Philadelphia Phillies grab 75th win overpowering Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 – MLB Update
The Philadelphia Phillies grabbed the best record in the Majors as the club overpowered the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 in the first game of the three-game series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday, August 8.
The National League’s club trounced the Dodgers to grab their 75th win of the season. It proved to be the best record in the Majors.
Phillies’ starter Roy Halladay became the first pitcher in the National League to win the fifteen games in the 2011 regular season. He worked just over six innings and struck-out four batters, allowing only one run to snatch his fifteenth win of the season.
He also allowed nine hits and two walks over his 111 pitches. It was his fifth straight win after he lost 6-1 to the Chicago White Sox.
"I would have liked to go a little deeper, but they put some hits together and made us work at it really the whole game," Halladay said. "I felt like my stuff was a lot better tonight than it was last time out and I was able to control things. It's always
a grind."
The rookie pitcher Antonio Bastardo took the ball from Halladay in the middle of the seventh inning and managed to hold his tenth game of the season. When he entered the mound Andre Ethier was occupying the plate with a chance to get a tying run, but Bastardo
got him out on a double.
The 21-year-old right hand hurler said with a big grin. "I wished that was me. It is a great feeling for a pitcher when guys come in behind you are capable of getting outs. At that point, it is a two-run game, so he is basically saving the game at that point.
That was a huge double play."
Ryan Howard touched two hits and two RBIs to improve his record to 89 RBIs. He led off the game with his RBI single in the first and then added another in the seventh inning.
The hard-hitting centre-fielder Shane Victorino launched a dazzling homer in the ninth inning to carry the Phillies winning streak. He also scored a double in the first to contribute in the first run. Short-stop Jimmy Rollins also scored an RBI single in
the second inning.
Dodgers’ Hiroki Kuroda could not create any positive result for him, as he allowed four runs on nine hits and walked one batter over six innings. The right-hand hurler lost his fourteenth game of the season while has won only seven in this season.
Casey Blake, Aaron Miles and Juan Rivera each drove in a single for the Dodgers to pile three runs.
The Phillies have a chance to dominate the series as the Dodgers are struggling with their form.
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