NewsPadres stung by Phillies team in stride
Defending World Series champs find form in San Diego
By Corey Brock / MLB.com
06/04/09 2:50 AM ET
SAN DIEGO -- They can swing it, and they can sling it. For three days here this week, the Philadelphia Phillies showed their World Series champion swagger, one that was missing in April when the Padres last saw this team at Citizens Bank Park. And we're not just talking about the Phillies' offense, here, even as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez certainly inflicted plenty of damage on the Padres in completing a three-game sweep that culminated with a 5-1 victory over the Padres on Wednesday. The Phillies pitching, a lot that surrendered 20 runs in three games in April to the Padres, 16 in two games alone, both San Diego victories, tied the Padres (25-28) in knots in this series, especially from the starting pitchers. "They're very well-balanced. They can attack you in many different ways," Padres second baseman David Eckstein said. "They can attack you with your speed, they can attack you with singles, attack you with home runs. That makes them very effective. "They had great pitching and great defense. That's how you win championships." Two days ago, it was Joe Blanton who limited the Padres to three runs in seven innings. A day later, rookie Antonio Bastardo, making his Major League debut, held the team to one run in six innings. On Wednesday, it was left-hander J.A. Happ, who tossed seven scoreless innings as the Phillies (31-20) successfully blew in and out of town with three performances that were eerily reminiscent of their magical World Series run a year ago. "Blanton threw well, the rookie [Bastardo] threw well and Happ, we just couldn't quite square the ball up against him," Padres manager Bud Black said. "That goes to show if you're pitching well and playing good defense ... that's a good formula." Happ, working against a lineup devoid of outfielder Scott Hairston, who went on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day with a strained left biceps, showed good command of his four-seam fastball, allowed four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Without Hairston, who was hitting .387 against left-handed pitching and with Happ ever so careful with Major League home run leader Adrian Gonzalez -- who had two walks to give him 12 in his last seven games -- the Padres (25-28) simply could avoid being swept at home for the first time this season. "It's going to hurt us to a certain extent," Black said of losing Hairston, who was leading the team with a .327 batting average. "We need guys to pick up the slack." The Padres, who entered Wednesday's game hitting .218 as a team against left-handed pitching, narrowly avoided their fifth shutout of the season. David Eckstein took care of that in the eighth inning with an RBI single. But that was essentially it for the offense, which scored nine runs during the three losses. It says something that when you're best offensive opportunity comes in the second inning with your pitcher [Chris Young] at the plate and the bases loaded. Young got a hold of a Happ fastball, sending it deep to right field where Greg Dobbs sprinted back and made an over-the-head catch. "That ball just seemed to hang up," Black said. "Dobbs was probably playing in with a pitcher up. He made a pretty nice play." San Diego pitcher Chris Young (4-5) allowed a two-run home run to Howard in the first inning, the second home run of the series for Howard. In all, the Phillies hit six home runs in the three games, including two by Ibanez on Tuesday. Young, who got 11 fly-ball outs, allowed three runs over six innings with three walks and three strikeouts. No, this Phillies bunch didn't resemble the team the Padres took two-of-three games from in April and narrowly missed a third victory when reliever Heath Bell was down because of overuse and rookie Edwin Moreno lost a ninth-inning lead. What's changed? "I think they're back to that old form. If they hit, they're in that swagger. But I think we can go out and pitch better," Bell said. "I think that was really the difference, the pitching."Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
