Gameday: Phillies (62-48) At Cubs (58-53)
Posted by Pat Gallen, Wed, August 12, 2009 07:01 PM | Comments: 175
Gameday 2009, Posts
Philadelphia Phillies (62-48) at Chicago Cubs (58-53)
Pedro Martinez (NR) vs. Jeff Samardzija (1-1, 6.29 ERA)
Time: 8:05 p.m at Wrigley Field
Weather: Clear, 73
TV: ESPN, Comcast Sports Net
Twitter: Phillies Nation
Tonight should be a fairly momentous evening for the Fightin’s. After stealing the first game of the series last night, thanks to a Ben Francisco, 12th-inning homer, Pedro Martinez will make his first start as a member of the Phillies. He will be opposed by flamethrower (and former Notre Dame football star) Jeff Samardzija.
Last night, the Phils squeaked out a victory, winning 4-3 in extras. They did not hit well, they did not pitch very well, but somehow, they managed a W. At 8:05, Pedro-mania will hit Chicago, and hopefully can spark the Phillies as they continue on their six-game road trip. Martinez has not pitched in nearly 11 months, and although he pitched well in his three rehab assignments, he is certainly seen as an unknown.
Samardzjia is making a spot start in place of the injured Carlos Zambrano. The 6’5” righty has appeared in 16 games this season, but is starting for the first time in his career. It’s imperative the Phillies try to get at the newbie early, and get the offense back into a rhythm. With just 42 career games under his belt, Samardzija is prime for the pickin’.
One factor to watch for is the wind. It’s blowing in from right field tonight, which could again keep this a pitchers duel.
Your Gameday Beer – Allagash White
This is a really good beer that is fortunately becoming more widely available around the country. The White name lets you know it’s a Witbier – way better than the more ubiquitous Blue Moon or Hoegaarden. It has citrus wheat flavors along with some strong fall scents like pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg which make it a great late summer ale. It is refreshing and smooth and very enjoyable to drink. It pairs well with a sweet chicken dish like Hawaiian or teriyaki style. – By Brian
GO PHILLIES!
Posts: 0 Repeat!
Mr. Herd= Dr. Strange. I bet you he stalks his co-host. Your right, except for the eye candy the show does pretty much stink. It got old real fast.
Posted: 10:40 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
That guy was a jerk, but most Cubs fans at least the few that I know are pretty nice and laid back. A guy that waste a $9 beer like that can’t be very smart and he sure as hell won’t show his face in Philly. Playoffs or regular season.
Posted: 10:45 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 j reed
Repeat! – i was wondering if SportsNation was created in response to the equally innane Fanarchy on VS….except espn had enough brains to include the eye candy.
Posted: 10:45 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Jeff
I am postive if Moyer pitched tonight the Cubs would have 8 runs on the board. Pedro can strikeout batters. His arm will get stronger. 3 runs is not bad at all.
Posted: 10:47 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
jreed…. This beat down feels good doesn’t… And on nat’l tv too. Nice. You might be right about the show’s premise. They are kinda similar.
Posted: 10:49 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Andrew
Bruntlett needs to shave more often.
Posted: 10:50 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 j reed
always like a beat down so long as the bats don’t go cold like they seem to after these types of games
Posted: 10:53 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 j reed
that was the bat boy?
Posted: 10:54 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
Jeff. Probably. But the explo. from the O may have helped him. Who would’ve thought back in 06 that the Moyer signing would help us end the 25yr drought. Keep your head up Jamie Moyer. Philly will always love you man.
Posted: 10:55 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 CZ
Park coulda had a 4 inning save! booooo
Posted: 10:58 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
jreed…. I thought about that too. But if the Phils can get Dempster’s PC up early it’ll be tough for the Cubs to pull out the W.
Posted: 10:58 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 CZ
Michael Taylor is 5-5 for Lehigh with a 2B, 3B, 2B, 1B……wait for it….HR! That’s a cycle baby and they are tied in the 10th!!!
Posted: 11:01 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
Wrong sport Bruntlett. In hockey that’s a kick save. In MLB that’s called an E. God I hope the Nomar rumors are true.
Posted: 11:02 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
Pedro will replace Durbin in BP come playoff time!
Posted: 11:05 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
Can’t wait for Taylor to get to the Bigs. Should be something special.
Posted: 11:10 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 j reed
Repeat! – check out the link about Nomar… scroll down a couple of articles….I like everyting but his injury history and his batting glove ritual before he steps into the batter’s box
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/philadelphia_phillies/index.html
Posted: 11:10 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 JeffS
Taylor rocks! Not always power, but really works hard, is fan friendly, and bats for average. And what an arm! I’m sooo excited for the phuture!
Posted: 11:16 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
Thanks for the link. This would be a steal. But wouldn’t the other contenders with records worst than the Phils block this deal? That’s a shame if that happens. This seems like a perfect fit. He almost came here in the off-season.
Posted: 11:17 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
Any final thoughts on Pedro’s performance? He kept kicking the dirt offthe mound, but other than that he seemed comfortable out there. He was ableto keep is composure in the 5th. We forget how potent the Cubs lineup can be. Nice job Pedro. He’ll be money in the Pen come October. If we make it of course. Knock on wood.
Posted: 11:24 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 j reed
Repeat! – the Brewers optioned JJ Hardy to triple A so they might want him…I don’t know who is the SS for the Brewers now and if they are playing well
Posted: 11:24 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 j reed
Repeat! – I think if pedro can throw his off speed stuff for more strikes, then he won’t have to be a slave to the fastball and can last a little longer…He seemed to be working backwards, 2-0 counts, but i don’t think it was on purpose since he hasn’t really even been a crafty, junk ball pitcher….
Posted: 11:31 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
Cards don’t need him. That Giants might. Maybe the Fish as their D is horrible. Plus of course same division. That means maybe Braves too. Maybe Phils offer more in a trade if it gets that far. It Nomar gives us anything the move cements the bench situation.
Posted: 11:33 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 Repeat!
If his comand of his off-speed pitches continue to improve as well as spotting the FB look out. He was at 94mph in the 5th.
Posted: 11:45 PM on August 12, 2009
Posts: 0 psujoe
Very good first outing. He started to nibble in some like Moyer, but beared down and started to throw 3-4 mph faster in the late 5th. Great job by the offense to let Pedro “figure it out”. A nice 99 pitch effort. We’ll see how the arm does and go from here. Let’s hope he can build from here because Jamie was “maxed”.
Posted: 01:58 AM on August 13, 2009
Posts: 0 JohnnySlowpoke
I was looking at the replay of the beer-throwing incident on mlb.com and it appears security threw out the wrong person. If you look closely, the guy who threw the beer is wearing a white t-shirt with sunglasses, and the person who was ejected is wearing a cubs jersey. Oh well. It’s just a shame the guilty bastard got away with it. At least the Cubs announcers were apologetic about the incident.
Pedro tonight was very jamie moyerish. 3er in 5ip. That’s a 5.40 era. But that was overshadowed by 12 runs of support for him. Considering he hasn’t pitched in the majors for a year, he did pretty well, but let’s hope he gets a little better. It was nice to see the offense come alive though.
Posted: 06:39 AM on August 13, 2009