The Phils would be in danger of being swept had they not been so patient at the plate in the 9th inning. Carlos Marmol, known for having an alarming K rate, also is known for being very wild, and frequently struggles to throw strikes. Marmol walked 5 people in the 9th, Polanco delivered a clutch single that was aided by Soto dropping the throw by Colvin that would have had Schneider out at home by a good margin. The Phillies scored 4 runs and batted around +1 on just 2 hits in the inning. Lidge was able to shut it down to secure the win.
I thought the lineup was a bit interesting today. I still don't think Manuel has a firm grip of how a lineup should be composed. Yes, career stats have greater predictive value than season stats, but Shane Victorino has struggled to get on base all season. At this point, Polanco and Rollins (the only two players one can expect Manuel to bat leadoff besides Victorino) both have higher OBPs than Victorino. Victorino also has been slugging better than both Rollins and Polanco. Intelligent minds would suspect that Manuel would put people on base before people who mash the ball. Manuel does things backwards.
Today's lineup: Victorino, Polanco, Rollins, Howard, Werth, Ibanez, Ruiz, Valdez
My proposed lineup against RHP: Rollins, Ruiz, Werth, Howard, Victorino, Polanco, Ibanez, Valdez
I'm also not opposed to batting Ruiz or Polanco leadoff and dropping Rollins somewhere in the lineup.
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