Phillies Batter Backe's Changeup

The Phillies teed off on Houston's Brandon Backe this afternoon in a 10-2 Philadelphia win.

Brandon Backe went after the Phillies with constant changeups, but the Phils' potent lineup punished his off speed pitches to score six runs in the first four innings.

Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell hammered changeups in the first inning for RBI singles in the first inning. Chase Utley's fourth inning homerun came on a changeup, belt high on the outer half of the plate. Utley drove it over the right-centerfield fence for the two run blast.

Backe also struggled to locate his fastball which led to several hits and two walks in three plus innings. He departed the game after the long ball he surrendered to Utley.

Pat Burrell's homerun gives him 28 homeruns during his last 98 games. That's about a 45 homerun pace when extrapolated over an entire season.

Add in the fact Burrell has drawn a tremendous amount of walks during that streak, throw in a batting average near .300 over that same span, and you can make a case he's been one of the best hitters in the Major Leagues since July 1st.

It's a little early, but a Pat Burrell for MVP campaign could be coming.

Brett Myers also put together his second straight quality start. He seems to be re-acclimated to his role as a starting pitcher after two very shaky starts to open the year.

Myers came out throwing absolute gas. Every pitch in the first inning, either a two seam or four seam fastball.

First ten pitches of the second inning? You guessed it ten more fastballs.

It's a very good sign for Myers that he is going back to his fastball after having trouble locating it in his first two starts.

The second time through the lineup, Myers really stayed away from his heater. Instead, he got his outs through the use off his off-speed pitches.

Myers left the game after the 7th inning, with a final line of five hits, a walk, an earned run, and eight strikeouts.

So Yeah...Roy Oswalt not in Decline Wednesday Night

Roy Oswalt proving me absolutely wrong, well for at least tonight.

Oswalt's performance during the last year or so has suggested he's already peaked which isn't too surprising since he's 31. I wrote that there were some startling trends over the last few years with his strikeouts decreasing and hits allowed increasing. Here's the full breakdown of my thoughts on Oswalt.

But back to what actually happened tonight. Oswalt went seven strong innings tonight, only giving up a handful of hits in Houston's 2-1 win.

In the past, Oswalt has always shown the ability to go late into games. To do that, a pitcher must have the ability to use multiple pitches effectively during different at-bats.

The first time through the lineup, Oswalt pounded the first couple batters of each inning with fastballs and curveballs. Towards the end of each inning, he strayed away from those pitches, unleashing his repertoire of sliders, sinkers, and changeups.

The second time through the lineup he reversed his approach. He stayed away from first pitch fastballs and attacked with changeups and sliders.

In the fifth and six innings, Oswalt goes back to the curveball and complements it with fastballs and sliders.

When you can go through a lineup with three distinct approaches effectively, you are going to be very tough to beat.

Oswalt did prove me right when he lacked the ability to strike Phillies out. He recorded just four strikeouts and two came against the pitcher Kyle Kendrick.

Most pitchers who only record two strikeouts against the legitimate part of the lineup are going to have a lot of trouble. This includes Roy Oswalt on most nights. Oswalt's stuff is very nasty to say the least, but when 24 of 26 hitters are putting the ball in the play, odds are on most nights those balls are going to consistently fall for basehits.

What's disheartening for the Phillies is they wasted a superb start from Kyle Kendrick. The young righty actually outpitched Oswalt in pretty much every way, but the scoreboard.

Kendrick was one middle-in sinker to Michael Bourn away from throwing an absolute gem. Bourn took the pitch in his wheelhouse down the right field line, clearing the outfield fence by A LOT. Who thought Bourn could hit a ball that far, but then again, Kendrick couldn't have put that pitch in a better spot for Bourn to go deep. Click the link for video of the homer.

Phillies fans got to know Houston reliever Wesley Wright very quickly. The rookie left hander came in to face the 2-3-4 hitters of the Phillies lineup.

He retired them before those watching at home could figure out where this guy came from. He struck out Pedro Feliz, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard to quell the Phillies best opportunity in the late innings to score.

Here's something you probably didn't know about Wesley Wright. His real name is Dequam LaWesley Wright. I think shortening his name to Wesley was probably a good PR move.

Quick hits: Utley went 1-4 with a double. Howard finally got a hit, but he's still in Kevin Stocker territory with his .189 batting average. J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson threw scoreless innings in relief. Doug Brocail picked up the save. Yes, Doug Brocail picked up the save. I'll repeat it again. 41 year old Doug Brocail picked up the save. Jimmy Rollins pinch hit for Carlos Ruiz and singled in his only at-bat in the ninth inning. So Taguchi pinch ran for Rollins.

