Our (week) long local nightmare is over.The Phils, behind 8 shutout innings from starter Kyle Kendrick, shut out the Oakland A's by a score 4 - 0. Kendrick struck out 4 and gave up only 4 hits in what was probably his best outing ever.
The Phils seemed to get right after it from the start, scoring in the first inning on a Pat Burrell sacrifice fly. They tacked on two more runs in the 4th on a Pedro Feliz triple and a Chris Coste sacrifice fly. The final run was posted courtesy of a Chris Coste base hit, scoring Shane Victorino.
The lineup featured a strange look, with Eric Bruntlett playing first and Ryan Howard as the DH. Furthermore, Jimmy Rollins was removed from the leadoff spot and moved to 3rd, with the slumping Chase Utley moved to the 2 hole. Jayson Werth led off. Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard swapped positions in the lineup. I mean, up was down, down was up, dog and cats were living together, mass hysteria, the whole nine yards.
Overall, despite the strange lineup, the Phils did what they had to do and broke out of their slump. They ran the bases aggressively (they had 3 steals last night) and yes, even Chase Utley seemingly to be figuring things out. Utley went 4 for 5 and amazingly, did not drive in or score a run (he was tagged out on a play at the plate in the 3rd innning).
The series continues today at 3:35pm, with Adam Eaton facing Rich Harden.
In other news
In a move that some Phils fans probably fantasized about during Ed Wade's tenure as GM here, Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon was suspended indefinitely for apparently attempting to choke the aforementioned Wade.
No report on whether Wade hit Chacon back with his green eyeshade and pocket protector.
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