You just knew this was going to happen.

One night after the Phillies annihilated the Reds, 22-1, they direly could have used some of those runs in losing to the same team, 4-3.

Monday night everything the Phils hit either dropped in or landed in the bleachers. Last night they hit a couple more balls into the bleachers, but came up agonizingly short in several key instances.

It’s not so much that the Phils lost. That happens. It’s the way they lost, and the opportunities they squandered to break the game open, just
24 hours after they rolled to a record-setting offensive output.

Take the third inning. Please. The Phils were leading on the stength of back-to-back homers from Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth in the second. In the third, Chase Utley doubled home a run to push the lead to 3-0. The Phils then loaded the bases with nobody out, one hit away from breaking the game open. Then nothing. Werth struck out. Greg Dobbs hit a weak infield pop up, and Pedro Feliz grounded out.

The very next inning Carlos Ruiz led off with a triple, only to be stranded there. The Phils left 12 runners on base and went a collective
0-for-5 with a runner on third base and less than two out.

That’s the way baseball works, especially after a laugher like the one the Phils laid on the Reds Monday night.

And one other thing about last night’s game. Brad Lidge entered a tied game in the ninth, and gave up the winning single.

Crazy game.