Gamenight: Padres (7-3) At Phillies (4-4)
Chris Young (2-0, 1.38 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (0-1, 17.18 ERA)
Time: 7:05 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia.
Weather: Mostly sunny, 66
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Twitter: Phillies Nation
The 4-4 Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park for the first time since the death of Harry Kalas, and the team will honor the late broadcaster with a few ceremonies and tips to the cap. Most celebratory, the Phils will play his “Outta here!” call after each home run, and there will be a rendition of “High Hopes” during the seventh-inning stretch.
The Phils will need to juice the crowd with a good game, and Cole Hamels is on the hill to rebound from maybe his worst-career start, a shellacking by the Rockies. He lasted a little more than three innings, driving his ERA to a season-opening 17. Worst of all were the 11 hits he surrendered in the outing. That’s a hell of a lot of hits for under four innings.
The Padres, coming in with a great 7-3 mark, put Chris Young on the hill. He’s been stupendous so far this season, dominating the Giants and not allowing a hit for the first four innings. Young is capable of that type of pitching. The Phils will need to be patient.
Of course, if they get behind, they’ll be in trouble. Only once in the first eight games have the Phils escaped the first inning without giving up a run. That’s poor. Luckily the bullpen has been phenomenal, sans Jack Taschner and Chad Durbin. Both pitched last night and allowed five runs in the final few innings. That let the Nationals beat the Phils, 8-2.
Go Phillies!
