Game 7: Phillies 5, Reds 3

The Reds squandered a chance to take 3 of 4 from the defending NL East champions Monday afternoon, dropping a 5-3 decision to the Phillies.

Philadelphia (3-4) got on the board first with a Jimmy Rollins solo shot, then went up 3-0 after Pat Burrell's first of two homers on the day. The Reds answered with two in the bottom of the inning, the first coming on a bit of a brainfart by Pedro Feliz; with men on second and third the runners were off at the crack of the bat, Brandon Phillips grounded to Feliz at third, and he went to first for the force instead of home, somewhat inexplicably. Castro scored the Reds second run on Keppinger's single.

Burrell made it 4-2 in the third with his second homer of the day, this one to left. Arroyo grooved a fastball that dropped right over the plate on the outer half and Burrell was ready. It's not like it didn't move at all, it just moved right into the area where Burrell wanted it. Geoff Jenkins followed his homer with a Jim Jackson of his own, also to left. I questioned the Jenkins signing when they did it, but he performed well this series.

Philadelphia threatened in the sixth, loading the bases with two outs. Jeremy Affeldt came in with two on and promptly walked the first man he faced, but got Victorino on a groundout to third to end it. The Reds got two on with two out in the bottom of the frame, but Paul Bako grounded out to end that threat.

The game stayed 5-2 til the ninth. Brad Lidge came on for the Phillies, retiring the first two (Encarnacion drove a ball to the wall in left for the first out) before walking Bako. Corey Patterson reached on a So Taguchi error in left; he tried to make a fancy basket catch near the foul line and dropped it. Pinch hitter Ken Griffey Jr. drew an intentional walk, bringing up PH Javier Valentin. A wild pitch brought home the Reds third run of the game, but Valentin took a 3-2 pitch that looked high and outside for strike three to end the game.

Valentin complained postgame about the call, and he was likely warranted, but you can't take anything close in that situation, considering strike three ends it.

God, am I glad to see the Phillies leave town. Jimmy Rollins continued his torture of the Reds. He's just so dangerous. You don't want to just put him on in that situation, because of what he can do on the basepaths.. plus he's got all those guys behind him. He's got power to the gaps and over the fence. I know the Phillies didn't play the best this series, but I came away very impressed with their lineup.

I think one thing that makes them so good is that two of the first three hitters, Rollins and Chase Utley, can hit anything you throw up there. Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell have a lot of power, but Rollins and Utley you almost feel like you can't throw a strike to without them killing it. Howard and Burrell you can get out. They're going to murder mistakes, but they'll also chase things. Arroyo particularly shook off the Howard and Burrell bombs to strike out both with a man on in the sixth, one of the few particularly solid segments of his start today. But Rollins and Utley are really tough, Victorino is no slouch either, so you face the power bats with men on nearly every time, which maximizes mistakes and makes you be extremely fine with them. Trying to be fine is what leads to those balls they murder. Just a really tough lineup to pitch to.

Cole Hamels was also very impressive. He's just a tall lanky dude who throws real free and easy. Not a hitch in that motion and he brings it 90 MPH plus. If I went to a speedpitch and emulated that windup it would go about 35. As opposed to my hard fastball which would go about 55. Anyway, he looked really good and the Reds never really got much going against him.

Comcast threw up an interesting stat (not that they invented it, I just hadn't commented on it here before) that Arroyo had an extremely unfavorable split between day and night games in 2007. Perhaps the big curve doesn't look as deceptive in broad daylight, or maybe he's just not a morning guy. I know all pitchers tend to have better numbers in night games, because despite the lights there's still better visibility in the daytime. Career, his splits aren't that extreme, so I would think the chances of him turning that around are good. The turnaround clearly didn't start today, though.

On the negative side of Comcast's telecast (keep in mind I didn't have the sound up, preferring to listen to Rockies-Braves) , it looked like they were framing the main pitcher-batter centerfield angle specifically for HD, making the angle WAY too closeup and making it look really claustrophobic. The top of the frame on the standard picture display sometimes cut off the top of the hitter's helmet and bat. I know HD is the bomb and everything, but the vast, vast majority of fans watching at this point are not going to have an HD set.

Castro batting second? I know it's a weekday afternoon getaway, but that is just ridiculous. I don't really care how much he hit in the spring, against Hamels he's just going to be severly overmatched. "But he had a walk and scored a run!" Shut up.

THE KEPPINGER PROBLEM
Keppinger just keeps hitting. How much does he have to hit before he isn't considered a guy who can be easily benched? If I were Edwin I would be sweating. Once Alex Gonzalez comes back there won't be an easy spot for Keppinger in the lineup other than benching EdE. Kep can't catch, they already have a logjam at first (maybe send Votto down and make it a Kep/Hat platoon? That won't give Kep enough at-bats though, I don't know that the splits make that work out). Trade Hat and make it a Votto/Kep platoon? I don't love that either, it gives you the same problem. If Votto is in the majors he needs to play every day. The supersub role doesn't work either, the Reds already have one supersub (Freel) they're struggling to find ABs for. Phillips is entrenched at second. Maybe they can find a way to flip Gonzo. Keppinger isn't the infielder Gonzalez is, but he'll give you so much more at the plate, I could live with it. Gonzo will have to be playing effectively for at least a few weeks before anyone will think of trading for him, though.. with the issues he had last year (not his fault and totally more important than baseball) and a knee issue this season, he's missed a lot of games. That's part of the reason this Keppinger issue started in the first place.

We probably got a preview of how Dusty is going to handle it today, with Keppinger at first against a tough lefty. That doesn't solve the problem because how often are you going to face a really tough lefty, but it could help.

BRANDONIE
Phillips looked lost against Hamels, which really shows you how good he was today; Brandon usually murders lefties. He had the previously-mentioned groundout that shouldn't have driven in a run in the first, and he looked awful on a three-pitch strikeout in the bottom of the fifth.

Jeremy Affeldt is still showing some control issues, he instantly fell behind and walked Rollins upon coming into the game in the sixth. Granted, I'd rather face Victorino than Rollins any day. His fastball seems to have a "darting" dropping kind of action that sometimes just guides it right into the dirt. It's the kind of pitch where the same thing that makes it tough to hit makes it tough to catch (Scott Williamson's slider is the best Reds example of this... impossible to lay off of, impossible to hit, impossible to not have a hitter reach on a strikeout). It'll be worth keeping an eye on, especially when he comes into games with men on in key situations.

Coffey didn't allow any runs in 1 2/3 innings (I wouldn't say he looked great, but he was okay) and Dusty brought Kent Mercker in to face Utley (probably just to get him in a game). He got him out, so that was good.

Overall a mixed-bag loss. The pen again looked okay, but it's frustrating when the Reds got so many breaks in the ninth and couldn't make it happen. Next they'll travel to Milwaukee for the opener of a three-game set. Game One is Tuesday at 8:05 Eastern. Johnny Cueto gets his second career start after a sensational debut, while Jeff Suppan gets the ball for the 5-1 Brewers.