Phils No Match for Padres as they Drop Fifth in Last Six

From the outset, it appeared that Phils' pitcher Robert Person was on his game, throwing his top-notch stuff at the San Diego Padres, Wednesday night at the Vet. This was not just any old stuff, either. The stuff Person was dealing through the first three innings was the nasty stuff that turned him into the club's ace at the end of last season. You know, that eight-innings, double-digit whiffs and a handful of hits stuff.

But then something inexplicable happened. Person's nastiness somehow abandoned him during the third inning and then completely disappeared in the game-turning fifth inning in the Phillies' 7-2 loss. It was kind of like the right-hander had the lights turned out on him or just forgot what he was doing or something.

	Robert Person slumps over during the four-run fourth inning, Wednesday night. (AP)

"It's puzzling," manager Larry Bowa said of his starter's outing. "For three innings he was lights out and in a groove and then there are four or five runs the next inning."

Person was, indeed, topsy-turvy. First, he tore through the first six batters, striking out two and starting six of the first seven hitters he faced with a first-pitch strike. Then, after Deivi Cruz's single to leadoff the third, 1-for-33 hitter Tom Lampkin crushed a 2-0 pitch off the top of the auxiliary scoreboard to get the Padres off and running.

The homer, Lampkin's second in his career off Person, seemed to settle the right-hander. He retired the next six with and allowed just two balls to be hit out of the infield.

But then came the fifth inning.

That's where the Padres scored four runs and had the bases loaded with no outs thanks to a pair of singles and a walk. Seemingly out of the inning with only one run pushed across, Mark Kotsay stroked a two-run double in the left-center gap, which was followed by an RBI double by Ryan Klesko.

That was all it took.

So Person, the team's de facto ace, checks in with a 0-3 record and a 5.23 ERA, which isn't the frustrating part. Chalk the frustration up an early-season filled with games like Wednesday nights. In his last start against the Marlins last Thursday, he was perfect through three innings before surrendering a four-spot in the fourth. Before that, he shut down the Reds for three innings before giving up two in the fourth and fifth innings.

Curiously, all of this came on the heels of a three-hitter against the Marlins, which was the norm down the stretch last season.

What's the deal with this new trend?

"All of my mistakes have turned into home runs and big innings," Person said.

However, Bowa has a different take. Restrained and patient with his young club despite an 8-13 record, the Phils' manager is willing to give his players "about a month" before he breaks the status quo or becomes impatient. And we're not talking a little thing like changing the batting order around, either.

Person's problem, according to Bowa, is that he loses his concentration. One time through the lineup, he's fine. After that, it's a crap shot, according to the manager.

"To me, it's a lack of concentration," Bowa said. "He can go through the lineup and it's boom, boom, boom... lights out. Then all of a sudden there's a four-spot up there."

Plus, Bowa says, the up-and-down tendencies by the pitchers are wearing on everyone.

"The big problem is pitching," Bowa said. "Every starter except (Vicente) Padillia has an ERA over 5.00 and our No. 1 (Person) is 0-3. That's not good. It's demoralizing for the regulars. They look up and it's 4-0, 5-0. It's not just Person but they're getting paid a lot of money to get people out and they're not doing it."

For the Padres, Brian Lawrence earned his dough. The young righty went 6 2/3, scattering six hits and two insignificant runs. Lawrence (3-1, 2.29) blanked the Phils through six until Tomas Perez launched 391-foot shot into the seats in right. Jason Michaels followed with a pinch-hit double and came around on a single by Jimmy Rollins.

That was all she wrote.

Again, the Phils are back searching for answers. This most recent loss is the team's fifth in their last six games and puts them five games behind the front-running Montreal Expos in the NL East. A loss on Thursday will mean the team has not won five consecutive series'.

"Right now, I'm in a funk. We're in a funk," Person said. "It's more bad luck than anything else. We'll get out of it."

Catcher Mike Lieberthal supports Person's claim.

"It's discouraging but it isn't as bad as his numbers show," Lieberthal said about the ace. "He's throwing some big innings and that's what is hurting."

They'll have to before Bowa forces them to.

The Phils finish the series against the Padres as well as the short, three-game home stand on Thursday in a mid-afternoon "Business Person's Special." Vicente Padilla (2-2, 2.33) will pitch against Bobby J. Jones (1-1, 3.26) before the team embarks on a six-game trip that it through Colorado and San Francisco.

Until then, Padilla will try to bounce back from a rocky outing against the Pirates last Friday where he struck out eight but allowed five runs in seven innings for a 7-4 loss. Jones is also coming off a loss, having dropped one to the Dodgers, 4-1 last Saturday, despite pitching seven solid innings and allowing three runs.

Notes: Pat Burrell's second-inning double means the team has notched a two-bagger in every game this season and 26 consecutive games dating back to last season. ... Marlon Anderson left the game after the third inning with a hyperextension of his right elbow suffered during an at-bat in the bottom of the second. ... Klesko's fifth-inning double extended his hitting streak to 12 games, which ties Colorado's Todd Helton for the longest streak in the National League.

John R. Finger
ComcastSportsNet.com