Kendrick Rocked as Phillies Fall to Giants 9-2

On the last day of the MLB trade deadline (in which the Phillies did not acquire or trade any players) the Phillies took on the San Francisco Giants in the second game of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils took last night’s game 7-3 to end their embarrassing eight-game losing streak. Kyle Kendrick was on the mound for the Phillies tonight, while reliever-turned-starter Chad Gaudin was the starting pitcher for the Giants.

The game got off to a rocky start for Kendrick and the Phillies. He got the first batter, Gregor Blanco, to ground out. But then, second basemen Marco Scutaro doubled to start the Giants’ rally. Third basemen Pablo Sandoval then drove Scutaro in with a single to put the Giants on the board. A two-run single by first basemen Brett Pill and an RBI single by outfielder Roger Kieschnick gave the Giants a 4-0 lead after a half inning in which Kendrick threw 30 pitches. A solo home run by Chase Utley in the bottom of the first put the Phillies down 4-1 after the first.

The third inning was also a very good one for the Giants. They scored three more runs, as Kyle Kendrick needed to be taken out of the game. Raul Valdes came in for relief of the Phillies starter. Kendrick left the game with an ugly stat line of two innings pitched and seven runs (six earned) allowed.

Not much happened after the third inning, except for the top of the seventh when Pill and shortstop Brandon Crawford each hit a solo home run, pushing the Giants lead to 9-1. The Phillies squeaked out a run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a groundout by Utley. The final score of the game read 9-2 in favor of San Francisco. Chad Gaudin was dominant for the Giants, going seven innings and only giving up one earned run. Pill also had a great game, going 3 for 5 with a home run and four runs batted in. He also played well last night, going 3 for 4.

After tonight’s game, the Phillies have lost 9 out of their last 10 games. Their chances of winning the National League East are slowly slipping away, as the Atlanta Braves are playing great as of late. Many fans are surprised that the team did not make any moves before the trade deadline today. They could have at least moved someone in hopes of getting some good prospects for the future. Perhaps the organization is satisfied with the current state of the franchise. Who knows?

The Phillies will play the rubber match of their series with the Giants tomorrow night at 7:05. The probable pitchers for the game are Cole Hamels for the Phillies and Matt Cain for the Giants.