2010 MLB Playoffs: Breaking Down a Phillies-Yankees World Series Showdown

With one game to go to decide who the New York Yankees will play in the American League Championship Series, it’s time to jump ahead a little bit and do some assumption work.

Assuming the Phillies get past the Giants for the NLCS title and the Yankees win the ALCS, how would the Phillies and Yankees match up in the 2010 World Series?

Both these teams having pitching and they certainly have power on offense. But what sets these two teams apart?

Let’s dive into a possible World Series matchup and take a look at who will take the World Series trophy home.

It’s the Philadelphia Phillies versus the New York Yankees.

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MLB Trade Rumors Live Blog: Jorge Cantu Dealt to the Texas Rangers?

4:55pm CDT – The Padres have sent minor league right-hander Wynn Pelzer and cashto the Orioles for Tejada.

4:45pm CDT – Also got word that Marlins infielder Jorge Cantu has been pulled out of the game in the eighth inning with the Marlins up 5-0. No word that a deal has been made but Cantu could be on his way to the Rangers.

4:42pm CDT – Deal has been confirmed by both sides. The Padres have acquired Miguel Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles. No indication on who the Padres are sending to the Orioles.

4:34pm CDT – Dan Hayes from the San Diego North County Times talked to both Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Stairs about Miguel Tejada and both are very high on him.

4:23pm CDT – According to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, Miguel Tejada has been scratched from the Orioles lineup tonight. Dan believes that Tejada might have been traded to the San Diego Padres.

2:50pm CDT – Amy Nelson of ESPN spoke to Roy Oswalt who is flying to Washington DC tonight to join the team for the opening of a series against the Nationals. He is expected to start the first game of the series tomorrow night.

2:37pm CDT – Apparently the San Diego Padres tried to make a late run at Roy Oswalt as well but the two sides just couldn’t match up.

2:35pm CDT – According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the St. Louis Cardinals tried to re-start conversations with the Astros but it was too little too late.

2:30pm CDT – Astros’ outfielder Hunter Pence, via Twitter, weighed in on his former teammate being traded today.

“Good for Roy, He got what he wanted. Time for the stros to continue to move forward and get this program going in the right direction.”

2:27pm CDT – Now that Roy Oswalt is officially off the board, Ted Lilly, Jake Westbrook, and a few other available pitchers will start to get a lot more interest from teams still needing pitching.

One pitcher you most likely won’t see traded is right-hander Brett Myers who Houston said they would hang on to if Oswalt accepted the deal to the Phillies. Now that he has, Myers is probably off the table.

2:13pm CDT – Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia says Roy Oswalt has made a few phone calls to Houston teammates to let them know he’s headed to Philadelphia.

2:09pm CDT – MLB.com’s Jennifer Langosch reports that the Pirates have released reliever Brendan Donnelly.

2:08pm CDT – MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and ESPN’s Jayson Stark both confim that the deal is done. Stark confirms that Anthony Gose is part of the package headed to Houston.

2:04pm CDT – Ken Rosenthal has an update on the Yankees. He says they are no longer in the running for Adam Dunn and are now looking into other options.

1:59pm CDT – Matt Gelb and Ken Rosenthal both have reported that the deal is official. Gelb has a funny tidbit about J.A. Happ running the warning track as if no one has told him he’s been traded.

1:45pm CDT – The players headed to the Astros in the Roy Oswalt deal are pitcher J.A. Happ, outfielder Anthony Gose, and shortstop Jonathan Villan.

1:41pm CDT – Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that Oswalt’s 2012 option is actually a mutual option. With him being traded, his buyout will increase another $1 – $2 million more than what it originally was.

He adds that if Oswalt opts out on his own, the buyout will remain at $2 million.

1:40pm CDT – Ken Davidoff said that the Rangers and Brewers never got far at all in trade talks surrounding Prince Fielder.

1:34pm CDT – Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Enquirer reports that Roy Oswalt has accepted the trade to the Phillies. The Astros are waiting to hear back from the Phillies to finalize the details.

1:30pm CDT – Ken Davidoff says the Brewers are not opposed to trading first baseman Prince Fielder but have not received the right offer to pull the trigger.

