Kyle Kendrick had a 3-2 lead in the 4^th inning, with a man on 2^nd and 2 outs. The next 2 batters got on to load the bases. The first was the catcher Torrealba, who got a head in the count 3-1, and was then intentionally put on. The next batter was rookie Seth Smith, pinch hitting for the pitcher. He has been big for the Rockies down the stretch. Kendrick jammed him with a pitch that became a slow roller to 3^rd base that Wes Helms could not handle, and it ended up as a hit. With the bases loaded, manager Charlie Manuel decided to switch pitchers and bring starter Kyle Lohse in from the bullpen to face Kaz Matsui. Matsui had hit Kendrick hard in his last at bat, getting a double. Lohse gave up a Matsui grand slam to right field, making it 6-3. Lohse finished the 4^th and pitched the 5^th. He was replaced by Jose Mesa in the sixth. Mesa and Clay Condrey gave up 4 runs to put the game away.

Should the change have been made?

“I don’t think it was a mistake,” Manuel said. “I did it. I liked Lohse against Matsui because of his stuff. It was the second time I got him up and when I put him in, he was going to go to the sixth.”

Yeah, it was the second time he got Lohse up in the bullpen. Lohse was tossing in the 3^rd inning when Kendrick only had one runner on base. Kendrick was not throwing a great game, but he was battling and keeping the team in it. He gave up back to back first inning homers to Tulowitzki and Holliday. But the next time he faced them in the third inning, he struck out Tulowitzki, and got Holliday to ground out to Helms at third. The Phillies middle relievers are pretty bad and any game they are in is not a game that is going the Phillies way. That said, Lohse is a starter, not one of the middle relievers that has had so much trouble this season. He has pitched from the pen twice down the stretch, and performed well for the most part in that role.  I listened to tape of legendary Philly sports writer Bill Conlin speak with Kendrick in the post game interviews. He referenced the Holliday at bats, and then asked Kendrick if he felt confident that he could get Matsui out this time. Kyle’s response was firm.

”I was pretty confident [about facing Matsui],” he said. ”Bases loaded and two outs, one pitch and I’m out of it.”

Charlie Manuel was sitting next to Kendrick and interjected that Holliday had not batted in the 4^th inning, obviously not catching the reference as intended. Manuel’s tone was very defensive. Manuel did not show much faith in his starter, not just in the 4^th, but in the previous inning as well. This is not new. Many times this season, when his bullpen was toxic, he would replace a starter who had been throwing a winning game but had runners on base, and go to the same crew that kept failing him in the 5^th and 6th innings. I did not understand it then and do not now. Kendrick should have stayed in the game. His ball/strike ratio was not good, 38-28, and he was behind in too many counts, but he was getting through.

Now the Phils season is reduced to either a heroic effort, that saves the series in a very dramatic way, or a fast fade to from elated to frustrated. The scenario seems familiar to me.