NewsPhillies back sharp Blanton in Game 1
Righty tosses seven scoreless innings to beat Marlins
By Todd Zolecki / MLB.com
09/22/09 8:32 PM ET
MIAMI -- Joe Blanton found his slider and sinker Tuesday at Land Shark Stadium, which is a good thing with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season."Yeah, hopefully it stays," he said. "I hope it's one of those things that pops back in and doesn't go away again."
Blanton allowed just two hits and two walks and struck out nine in seven scoreless innings in a 9-3 victory over the Marlins in Game 1 of a doubleheader. The victory cut the Phillies' magic number against the Marlins to four and against the Braves to five.
Blanton (11-7) has thrown 13 consecutive scoreless innings after throwing six scoreless frames Thursday against the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Blanton threw a career-high 18 consecutive scoreless innings Aug. 16-31, 2005, when he pitched for Oakland.
But this is not just a recent happening. Blanton has been throwing well for months. He is 9-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 21 starts since May 21 in Cincinnati, where he allowed five runs in five innings. His ERA ranks 10th in the Majors and seventh in the National League since then.
Blanton probably should have more wins in that stretch, but the offense has not been kind to him. They have scored three or fewer runs in 15 of those starts.
"I definitely feel like I've thrown it pretty well this season," he said. "It's easy when you've got a great team behind you. The catchers do a phenomenal job, whoever is in there. And we've got a team that can score runs. You kind of get on it a little bit for a couple games and hope to ride it out as long as you can. I try to just keep things the way they are."
Blanton left the game in the seventh with a 4-0 lead. The Phillies scored five runs in the eighth to make it 9-0. Ryan Howard had three RBIs. Jayson Werth had two. Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez and Miguel Cairo also knocked in runs.
Interestingly, the Phillies also struck out 16 times. They had not struck out that many times in a nine-inning game since Oct. 6, 1991, when they set a franchise record with 19 strikeouts against Mets right-hander David Cone.
Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