1:07pm CDT – Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning New is holding a chat with fans this afternoon. He was asked about the trade talks between the Rangers and Marlins. Grant says that while money seemed to be the big hangup before, the fact that the Marlins are now willing to pay all of Cantu’s contract could make the deal move. The remaining question, according to Grant, is do the Rangers go with someone that has experience at both second base and first. He mentions Ty Wigginton as someone that might work better than Cantu.

1:05pm CDT – Ken Rosenthal says the Brewers are unlikely to move Trevor Hoffman

1:00pm CDT – Former San Diego Padres’ closer Trevor Hoffman is getting some interest from the Boston Red Sox but they are one of Hoffman’s five teams on his no-trade list.

12:58pm CDT – Danny Knobler of CBS Sports is reporting that the Orioles have a new manager as they have come to terms with Buck Showalter

12:56pm CDT – Salisbury also reports that J.A. Happ and Anthony Gose are definitely involved in the deal. Still nothing official from Oswalt or either team as of yet.

12:54pm CDT – Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia has been reporting that Oswalt has been getting text messages from former teammate, soon to be current teammate, Brad Lidge about the “lay of the land.”

12:47pm CDT – Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Florida Marlins are willing to pay most, if not all, of Jorge Cantu’s remaining contract in order to get a deal done.

12:43pm CDT – MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart contact Roy Oswalt’s agent and was told “no news yet.”

12:14pm CDT – The Kansas City Royals have been getting interest from teams in outfielder Willie Bloomquist. According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Yankees, Phillies, Angels, and Padres have “kicked the tires” on him.

12:10pm CDT – Ken Rosenthal chimes in on the news, reporting that Oswalt’s 2012 option will NOT be picked up by the Phillies. Jayson Stark has an update that the Astros will be sending $11 million to the Phillies to cover a part of Oswalt’s remaining contract.

12:09pm CDT – The Roy Oswalt deal is not official yet though Jayson Stark reports that he expects Oswalt to waive his no-trade clause. When, or if, that deal becomes official, you’ll see a lot of teams turn their attention to Ted Lilly, Jake Westbrook, and a few other pitchers that may become available.

12:05pm CDT – According to Jayson Stark of ESPN, Roy Oswalt is expected to waive his no-trade clause and head to the Philadelphia Phillies. Nothing official as of yet.

12:00pm CDT – The Chicago Cubs are getting a lot of calls about left-hander Ted Lilly but have opted to wait until Roy Oswalt makes his decision before they get serious about a deal.

11:57am CDT – SI.com’s Jon Heyman reports that the Mets and Blue Jays had talks surrounding Jays’ reliever Scott Downs but the Mets are unwilling to give up outfield prospect Kirk Neuwenhuis and another prospect to get the deal done.

11:52am CDT – A note on Tom Krasovic’s article on Joba Chamberlain. The Yankees were receptive to trading him to Arizona for Dan Haren before the Angels landed him.

11:48am CDT – Nothing yet from the Roy Oswalt camp. I would imagine we should hear something from him in the next two to three hours. Give him time to board a plane for Philadelphia to get his physical done and get ready to pitch tomorrow night.

11:44am CDT – Tom Krasovic of AOL Fanhouse says the Yankees were receptive to trading Joba Chamberlain.

11:26am CDT – Danny Knobler of CBS Sports says the Rockies would like to trade Aaron Cook but aren’t finding any takers.

11:14am CDT – Quick note from yesterday that I didn’t get a chance to talk about. The Angels and Cubs apparently had a deal, or close to a deal, in place that would have sent first baseman Derrek Lee to Anaheim. But, Lee didn’t want to leave Chicago and used his no-trade clause to kill the deal.

Honestly I was a tad bit surprised seeing as he could have gone to a contender instead of staying with the Cubs. But, I guess when you’ve been in one city on one team for that long, it’s familiarity that takes precidence.

10:57am CDT – There’s been a lot of talk around North Texas about the Rangers possibly chasing down Brewers’ first baseman Prince Fielder. While I agree that he’s definitely a better offensive option than what the Rangers currently have in Chris Davis, I’m not in agreement with Gavin Dawson of 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas who’s willing to give up whatever prospects it takes to land Fielder.

