Hamels knocked around in 5-4 loss to Marlins

PBR - With the other starters in the Phillies rotation either struggling or injured, Cole Hamels was out on the mound Saturday afternoon in pursuit of his league-leading ninth win against the Marlins.

He'll have to wait, however, as Miami scored five unanswered runs after being down three to come back and beat the Phils, 5-4, in divisional play at Citizens Bank Park.

Hamels pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits despite fanning eight Marlins in only his second loss.

With the Phillies leading 3-2 in the sixth inning, Miami third basemen Hanley Ramirez hit his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to take the lead for the Marlins. An inning later, Jose Reyes doubled in Chris Coghlan for the insurance run.

Miami closer Heath Bell came out in the ninth inning for the save.

Ramirez ended the day 2-for-4 with three RBI and teammate Logan Morrison also went 2-for-4 on the game.

For the Marlins (30-23), starter Ricky Nolasco gave up four earned runs over seven-plus innings of work in the winning effort.

Juan Pierre moved himself up to third base in the first inning with a steal, then another 90 feet for his 999th run scored in his career to put the Phillies (28-26) up 1-0.

Next inning, veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins unintentionally dribbled one to the left side of the infield for a perfect RBI-single that plated Placido Polanco before Hunter Pence led off the third with a solo shot to right for the 3-0 lead.

Pence added another RBI on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to put the Phils within a run. He finished 1-for-2.

Out of the Phils bullpen, Chad Qualls, Michael Schwimer and Raul Valdes made appearance in relief of Hamels.

Tomorrow, the rubber match will feature Joe Blanton (4-4, 4.96 ERA as starter) for the Phillies against Miami pitcher Carlos Zambrano (3-3, 3.00 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 1:35.

Kendrick continues to impress, bullpen shaky in 6-4 win against Fish

PBR - Recently, it doesn't really look like anything can faze Kyle Kendrick.

Not the heat, not the rain ... not even a long delay can rattle him.

The right-handed spot starter threw 5 1/3 innings, allowing a pair of runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in the Phillies' 6-4 win over the Marlins Friday night in a rainy Citizens Bank Park.

Kendrick has pitched well this season, posting a 3.27 ERA in seven starts and also going 2-1 with a 1.91 ERA in his last five starts against National League East opponents.

After Miami jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Giancarlo Stanton's RBI double that scored second basemen Omar Infante in the top of the first inning, Hector Luna singled in both Placido Polanco and Hunter Pence to take the advantage right back.

Luna added an RBI double in the seventh inning to give the Phillies a four-run lead.

Phils catcher Carlos Ruiz has put his average up to .381 with a 3-for-4 night against the Marlins. Chooch now has enough at-bats to qualify for a batting title, putting him into a race with San Francisco left fielder Melky Cabrera for the N.L. lead.

Also, Polanco finished the night 3-for-5 to raise his batting average to .284 for an off-an-on Phils lineup that was hitting on all cylinders with 14 hits Friday.

Kendrick got himself into a jammed with the bases loaded in the third, but got Marlins' outfielder Logan Morrison to ground into a double play and escape any damage.

After nearly an hour-long rain delay, Pence (3-for-4 batting) smashed a two-run home run for the Phillies (28-25) off Miami starter Mark Buehrle to make it 4-1 in the fifth.

Buehrle ended the night allowing four runs on 11 hits in the loss for the Marlins (29-23), who are now just 1 1/2 games above the Phillies in the N.L. East.

Jimmy Rollins hit a roller to first in the sixth inning with one out that scored Freddy Galvis on a hit-and-run to go up 5-2 after Miami added a run itself.

Chad Qualls came in relief for Kendrick. Jose Contreras also made an appearance, albeit a short one due to an injury on the delivery of one of his pitches.

Antonio Bastardo pitched out of the bullpen, giving up back-to-back homers to Morrison and pinch-hitter Justin Ruggiano before rookie Jake Diekman came into the game in the eighth and surrendered a few base runners.

Jose Reyes was 3-for-4 on the game for the Marlins and Morrison went 1-for-5.

Phils closer Jonathon Papelbon had to rescue the 'pen in the eighth for the eventual five-out save, his 15th in as many appearances - tying him for the N.L.-lead.

