PHILADELPHIA — Did you see the guys at Citizens Bank Park dressed up as Chase Utley and Ryan Howard for Halloween?
Those two wearing Phillies pinstripes last night had to be imposters. It’s the only explanation for a second straight dismal performance from the heart of the Philly order.
Utley and Howard were a combined 0-for-8 in an 8-5 Game 3 loss to the Yankees last night with five strikeouts between them. The duo is now 0-for-15 with nine strikeouts in the last two games.
“I’m a little bit anxious at the plate right now,” Howard said. “It’s a matter of calming down.”
If it wasn’t for Jayson Werth, the Phillies would have barely been in last night’s game. Werth had two solo home runs to left field that kept the Phillies in the game until their bullpen let the game get away.
Andy Pettitte dominated Utley and Howard all night.
“At the most we’ve got four games to play,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “If we’re going to get going, it’s time for us to do it.”
Utley had a big Game 1, hitting two home runs off CC Sabathia, but has vanished since. Howard, the MVP of the NLCS, was last seen sipping champagne after Game 5 of that series.
“Pettitte closed down our left-handed hitters completely,” Manuel said.
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Howard struck out four times in Game 2 and in his first two at-bats last night. The six straight strikeouts were two shy of the record for consecutive strikeouts in the World Series.
After a pop out in the fifth inning, Howard struck out again in the eighth against Damaso Marte. Howard has nine total strikeouts in this Series, three short of Willie Wilson’s Series record of 12 set in 1980.
The second straight 0-for-4 night by Howard dropped him to 2-for-13 in the Series with one RBI after tearing up the first two rounds of the postseason. The slugging first baseman was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and everyone expected a power battle between him and Alex Rodriguez. That has not materialized.
“It could be mental,” Jimmy Rollins said. “Maybe trying to get that big hit to ignite things for the team and for himself the last couple of games. He always finds a way. This is his time of year.”
After going 0-for-4 last night, Utley is 2-for-11 with two RBIs in the Series. Utley clubbed two homers off CC Sabathia at Yankee Stadium in Game 1 to lead the Phillies to victory.
Werth hit a home run to lead off the second inning to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. He led off the sixth with another homer to narrow the Yankees lead to 6-4 but it was not enough.
With Joe Blanton starting for the Phillies tonight against Sabathia, Manuel needs the heart of his lineup to start pumping.