The Phillies did that to acquire Cliff Lee, then Roy Halladay, and are about to do it again to land Roy Oswalt. While Lee helped them get to the World Series last year, with Halladay they still sit at three and a half games back of the NL East leading Atlanta Braves.

The Rangers made the right deal to get Cliff Lee but I don’t know that they wouldn’t have to give up players they’ll need in the future to land Fielder.

10:47am CDT – Roy Oswalt just called ESPN and wants his own one hour special to announce his “decision.”

10:44am CDT – Ken Rosenthal reports that Jonathan Singleton is NOT in the deal and that the money coming back to the Phillies is less than $12 million.

10:42pm CDT – The ball is still in Oswalt’s court. The Astros are on the schedule today but he is expected on the hill tomorrow.

10:26am CDT – ESPN’s Jayson Stark has an update on the pending Roy Oswalt trade. The Astros would receive Triple-A pitcher J.A. Happ and two prospects in the deal and would send Roy Oswalt and $12 million to the Phillies.

10:21am CDT – There’s still interest in Cleveland Indians’ right-hander Fausto Carmona but Ken Rosenthal says the chances of the Indians trading him is “one in a million.”

10:19am CDT – ESPN’s Jayson Stark reports that if Jonathan Singleton isn’t in the deal from the Phillies, another player that has been discussed is first baseman prospect Matthew Rizzotti who’s hitting .364 in Double-A.

10:16am CDT – A quick note on the New York Yankees from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Even though catcher Jorge Posada is dealing with injuries, Rosenthal says the Yankees are unlikely to trade for a catcher before the deadline. They are also not confident about landing first baseman Adam Dunn from the Nationals.

10:08am CDT – ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick checks in on the pending Roy Oswalt trade. Crasnick says that another name Houston has talked about is Jonathan Singleton.

10:04am CDT – Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports notes that Corey Hart hasn’t started in over a week and that the odds of him being traded at this point are slim.

9:49am CDT – ESPN’s Jayson Stark reports that while there isn’t a former deadline set for Roy Oswalt to make his decision on the trade, both him and Triple-A pitcher J.A. Happ are scheduled to pitch tomorrow so both teams would like to have a decision today.

9:41am CDT – A lot of San Diego Padre fans are waiting to see what general manager Jed Hoyer is going to do. There are those around San Diego who are under the impression there aren’t going to be any moves prior to Saturday, that all of the moves the team makes will come in August.

The Dodgers made a move yesterday, picking up Scott Podsednik from the Kansas City Royals. Now we’ll see how the Giants, as well as the Padres, respond to that.

9:32AM CDT – Danny Knobler of CBS Sports weighs in on the pending Roy Oswalt trade. He said that though Astros’ general manager Drayton McClane has killed an Oswalt deal before (2007 to the Mets) it doesn’t look like that will happen this time around.

9:15am CDT – Amy Nelson of ESPN has an interested note on the pending Oswalt trade.

“Phils would need 2 compensate Oswalt 4 waiving no trade, & also 4 no income tax in TX. imagine that’d be part of $ discussions.”

9:05am CDT – Ken Rosenthal reports that the Roy Oswalt to the Phillies deal is a three-for-one deal and that Triple-A pitcher J.A. Happ is part of the deal. Rosenthal also says that the Astros are going to pay a “significant amount” of Oswalt’s remaining contract which is more than $23 million.

8:53am CDT – Funny little tidbit from Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan, funny enough for me to pass it along.

“Oswalt’s checklist: 1) Approve deal to Philadelphia. 2) Prepare for Cliff Lee comparisons the rest of the season. 3) Weep accordingly.”

8:51am CDT – Ken Rosenthal tweets what we’ve already known but just to confirm that a deal is in place pending Roy Oswalt’s approval.

8:47am CDT – SI.com’s Jon Heyman says he’s hearing that the Astros are sending a lot of money to Philadelphia to help cover what’s left of Oswalt’s contract. That will definitely help the Phillies as far as payroll over the next year or two.

8:45am CDT – Quick note on the Prince Fielder to the Rangers rumor that surfaced yesterday. Looks like that fell apart quicker than the rumor started. Not sure the Ranger will be willing to give up what Milwaukee is asking.

