Getting Back on the Horse

One of the beauties of baseball is that the tough losses don't have the opportunity to linger. There's always another game, usually less than 24 hours later.

Of course, that's no guarantee the next night will be any better, but the idea that the next night could turn out differently is what keeps us going.

Last night's 5-2, 13-inning loss to the Red Sox featured great pitching and timely hitting (Ryan Howard!) - something both the Phils and BoSox know a little bit about. Jon Lester proved he is one of the best pitchers in baseball, allowing just two hits in seven innings and striking out 11. Kudos to Joe Blanton, too, who has been on a hot streak of his own. Blanton lasted seven, struck out seven and allowed two runs on five hits.

Blanton has gone at least six innings in each of his last four starts (2-0, 2 NDs in that span), allowing a measly six earned runs on 21 hits in a span covering 27 innings. The lone righthander in the rotation has settled down big time after a very shaky start of the season.

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Our friend Todd Zolecki got some clubhouse reaction to Greg Dobbs' 11th inning moonshot - a shot that would have won the game for the Phils.

Thanks to the Yankees - or rather, Luis Castillo - the Phils NL East lead remained at four games.

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Antonio Bastardo gets his third start of the season tonight, opposing Dice-K. It's an interesting matchup in that Dice-K has struggled this year, while Bastardo is making just his third career start.

The unfamiliarity factor usually benefits the pitcher, and the lack of scouting reports on Bastardo is an interesting factor in his success. The kid has good stuff, but the big leagues are all about making adjustments - particularly the adjustments you make after everyone has already adjusted to you.

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Very curious that Kyle Kendrick was called up to take Scott Eyre's place on the roster following the latter's placement on the 15-day DL.