All of Charlie Manuel's machinations were based on the belief that his team could overcome the four-run lead Hamels spotted the Rockies. It was the offense that betrayed Manuel, not the bullpen.
The offense and a couple of fundamental defensive lapses, that is.
"If we go out and play the game the right way, the way that we know how, we'll be fine," rightfielder Jayson Werth said.
He was talking about what is now a best-of-three series that opens with a pair of games in Denver that might as well be televised on the Weather Channel. But Werth could have been talking about what the Phillies didn't do in Game 2. Because they didn't play the right way, they squandered the chance to take a commanding two-game lead.
Ryan Howard hesitated too long after Hamels' first-inning pickoff of Carlos Gonzalez, allowing the Rockies' leadoff man to reach second. Gonzalez advanced to third and scored on a fielder's choice.
What proved to be the winning run scored when Joe Blanton threw to third on a sacrifice bunt. Going after the lead runner, instead of taking the sure out, allowed Dexter Fowler to come to the plate with one out instead of two. He hit a sacrifice fly to give Colorado a two-run lead.
When Werth hit a solo homer in the eighth, that run became the difference in the game.
"We were right there," Werth said. "We gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game. That's all you can ask for when you get down."
That brings us neatly to the real issue. The Phillies were terrible in the early innings for the second game in a row. Players from both sides acknowledged that the television-dictated starting times were a factor. For the first few innings, the pitchers were throwing from the sun into the shadows.
