will we ever win?

Wugly

Fred McGriff — wearing an ill-fitting blue cap — would not endorse the defense and fundamentals on display in the Phillies 7-4 win over the Reds tonight. But the Phils and their fans will most certainly take the win.

That's the kind of game you really want to win, because the loser — in this case the Reds — have to feel like they threw a game away. Four errors, three hit batsmen, a picked off runner, a bases loaded walk and at least one costly mental error (Rolen throwing to second instead of first, failing to get any outs) gave the Phillies all sorts of opportunities, and they eventually took advantage.

The Phillies were playing pretty ugly themselves early, with Roy Oswalt giving up some bombs and generally off his game, and Utley making a throwing error that resulted in a run. And Reds starter Bronson Arroyo effectively kept the Phillies batters off balance, mixing up his pitches and speeds.

But then Arroyo got pulled in the sixth — thanks in part to a great at bat and lead-off single by Ibanez — and the cavalcade of ugly baseball began for Cincinnati. Maybe the biggest moment came in the seventh when Rollins sent a soft line drive to right with two on and one out. Right fielder Jay Bruce looked like he lost the ball in the lights, and it went right past his glove. The throw in to second baseman Brandon Phillips was dropped, allowing the go-ahead run to score.

The bright spot in the game for the Phillies was the bullpen, with Romero, Durbin, Contreras, Madson and Lidge finishing out the game with no runs and not many base runners allowed. If it wasn't lights out, it never got nervous, either.

NOTES:

— Rollins was out of the leadoff spot again, as he had been the last week or so of the regular season. He pretty obviously is not 100 percent running. Not sure I would have him in front of Ibanez, though.

— Chase Utley didn't sound too convincing when asked if he was hit by that Aroldis Chapman pitch. Replays were inconclusive. I'm not real sure he touched third base when scoring in the seventh, either.

— I would question pulling Arroyo when Reds Manager Dusty Baker did. He still looked effective to me and had only thrown 103 pitches. That would likely have been his last inning, though, and Baker had no reason not to trust the back end of his bullpen, which had been excellent all season. But facing anyone but Arroyo seemed like a positive from the Phillies' perspective.

— Game 3 set for 7 p.m. Sunday night on TNT, not TBS for some reason. So think "We know drama" instead of "Very funny." UPDATE: Because the Yankees won, game 3 is now set for 8:07 on TBS.