PHILADELPHIA — Three men who fatally attacked a man outside a Philadelphia Phillies game in a brawl police say was sparked by a spilled drink have been sentenced to prison terms.

Francis Kirchner, Charles Bowers and James Groves each pleaded guilty in October to voluntary manslaughter and criminal conspiracy in the July 2009 death of 22-year-old David Sale Jr. outside Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies were playing the St. Louis Cardinals.

Kirchner, 30, was sentenced Tuesday to consecutive terms totaling nine to 18 years. Bowers, 37, got consecutive terms totaling five to 10 years. Groves, 48, was sentenced to concurrent terms of two to four years.

Sale and some of his friends were at a bar attached to the Phillies stadium when they had an altercation with the defendants, authorities said. Both groups were told to leave the bar, and the confrontation escalated in the parking lot.

A trial that began in September ended in a mistrial after a prosecution witness identified Kirchner as the person who fatally kicked Sale. Defense lawyers said they weren’t told the witness could identify Kirchner.

More than two dozen of the victim’s relatives and friends attended Tuesday’s eight-hour hearing and spoke about his loss, and many said they did not believe the sentences represented justice.

“I thought I was going to come in and get some sort of closure,” Sale’s father, David Sale Sr., told the Philadelphia Inquirer outside the courtroom. “I am disappointed. I am angry. I am empty.”

Dozens of supporters of the defendants also crowded into the packed courtroom. All three defendants apologized to the family of the victim.

“I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly,” Bowers said. “I know I have to live with the things I could have done and should have done, but, unfortunately, I made a different decision.”

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Three men who fatally attacked a man outside a Philadelphia Phillies game in a brawl police say was sparked by a spilled drink have been sentenced to prison terms.

Francis Kirchner, Charles Bowers and James Groves each pleaded guilty in October to voluntary manslaughter and criminal conspiracy in the July 2009 death of 22-year-old David Sale Jr. outside Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies were playing the St. Louis Cardinals.

Kirchner, 30, was sentenced Tuesday to consecutive terms totaling nine to 18 years. Bowers, 37, got consecutive terms totaling five to 10 years. Groves, 48, was sentenced to concurrent terms of two to four years.

Sale and some of his friends were at a bar attached to the Phillies stadium when they had an altercation with the defendants, authorities said. Both groups were told to leave the bar, and the confrontation escalated in the parking lot.

A trial that began in September ended in a mistrial after a prosecution witness identified Kirchner as the person who fatally kicked Sale. Defense lawyers said they weren’t told the witness could identify Kirchner.

More than two dozen of the victim’s relatives and friends attended Tuesday’s eight-hour hearing and spoke about his loss, and many said they did not believe the sentences represented justice.

“I thought I was going to come in and get some sort of closure,” Sale’s father, David Sale Sr., told The Philadelphia Inquirer outside the courtroom. “I am disappointed. I am angry. I am empty.”

Dozens of supporters of the defendants also crowded into the packed courtroom. All three defendants apologized to the family of the victim.

“I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly,” Bowers said. “I know I have to live with the things I could have done and should have done, but, unfortunately, I made a different decision.”

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Three men who fatally attacked a man outside a Philadelphia Phillies game in a brawl police say was sparked by a spilled drink have been sentenced to prison terms.

Francis Kirchner, Charles Bowers and James Groves each pleaded guilty in October to voluntary manslaughter and criminal conspiracy in the July 2009 death of 22-year-old David Sale Jr. outside Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies were playing the St. Louis Cardinals.

Kirchner, 30, was sentenced Tuesday to consecutive terms totaling nine to 18 years. Bowers, 37, got consecutive terms totaling five to 10 years. Groves, 48, was sentenced to concurrent terms of two to four years.

Sale and some of his friends were at a bar attached to the Phillies stadium when they had an altercation with the defendants, authorities said. Both groups were told to leave the bar, and the confrontation escalated in the parking lot.

A trial that began in September ended in a mistrial after a prosecution witness identified Kirchner as the person who fatally kicked Sale. Defense lawyers said they weren’t told the witness could identify Kirchner.

More than two dozen of the victim’s relatives and friends attended Tuesday’s eight-hour hearing and spoke about his loss, and many said they did not believe the sentences represented justice.

“I thought I was going to come in and get some sort of closure,” Sale’s father, David Sale Sr., told The Philadelphia Inquirer outside the courtroom. “I am disappointed. I am angry. I am empty.”

Dozens of supporters of the defendants also crowded into the packed courtroom. All three defendants apologized to the family of the victim.

“I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly,” Bowers said. “I know I have to live with the things I could have done and should have done, but, unfortunately, I made a different decision.”

