 3^rd.  Marcus doubled to left center, scoring Joe.  Josh, batting #4 now, singled and both runners advanced into scoring position.  Peyton’s shot to 3^rd was misplayed, scoring Marcus.  In the bottom half of the 6^th, Josh caught a clothes line shot to short to get the inning started.  Batter #6 walked and then Dirk U3 for the 2^nd out.  Strikes got kind of hard to come by after that.  2 more batters walked to load the bases.  The Rangers’ lead-off hit a 2-0 pitch over right field fence for a grand slam.  We just figured we’d loaded ‘em up again to see if the Rangers could do that again!  Orion came off the bench to relieve Peyton on the mound, threw one pitch, which Marcus promptly expressed to Josh to catch the runner off 2nd.  After 6:  Phillies 11;  AP Rangers 4.

            In the last stanza, the game now approaching 2.5 hours, Orion, Sam & Jacob returned to the line-up in slots 7, 8, 9.  Orion got a lead-off singled but stretched it into a 9-6 out at second.  Sam walked on 4 pitches and scored on Jacob’s double to right-center.  Justin laid down an even better bunt this time around, advancing Jacob to 3^rd and reaching base safely.  Chris hit another long fly ball to right, to make sure everyone knew the first one wasn’t a fluke.  Marcus struck out, but the catcher dropped the 3^rd strike and—believe it—2 runs scored on the play.  Josh also hit a deep fly to center, but the offense for the Phillies and logged 3 more runs.  Trying to save pitchers for Monday’s game now became a priority. Orion allowed back-to-back singles and the 3^rd batter ROE.  Sam came on in relief with the bases loaded.  He waked and hit the first 2 batters.  Then struck out the next 2 (Triplett’s MO).  He walked the next and the bases were loaded when the next batter ROE before Sam retired the Rangers with another K.

            Overall, the Phillies played well, demonstrating that a lot of them can play a lot of positions.  Chris and Josh hit the ball very well.  Justin’s bunts were timely and well executed.  Top of the order (or was it the bottom) was strong again.  Peyton pitched very well for his first outing.  All the catchers (Sam, Joe, Marcus) kept runners from scoring on PBs, which can’t be said for the Rangers, despite the short back-stop.  Defensively we didn’t have much work to do in the first 4 innings, as Jacob was responsible for all 12 outs—10 Ks, two 1-3 GOs.  The 3 errors in the 7^th cost us both runs and pitching options for the next game, but that’s the next game.  Our 4 Ks in 50 batters is impressive.  The Rangers only sent 37 batters to the plate and struck out 14 times.

            Next games are both against the Yankees—Monday and Thursday, May 8^{th (Away)} and 11^th(home).  Check your socks!!

            After our first game against the Yankees was rained out, we played a cold one on Monday night.  The game didn’t start off well, with an error on the first defensive play and then went down hill for an inning and a half as Sam struggled on the mound, facing 8 batters, throwing 40 pitches in the 1^st.  Fortunately, we caught a runner trying to stretch a PB to second and Sam struck out two to retire the Yankees with 3 runs.  Phillies got 1 back in the bottom of the 1^st, when the Yankees allowed Jacob, batting lead-off to ROE.  With 2 outs, Peyton hit his first of three singles to score Jacob.  After 1:  Yankees 3; Phillies 1.

            In the 2^nd, Peyton threw out the runner from right field, a surprise to everyone at Field #1 except Peyton and Dirk, playing 1^st base.  Three Yankee runs scored before we recorded the second out on a fly to Jacob in center.  With the bases juiced, Orion relieved Sam on the mound.  The defense didn’t make Orion’s task any easier as we let 2 batters ROE before he struck out their 10^th batter.  IN the bottom of the 2^nd, Joe walked but was out at 2^nd on Austin’s FC.  Josh pinch ran for Austin and Kyle was HBP.  Josh scored on a PB and with 2 outs, Jacob singled to right, scoring Kyle.  Sam followed with another single to right, scoring Jacob before the Phillies were shut down.  After 2:  Yankees 8; Phillies 4.

            Yankees lead-off walked and their second batter ROE to start the 3^rd.  Another catch in center by Jacob held the runners, but both scored on a double before Orion recorded his 3^rd and 4^th K.  Phillies kept coming back in the 3^rd.Peyton singled and Dirk walked, before George hit a sacrifice to center.  Justin bunted his way on to load the bases, in an exhibition of razzle-dazzle base running by “Wheels” Vaughan.  Kyle’s pulled single to right scored both Peyton and Dirk.  Jacob hit a 2-out double to score Kyle, as the Phillies closed the gap to 2.  After 3:  Yankees 10; Phillies 8.

            Yankees retired in order in the 4^th on 2 Ks and a U2, when Sam collected a dribbler in front of the plate and tagged the runner 1 stride from home.  The Phillies inched a run closer in the 4^th.  Orion singled but would eventually be cut down taking home.  Peyton got his 3^rd single of the game before Dirk walked.  George singled in Peyton and advanced Dirk to 3^rd, who also was cut down taking home, before Justin flied out to SS.  After 4:  Yankees 10; Phillies 9.

            We had our chance going into the 5^th inning just before the time expired, but allowed the Yankees to score 3 runs after the Phillies retired the first 2 batters.  Down 4 going into the bottom of the 5^th, the Phillies sent 6 batters to the plate.  Josh stroked a sharp 1-out single to left and advanced to 2^nd on a busted pick-off play.  Jacob flied out to SS before Sam singled to left, scoring Josh.  Orion doubled, scoring Sam before Peyton walked to put the tying run on base.  Unfortunately, Orion was caught going home on a PB and the game ended with the Phillies down by 2.

            Odd game in a lot of respects; very positive in others.  We scored 11 runs on 13 hits.  Yankees scored 13 runs on 3 hits, but benefited from 9 walks and 9 errors.  The bottom half of our batting order (5-9) went to the plate 15 times and struck out only 3 times.  This is a direct result of the emphasis being placed on hitting at recent practices.  Justin and Kyle got their first base hits of the season.  The throw out right-to-first is pretty rare.  The U2 on a batted ball is pretty unusual.  Joe worked hard behind the plate for 2 innings, but he likely came away pretty battered and bruised.  Kyle thought discretion the better part of valor after trying to field BBs and getting knocked down at 3^rd, but he’s up to the task for the next opportunity.  Outfield wasn’t as sharp as it is capable of—missed cut-offs too many times.  Orion pitched a good game in relief, especially since he was under the weather all weekend.  Too many walks in the first innings, too many passed balls and errors made for a game that only even hotter bats could counter.  We play our next game at Aragona-Pembroke on Saturday, 6 May—show time is noon.