Phillies Down Pads 12-7 for Fifth Straight Win

LOS ANGELES -- If there is one word that could sum up the NL East leading Phillies' first 23 games of the 2001 season, it would probably be one of the same words that summed up the 97-loss 2000 campaign.

Bullpen.

As in live by the bullpen, die by the bullpen.

For the second straight night against the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine, the Phils bullpen allowed a leadoff double in the ninth and watched that runner come around to score on a ball hit by slap-hitting shortstop Alex Cora. Friday night, it was Wayne Gomes surrendering the double to third baseman Dave Hansen. In Saturday's 7-6 loss, Ricky Bottalico gave up the double to third baseman Hiram Bocachica.

All of this, of course, couldn't occur without a game-tying homer by second baseman Marlon Anderson. Friday night it came in the seventh. Saturday it was the eighth.

See a trend developing.

Then again, had it not been for the bullpen throughout a 14-9, first-place April, perhaps the Phillies wouldn't be tied for the best record in the National League. But this fact had no sway on the Dodgers, who lead the NL West, Saturday night.

First, there are the numbers. The Phils bullpen has a 7-3 record this season with a 2.77 ERA, which ranks up amongst the leaders in the majors. But what those numbers fail to demonstate is that when Vicente Padilla has entered a game this season with the lead, he's left with his team trailing three times.

Coming into Saturday's game, Padilla had inherited eight runners from other pitchers. Six of those eight have come around to score. So when Padilla relieved starter Bruce Chen with two outs in the sixth with runners on first and second and a 4-3 lead, the odds weren't in the Phils' favor.

Gambler that he is, manager Larry Bowa chose to apply the statistical theory of standard deviation, hoping that the coin that has landed on the "tails" side all those times would finally come up "heads."

Unfortunately, Padilla landed flat on his tail.

The reliever gave up a bases clearing double to Chris Donnels, and the Phils' early 4-1 lead became a 5-4 deficit. Starter Chen also went from potential winning pitcher to a pitcher, who gave up five runs in 5 2/3, with a hard-luck loss.

Meanwhile, Padilla proceeded to dig the hole a little deeper by giving up a RBI single to Tom Goodwin to make it 6-4 before retiring the side.

But Chen wasn't going to bury his teammate for losing the lead and his win. After all, he was able to get his first win of the season last Monday because of the 'pen's work. One hand washes the other.

"The bullpen has been doing a great job. So when they pulled me, I felt we were going to be able to get out of that jam," Chen said.

But with the way Anderson has been swing the bat, there is always hope.

Trailing by two with the Dodger pitchers throwing blanks from the fourth inning on, it seemed as if it wasn't going to be the Phils' night. In the eighth, however, Anderson belted a two-run bomb into the seats in right off reliever Matt Herges to notch it at 6.

To say Anderson has been carrying the offense over the past few games would be an understatement. He's driven in nine runs on this road trip and six in the last four games.

But the momentum from that game-tying homer didn't last beyond Anderson's circling of the bases. Bottalico (1-1, 1.98) opted for Friday night's endgame in the ninth, embroiling the Phils in a three-game losing streak.

The game didn't look like a loss early on, though.

The team burst out to a 4-1 lead behind some clutch hitting and strong pitching from starter Chen. But as the game wore on, the Dodgers crept back in, thanks to pitcher Darren Dreifort.

Dreifort settled down, after allowing four runs in the first three innings, to keep the Phillies on their heels for the last three innings of his six-inning stint. Trailing 4-2 in the fifth, Dreifort powered a long, leadoff home run to left to bring the Dodgers within a run.

After the homer, Chen seemed to relax as he entered the sixth with the lead. He allowed a no out single to Shawn Green to start the sixth, got Bocachica to ground out and then whiffed catcher Angel Pena. However, he walked Cora, and then Bowa decided to turn it over to Padilla.

"I thought I was throwing pretty good," Chen said. "They got some guys on in the sixth and just took advantage of it. I threw everything at [them] and they [still] hit it."

For the Dodgers, Herges (1-1, 2.16) backed into a win and closer Jeff Shaw overpowered the Phils in a perfect ninth for his seventh save. They also got a solo homer from fill-in Jeff Reboulet, who hit his second this week after going 200 games and three seasons without a homer. His first-inning blast opened the scoring for LA.

Meanwhile, the Phils will try to salvage a seven-game, west coast road trip with a winning record. After winning the first three in San Diego, the Phils dropped the fourth game of the set to the Padres while losing the first two of three to the Dodgers. Sunday, Randy Wolf (1-3, 6.87) faces Chan Ho Park (2-2, 4.13) in the finale.

After scoring six runs against the Dodgers' strong pitching staff, Bowa is feeling fairly positive.

"This is the first game we have scored some runs, so that's a good sign for us," Bowa said. "The Dodgers just kept battling back. Cora just hit a good pitch. Sometimes you have to tip your hat."

After an off-day Monday, the Phils open a six-game homestand with the Colorado Rockies.

Notes: Travis Lee had only two RBIs in 53 career at-bats at Dodger Stadium prior to his two-run double in the third. Bobby Abreu had only four RBIs in 54 at-bats at Chavez Ravine until his sacrifice fly in the first. ... Dreifort hit his first home run since last Aug. 8, against Chicago at Dodger Stadium, when he became the first major league pitcher to homer twice in a game since Atlanta's Derek Lilliquist in 1990.

John R. Finger
ComcastSportsNet.com