Phillies Frustrate Dempster Early, Cruise To 9-1 Victory

After falling behind the Cubs in the first two games of the series, the Phillies were determined to gain an early advantage for a change as they looked to take the final game of the series. They were able to do so thanks to a sound gameplan (and excellent execution) against Chicago starter Ryan Dempster.

A patient approach led to an early lead against Dempster. After Michael Martinez singled on a pop-up that was lost in the sun, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard came up with patient, effective at-bats that would set the stage for a short, frustrating afternoon for the veteran starter.

Utley took a walk after seeing eight pitches. Howard fell behind in the count after swinging at two bad pitches out of the zone. However, he kept his composure, settled down, and took the following three pitches to get the count full. With the count full, Howard hit a ground ball into a good spot, and caught the infield while they were in a bad position for an RBI single.

When a pitcher is forced into throwing a lot of pitches in intense heat, they’ll get tired, frustrated, and prone to mistakes. This is exactly what would happen to Dempster in Wednesday’s game.

Dempster threw 27 pitches in the first inning alone. He then began the second inning by struggling to get Domonic Brown out. The young outfielder struck out, but worked a 12 pitch at-bat, fouling off eight pitches. This at-bat took a toll on the Chicago pitcher’s effectiveness.

Though Dempster struck out Brian Schneider after just five pitches, he made a critical mistake by giving up a double to pitcher Vance Worley to keep the inning alive. Jimmy Rollins followed Worley with an RBI double into the corner of right field, and Martinez followed him with an RBI single.

After Martinez stole a base, Utley drove him in with an RBI double, the third double of the inning for the Phillies. Dempster would throw 37 pitches in the second inning, and would give up one more run in the following inning before exiting for the day.

An early leads make life much easier for any pitcher, and this is especially true for the Phillies’ rotation. Worley saw his lead increase each time he went out to the mound for his first four innings. He was able to take a relaxed approach, and simply throw strikes. The 23-year old didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. He finished the game with eight strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits.

Player Of The Game: Chase Utley

Utley rode the momentum of his clutch two-run double from Tuesday night, and delivered one his strongest performances in awhile in Wednesday’s game. He worked a walk and later scored a run in the first inning, helping the Phillies jump out to an early lead. He then helped add on the lead with a pair of RBI doubles in his next two at-bats. His swing looked great, and he was able to drive the ball well. His effort helped put the game out of reach early, helping to set the stage for Worley to cruise through a very successful start.