Throw the ball, hit the ball, catch the ball. They are the ABCs of baseball.
The Phillies are up by a game in their National League division series because the Milwaukee Brewers failed to execute in these three basic areas today.
The Brewers, 3-1 losers to the Phils, couldn't hit Cole Hamels. Not a whole lot could have been done about that. When a pitcher of Hamels' caliber is on, he always will have an advantage.
But the throwing and catching? With the wind blowing and light rain falling, the Brewers came up small in those areas, and it cost them the game.
The three plays that cooked the Brewers happened in the bottom of the third inning, in a span of four batters.
Third baseman Bill Hall bobbled a bunt and made a so-so throw. Second baseman Rickie Weeks dropped a ball. And centerfielder Mike Cameron misplayed a hard-hit ball into a double. By the time the inning had ended, the Phillies had three unearned runs.
"We took advantage of a break," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
The break unfolded this way: Carlos Ruiz led off with a single. Hamels bunted toward third base. Hall, who probably had a play on the slow-footed Ruiz at second, bobbled the ball. He righted himself and threw to first, where Weeks was covering. Weeks, however, dropped the ball.
That put runners on first and second with no outs. Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo got leadoff man Jimmy Rollins to pop out on the first pitch, then struck out Jayson Werth. Hold your thumb and index finger an inch apart. That's how close Gallardo was to getting out of the inning unscathed.
Chase Utley, looking for a better postseason showing than last year's two-singles-for-11-at-bats, was the next hitter. On a 2-2 pitch, Utley drilled the ball hard to center. Cameron, who was shaded slightly toward right field, broke in and toward his right. He soon realized he had misjudged the ball and started back. He lunged, got his glove on the ball and nearly made a dazzling, inning-ending catch. But as his weight centered, the ball popped out, allowing two runs to score.
After Utley's hit, ruled a double, the inning went from bad to worse for the Brewers. Gallardo intentionally walked Ryan Howard, then unintentionally walked Pat Burrell and Shane Victorino, forcing in the third unearned run.
Gallardo said he was not unnerved by his defense's implosion.
"Things like that happen," he said. "That's no excuse for letting your guard down. I still have to make pitches and get out of the situation."
