Gameday: Padres (32-23) at Phillies (30-24)
San Diego Padres (32-23) at Philadelphia Phillies (30-24)
Kevin Correia (5-4, 4.55 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (1-4, 5.68 ERA)
Time: 1:35 p.m., Citizens Bank Park
Weather: Scattered Storms, 88
TV: MyPHL 17
Twitter: @philliesnation
Today, we need the weather holds off. Strong storms are expected in the area, so says press box weather expert Jack O’Rourke from KYW 1060. Let’s hope it passes through and there is a minimal delay, so this doesn’t run to close to pre-game Flyers time.
As for the game itself, the Phillies are riding a two-game winning streak against one of the best teams in the National League. Joe Blanton has been relatively awful this season – he’s really been the weak link of the Phillies staff thus far. He’ll look for his second win of the season. Blanton hasn’t been victorious since May 15th and his ERA has ballooned to near six. Against the Padres over his career, Blanton is 1-1 with a mid-five ERA against Saaaan Di-AGO. Let’s hope he bucks the trend this afternoon.
On the other side, Kevin Correia, a surprise from last year, is having a decent second season with the Padres. Overall against the Phils, however, he’s been bad. With a 7.71 ERA over 10 games and three career starts, it’s fair to say the Phils have demolished the guy. His 2.10 WHIP against the Phillies is by far the worst of any opponent Correia has ever faced.
With that said, the Phils offense clicked yesterday, scoring six runs. That’s the most since they scored 12 against the PIrates on May 17th. Looooong time. In a post I wrote yesterday, I pointed to the obvious keys being Utley, Howard, and Werth getting it together. They did just that, knocking in five of the six runs yesterday. Can they continue this upward trend?
Phillies Lineup: Victorino CF, Polanco 3B, Utley 2B, Howard 1B, Werth RF, Ibanez LF, Schneider C, Castro SS, Blanton P
In no way is this beer one of the best – let’s just get that straight. However, on a hot, steamy Sunday afternoon, you could do much worse to quench your thirst. Grab the little 7 oz. Bud Light Limey’s. Why the small ones? They’re cheaper and won’t get warm to quickly. BL Limey’s pale in comparison to the taste of Corona but they’ll do today. Fire the grill up and slap some chicken and ribs on there. – By Pat
GO PHILLIES!