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Score and situation: The St. Louis Cardinals landed a shocking 5-4 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in NLDS Game 2 on Sunday night at Citizens Bank Park. The victory evens the series at one as it heads to St. Louis.

Leading lads: Allen Craig(notes) led off the top of the seventh with a triple off the center field wall. One batter later, Albert Pujols(notes) singled him home for a 5-4 lead and Tony La Russa’s genius would take over from there. The St. Louis manager used four pitchers to get three outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and closer Jason Motte(notes) got the final four outs without the Phillies ever really threatening. John Jay also contribute two separate RBI singles.

Head hanger: The second half of the Roy Halladay(notes)-Cliff Lee tandem didn’t go exactly as it was planned. Lee coughed up the Phillies’ early 4-0 lead, allowing five runs over six innings of work. Combined with his struggles in last year’s World Series, Lee has now allowed 14 earned runs over his last 17.2 innings in the postseason.

Key play: With two outs in the sixth inning, Ryan Theriot(notes) tied the game by rounding third on a Jay single and sliding safely under Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz(notes). The run erased Lee’s cushion and threw momentum on the side of the redbirds.

What they’ll be talking about: Combine Lee’s loss with the Eagles’ debacle and Philly sports radio won’t have any shortage of callers on Monday. But now that the chances of a sweep are gone, the Phils’ focus will have to swing toward recapturing homefield advantage in the series by stealing a game at Busch Stadium.

What’s next: The series moves to St. Louis for Tuesday’s Game 3 at 5:07 ET. Cole Hamels(notes) and Jaime Garcia(notes) are the scheduled starters.

Related: Allen Craig, Jason Motte, Ryan Theriot, Jaime Garcia, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Albert Pujols, Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, 2011 Postseason, 2011 NLDS – Cardinals vs. Phillies

(Sports Network) – The Philadelphia Phillies have a decent chance at a four-
game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds when they send young pitcher Vance Worley to
the mound this afternoon at Great American Ball Park.

The Phillies have prevailed in each of Worley’s last 12 starts, with the
right-hander going 7-0 with a 2.30 earned run average in that stretch. It’s
the longest run for the team since winning 15 straight starts for lefty Steve
Carlton in 1972. Worley shut down the New York Mets in last Tuesday’s 9-4 win
at Citizens Bank Park and tossed seven innings of one-run ball with nine
strikeouts to just one walk.

Worley improved to 9-1 in 18 games (16 starts) this season and lowered his ERA
to 2.65 in the process. He faced the Reds for the first time in his career in
a 6-3 loss on May 24 this season and did not factor in the outcome with five
innings of three-run ball. Worley is 4-1 in nine road appearances, seven of
which have been starts.

Philadelphia has been solid on the road as well and won for the 15th time in
its last 18 away games, improving to a National League best 40-24 on the road
this season. Cliff Lee helped the NL East-leading Phillies to their ninth road
series win in 10 tries last night with 8 2/3 shutout innings in a 3-0 victory.
Lee pushed his record to 15-7 with a 2.59 ERA and finished August a 5-0 with a
0.45 ERA, allowing two runs in 39 2/3 innings.

Lee also went 5-0 with a 0.21 ERA in June.

“I had a good changeup working tonight. I was working ahead in the count for
the most part,” Lee said.

Hunter Pence homered and Carlos Ruiz added three hits for the Phillies, who
are 7 1/2 games ahead of the Braves in the division and have won all seven of
their four-game series this season. Ryan Howard needs one home run for his
sixth consecutive 30-homer, 100-RBI season.

The Phillies will visit Florida for three games after this set.

Cincinnati has lost three in a row after a four-game winning streak. Drew
Stubbs had a team-best two hits last night and Dontrelle Willis was saddled
with the loss for allowing three runs and five hits in 6 2/3 frames.

“Willis kept us off-balance,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said of the D-
Train. “He threw some changeups. We couldn’t handle him. The game was a little
bit harder than it looked. We were having a hard time scoring off him.”

Reds starter Mike Leake hopes to do the same but garner different results when
he takes the ball for Thursday’s matinee. Leake has won three of his last five
decisions and defeated Washington in Saturday’s 6-3 triumph with six innings
of two-run ball. He is 11-8 in 26 games (23 starts) with a 4.04 ERA.

Leake, a right-hander, has pitched well at home this season, going 8-4 in 14
games, 13 of which have been starts, and has no record with a 6.91 ERA in two
career starts against the Phillies.

The Phillies have won five straight and 20 of their last 26 games against the
Reds. They swept Cincinnati in a four-game series from July 8-11, 2010 at
Citizens Bank Park, while three of those games went into extra innings.

The Sports Network