Phillies Preview: Roy Oswalt isn't What He Used to Be

The Phillies will look to win the first two games of a series for the second series in a row tonight against the Astros. The Phillies took the first two games against the Cubs and will try to do the same tonight against the Astros.

Roy Oswalt throws tonight for Houston which used to stir fear in hitters across the National League, but that's just not the case this year.

Oswalt has become more and more hittable during the last few years. During the last three years his strike outs are down and the number of hits and walks he's allowed has increased. In 2004, he struck out 206 batters in 237 innings. The next year, he struck out 22 fewer batters in four more innings. That trend has continued through 2007.

Oswalt also used to be a control freak. His walks issued used to be astronomically low, but in 2007, he walked 22 more batters in eight less innings than 2006.

His WHIP typically averaged around 1.15, in 2007, his WHIP was 1.33.

When a pitcher begins striking out fewer players, batters are going to put the ball in play more often which naturally means more base hits.

One reason for Oswalt's slow demise comes from his very small stature. Oswalt is considered a power pitcher, but he's a mere 6'0'' 195. His windup allows him to generate a lot of speed, but it can be very tiring over the long haul of a season. His quirky delivery puts strain on different parts of his body. Oswalt battled through a 2003 injury plagued season which limited him to 21 starts. Last year, Oswalt began feeling significant pain on the left side of his body. The Astros shut him down in the September as a precaution since they were out of the playoff race.

Roy Oswalt will come at you with a deceptively quick fastball and two awesome curveballs. His 12-6 curveball is one of the best in the game. He complements those pitches with a pretty hard slider and a changeup that on a good day will have a 10-15 MPH difference from his fastball.

Last year, Roy Oswalt struggled against the Phillies. In two starts, he pitched 12 innings, gave up 17 hits, 6 walks, and 10 runs. His third start of the year came against the Phillies where he gave up six runs and six walks in five innings.

In 2008, the little right-hander has struggled once again. He's been hammered in all three of his outings, but his walks are down and strike outs up. He's 0-3 and has given up as many earned runs as innings pitched.

Since the Phillies are a fairly free swinging offense, Oswalt definitely has a solid chance to rebound tonight if he can get the Phillies chasing pitchers. If the Fightin's can work Oswalt, it could be a very short outing once again for Roy Oswalt, especially since the game is in Citizen's Bank Ball Park.

Roy Oswalt is still a very good pitcher, but definitely is on the backside of his career at the age of 31. If I had to guess what his overall numbers will end up, he'll probably have an ERA around 3.75 and a WHIP of 1.35.

Phillies Host Houston Tonight

The Phillies will meet Houston for the first time in 2008 after the Phillies and the 'Stros split their six meetings in 2007.

Adam Eaton will pitch for the third time this season. Eaton is looking to string together his third consecutive quality start. Charlie Manuel has switched Eaton and Kyle Kendrick's spot in the rotation. Kendrick will pitch tomorrow. Eaton will throw today because it is his normal day to pitch which is probably a good move with Eaton's durability. You want him to get into a consistent routine to feel comfortable in the rotation.

Adam Eaton's first two starts have been two of his better starts he's had as a Phillie. One of the reasons: he's keeping the ball on the ground. 18 of the 41 outs he's gotten have come via the ground ball. A groundball rate over 40% is solid, especially since he's pitching in hitter friendly Citizen's Bank Ballpark tonight. The only homerun he's allow came when he was laboring through his final inning against the Reds.

The Astro's are currently without the services of super utilityman Ty Wigginton who's out with a broken thumb. Houston's lineup will most likely look like this:

1) Former Phillie speedster Michael Bourn.
2) Close to being the ageless Mark Loretta.
3) He's got three steals already Lance Berkman
4) Carlos "The horse in Spanish" Lee
5) He's got the same birthday as me, Miguel Tejada.
6) He's still got a spot in a starting lineup? Geoff Blum.
7) See batter number 6, Darin Erstad.
8) He's an awesome rookie, J.R. Towles.

Pitching will be Shawn Chacon. Chacon has bounced around the majors pitching for Colorado, the New York Yankees, and the Pirates. Chacon has been tough against two subpar hitting teams in St. Louis and San Diego. The current Phillies on the roster are a combined 17-61 against Chacon. Pedro Feliz has faced him the most, going 5-20 against Chacon with two homeruns.