Phillies lose a wild one to Astros in 16 innings

FROM THE MORNING CALL

PHILADELPHIA — Take your pick of what your favorite craziest moment from Tuesday's game was.

There were plenty to choose from.

Was it in the 14th inning when Ryan Howard was called out on strikes on checked-swing, then thrown out of the game, and then charged after third-base umpire Scott Barry who made the third-strike call?



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Was it when much-smaller Placido Polanco held Howard back from Barry with all his might?

Was it when a guy on the disabled list, Phillies back-up first baseman Ross Gload, was ejected in the 14th inning?

Was it when starting pitcher Roy Oswalt had to play left field because the Phillies were out of position players in the 15th inning (the first time a Phillies pitcher played a position since Bill Wilson did it in 1971)?

Was it when Raul Ibanez, who shifted from left field to first base, fielded a grounder in the 15th and then dove head first at the bag and beat speedster Michael Bourn?

Was it when Jimmy Rollins hit a two-out home run in the ninth inning to force extra innings?

No matter how much craziness there was, no matter how many "firsts" Phillies fan saw, it didn't have a happy ending for them.

David Herndon, the last of the Phillies relievers still available, allowed a pair of runs in the 16th inning and the Phillies lost 4-2 to the Houston Astros on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park in a game that lasted 5 hours, 20 minutes.

"I feel like I let my team down," Herndon said.

It was the longest game (innings-wise) since the Phillies lost to the Mets 9-8 on May 23, 2006.

The Phillies were in position to make something happen in the 14th. With runners at second and third, Howard had the chance to be the hero. On Mark Melancon's 1-2 pitch, Howard appeared to have checked his swing. On the appeal, Barry punched out Howard, who was still annoyed from a called strike on another check swing earlier in the at-bat. After being called out on strikes, Howard threw his bat and helmet to the ground.

Barry pulled the trigger quickly and almost immediately ejected Howard, who charged after him. Polanco, who was on third base, used all his power to hold a much-bigger Howard away from Barry. Manager Charlie Manuel came out to have some words, and in the meantime, Gload was ejected.

Manuel explained that players on the disabled list are not allowed to say anything in defiance from the dugout.

"He hollered out of the dugout and he's not supposed to," Manuel said.

Manuel admitted that seeing Howard get that worked up was a first.

"I've never seen Howard upset like that," Manuel said. "I didn't even realize he got ejected. The home plate umpire [Greg Gibson] didn't realize he got ejected."

Howard's ejection left Manuel in a pickle. He was out of position players, and turned to Oswalt to play left field. Ibanez moved to first base, a position he hadn't played since 2005, to fill the hole there.

The first play in the 15th was a fly ball that went to Oswalt, who made the catch.

"There's a saying in baseball, 'The ball will find you," Ibanez said.

One out later, Bourn hit a grounder that Ibanez grabbed, and knowing how fast Bourn is, Ibanez dove to tag the first-base bag to end the inning.

"He's fast, like a blurr down the line," said Ibanez, who used Mike Sweeney's first-baseman's glove. "I figured I better not take a chance."

After the Astros took the lead, the Phillies had some life in the bottom of the 16th. Polanco drew a two-out walk, bringing Chase Utley to the plate. The Astros intentionally walked him to get to Oswalt, who grounded out, ending the game.

Dingers: The Phillies had their regular lineup on the field for just the seventh time this season and the first time since May 21. … Jimmy Rollins' stolen bases streak ended at 30 games when he was thrown out at third base in the seventh inning. … Ryan Howard was 0-for-7 with five strikeouts. … Back on July 2, 2004, when the Phillies lost to the Orioles in 16 innings, Jim Thome was 0-for-8 with five strikeouts in that game. … The Phillies are now 10-6 in extra-inning games this season. They had won each of their last seven extra-inning games before Tuesday. … The Phillies' run in the sixth inning snapped a streak of 25.0 consecutive innings without scoring a run while Cole Hamels was in the game. … Before that, they hadn't scored a run for him since the 7th inning of a game at Washington on Aug. 1. Despite putting up fabulous numbers -- Hamels has a 2.83 ERA in his last eight starts -- he has nothing to show for it. He's taken the loss or gotten a no-decision in each other those games; his last win came back on July 11 against the Red. … The Phillies have scored three runs or fewer in 58 of their 125 games (46.5 percent of the time). They've been shut out 10 times; scored one run 18 times; scored two runs 13 times and scored three runs 17 times. Even manager Charlie Manuel is at a loss as to why his team isn't scoring runs. "I can't think of a reason. It's just a down year for us as far as production," he said. "I can't put my finger on it. Our [starting] pitching has been really good. I can't say enough about our starting pitching. Our offense is very capable of scoring runs. Everybody knows that. But for some reason we haven't."

Truth comes out: Jayson Werth told CSNPhilly.com that he got picked off second base during Monday's game because former teammate Brett Myers made him laugh by sticking his tongue out at home.

"I'm kind of embarrassed," Werth reportedly said. "I busted out laughing and I looked down at my feet and the next thing I knew the ball was there and I was dead meat. Brett just caught me off guard and made me laugh."

CSNPhilly.com reported that Myers confirmed the incident and "gave [Werth] his best Gene Simmons act."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-philsastros-gamer-0824-20100825,0,5979822.story