Speaking of the Brewers, with all the rumors that surrounded Corey Hart going to the Giants, it seems now that Hart will end up staying put unless the Brewers lower the price tag. I don’t see the Giants trading Jonathan Sanchez and that’s what Milwaukee wants.

8:40am CDT – Seems the only way the Astros trade Brett Myers is if Roy Oswalt nixes the trade to Philadelphia, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Rosenthal also says that Cubs’ left-hander Ted Lilly is the best left-handed pitcher on the market and that infielder Ryan Theriot could be traded as well.

8:34am CDT – Speaking of Ted Lilly, the Mets are unlikely to land the Cubs’ left-hander because they are unwilling to pick up Lilly’s remaining $4.37 million plus give up prospects as well.

8:10 a.m. CDT— SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Astros apparently told the Mets they are wanting to hang on to right-hander Brett Myers especially with Roy Oswalt likely on his way out. The Mets apparently preferred Myers to Cubs’ left-hander Ted Lilly.

8:03 a.m. CDT— While the day is still young and there’s a lot more rumors to come today, I’m curious to get your take on which has been the bigger deal so far. Was it Cliff Lee to Texas? Dan Haren to the Angels? Or will it be Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia, IF he approves it? Which of the three pitchers will have the most success with their new teams?

7:49 a.m. CDT— Joel Sherman of the New York Post has the framework for the Oswalt deal. Seems the two teams looked at the Jake Peavy deal when he was traded from San Diego to Chicago last year. A pitcher still under contract and money left for four pitching prospects.

7:47 a.m. CDT— While Roy Oswalt is the hot topic this morning, there is other trade news going on today. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick thinks the Mets will be able to trade outfielder Jeff Francoeur sometime in August as he’s expected to clear waivers.

7:45 a.m. CDT— While we wait for Roy Oswalt to make his decision sometime today, SI.com’s Jon Heyman reports that the Phillies had been discussing J.A. Happ, Vance Worley, and two younger pitchers. Could be the players heading to Houston in return for Oswalt.

Also, Ken Davidoff reports that Oswalt had told friends he would not require a team to pick up his 2012 option. Seems we’ll see if he holds true to that statement.

Good morning baseball fans. Another day of trade rumors is upon us as we’re just two days away from baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline which comes up this coming Saturday.

We’ll get this started quickly as there’s one report that broke late last night on the Roy Oswalt front.

According to several sources, the Phillies and Astros intensified trade talks and eventually came to an agreement on the players, money, etc. The only thing that everyone is waiting for is the decision from Roy Oswalt as to whether he’ll waive his no-trade or whether he’ll opt to stay in Houston and hope they find another suitor.

That’s where we’re starting today. We’ll post updates on this and much more as the day wears on.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

MLB Trade Rumors: St. Louis Cardinals Front-Runners to land Roy Oswalt

Update: (8:50am CDT) ESPN’s Buster Olney reported this morning that talks between the Astros and Phillies had slowed way down yesterday after Oswalt required his 2012 option be picked up by any team trading for him.

However, Olney says that Oswalt would love to pitch in St. Louis and may even do so without requiring them to pick up the $16 million option.

If Oswalt won’t require St. Louis to do that, but required the Phillies to, seems the writing on the wall is he doesn’t want to play in the city of brothery love.

Update: (7/22/2010 – 7:30am CDT) According to Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports, the St. Louis Cardinals have apparently become the front runner to land Houston Astros’ right-hander Roy Oswalt.

Cacaterra says the two sides have been talking for several days and that Oswalt is open to the idea of pitching in St. Louis. The only problem is whether the Cardinals are ok with automatically picking up his $16 million option for 2012, along with his remaining $5 million this season and $16 million next season.

Update: (1:05pm CDT) ESPN’s Jayson Stark, via Twitter, says the Astros sent former player turned scout, Doug Brocail, to Indianapolis to watch Phillies Triple-A prospect J.A. Happ on Tuesday night.

