PHILLIES PHODDER

On Irish Heritage Night at the Phillies last night, a player named Kelly won the game.

The Phils beat the Red Sox 1-0 on a gorgeous night in South Philly. It was an old-time pitcher's duel. Boston's amazing Chris Sale hurled eight innings, striking out 10, while rookie Nick Pivetta threw shout-out ball for seven innings, striking-out nine Sox.

It was like old, fun times at the ballpark, the crowd more electric than I could remember. A lot of people like 10-9 slugfests, games which drag on for hours. Me, I appreciate a close, tight, low-scoring game like last night, where every pitch counts. Baseball can be like a chess match, a thinking man's game.

There seemed to be more Boston fans at Citizens Bank Park. It was nice to see over 30,000 fans of any kind in the ballpark. Red Sox fans were cheered loudly at appropriate times, but they didn't seem as obnoxious as, let's say, Mets fans. Maybe because Red Sox fans know what it's like to have hard times

.The odds were not in the Phillies favor last night. They had lost 8 in  a row. They had lost 8 previous inter-league games to American League teams this season. Chris Sale was on a personal 7 game winning streak. Sale, perhaps the best pitcher in baseball, Sale, who leads baseball in strike outs, Sale, who are struck out 10 or more batters a record 8 straight times during the season, was again on his game.

Sale ended up fanning 10 Phillies. But Pivetta matched him pitch-for-pitch, knowing even a run might stand up against lefty Sale.

Fun..what sports should be. Entertainment..a summer night away from reality..a nail-biting contest against a real World Series contender, shades of 2008. The Phillies win last night had all of it.

The enthusiasm is still there. The fans will come back to the park if given something to watch.

As always, the Phillies personnel, like ushers and ticket-takers, concession stand workers and vendors, are always nice. The ballpark food is good, it's fun to browse the Majestic Clubhouse Store to search for new gear,and it's still fun to watch batting practice and talk baseball as the field is being prepared for play.

A summer night at the stadium can still be cool. I miss that feeling that I had last night.It's better when the Phillies win, when there is a reason to cheer when the games mean something, when it's fun to scoreboard watch.

Hopefully there are many more old times to share in the future.


The Phillies still suck, on the road to 100-plus losses. But for one night in June, Citizens Bank Park was a special place to be once again.


* Scott Kingery continues tot ear up double A ball. Doesn't he deserve a promotion, if not to Philadelphia, then to Lehigh Valley?

* If not Aaron Altherr, reliever Pat Neshak should be the team's representative in the All-Star game in July. A spot on the All-Star squad would increase Neshak's worth on the trade market.

* Andy MacFailure, where are you?

Seeing Sale in person, he reminds me of a hybrid of Randy Johnson- tall, gangly,side-armer- and John (Candy Man) Candeleria.It must be fun to be a Bosox fan and watch Sale pitch every five days, Tons of strike outs, always the possibility of  a no-hitter, always a good chance to win. Sake is the kind of ace the Phillies need.

* Phillies front office needs to start clearing roster space, through trades and releases. Dealing Kendrick, Saunders, Hellickson, Neshak and Nava would allow kids such as Williams, Couzins, Hoskins and in time, Kingery, to play everyday for the rest of the summer. Guys like Rupp, Hernandez , Joseph and maybe even Herrera can be swapped during the off-season.

Opening slots om the 40-man roster should be top priority. Time to move on and create more special nights like the exciting game I witnessed last night at CBP.