The Stopper

June 23, 2007

Jamie Moyer had as good an all-around game last night in St. louis as you will ever see form a pitcher, let alone a 44-year-old.  He played the game as if he was in Souderton High School.  He always plays it that way.

**He won his seventh game (six scoreless innings) and all seven have come after a Phillies loss.  Since he came east last August from Seattle, the Phillies are 9-2 when he starts after a defeat.

**He singled to start a five-run inning and scored from second on a Shane Victorino hit. 

**He scored with an old-fashioned feet-first slide at home plate.  He bounced up, grabbed Victorino’s bat that was lying there and sprinted to the dugout.

**He took a hard grounder by Albert Pujols off his left knee, scrambled after the ball, flipped it to Ryan Howard as he took a bellyflop on the grass.  It was the last out and guess what, he sprinted to the third base dugout again.

**He laid down a sacrifice bunt that led to another run.

**He didn’t drive the bus back to the hotel simply because there was no bus.  The hotel is two blocks away.  He probably sprinted.

Quote Board:
“He (Jamie) runs harder back to the dugout than a lot of guys do to first base,” Charlie Manuel.

“When I hit the ground (run-scoring slide), I was surprised.  I felt like I was on marbles.  And it wasn’t because of any speed,” Moyer.

“I gave it (the slide) a 9.5 because he didn’t have a lot speed behind it,” Greg Dobbs.