Update: (10:25am CDT) Ken Rosenthal, via Twitter, checks in and talks about the Phillies’ Triple-A closer Scott Mathieson being used for a two-inning save today instead of using him in another save opportunity on Monday night. He speculates that it could be to showcase him to the Astros.

Rosenthal says the Phillies are talking to several teams on many fronts, apparently not just about Oswalt and Werth.

Update: (6:48am CDT) Nothing new from the overnight hours. Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse says that talks are ongoing between the Astros and Phillies so at least we know the pitcher they’re working on is Roy Oswalt.

The Phillies are also in seperate talks with Tampa Bay regarding Jayson Werth.

Update: (10:47pm CDT) Jayson Stark has another potential development as J.A. Happ was pulled from his start in Triple-A tonight.

Update: (10:44pm CDT) Jayson Stark, via Twitter, says that Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro is apparenlty a little miffed that ESPN reported that the team was “close to a major deal.”

Stark says that their report said that the team was “working on” a big deal, not “close to” a big deal.

Buster Olney, also via Twitter, says the Tampa Bay Rays have gotten involved but says their involvement surrounds Phillies’ outfielder Jayson Werth.

Update: (10:25pm CDT) Matt Gelb , staff writer for the Philadelphia Enquirer , says the reporters still have not met with Phillies manager Charlie Manuel because his door has remained closed.

A deal seems to involve outfielder Jayson Werth but Gelb says that he can’t see Werth being dealt to a National League team, and is of the opinion that he’ll be dealt to an American League team.

Update: (10:15pm CDT) Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, via Twitter , chimes in and says that a deal is “not close.” He says the Phillies are talking to “many teams on many fronts” and that the Diamondbacks, A’s, and Astros are not close to a deal.

Update: (10:03pm CDT) According to ESPN’s Buster Olney , the Phillies have not discussed Dan Haren or any pitchers from the Rays. I misread that tweet from Olney, though it’s contrary to Jayson Stark’s article that says they have discussed Haren. That being known, it seems more and more likely that it’s Roy Oswalt about to be headed east.

Starks’ article also talks about the Phillies being more aggressive about moving outfielder Jayson Werth to free up a roster spot for top prospect Domonic Brown.

Update: (9:57pm CDT) Jayson Stark has an article up and says the Phillies have also discussed Baltimore‘s Jeremy Guthrie and Oakland‘s Ben Sheets. Though a “major trade” to me says “major pitcher.” Hence either Oswalt or Haren have to be the guy they’re after.

9:54pm CDT With the Major League Baseball trade deadline just a week and a half away, it seems that the wheels are in motion for this month’s second big trade.

This time, according to Jayson Stark and Buster Olney of ESPN, it’s the Philadelphia Phillies that are the center of the all the talks. It’s not known who exactly the Phillies are about to land, but rumors are that they’ve discussed Houston’s Roy Oswalt, Arizona’s Dan Haren, and pitchers with the Tampa Bay Rays.

We’ll get updates up on this story as it develops as well as the players that might be involved, so keep checking back with us.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Trade Rumors Surrounding Jake Peavy, Adrian Gonzalez

It’s just a week removed from all the trade talks that surrounded Jake Peavy and already there’s another team that seems to have been added to the mix.

Well, not really. But the team was at least mentioned to Jake’s agent Barry Axelrod.

In a coversation with MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, Axelrod said that Peavy could very well consider playing for the Philadelphia Phillies.

“I have not discussed Philly with Jake because nobody has asked us to discuss Philly. He has a strong preference to play in the National League. He also wants to play for a contender. Both of those two things play into Philly’s hands. The personnel is awesome. If there is one downside, it’s the geographical difference for him, given that he has made his family home in the San Diego area.”

The question that needs to be answered in order for Philadelphia to even be considered is, do they have the prospects to appease San Diego where Kevin Towers would even listen to a proposed trade?

If the answer to that question is “yes,” then is Peavy willing to move all the way across the country when he’s already made San Diego his family’s home?

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman also had an article out talking about how trading Adrian Gonzalez could land San Diego more than what the Rangers got in return from the Braves when they traded Mark Teixeria.

Heyman asked Padres’ GM Kevin Towers about the possibility of trading their star first baseman, to which Towers replied, “Not at this point in time.”

