Kyle Kendrick had a 3-2 lead in the 4th inning, with a man in the 2nd and 2 outs. The next 2 batters came up to load the bases. The first was receiver Torrealba, who headed in the 3-1 count, and then was intentionally set. The next batter was rookie Seth Smith, pinch hitter for the pitcher. It’s been important for the Rockies down the stretch. Kendrick jammed it with a pitch that turned into a slow roll to third base that Wes Helms couldn’t handle, ending up as a hit. With the bases loaded, manager Charlie Manuel decided to switch pitchers and bring in starter Kyle Lohse from the bullpen to face Kaz Matsui. Matsui had hit Kendrick hard in his last at-bat, hitting a triple. Lohse allowed a grand slam by Matsui to right field, making it 6-3. Lohse finished 4th and pitched 5th. He was replaced by José Mesa in the sixth. Mesa and Clay Condrey allowed 4 runs to close out the game. Should the change have been made?

“I don’t think it was a mistake,” Manuel said. “I did. I liked Lohse vs. Matsui because of the material on him. It was the second time I picked him up and when I put him in, he was going to go to sixth.”

Yeah, it was the second time he’s put Lohse in the bullpen. Lohse was pitching in the third inning when Kendrick had only one runner on base. Kendrick wasn’t throwing a great game, but he was fighting it out and keeping the team at it. He allowed back-to-back first-inning home runs to Tulowitzki and Holliday. But the next time he faced them in the third inning, he struck out Tulowitzki and got Holliday to ground out Helms in the third. The Phillies’ middle relievers are pretty bad and any game they’re in isn’t a game that’s going the Phillies’ way. That said, Lohse is a starter, not one of the middle relievers who has struggled so much this season. He has thrown out of the corral twice down the stretch and performed well for most of it in that role.

I listened to a tape of legendary Philly sportswriter Bill Conlin talking to Kendrick in postgame interviews. He referenced Holliday’s at-bats and then asked Kendrick if he felt confident he could get Matsui out this time. Kyle’s response was firm.
“I was pretty confident. [about facing Matsui]”He said. “Bases loaded and two out, one pitch and I’m out.”
Charlie Manuel was sitting next to Kendrick and chimed in that Holliday hadn’t won in the fourth inning, obviously not getting the reference as intended. Manuel’s tone was very defensive.

Manuel didn’t show much faith in his starter, not only in the 4th, but also in the previous inning. This is not new. A lot of times this season, when his bullpen was toxic, he’d fill in for a starter who had been throwing a game-winning game but had runners on, going to the same team that kept failing in the fifth and sixth innings. I didn’t get it then and not now. Kendrick should have stayed in the game. His ball-to-strike ratio wasn’t good, 38-28, and he was behind on too many counts, but he was passing.

Now the Phils’ season comes down to either a heroic effort, which saves the series in a very dramatic way, or a quick fade from euphoric to frustrated. The scene looks familiar.