On Saturday, the southpaw Cole Hamels (8-1, 2.43 ERA) will go for win No. 9, opposed by Miami starter Ricky Nolasco (5-3, 4.26 ERA) in the second game of the series against the Marlins at home. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05.

Late Offense Sparks Phils

PBR- With both starters having strong outings, the Phillies outlasted the Mets. Cliff Lee threw six innings and gave up three runs, while Dillon Gee threw six and two-thirds giving up only two runs.

Late game bursts in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings produced six runs for the Phillies as they went on to win 10-6.

Jimmy Rollins had three hits, one of which was a homerun in the top of the ninth that drove in three runs and solidified Philadelphia's lead.

Right fielder Lucas Duda drove in two runs for New York on a home run off of Lee in the bottom of the sixth.

The Phillies move to 27-25, helping gain on their division rival Mets.

Tomorrow Kyle Kendrick faces off against Mark Buehrle, as the Phillies travel back to Citizens Bank Park to take on the Miami Marlins.

Hamels, Wigginton lead Phillies over Mets on Memorial Day

PBR - Starting a series at Citi Field, Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels was set to face the one team in the division that he has never quite got a hold on facing - the New York Mets.

That said, there's nothing that seems to be derailing Hamels this year.

He went eight innings, giving up four runs with six strikeouts in not his best start but one good enough for his eighth win on the season (tied for MLB-lead) as the Phils beat the Mets, 8-4, on Memorial Day in division play.

After first basemen Ty Wigginton knocked in the go-ahead run with a single off Mets reliever Bobby Parnell that plated shortstop Jimmy Rollins in the seventh inning, he wasn't finished with his contribution from the dish just yet.

Wigginton added some insurance with a three-run bomb in the ninth to break it open. He was 3-for-3 on the day with a career-high six RBI.

Phillies closer Jonathon Papelbon came out of the bullpen in a non-save situation, working a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Hamels is now 8-1 with a 2.43 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP as he continues his early quest for his first National League Cy Young award.

Tied 2-2 in the sixth, both teams added two more runs when Phillies left fielder John Mayberry, Jr. crushed a fastball off New York starter Jon Niese for a two-run home run to take the lead back.

Then, Mets Scott Hairston drilled his own two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-4.

With the inconsistent accuracy and the Phils' offense working counts, Niese was out after five innings and four runs due to a high pitch count despite seven strikeouts.

With the win, the Phillies (26-24) are now 1 1/2 games behind New York (27-22) in the NL East standings, and four games back of first-place Washington (29-20 record after loss Monday to Marlins).

On Tuesday night, Joe Blanton (4-3, 4.45 ERA as starter) will be on the mound for the Phillies against Mets rookie Jeremy Hefner. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 at Citi Field.

Phils ride Kendrick's shutout in 4-0 win over St. Louis

PBR - If only this success at Busch Stadium could have come late last year ...

The Phillies picked up its fourth-straight victory after defeating the Cardinals, 4-0, Saturday night to put the club's record to 25-23.

Kyle Kendrick made another statement in his start for the Phils, proving he is capable of filling in as a spot starter whenever called upon with his first complete-game shutout of his career, giving up seven hits with four strikeouts against St. Louis (25-22) in his first win this year.

Kendrick has pitched well in his six starts on the season, posting a 3.25 ERA and ultimately throwing well enough each time out for the offense to win ballgames. He is now 5-1 with a 2.63 ERA in six career starts against the Cardinals.

Shane Victorino lined an RBI-double that scored Hunter Pence in the fourth inning to take the 1-0 lead for the Phils.

In the sixth, John Mayberry Jr. hit a two-run double down the line that easily scored Placido Polanco and Pence before Freddy Galvis knocked in Victorino the next at-bat with a single for his 23rd RBI (leads MLB rookies) to make it 4-0.

Pence went 2-for-3 at the plate, helping to slowly lift his batting average (.259) over the last few games and backup catcher Brian Schneider had a 2-for-4 with a double night filling in for Carlos Ruiz on his day off. 

Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia tossed six innings, allowing four runs on six hits with six strikeouts in the losing effort.

For St. Louis, third basemen David Freese was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles in the game.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who was robbed of a leadoff home run by Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday, hasn't been able to find an answer, now batting a measly .225 after going 0-for-5 Saturday.

