Halladay is unable to hold onto lead as the Reds come from behind to defeat the Phils, 4-3.

Roy Halladay is hurt by the long ball as the Reds come from behind to defeat the Phils 4-3.

The Phils took a 3-0 lead in the fourth as, with two men on base, and with two men out, Dane Sardinha hits a three-run home run, his second home run of the season, scoring Jayson Werth, who had earlier singled, and had gone to second on Wilson Valdez’s single, and Valdez, who had just singled. Normally, that would tend to be enough with Roy Halladay on the mound, but it would not be so today. The Reds cut the Phils’ lead down to 3-1 in the sixth as Joey Votto hits a lead-off home run, his eighteenth home run of the season. The Reds then made it 3-2 Phils in the seventh as, with two men on, and with one man out, Orlando Cabrera hits an RBI single, scoring Ramon Hernandez, who had earlier singled, and went to third on Brandon Phillips’ double, while sending Philip, who had earlier doubled, over to third. The Reds then took the lead in the eighth as, with a runner on first, and with nobody out, Jay Bruce hits a two-run home run, his tenth home run of the year, knocking in Jonny Gomes, who had earlier singled, giving the Reds a 4-3 lead. That would be the final score as Francisco Cordero collects his twenty-first save of the season as, with a runner on second (pinch hitter Ross Gload, who had earlier got on base with a single, and then stole second), and with two men out, he got Shane Victorino to ground out, 4-3, to end the game.

Roy Halladay took the lost as he pitches eight innings, giving up four runs on thirteen hits, while he struck out ten. His record is now 9-7 with an ERA of 2.44. Aaron Harang receives a no-decision as he pitches six and a third innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk, while striking out five. Logan Ondrusek pitches two-thirds scoreless innings,  getting out both men that he would face. Arthur Rhodes gets the win as he pitches a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two batters. His record is now 2-1 with a 1.09 ERA. Francisco Cordero collects his twenty-first save of the year as a pitches a scoreless inning, giving up just one hit, while striking out a batter.

The Phils had nine hits in the game, with Shane Victorino and Wilson Valdez leading the team with two hits each, all singles.  Greg Dobbs, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Dane Sardinha and pinch hitter Ross Gload had the other five Phils’ hits, with Dobbs, Howard, Werth and Gload’s hits being singles, and Sardinha’s hit being a three-run home run, knocking in all of the Phils’ runs. The offense was not able to strike, although pushing Reds’ starter Aaron Harang’s pitch count up early and finally knocking him out of the game in the seventh, but not scoring more than three runs in the process.

The Phils (41-35, 3rd NL East) will continue their road trip with a four-game set against the Pirates (26-51, 6th NL  Central), starting tomorrow night. The game will be played at PNC Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils’ starter will be Cole Hamels (6-6, 4.08), who is coming off a lost against the Blue Jays on June 26, as he pitched only four innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks, while striking out three, in the Phils’ 5-1 lost. He will be trying to recover from that lost, hopefully not giving up any more home runs as he does so. The Pirates will counter with Daniel McCutchen (0-3, 11.00), who is coming off a lost against the A’s on June 26, as he went seven innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out two, in the Pirates’ 5-0 lost. He will be trying to keep the Phils’ offense off-balance. The Phils will try to recover from losing to the Reds by trying to feast on the lowly Pirates, who presently have the worst record in the National League.

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