It was just one of those games. One of those games where every dribbler and dying quail hit by the Rangers found a hole or dropped in front of somebody, while every well hit ball by the Phillies found a Ranger glove.

Jamie Moyer did his job, pitching well enough to keep them in the game, but leave it to the Phillies lineup to make a guy nobody has heard of before two weeks ago look like Walter Johnson. And with a couple of exceptions, every time they did hit the ball hard off Eric Hurley, it was right at someone or a great defensive play squandered the at bat.

Just one of the those games.

I call this one, “Old pitcher baking in the sun.”

It means the Phillies lost another series to another American League team, only this time to one they are certainly better than. Or are they? Surely, the Rangers pitching is no better than any other mediocre pitching staff in the National League; but you wouldn’t know it by the way the Phillies bats remained in slumber for most of the series.

Rangers President Nolan Ryan scouting for middle relief help.

With their lead in the NL East shrunk back to one game, the Phillies are crawling toward the All-Star break like a man dying of thirst in the desert. Unfortunately, they’ve still got two weeks of big games against division rivals and perpetual pests from other divisions until they reach the oasis.

Let’s hope they actually find rejuvenating waters there and not a mirage.

“What I wouldn’t give for some moonshine right about now.”

It was hardly ideal conditions for playing or watching baseball most of the night, but the Phillies eked out an 8-6 win over the Rangers. The Phillies were counting on Cole Hamels to stem the tide of ugly losses yet again, and on a night when the rest of the NL East lost, it was even more important. Hamels didn’t disappoint.

He pitched better than his final line showed, settling down after a rocky nine-pitch first inning in which he surrendered two runs. The only other trouble he ran into all night came in the bottom of the fifth when a strong patch of Texas thunderstorms skirted the ballpark. With one out, an announcement to clear the upper deck because of lightning, followed by some fairly heavy rain, seemed to make Hamels press to get the final two outs and make the game official with a 6-2 lead.

(The rain also accounts for my lack of decent pictures, since I had to put the camera away early on.)

In other positive events, Chase Utley seems to have snapped out of his slump, smacking three pitches really hard for two doubles and long home run to right center. Of course, it wasn’t nearly as long as Howard’s gargantuan shot into the upper deck, which was also a positive change in events.

A surprised Phillies dugout welcomes Ryan Howard back after homering into the upper deck instead of striking out.

Most of this occurred at the expense of their former internal nemesis, Vicente Padilla, who had absolutely nothing tonight. It was classic Padilla, only someone else’s problem. That was nice to watch.

Still our problem is a weakened bullpen due to Tom Gordon’s unavailability. After Chad Durbin fell apart with two out in the eighth, an overworked J.C. Romero made an adventure out of the third out. Finally, an under worked Brad Lidge, who hasn’t been needed much lately, what with the team losing all the time, took a little while took get his slider working right. Once he did, he took down the Rangers’ two best hitters to close out the game.

For those of you unfamiliar with Texas summers, 5 p.m. is the hottest time of the day here, and tomorrow afternoon’s game was clearly scheduled by a sadist in the commissioner’s office. But I’ll tough it out like the devoted Phillies fan that I am. Hopefully, 45-year-old Jamie Moyer won’t wilt in the heat with the rest of us.

Speaking of old pitchers, Nolan Ryan stopped by to say hi. Not to us… to Rangers owner Tom Hicks.

It may be time for a Sunday come to Jesus, paint peeling off the wall tirade from Charlie Manuel, because nothing else seems to be working right now.

The Phillies stayed competitive in a game they let slip away early and had no business being in late, if that makes any sense, and lost the eighth of their last nine games 8-7 to the Rangers Friday night. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have sworn I was watching the late 1980s versions of these two inept franchises.

After an inauspicious start to the bottom of the first, when Ian Kinsler (who they couldn’t get out all night) tattooed Brett Myers for a leadoff home run, the reeling pugilist settled down long enough to watch a few walks and a wind-aided Grand Slam from Pedro Feliz give the Phillies five runs on one hit and a four run lead . It was all downhill from there.

Pedro Feliz rounds third base after his third inning grand slam.

Myers didn’t make it out of the third inning, and a few more home runs by the Rangers slowly chipped away at the deficit until finally it was gone.

With the exception of Jayson Werth’s home run in the ninth and a long fly ball in the gap by Feliz run down by former Phillie Marlon Byrd, I don’t think the Phillies hit a ball hard all night (Coste’s home run also looked like it got an assist from the wind). Utley appears utterly frustrated, while Ryan Howard seems to have no concept of the batted ball whatsoever. The team mustered four hits through the first eight innings, and while the scoreboard read seven runs, it felt more like two.

Ryan Howard thinks about striking out.

Ryan Howard strikes out.

Despite all that offensive offense, the Phillies should have been able to get away with this one. Brett Myers simply has too good of stuff to be getting hit this hard. He’s starting to look like—dare I say it—tonight’s starting pitcher for the Rangers, Vicente Padilla. A million-dollar talent wasted on a ten-cent head, only in this case we know exactly what Myers is consistently capable of because we‘ve seen it, while Padilla frustrated us unceasingly with flashes of brilliance that never materialized into long-term success.

“Candlesticks always make a nice gift.”

Myers’ alarming regression means the Phillies have no choice but to hit the phones and find a frontline pitcher before the trade deadline. They’ll eventually snap out of this funk their bats are in, but they cannot continue to put both Myers and Adam Eaton out on the mound two out of every five days and expect to be successful.

It’s hot as hell out here. A shower would be nice.

As everyone filed out of Vision Quest Ballpark at Arlington (or whatever they call it now), fellow Phillie fans consoled each other with visions of Cole Hamels to the rescue once again. I’ll have a front row seat for this one tonight behind the Rangers on-deck circle, so the pictures should be a little better.

We know the pitcher will be.

The only highlight of the evening – Ranger Girls try to start the wave in our section and my brother and I heckle it down.

The Gattuso siblings drown their sorrows at a local watering hole.

Shawn Chacon channeled the inner rage of many a Phillies fan yesterday, grabbed Houston Astros General Manager Ed Wade by the neck, and threw him to the floor of manager Cecil Cooper’s office.

You think Wade told him he signed David Bell out of retirement to take his roster spot?

After some short-lived relief to a dismal losing streak, the Phillies failed to muster any offense yet again, being shutout by the A’s this afternoon.

I don’t think it’s the lineup, Charlie.

So, as I depart the beautiful Texas Hill Country for the desolate urban sprawl of Dallas-Ft. Worth roughly 200 miles north, is it any wonder I have very low expectations for the three-game series I’m about to witness?

Still, if anything 20-some years of watching the Texas Rangers has taught me, there are runs aplenty to be found at the Ameriquest Ballpark at Arlington Field (or whatever they call it now), often surrendered by the home team. If the Phillies can’t score there, feel free to jump on the panic wagon. I’ll save you a seat.