Can you imagine if San Diego traded Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez in the same season?

How bad of a public relations move would that be, especially after deciding not to re-sign their closer of 16 seasons and future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman after the 2008 season. You lose one face of the franchise, then you trade Peavy who was supposed to be the next face of this franchise along with Gonzalez right after that?

I’ve heard of rebuilding, but this is nothing but a fire sale if these scenarious actually become reality.

Padres-Phillies: Phillies Have Comeback of Their Own in Win Over Padres

I thought it was the San Diego Padres that were the king of comebacks. Well, this afternoon, the Phillies showed they were just as capable of coming back as Rual Ibanez hit a walk-off two-run home run off Padres’ reliever Edwin Moreno for a 5-4 Phillies win.

Through most of the game, it looked like the Padres were going to win their ninth in ten games, getting a strong pitching performance from recently called up Josh Geer. Geer pitched seven strong innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a single batter.

The Padres got on top first thanks to an RBI single from outfielder Jody Gerut and an RBI triple from second baseman Edgar Gonzalez to put the Padres on top 2-0. An RBI groundout from Brian Giles, scoring Gonzalez, gave the Padres a 3-0 lead after three innings.

The Padres extended that lead even further in the top half of the fifth when Adrian Gonzalez unloaded on former teammate Chan Ho Park and sent his fifth home run of the year deep to right field for a 4-0 San Diego lead.

Phillies’ second baseman Chase Utley got the comeback started with a two-run shot, his second in as many days, in the sixth, cutting the lead in half to a 4-2 deficit.

Jimmy Rollins was next, hitting a pinch-hit solo home run in the eighth off Padres reliever Edward Mujica, the Padres lead was only 4-3 heading to the ninth inning.

After Padres’ closer Heath Bell had already made three straight save appearances, manager Bud Black elected to go with reliever Edwin Moreno in the ninth inning.

Moreno allowed a leadoff single to Phillies’ first baseman Ryan Howard to start off the home half of the ninth, bringing up outfielder Raul Ibanez. Moreno missed on a first pitch slider and again with a changeup, but Moreno tried to throw another changeup and Ibanez was looking for it, sending it deep into the right-field seats and sending the Phillies’ fans into a frenzy. A walk-off two-run home run and a 5-4 Phillies victory.

The Padres had a few good notes from this afternoon’s game, they know that Josh Geer has forgotten all about his struggles during spring training, the same struggles that had him starting the year in AAA Portland.

Adrian Gonzalez also continued his hot streak, hitting his third home run in five games, his fifth home run of the year. He’s currently hitting .289 with 12 RBI.

The two teams will finish their series on Monday night in Philadelphia. The Padres will have Kevin Correia (0-1, 4.09 ERA) on the mound while the Phillies counter with Jamie Moyer (1-1, 6.55 ERA)

Padres-Phillies: Padres Use Late Home Run to Top Phillies, 8-5

Phillies’ closer Brad Lidge hadn’t blown a save in 48 straight chances as he came into the game on Saturday night go for his 49th straight.

With one swing of the bat, Padres’ third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff would end that streak, as he sent a three-run shot deep into the left field seats to give the Padres an 8-5 win and yet another come from behind victory, their fourth already this season.

Padres’ starter Shawn Hill had another impressive outing, giving up just two runs on three hits through five innings, he’s becoming the pitcher the Padres knew he could be.

The one thing that has to still concern the Padres is he has only pitched five innings in each of his first two starts, that’s going to start wearing on their bullpen if they can’t stretch him to six or seven innings.

Speaking of their usual strong bullpen, it was the Padres’ bullpen that twice gave up the lead last night. Right-hander Luke Gregerson came into the ballgame in the top half of the sixth with the Padres leading 3-2, but promptly gave up a solo home run to Phillies 1st baseman Ryan Howard to tie the game at 3-3.

The Padres would re-take the lead in the top half of the eighth on a Nick Hundley single, scoring Chase Headley to give the Padres a 4-3 lead.

That lead was short lived. Right-hander Duaner Sanchez came into the game in the home half of the eighth and would give up a solo home run to second baseman Chase Utley, to tie the game at 4-4, then a sac fly from Raul Ibanez gave the Phillies a 5-4 lead.

