Phils Split Doubleheader with Expos

Sunday's doubleheader against the Montreal Expos was a tryout of sorts for Phillies pitchers Bruce Chen and Paul Byrd. Chen, the Phillies fifth starter, has struggled this season with a 1-3 record and an ERA of 4.91. Byrd is making his first Major League start after major shoulder surgery. A strong performance could make one of these two the Phillies fifth starter and a poor outing could send one to the bullpen.

In Game 1, the Phillies used five different pitchers in relief of Chen, en route to a 7-5 victory. Chen was very streaky in his five innings of work. In the first three, he pitched extremely well, striking out six including a stretch of five in a row. Innings four and five, however, proved to be a bit more adventurous for Chen.

The fourth inning started with a Vladimir Guerrero single, followed by a walk to Fernando Tatis, who was activated from the disabled list prior to the game. Milton Bradley then drove in Guerrero with a ground-rule double to give the Expos a 2-0 lead.

Montreal extended its lead to three in the fifth when second baseman Mike Mordecai blasted his second homer of the year. That would be the end for Chen, whose preformance —three runs, six hits, two walks and seven stikeouts — may not have been enough to secure his place in the rotation.

"He threw a lot of pitches. His pitch count (116 pitches) was way too high," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "He was close to 100 pitches in the fifth inning. That's too much."

"I think I made some good pitches. They were just fouling them off," said Chen, who has not won since April 23. "I was erratic in the first inning, but I felt my pitches were coming around. I don't think I was overthrowing."

In the bottom of the fifth, the Phils finally got on the board when Rob Ducey hit a two-out, pinch-hit home run off of Montreal starter Britt Reames. They got to Reames again in the sixth when Scott Rolen and Travis Lee hit back-to-back doubles, and Pat Burrell followed with a two-run home run to put the home team up 4-3. A two-run, RBI double by Rolen in the sixth gave the Phils a three run cushion.

The Expos refused to go away, however, as the pinch hitter Curtis Pride tagged a Wayne Gomes offering for a two-run homer in the eighth inning to make it 6-5. But it was as close as the Expos would get as the Phillies got an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Jose Mesa then secured the game in the ninth to record his 14th save of the year.

Chris Brock got the win for the Phillies as he worked one inning in relief, giving up one hit and recording a strikeout. He is now 2-0 on the season.

In all Bowa was very satisfied with the way his team battled in Game 1.

"They play hard. They don't quit."

Where Chen had his shot in the first game, Byrd got his chance to impress in the second game. Byrd has been sidelined since the middle of the 2000 season with a shoulder injury. Fighting off the injury for most of last season, Byrd compiled a 2-9 record with a 6.51 ERA.

Byrd's return to the mound was not a happy one, however, as the Expos tagged him for seven runs on seven hits in six innings for a 7-3 victory.

Trailing 1-0 in the second, the Phillies got on the board with a two-run Tomas Perez single. The lead would not hold. The Expos went on to score three in the fourth inning, two in the fifth, and one in the seventh. The runs in the fifth came off of a monstrous Guerrero home run that sailed into the second row of the upper deck.

The Expos were paced by the pitching of Tony Armas, who pitched 6 2/3 innings before being taken out after being hit in the wrist with a line drive by Perez. He was taken to Methodist Hospital for x-rays.

Despite the loss, Bowa was satisfied with Byrd's first start of the season.

"I thought that Byrd threw the ball well. It looked like he was pain free. He's gotta be happy with the way he threw the ball."

"I thought I threw better than giving up seven runs," Byrd said of his performance. "That's the way it goes. I just threw too many pitches over the middle."

The next scheduled start for either Byrd or Chen will be on Friday in Montreal. Even though no decision has been made by Bowa, Byrd is not worried.

"Whether or not I'll be in the pen or the starting rotation will take care of itself," Byrd said.

The Phillies begin a six game road trip Monday at 1:10 p.m. against the Mets. They now have a 6 1/2 game lead over the Braves and will look to keep up the momentum from their 8-4 homestand.

The team's attitude is summed up by shortstop Jimmy Rollins: "No matter who we play, no matter where we go, it's all about winning."

John Turner
ComcastSportsNet.com