| Bill Meltzer. 22nd May, 2005 - 3:35 pm
 Baseball fortunes sure can change in a hurry. Just when the Philadelphia Phillies started feeling good about themselves after winning four of five games they got pummeled 7-0 by the American League East leading Baltimore Orioles.
Phillies? starting pitcher Vicente Padilla, whose often-hyped ?great stuff? never seems to make it intact from the bullpen to the field, struggled one again. Scuffling through 5 2/3 largely ineffective innings, the Nicaraguan righthander gave up 10 hits and 4 runs, to see his record drop to 1-5 and his ERA rise to a disgraceful 7.03. Padilla has not consistently pitched well since the first half of the 2002 season.
Meanwhile, the Phillies? bats, which had come alive in recent games, were silenced by lefthander Erik Bedard (5-1). Bedard threw seven shutout innings and struck out seven. He ranks second in the American League with a 2.08 ERA.
The Phillies certainly hoped for better with Jim Thome back in the lineup for the first time since April 30. Thome had been sidelined by a lower back strain. Instead, they were shut out for the third time in the 2005 season. Bobby Abreu?s hitting streak was halted at 13 games.
All the familiar bugaboos that landed the Phillies in last place re-surfaced at Camden Yards last night.
Padilla put them behind early and ran a lot of deep counts.
Leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins couldn?t get on base.
No one hit in the clutch (5 of the 7 runners the Phillies left on base were stranded in scoring position).
Third base baseman David Bell struck out in a key spot with the deficit still only 2-0. He also dropped a throw on a bunt to commit his National League worst ninth error of the season, leading to an unearned run.
Relief pitcher Terry Adams lasted just two-thirds of an inning, seeing his ERA climb to 12.46 ERA. He opened the eighth inning by allowing a walk, a single, another walk, and a three-run double to Chris Gomez to make it a blowout.
The loss makes the final game of the Baltimore series crucial for the Phillies. Win and the team will have taken two of three against a pair of first place clubs ? the St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore. Lose and the Phils will be right back where they started the week; 5 games below .500. With road series against division opponents Florida and Atlanta next on the docket, the Phillies need to start building momentum now or the season will be effectively over by June 1. |
