Phillies Notebook: Phillies not big on Giants' spacious ballpark
SAN FRANCISCO - If the season ended today, and if the Phillies faced the Giants in the first round of the playoffs, the series would begin at Citizens Bank Park. That is a good thing, at least judging by the talk in the Phillies' clubhouse after their 7-2 loss at AT & T Park yesterday.
The Phillies scored just 10 runs in the four-game set, their first series loss since a three-game sweep at the hands of the Braves from June 30 to July 2. They went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position yesterday, and finished their seven-game West Coast trip 8-for-64 in such situations.
Nevertheless, the prevailing sentiment holds that those numbers would have been much larger had the series taken place at Citizens Bank Park.
"Quite a few balls we hit were homers in Philly,'' said outfielder Jayson Werth, who went 6-for-16 in the series and hit one of the team's three home runs. "This place is big. The ball doesn't carry. Even though the wind blows out, it's kind of strange. They've got a good club, but I don't think we played as good as we can play."[/b]
In the second inning yesterday, Werth made solid contact on a low fastball against lefty Barry Zito. After he watched it die in the deepest part of the park - 421 feet to the alley in rightfield - he removed his batting gloves in disgust. The out was one of several the Phillies knocked to the alley over their four-game stay.
"If we play at our field, I think it will be different," said Cole Hamels, who allowed seven runs in five innings but suffered several bad breaks. "I think just because you see where we hit the ball, those are definitely out of our ballpark. The score could definitely be a little bit different. But then again, they can hit balls just as well as we can . . . They definitely have the type of team that will go to the postseason because they have really strong pitchers. It'll be interesting. It'll be fun. It'll definitely be interesting to watch what goes on."
They will get a chance to put their theory to a test on Sept. 1, when the Giants are in Philadelphia for the start of a three-game series.
