Phillies – Nationals Game 1

Let me tell you, the Phillies looked good tonight.  David Bell furthered his case for player of the week with a Grand Slam, that’s right folks a GRAND SLAM.  His first of his career and just a day after the Inky mentioned he had the longest active streak without one.  The salami gave Padilla all the room he needed to settle down.  Vicente was pushing 50 pitches in the second inning and consistently took batters to 3 balls but finally started to hit his spots and let the defense take over.  On the flip side, Jon Halama was getting knocked around and it wasn’t until he walked Padilla (first of two BB for him on the night) that Frank Robinson got the bullpen going.  The Phillies bullpen performed well with Aquilino Lopez and Geoff Geary holding the Nats scoreless through the last three innings.

In terms of Phillies fans, there were certainly not as many as I expected, but those who were there were in full effect.  I witnessed a few altercations which were hilarious, including one involving a phan dressed in a hot dog costume.  Another interesting tidbit I observed were the few beer vendors in Citizen’s Bank Park uniforms.  I guess Aramark was overwhelmed by the presence of us Phillies fans.

Finally, I must amend my previous post: Gavin Floyd was called up today.  He is slated to pitch Sunday because Robinson Tejeda is experiencing inflammation in his pitching shoulder.  The expansive confines of RFK should help Floyd if he can throw strikes.  His past start at Scranton was certainly less than stellar but he is definitely a big league pitcher.  Although I would like to have a solidified starting five, this fourth and fifth starter by committee might actually work.  It has so far with Tejeda and Brito.  Go Phils!