Telemaco, Phils Shut Down Astros Bats Again

HOUSTON — Monday, Robert Person set the standard. Tuesday night, Amaury Telemaco almost set it on its ear.

Following Person's lead — a complete game, two-hit shutout in cozy Enron Field against the dangerous Houston Astros in what has been called the finest game pitched in the short history of the ballpark — Telemaco seemed poised to do one better.

In the first six innings of Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Astros, Telemaco was almost unhitable. He allowed just one hit, retired 15 consecutive hitters from the second inning through the seventh and kept the Astros' big bats off-kilter.

	Doug Glanville slides in with a key stolen base in the first inning.

Basically, he turned a bandbox into a hitter's nightmare and in the process pushed the Phillies' (20-12) winning streak to four straight.

But in the seventh, that short porch in left victimized Telemaco. Ahead 2-0, Telemaco tried to slip a fastball past slugger Richard Hildago who nailed it off a pillar holding up the train tracks in left to tie it at 2.

Normally, the cozy confines of Enron present problems for pitchers of Telemaco's ilk. Since he is a big right-hander who likes to throw a lot of fastballs to set up his slider, a ballpark with the dimensions of Enron is a nightmare. Especially when facing a lineup like the one the Astros send out there.

But for some reason the park has played more like the pitcher friendly Astrodome over the past few days with the home team scoring just two runs in the first two games of the series.

"The air seems a little heavy down here," rookie shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. "I don't know if it was like this here last year, but the ball seems like it's turning over quicker. It's not flying out of here like I've seen on ESPN or other sports networks... like Comcast SportsNet."

Bowa has a different take.

"If you have good pitching, it will stop good hitting," the skipper said succinctly.

Tuesday night, Telemaco stopped some good hitters. He gave up just one hit through the first six and walked only two. He only struck out four batters, which means he hit spots and got the Astros to hit the ball where he wanted.

Be that as it may, the Phillies didn't feel too great about letting the Astros back in it. According to Bowa, Telemaco made one mistake Tuesday and Hildago "put it where he was supposed to."

"He's had two starts in a row that have been unbelievable against a good hitting team," Bowa said about his pitcher. "

The Phillies, on the other hand, are having no problems playing "small ball."

Shortstop wunderkind Rollins (2-for-4) drove home the winning run with two outs in the eighth with a single to right off reliever Mike Jackson to drive in pinch-hitter Rob Ducey from second. Meanwhile, Ducey's reaching second was the Spalding Guide example of how to manufacture a run. With one out, Ducey walked, reached second on a sacrifice by Doug Glanville and came around on Rollins' hit.

That wasn't the only time they did it either.

In the first, Glanville started the game with a single off starter Jose Lima, stole second and came around to score on a seeing-eye single by Bobby Abreu. In the fifth, Marlon Anderson pounded a one out, mammoth triple to the grassy knoll in deep center and then scored a batter later on Kevin Jordan's chopper over Jeff Bagwell's head at first.

"That's a big part of what's been helping us win all year long — getting hits with runners in scoring position," Rollins said. "We haven't been too good as a team [and] if you look at the numbers, it doesn't look like we're doing too well. But when we get some runners out there, we've been able to knock them in."

It also helps to have a decent bullpen to go with clutch hitting and solid starting pitching. Ricky Bottalico took over for Telemaco and set it up for closer Jose Mesa in the ninth. After walking leadoff hitter Bagwell, Mesa whiffed Lance Berkman and Moises Alou and then got Hildago to ground out weakly to second.

But for as good as Telemaco (4-0, 3.18) was, Astros starter Jose Lima was almost as good. The runs in the first and fifth aside, Lima was fairly dominant. From the first inning until the fifth, he retired 11 straight and gave up five hits with eight strikeouts in his seven-inning stint.

But Lima's pitching couldn't spark the offense. The Astros managed just four hits and have collected just six in the past two games. Prior to Hildago's homer, the Astros hadn't scored a run in 16 straight innings.

"I don't know if it was their pitching or we're just not hitting," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "But I don't think either of these guys (Person and Telemaco) are going to win the Cy Young Award."

Maybe if they keep pitching against the Astros they will.

Wise cracks aside, Telemaco, who battled just to make the Phillies rotation, has been one of the team's strongest pitchers. Although he tends to throw a lot of pitches, he was efficient (82 pitches) in his best outing of the year.

"In this ballpark, and with this lineup, it's awesome," Telemaco said about his outing. "I was locating my fastball and going with my slider. I was going with my strength."

In the past, the pitcher was always looking over his shoulder, waiting for the call to head back to the minors. But this season is different. Even with former all-star Paul Byrd rehabbing in the minors and getting closer to a call back to the bigs, it is doubtful that Telemaco will be removed from the rotation at this juncture.

"I know I can do well if I work hard — I can stay at this level and survive," Telemaco said. "My confidence and my mentality are high."

The first-place Phillies, now 5 ½ games ahead of the rest of the National League East, go for the sweep against the Astros Thursday night. Lefty Bruce Chen (1-2, 3.93) faces the NL Pitcher of the month for April and Reading, Pa. native Wade Miller (5-1, 2.36).

After taking Thursday off, the Phillies face the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday night where it appears they will face former Phillie Curt Schilling.

Notes: Lima pitched Tuesday while appealing a five-game suspension for hitting New York's Jay Payton with a pitch.

"I pitched inside today — no one tried to charge the mound," he said.

After the game, Lima said would have the union drop the appeal. He planned to begin serving his time Wednesday.

"I'm going to take my suspension like a man," Lima said. "I can't believe Payton didn't get a one-day suspension. I'm disappointed that it happened. He was the one trying to kill me."

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre manager Marc Bombard filled in for third base coach John Vukovich again Tuesday night. Vukovich underwent successful brain surgery Tuesday morning and should rejoin the team in two or three weeks. Meanwhile, the Phillies are keeping Vukovich's locker just as it would be if he were with the team. ... Rollins was caught in a rundown between first and second in the sixth inning where it seemed every infielder had a hand in the play. Before finally being tagged out, the play went: 2-6-3-4-1-4-2-6. ... First baseman Travis Lee did not play because of a bruises on his right side he received colliding with a fence in Monday night's game trying to catch a foul ball. He was also hit in the knee by a pitch Monday. ... The Phillies are 7-4 in one-run games and 17-0 when leading in the ninth inning.

John R. Finger
ComcastSportsNet.com