Giants still a formidable foe for Phillies
Those are the two starting pitchers the Phillies almost certainly would see twice each in a seven-game series with the Giants, and that should be a scary thought for the Phillies and their fans, regardless of what offensive addition they may make.
Those are the two starting pitchers the Phillies almost certainly would see twice each in a seven-game series with the Giants, and that should be a scary thought for the Phillies and their fans, regardless of what offensive addition they may make.
In the final two games of this series, the Phillies batted a combined .156 (7 for 55) against Cain and Lincecum and got only two hits in five innings against the San Francisco bullpen.
As much as manager Charlie Manuel wants a righthanded bat to stick in the middle of his order, what he'd need most in a postseason series against San Francisco is for his lefthanded bats to produce against Cain, Lincecum, and closer Brian Wilson.
It will not matter one bit whom the Phillies acquire at the deadline if Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez cannot figure out a way to have more impact against the Giants. That trio was a combined 15 for 63 with one RBI in the NLCS last year and 1 for 18 against Cain and Lincecum in this series.
Utley came up three times against Lincecum with runners in scoring position Thursday night and could not produce. He popped out with Jimmy Rollins on third base and one out in the first inning, then struck out in his next two at-bats before delivering an RBI double off lefthanded reliever Jeremy Affeldt in the seventh.
Howard, meanwhile, struck out in the first and left runners on second and third in the seventh against Affeldt.
Pence, based on his track record, may not be the answer if the Phillies do run into the Giants in the postseason. He is a combined 6 for 34 against Cain and Lincecum with one home run and three RBIs. That should not come as a major surprise because Cain and Lincecum are terrific pitchers who shut down most teams they face.
Ryan Ludwick, another potential addition, is 3 for 23 against Lincecum and 6 for 16 with two home runs against Cain.
The point here is that the Giants remain the team the Phillies should least want to face in the postseason. That's not to say they cannot beat them. It will just be one of those series that could go either way.