Right-hander Cla Meredith would replace Sanchez with one out in the eighth inning and would get the final two outs, eventually getting credit for his third win of the season after Heath Bell worked a perfect ninth inning for his league leading seventh save.

The San Diego Padres, since losing two of their first three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers to start the season have won eight of their last nine games including a sweep of the San Francisco Giants, winning two of three in New York against the Mets and now winning the first two games of a four game set against the Phillies.

The Padres will go for the sweep, and their ninth win in ten games, as they continue their series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon.

Right-hander Walter Silva was put on the 15-day DL by the Padres a few days ago, taking his place and getting the start today for San Diego will be right-hander Josh Geer who was called up from Triple-A Portland. Getting the start for the Phillies will be former Padre Chan Ho Park.

Padres-Phillies: Padres Rally for an 8-7 Win Over the Phillies

If I told you that Padres’ starter Chris Young would only pitch three and two-third innings and would give up seven runs on nine hits, would you think the San Diego Padres had any chance to come back and win? They did just that, coming from behind for an 8-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Over the last few weeks, I think this team has made believers of all of us. Down 7-1 after three innings, it looked like the Phillies were using the emotion of losing long-time announcer Harry Kalas to jump all over San Diego.

That emotion may have gotten the best of them as the Padres clawed their way back into the game thanks to two-run home runs from Scott Hairston and Nick Hundley to pull them to within 7-5 after six innings.

In the top half of the eighth is when things came unraveled for the Phillies. Chase Headley, who had a three-hit game, would start the inning off with a single and then be moved to second base when Kevin Kouzmanoff grounded out to first baseman Ryan Howard. With Headley on third and short stop Luis Rodriguez on first after a walk, pinch-hitter Jody Gerut with single home Headley to cut the Phillies lead down to just a single run, the comeback was almost complete.

Scott Hairston, already with a two-run home run under his belt, would put the Padres ahead for good with a two-run double, a seven-run rally just needed one final touch, a Heath Bell close out.

Bell wouldn’t disappoint the Padre fans watching and cheering. He would get Ryan Howard to strike out swinging and after a Raul Ibanez single, Bell would get Jayson Werth to fly out to right, leaving Matt Stairs as the Phillies last hope. That hope would be dashed as Bell would get Stairs to strike out looking to end the game, his sixth save in as many chances, closing out an unbelievable 8-7 victory.

This is definitely not the Padres’ team that us fans have been used to seeing. The normal Padres team would pack it in down six runs, but over the last week and a half, the Padres have had three come-from-behind victories, all three of them have been from three runs down. This was more than even I thought they could undertake.

The more surprising stat, you ask? Clean up hitter Adrian Gonzalez was a non-factor all night long, not getting his first hit until the top half of the ninth inning, he would strike out twice and leave four runners on base, not the atypical night for the Padres’ first baseman.

The Padres’ bullpen came up huge tonight as well. After Chris Young’s struggles, the combination of Luis Perdomo, Luke Gregerson, Cla Meredith, Duaner Sanchez and Heath Bell combined to shutout the Phillies over the final five and one-third innings, giving up just five hits.

After Gregerson’s wild night against the Mets on Wednesday night, he settled down and pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning, striking out Phillies’ first baseman Ryan Howard to end that inning.

Padres’ reliever Cla Meredith would get credit for the win, he’ll improve to 2-0 on the season, the loss goes to Phillies right-hander Ryan Madson (1-1) who gave up three runs on three hits in his one inning of work.

The real story tonight was the touching tribute to long-time announcer, the late Harry Kalas. Kalas’ three sons, Todd, Brad and Kane, threw ceremonial pitches to long time Phillies’ third baseman and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, John Kruk, and Jimmy Rollins. The Phillies plan to honor Kalas all season long by playing “That ball’s outta here,” over the ballpark’s public address system after each home run the team hits.

The two teams will be back at it on Saturday night. The Phillies will have Brett Myers (1-1, 5.54 ERA) take the ball against Padres’ right-hander Shawn Hill (1-0, 3.60 ERA). Game time is scheduled for 7:05pm EST.