NL East Daily Recap from 7-23-09

Ibanez keeps the Phils goin

The Philadelphia Phillies welcomed in the Padres to CBP to complete a rain-shortened series from April.  The Phillies battered around the San Diego starter and ace Cole Hamels got the win.  Seven different Phillies had RBI’s, including a two run double by Ibanez and a solo home run from catcher Carlos Ruiz.  Jayson Werth also continued to be hot, going 3-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.  Cole Hamels(6-5) went seven innings allowing three runs, all in the fourth inning and struck out six to get the victory by a score of 9-4.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more Phillies info, also with a piece on the Phillies latest injury news.

The Padres could only muster four runs against Philly pitching, and two of those came on a Kyle Blanks home run, his second of the year.  Starter Kevin Correia(6-8) didn’t keep them in the game long though as he gave up eight runs in only 3.1 innings.

The Padres move on to Washington for the weekend, as the St. Louis Cardinals, a more formidable opponent come into Citizens Bank Park to face the Phillies.

Zito looks good

The Giants were finally able to slow down the surging Braves yesterday in the series finale in Atlanta.  Zito(6-10) went seven innings of three hit ball giving up only one run, but he did walk five against six strike outs.  It looked for a while that his efforts would be for nothing, until the Giants offense broke through in the top of the eighth.  The Giants scored four in the eighth inning, but none of the runs were earned because of Brave errors while winning 5-1.

The Braves offense went silent yesterday, which hasn’t happened often.  They managed only one run, on a Yunel Escobar home run in the second inning and that topped off their scoring for the game.  Mike Gonzalez(3-3) took the loss as he didn’t record an out in the eighth but also did not take an earned run because of errors.  The Braves travel to Milwaukee this weekend for a three game set, check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

Balester gets a tough loss

Last night the Nationals looked to build on a series win against the Mets with the suddenly struggling Cardinals coming in.  The St. Louis Cardinals though, had other plans, as they won a rain shortened game by a score of 4-1.  Rick Ankiel hit a home run in the second inning as three other Cards had RBI’s including Mark DeRosa and Skip Schumaker.  Adam Wainwright(11-6) technically pitched a complete game, going six innings only allowing a single run, but striking out seven against eight hits.

The Nationals sent Colin Balester to the mound since rookie Jordan Zimmermann went on the disabled list.  Balester(0-1) lasted only three innings and left during a rain delay after giving up three runs, two earned and a home run.  Alberto Gonzalez drove Adam Dunn in with a sixth inning double for the Nats only run.  Make sure to check out the CenterfieldGate for more Nats information and insight.