Recap: Philadelphia vs. Los Angeles
Sports Network | August 22, 2008
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Chris Coste had two hits, including a three-run homer, and tied his career-high with four RBI, as the Philadelphia Phillies pounded the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-1, in the opener of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
Ryan Howard clubbed a two-run homer and Chase Utley added a solo shot for the Phillies, who have won four of their last five contests. Philadelphia trails the NL East-leading Mets by 2 1/2 games. Greg Dobbs finished 2-for-3 and scored twice.
Kyle Kendrick (11-7) gave up one run on three hits over 5 2/3 innings to get the win. Kendrick had failed to make it past the fourth inning in each of his last two starts.
Andre Ethier homered and James Loney collected three hits for Los Angeles, which opened a 10-game road trip by losing for the third time in its last four games.
Greg Maddux (6-10), acquired on Tuesday from the San Diego Padres, took the loss after he was victimized for seven runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. This is the right-hander's second tour of duty with the Dodgers. Maddux joined Los Angeles in 2006 in a trade from the Chicago Cubs and started 12 games, going 6-3 with a 3.30 earned run average.
Los Angeles jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on Ethier's 16th home run of the season, a one-out shot to left. The Phillies, though, pulled ahead in the fourth on Howard's two-run blast. Pat Burrell worked a two-out walk and Howard launched a 2-0 pitch from the four-time Cy Young Award winner to the seats in left. The homer was his 34th, tying Arizona's Adam Dunn for the league lead.
Philadelphia picked up another run in the fifth on Coste's RBI single, then busted the game open with a four-run surge in the sixth. The Phillies loaded the bases with one out on singles by Burrell, Shane Victorino and Dobbs, bringing up Jayson Werth, whose sacrifice fly put the home team up by three. Coste then crushed a 1-1 changeup over the wall in left for a 7-1 Phillies advantage.
Utley made it an 8-1 game in the seventh with a smash to dead-center.
Utley's homer was his 31st, one shy of his career-high set in 2006...The Phillies have recorded an extra-base hit in 53 straight games...The victory snapped a six-game losing streak to the Dodgers...The Phillies were swept by the Dodgers last week in Los Angeles. They hit just .194 in the four-game series...Kendrick had dropped his last two starts and four of six overall...Phillies outfielder Geoff Jenkins left the game after three innings due to a right hip strain...Los Angeles' Clayton Kershaw (2-3) and Philadelphia's Cole Hamels (10-8) are scheduled to start on Saturday.
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