Philadelphia Phillies hand Baltimore Orioles 4-5 victory as Cliff Lee allows three-run homer-MLB
Hapless Cliff Lee, the starter, has another no-decision game as the Philadelphia Phillies lose to the Baltimore Orioles 4-5 in extra innings at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland during the last game of the three matches on June 10, 2012.
Unlike his last start, Lee enjoyed relatively better run-support on Sunday. Before the start of the bottom of the fourth, he enjoyed a three run lead. With couple of scoreless innings, he will have set the stage for victory.
However, it was not to be and three-run home run he allowed blew the lead. It provided the Orioles a genuine chance to come back into the game.
Afterward, the Orioles survived a tie situation until the ninth and pushed the game to extra innings.
Phillies’ relievers are prone to meltdowns in under-pressure situations. The Orioles knew this. Rightly capitalising on their weakness, they scored the winning run in the bottom of the tenth.
Jim Thome came as a designated hitter for the Phillies and did a decent job as he struck one hit in four at-bats.
Right fielder Hunter Pence rebounded from below par performances over the last couple of weeks. Connecting two hits in four at-bats, he brought two RBIs. He improved his batting average to .281 as a result.
A perfect display of optimism came from the Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel at the end of the game. Trivialising the loss, he talked of the ability of the club to improve drastically late in the season.
He believes, the Phillies are going to unveil splendour soon. Very shortly, they will be strong contenders for the championship.
''You got to keep going,'' manager Charlie Manuel said. ''We've always rebounded by the end of the season. We're thinking about winning.''
Giving credit to the hitter for three-run home run Lee gave up, he stated that his throw was not bad as it had hit the same spot that he wanted.
''A cutter up and in,'' Lee said. ''Right where I wanted to put it. He put a good swing on it. You have to give him credit right there.''
Regardless of the optimism the Phillies’ manager expressed, unless issues with offence and bullpen worked out, they will not be able to quell the harsh reality.
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