Bullpen Can't Hold Lead for Wolf in 8-5 Loss to Reds

Last Sunday, in the wake of Pat Burrell's first walk-off homer of the week, disabled pitcher Randy Wolf declared himself ready to pitch.

"I'm ready to go whenever they want me to," said Wolf in a jubilant clubhouse, fresh from a rehab outing in Clearwater.

After Friday night's mostly brilliant return from elbow tendonitis against the Cincinnati Reds, manager Larry Bowa saw that Wolf was ready. Now if he could have been able to pitch deeper into the game, perhaps Friday's outcome would have been different.

	Randy Wolf pitched well for 5 2/3 innings during the Phils 6-2 loss to the Reds. (AP)

Wolf left the game with a 5-2 lead having thrown 5 2/3 innings, but the bullpen couldn't hold it for him in an 8-5 loss. Had the lefty been able to make it into the seventh, perhaps the Phils wouldn't have had to lean so heavily on the bullpen... and then watch it explode.

Wolf could only sit in the clubhouse with an icepack tied to his left shoulder as the Reds put together a six-run, seven-hit seventh inning against a trio of Phils' relievers that opted for kerosene to douse the blazing Reds.

A day after the bullpen pitched 13 1/3 innings with just three runs against the Braves, Jose Santiago, Rheal Cormier and Cliff Politte struggled to make it through the seventh.

"Everyday it's been different. That's why it's been tough to know who to bring in," Bowa said of his hot-and-cold relievers. "One day a guy is throwing light's out the next day when you use him he gets hit."

Despite the recent solid pitching in the Braves' series, the Phils bullpen has had its share of rough times. Already the 'pen has had two four-run games and one where closer Jose Mesa gave up an upper-deck, go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth. In one outing, Cormier allowed a three-run homer in the top of the ninth to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 7-3 loss.

Then there was Friday night.

In the seventh, Santiago gave up an RBI triple to Wilton Guerrero and a one-out RBI single to Jason LaRue. Cormier, who ended up with the loss, was brought in to face lefty Adam Dunn and gave up a single to the only batter he faced.

Then came Politte who promptly tossed a run-scoring double to Barry Larkin and then a two-run single to Sean Casey. After another RBI double to Aaron Boone, Politte finally got the 10th batter of the inning to pop out.

"I came in where the situation was crucial and I just didn't get it done," Cormier said of his one batter outing.

The statistics reveal that it's been a lot of hit... and, well, hit for the Phils relievers. In 35 2/3 innings this season, opponents are hitting .281 (41-for-146) with 18 extra base hits and 16 walks against the bullpen. It's 5.05 ERA is the reason why the club ranks 12th in the league in team ERA (4.37).

Still, it's early. Eleven games, with seven of them against the vaunted Braves don't make a season. Based on the way Wolf pitched, the team has reason to be excited.

In his first game back, Wolf showed mid-season form. Pitching on a Bowa-imposed ceiling of 80 pitches, Wolf ended up throwing 76 with 53 going for strikes. More impressively, the lefty greeted the first 18 hitters he faced with a first-pitch strike and while getting two strikes on 11 of the first 13 he faced.

"He threw great," Bowa said. "He did the job. We just couldn't get it done in the seventh inning."

Wolf says he didn't feel tired nor any lingering tightness from his left elbow tendonitis. He didn't know he was on a pitch count and decided not to lobby for more batters when Bowa came to get him with two outs and a runner on first in the sixth.

"I threw strong. I'm pleased with how I felt," Wolf said. "I was able to change speeds and my arm felt great."

But while the Phils bullpen struggled, the Reds bullpen was superb. After the Phils roughed up starter Chris Reitsma for five runs in the third inning, the Reds relievers combined to for 6 2/3 of five-hit, no-run ball. Veteran Jose Rijo was the big horse, going 2 2/3 while Jim Brower (winner), Scott Williamson, Scott Sullivan and Danny Graves threw an inning apiece.

"They (bullpen) have been terrific," Reds manager Bob Boone said. "And how about (Jose) Rijo's job, that was just what the doctor ordered. We needed that out of him."

Realistically, Reitsma could have wriggled out of the third-inning trouble had Aaron Boone not thrown wildly to first on a grounder hit by Scott Rolen with one out. Following one-out, back-to-back doubles by Doug Glanville and Marlon Anderson, Boone's error chased the second run across and opened the floodgates for an 11-batter inning.

Unfortunately for the Phils, that's all they would get.

The Phils and Reds get back at it on Saturday where Robert Person (0-1, 2.77) faces Joey Hamilton (0-0, 2.25). Person has a minor ribcage muscle strain that forced Bowa to push his start back a day. However, Person seems to have rebounded from a shaky opening day on the strength of a three-hitter through eight innings against the Marlins last Sunday.

Like Person, Hamilton is coming off a solid outing his last time out. Against the Expos last Sunday, Hamilton allowed one run and six hits in seven innings but took a no decision in a 6-5 win.

Notes: After the game, Bowa sent Hector Mercado to Triple-A and recalled outfielder Jason Michaels. ... Utility infielder Tomas Perez will begin a two-game rehab assignment for his injured knee, Saturday, for Double-A Reading. ... Bobby Abreu missed his second straight game with a strained hamstring. … John Mabry picked up a pinch-hit single in the eighth for his first hit of the season. ... The Phils got three more doubles against the Reds to push their National League-leading total to 27. ... Wolf allowed an upper deck homer to Juan Encarnacion with one out in the first. The homer was Encarnacion's third in as many games.

John R. Finger
ComcastSportsNet.com