Phillies SP Joe Blanton Available; Orioles Want Him

The Phillies haven’t made it clear if they are buyers or sellers at the deadline just yet, but one thing made clear is the availability of starting pitcher Joe Blanton.

The Phillies said that Blanton is available in a potential trade, and that the team with the most interest in him right now is Baltimore.

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Placido Polanco Has MRI; Status Unknown

PHILADELPHIA — Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco will not be in tonight’s lineup for the Phillies for the second straight game and third time in four games.

Polanco had an MRI on his lower back today and his status is unknown at this point.

Matt Gelb writes that this could be “problematic” for the Phillies, who may want to trade the 36-year-old third baseman to a contending team. Baltimore was reportedly interested in Polanco but if he has back issues it may kill his trade value.

Five Teams to Watch In the Second Half

The second half is underway and there are a handful of teams looking to get back to the post season, some waiting longer than others.

The National League features a pair of teams who find themselves shockingly in first place. Meanwhile, the American League has an early three-team race for the Wild Card with one newcomer in the second half post season race.

Here are a list of five teams to watch heading into the second half of the season.

BREAKING: Thome Traded to Orioles

Thome (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Phillies have traded first baseman Jim Thome to the Baltimore Orioles.

The Phillies got two players for Thome, RHP Kyle Simon and C Gabriel Lino, both of the Orioles Single-A team.

Thome hit .242 with two doubles, five homers and 15 RBIs in 30 games for the Phillies this year.  He made four starts at first base and nine starts as the designated hitter.

TTB’s Road Trip to Baltimore

Nothing beats the comfort of the confines of Citizens Bank Park. Hell, nothing beats Citizens Bank Park in general.

It’s the best damn stadium in all of baseball. Any Phillies fan will tell you that.

But once in a while, you have to spread your wings, travel around a bit and see why other fans will argue that their park is the coziest, comfiest and most beautiful place to watch a game of baseball.

Cities like New York, Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C. and Baltimore offer Phillies fans the opportunity to travel via road trip to catch a baseball game. I can safely say I’ve watched baseball in each of those cities but Boston and D.C. (I did catch the Marlins in Miami a few years back).

But what makes the trip better is seeing your home town team playing as the visitors in an opposing park. That is what a handful of us from TTB did this past weekend, as well as 70 percent of the attendance in Baltimore all weekend.

Wieters Crushes Double in O’s Second Straight Walk-Off Win

Orioles designated hitter Matt Wieters watching his walk-off double in the 10th inning. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Orioles 5, Phillies 4 (10 innings)
WP – David O’Day (0-1, 3.06)
LP – Joe Savery (4-0, 1.78)

BALTIMORE — The quality that Baltimore that has made it such a successful team in the league’s toughest division is that they have the ability to strike at any given moment.

A pair of timely sources of power led the Orioles to their second straight walk-off hit in extra innings of the series, a 5-4 win in 10 innings Sunday afternoon. This one came from Matt Wieters, and it was a missile.

In the 10th after Ty Wigginton allowed an Adam Jones ground ball to tie him up, Wieters blasted a double off the wall in right field, scoring Jones from first to end the game.

O’s Win On Jones Walk-Off

Orioles 6, Phillies 4 (12 innings)
WP – Luis Ayala (2-1, 1.93)
LP – B.J. Rosenberg (0-1, 18.00)

BALTIMORE — B.J. Rosenberg didn’t expect his welcome to the Big Leagues to turn out quite like that.

Adam Jones did the honors, sending Rosenberg 0-1 slider into centerfield for a walk-off, two-run homer to give the Orioles a 6-4 win.

Rosenberg got through the 11th inning without a hitch. But he walked Chris Davis to lead-off the bottom of the 12th before Jones’ game-winner.

Vance Worley had a better outing than his first last week. In his second game since coming off the DL with a chipped bone in the elbow, Worley gave up three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five in six innings.

Both teams played a bit of tug-o-war in the first half of the game.

O My Offense!: Phillies Bats Snap Skid

Phillies DH Jim Thome (left) and RF Hunter Pence (right) fist-bump after scoring on Shane Victorino’s two-run double in the 2nd inning. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Phillies 9, Orioles 6
WP – Joe Blanton (5-6, 5.40)
LP – Jake Arrieta (2-8, 6.32)
SV – Jonathan Papelbon (16)

BALTIMORE — The Phillies offense couldn’t be stopped, and it had to be that way with Joe Blanton on the hill.

Despite giving up at least five runs for the fifth straight start, the Phillies offense got Blanton the win as they went on to crush Jake Arrieta and the O’s, 9-6. It snapped a six-game skid that put the Phils three games under .500.

The 2nd inning was where all the fun happened, though it started with two outs in the top of the 1st. Hunter Pence, Jim Thome and Shane Victorino hit three straight singles with two outs to give the Phils a 1-0 lead.

The offense then poured it on the in 2nd. Mike Fontenot hit a two-run homer with one out to start things off. Then with two outs, Juan Pierre tripled, Pence was hit by a pitch and Thome drove home Pierre on a ground-rule double.

Series Preview: at Baltimore Orioles

PHI: 28-31, 5th in NL East; BAL: 32-25, 1st in AL East

When: June 8-10
Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore, MD)

Probable Pitchers
Friday: Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.27) vs Jake Arriete (2-7, 5.53)
Saturday: Vance Worley (3-2, 3.38) vs Tommy Hunter (2-3, 5.59)
Sunday: Cliff Lee (0-3, 2.92) vs Jason Hammel (6-2, 2.67)

Broadcast Info
Friday, 7:05, CSN
Saturday, 4:05, CSN
Sunday, 1:35, PHL 17
All Games on 94.1 FM

Season Preview: AL East

Expectations: Better than the Yankees
Key Addition: 1B Carlos Pena (signed from Chicago Cubs)
Key Loss: OF/DH Johnny Damon (free agent)
Projected Record: 103-59
Summary: The odds on favorite to win the division, the Rays have it all: great young hitting, great young pitching, solid veteran presence. With guys like Evan Longoria, BJ Upton, and Desmond Jennings anchoring the offense along with key players like Ben Zobrist and Sean Rodriguez, it will power them to a division crown.

They can also pitch with any team. David Price (my pick for CY Young in 2012) combined with James Shields and youngster Jeremy Hellickson can pitch with the big boys any day of the week. Most exciting prospect to watch is in their rotation too: Matt Moore. The kid has electric stuff.