Roy Halladay (4-4, 3.58 ERA) will try to get five wins straight and the sweep for the Phillies Sunday when he faces Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (3-5, 4.78 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 2:15 at Busch Stadium.

Lee gets no-decision in Phillies 5-3 win against Cards in 10 innings

PBR - Cliff Lee did everything he could to get his first win of the season, from throwing a quality start on the mound to helping his cause offensively.

Even though that wait for the first victory will be longer for Lee, a good sign was the lineup deciding to show up late as the Phillies defeated St. Louis, 5-3, in 10 innings Friday night at Busch Stadium.

Lee allowed three runs on eight hits over seven innings of work, striking out seven and walking three in the no-decision. The lefthander might not have a win yet, but still holds a sub-3.00 ERA (2.82) and a WHIP of 0.96, both impressive numbers.

His most impressive play, though, might have been his ability to get the leadoff single in the top of the seventh, then later scoring the tying run on a double by Juan Pierre to pull the Phillies even at 3-3. The pitcher was perhaps the best hitter on the night for the Phillies, not a very good sign. Lee went 2-for-3 batting on the night.

In the 10th, Hunter Pence hit an opposite-field, two-run home run for his 11th of the season that proved to be the game-winner after closer Jonathon Papelbon slammed the door for his National League-leading 14th save.

Kyle Lohse made the start for the Cardinals (25-21), giving up two runs - one unearned - in 6 1/3 innings for the no-decision. 

Jose Contreras and the left-handed rookie Jake Diekman both came on to pitch a scoreless eight inning in relief of Lee, who seemed like he still had some left in the tank despite hurling 111 pitches.

Who could blame a guy trying to get his first win with little to no run support almost two months into the year?

Phils reliever Raul Valdes, a day after recording his first win with the Phillies, pitched the ninth inning and gets his second win after surviving a small jam that saw the winning run in scoring position.

Jimmy Rollins got things started for the Phillies (24-23) with a two-out single in the second inning that drove in Polanco before Pierre chopped one in the infield that was botch defensively, helping to score Galvis for a 2-0 lead.

Cardinals center fielder Shane Robinson doubled off Lee to plate Matt Adams to cut the lead in half at 2-1 in the bottom half of the inning.

After Cards shortstop Rafael Furcal hit a solo home run that just got over the wall (after further review) in the third to tie the game, Yadier Molina drove in David Freese to take the lead. Freese went 1-for-5, with his lone hit a triple off the center field wall that Shane Victorino lost in the air at the warning track.

The third game in the four-game set will bring Kyle Kendrick (0-3, 4.33 ERA as starter) to the mound for the Phils against lefty Jaime Garcia (3-2, 3.55 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 at Busch Stadium.

Saint Joseph's eliminated from A-10 tournament in 6-0 loss to Saint Louis

PBR - With its third game in less than 24 hours, Saint Joseph's stalled out against top-seeded Dayton in the final game of an impressive run through the A-10 Tournament this week, losing 6-0 to the Billikens Friday night at Houlihan Park in Bronx, N.Y.

With some excellent starting pitching, the Hawks (25-32) were able to hang around much longer than most expected being a lower seed. However, come tournament time, days of rest are not on your side, and the back end of the rotation has to set up.

It was Hawks sophomore pitcher Jordan Carter that was put to the test.

To start, Carter put two Billikens on right away before dodging a jam and ultimately surviving the inning unscathed. Carter would finish the night after 4 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in the loss.

Saint Louis (41-17) did put three runs on the board, however, over the second and third innings when catcher Connor Gandessy and Alec Sole added back-to-back RBI singles, then junior outfielder Alex Kelly hit a double in the fourth and scored on the next at-bat to give the Billikens a 3-0 advantage.

Lansing Veeder took the hill in relief of Carter, who stranded Kelly at second. Kelly would eventually score on a single from first basemen Mike Vigliarolo for a 4-0 lead for Saint Louis.

The Billikens, who will face Richmond in the next round, added two more runs in the ninth inning.

Out of the bullpen, Mike Muha,Tim Ponto and Jimmy Yacabonis made appearance for the Hawks.

Saint Louis starter Clay Smith was superb, throwing a three-hit shutout with four strikeouts.

Offensively, the only Hawks to register hits off Smith were Brian O'Keefe and Brett Tiagwad, who went 2-for-3 on the night.