The Phillies went a lowly one for nine with runners in scoring position as they failed to support another nice starting pitching performance in a 4-3 loss in Houston.
The biggest offensive culprits were at the bottom of the order where Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz combined to go hitless in five plate appearances with runners in scoring position.
The Astros completed the four-game sweep of the Phightins after coming from behind for two runs off reliever Chan Ho Park in the bottom of the seventh.
Charlie Manuel admitted the 'Stros outplayed his team, and then he vented a bit about the mindset some of his boys seem to be playing with right now, according to the Phillies Web site:
"I hear some of them talk, some of them saying, 'We play better when we have to,' and stuff like that, like when there's more pressure," Manuel said. "I find that hard to believe when I see us play how we played today. I played 20 years. I like my chances of being relaxed when we have a nice lead. That [sense of complacency] doesn't register with me."
"Last year is dead and gone, man," Manuel said. "We're playing for today. That's what we've always played for."
The Phils wasted a nice performance by Jamie Moyer who filled in for injured starting pitcher J.A. Happ. The 46-year-old veteran showed that he still has some juice in the tank giving up two runs, three hits and one walk while striking out four over six innings.
Moyer left the game leading 3-2 after Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez hit back-to-back blasts top put the Phillies ahead.
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But Park was lit up for two runs including giving up a bases-loaded walk to put the Astros ahead.
Hunter Pence supplied the big bat for the Astros as drove in three runs with a two-run homer and a game-tying RBI double.
The Astros have won eight of their last nine home games.
The loss drops the Phils lead in the National League East to only six games over the idle Florida Marlins. Next up is a three-game series against the Nationals in Washington.
