wrigley phantom
08-03-2007, 12:07 PM
CHICAGO -- With his right forearm tightly wrapped after a line drive knocked him from his Phillies debut, Kyle Lohse looked like the rest of the Ace bandage brigade.
"I thought I'd try to fit in," Lohse said.
At least he won't have to see Jacque Jones again this season, something that should lessen his chances of being struck by a batted ball. The liner met Lohse's right forearm, ending his day after 29 pitches. The right-hander completed the play with a throw to first, ending the inning and his afternoon.
Losing the argument to stay in the game, Lohse watched his teammates strike back in double-digits in a 10-6 win over the Cubs.
"I tried to talk [pitching coach] Rich Dubee into seeing how it reacted, but [the swelling] kept getting bigger and bigger," said Lohse, who doesn't expect to miss his next start. "It was half-a-baseball big under the skin."
"It looked like somebody cut his arm open, put a softball in there and stitched it back up," Brett Myers added.
Acquired on Monday from the Reds, Lohse heard about the run support given to starting pitchers by the National League's most potent offense, but couldn't benefit. For the second time in his career, he was hit by a line drive from Jones. The first time came in Minnesota when they were teammates.
"He fouled one off into our dugout and got me in the right shoulder," Lohse said. "That was my fault for not paying attention. That was the day after I pitched and I had three more days to recover. I'll probably hear from him later today. He should take me out to dinner."
Lohse had a stressful inning, loading the bases with two outs by plunking Aramis Ramirez and Cliff Floyd. He then walked Mike Fontenot to force in the first run. Catcher Chris Coste helped limit the damage by gunning down Alfonso Soriano trying to steal second base.
Had Jones' ball went through, the Phillies would've been down 3-0.
"Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices," Jayson Werth said. "That's two more runs if it gets through. That was a big play with the bases loaded."
Werth also had a big day for the Phillies, driving in four runs with his three hits. Coste and Pat Burrell, who homered, also had three hits.
Philadelphia produced seven runs in 2 2/3 innings off Cubs starter Sean Marshall, who pitched despite waking up with a scratched cornea in his right eye, which the pitcher said happened by sleeping wrong. Chicago pulled to within 7-6 by the eighth inning, but the Phillies tacked on three more in the ninth.
"I felt good," said Werth, the team's third different leadoff hitter in as many days. "That first at-bat, I got two strikes on me and was forced to swing. I had a seven-pitch at-bat and ended up grounding out. That's what got me locked in a little bit. With guys injured, [manager] Charlie [Manuel] is mixing up [the lineup] a little bit. Hey, whatever gets the bats going."
The Phillies' bullpen held things together for the next eight innings, starting with winning pitcher J.D. Durbin (4-2), who allowed three runs in three innings. Durbin's spot in the rotation had been taken by Lohse. He gave way to Geoff Geary, J.C. Romero, Tom Gordon and Myers, who worked back-to-back days for the first time since returning from the disabled list.
Thursday's win gave the Phillies a split of the four games, and kept them four games back of New York in the National League East. Because the Mets beat the Brewers, the Cubs remained tied for first in the NL Central.
With two hot teams, a split was to be expected.
"Two teams that have been playing good ball played each other to a split," Myers said. "We showed you how hot we were and they showed you how hot they were."
"I thought I'd try to fit in," Lohse said.
At least he won't have to see Jacque Jones again this season, something that should lessen his chances of being struck by a batted ball. The liner met Lohse's right forearm, ending his day after 29 pitches. The right-hander completed the play with a throw to first, ending the inning and his afternoon.
Losing the argument to stay in the game, Lohse watched his teammates strike back in double-digits in a 10-6 win over the Cubs.
"I tried to talk [pitching coach] Rich Dubee into seeing how it reacted, but [the swelling] kept getting bigger and bigger," said Lohse, who doesn't expect to miss his next start. "It was half-a-baseball big under the skin."
"It looked like somebody cut his arm open, put a softball in there and stitched it back up," Brett Myers added.
Acquired on Monday from the Reds, Lohse heard about the run support given to starting pitchers by the National League's most potent offense, but couldn't benefit. For the second time in his career, he was hit by a line drive from Jones. The first time came in Minnesota when they were teammates.
"He fouled one off into our dugout and got me in the right shoulder," Lohse said. "That was my fault for not paying attention. That was the day after I pitched and I had three more days to recover. I'll probably hear from him later today. He should take me out to dinner."
Lohse had a stressful inning, loading the bases with two outs by plunking Aramis Ramirez and Cliff Floyd. He then walked Mike Fontenot to force in the first run. Catcher Chris Coste helped limit the damage by gunning down Alfonso Soriano trying to steal second base.
Had Jones' ball went through, the Phillies would've been down 3-0.
"Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices," Jayson Werth said. "That's two more runs if it gets through. That was a big play with the bases loaded."
Werth also had a big day for the Phillies, driving in four runs with his three hits. Coste and Pat Burrell, who homered, also had three hits.
Philadelphia produced seven runs in 2 2/3 innings off Cubs starter Sean Marshall, who pitched despite waking up with a scratched cornea in his right eye, which the pitcher said happened by sleeping wrong. Chicago pulled to within 7-6 by the eighth inning, but the Phillies tacked on three more in the ninth.
"I felt good," said Werth, the team's third different leadoff hitter in as many days. "That first at-bat, I got two strikes on me and was forced to swing. I had a seven-pitch at-bat and ended up grounding out. That's what got me locked in a little bit. With guys injured, [manager] Charlie [Manuel] is mixing up [the lineup] a little bit. Hey, whatever gets the bats going."
The Phillies' bullpen held things together for the next eight innings, starting with winning pitcher J.D. Durbin (4-2), who allowed three runs in three innings. Durbin's spot in the rotation had been taken by Lohse. He gave way to Geoff Geary, J.C. Romero, Tom Gordon and Myers, who worked back-to-back days for the first time since returning from the disabled list.
Thursday's win gave the Phillies a split of the four games, and kept them four games back of New York in the National League East. Because the Mets beat the Brewers, the Cubs remained tied for first in the NL Central.
With two hot teams, a split was to be expected.
"Two teams that have been playing good ball played each other to a split," Myers said. "We showed you how hot we were and they showed you how hot they were."