The Phils take advantage of a less than stellar Tim Lincecum to score four runs in the first inning, before rolling along behind their own ace, Roy Halladay, to defeat the Giants, 5-2.
The Phils scored four first inning runs against their nemesis Tim Lincecum, before going on to beat the Giants, 5-2.
The Phils took the lead in the first as, with two men on, and with one man out, Hunter Pence hits an RBI single, scoring Placido Polanco, who had earlier doubled, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while sending Jimmy Rollins, who had just walked, up to second base. The Phils then took a 2-0 lead as Shane Victorino hits an RBI single, knocking in Rollins, while sending Pence on to second base. The Phils then made it a 4-0 lead as Laynce Nix hits a two-run double to the right field wall, scoring both Pence and Victorino. The Giants would get a run back in their half of the first as, with the bases loaded, via a single by Angel Pagan, a walk by Melky Cabrera, moving Pagan up to second base, and a single by Buster Posey, moving both runners up a base, and with one man out, Aubrey Huff hits a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Pagan, cutting the Phils’ lead down to 4-1, while sending Cabrera on to third base. The Phils got that run back in the fourth as, with a man on second, and with two men out, Roy Halladay helped himself with an RBI single, knocking in Freddy Galvis, who had just doubled, giving the Phils a 5-1 lead. The Giants would get that run back in their half of the fourth as, with runners on second and third, and with one man out, Tim Lincecum hits an RBI ground out, 5-3, knocking in Brandon Belt, who had started the inning off with a single, then stopped at third on Brandon Crawford’s double, making it a 5-2 Phils’ lead. That would remain the score as Halladay would shut down the Giants for the rest of the night, before handing the ball over to closer Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth, who would then record his third save of the season as he got Cabrera to ground out, 4-3, for the game’s final out.
Roy Halladay (3-0, 1.17) got the win as he pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on seven scattered hits and three walks, while striking out six. Jonathan Papelbon recorded his third save of the season as he threw a scoreless ninth, giving up a hit. Tim Lincecum (0-2, 10.54) took the lost as he pitched six innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and a walk, while striking out six Phils. Dan Otero and Jeremy Affeldt combined for three scoreless innings, giving up a hit (Otero) between them, while striking out two (one each).
The Phils had nine hits in the ballgame, with Hunter Pence (Singles, RBI) and Shane Victorino (Singles, RBI) both leading the team with two hits each. Placido Polanco (Double), Lanyce Nix (Double, 2 RBIs), Carlos Ruiz (Single), Freddy Galvis (Double) and Roy Halladay (Single, RBI) had the other four Phils’ hits, as the team got to Tim Lincecum early, thanks in part to Polanco’s first inning double dropping in between the center and right fielders. The Phils also had a walk and a hit batter in the game.
The Phils (5-5, T-3rd East) will continue their visit with the Giants (4-6, T-3rd West) with a night game later today. The game will be played at AT&T Park and will start at 10:15 pm EDT (7:15 pm PDT). The Phils will send to the mound Joe Blanton (1-1, 2.35), who is coming off a win against the Marlins on April 14, as he pitched seven strong innings, giving up only a run on three hits and a walk, while striking out three, in the Phils’ 3-1 win. He will be out to help lead the Phils to their third straight win, while hoping to improve on his previous start. The Giants will counter with Madison Bumgarner (1-1, 3.97), who is coming off a win against the Rockies on April 12, as he went seven and one-third innings, giving up a run on four hits and two walks, while striking out two, in the Giants’ 4-2 win. He will be trying to even up the series for the Giants. The Phils will be out to win their third straight game, while hoping that the offense will continue to score runs, as well as get hits.
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