Things are starting to come together nicely for manager Charlie Manuel this afternoon. Actually, I guess it’s the evening now – it’s after 7 p.m.
Semantics aside, the game is playing out just the way ol’ Charlie likes it. He just had J.C. Romero in the seventh with set-up man Ryan Madson warming up for the eighth. For the last two months, Madson has been as sharp as he ever has at any point of his career. In the eighth, Madson has been as reliable as closer Brad Lidge has been in the ninth.
Meanwhile, Lidge isn’t throwing, but he’s stirring around out there in the bullpen.
Interestingly, though, Manuel looks as if he’s going to lean on Madson to get four outs tonight. After Romero gave out a two-out walk to Matt Kemp, manager Joe Torre sent in Nomar Garciaparra to pinch hit.
Isn’t it amazing that Nomar is pretty much just a pinch hitter these days? Remember how good he was before all the injuries took their toll? Remember that six-hit game he had at the Vet in the wild game that ended with Todd Pratt belting that walk-off bomb?
Mayhem reigned in that one.
Speaking of mayhem, the scene nearly broke into a state of anarchy with two outs in the inning when Casey Blake drilled one 400-feet to center field. The crowd actually gasped when it was hit, clearly thinking the worst. But when Shane Victorino measured it up, leapt up against the wall and hauled it in, the roar from the stands reverberated.
Just looks like any other out in the box score.
End of 7: Phillies 8, Dodgers 5