Gameday: Marlins (32-35) vs. Phillies (42-26)
Florida Marlins (32-35) at Philadelphia Phillies (42-26)
GM 1: Elih Villanueva (NR) vs. Kyle Kendrick (3-4, 3.47 ERA)
GM 2: Anibal Sanchez (6-1, 3.06 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (9-3, 2.39 ERA)
Time: 1:05, 7:05, Citizens Bank Park
Weather: Sunny, 81
TV: CSN
Media: Twitter and Facebook
As Ernie Banks once said, “lets play two!” What an amazing day for two games in South Philly. There is nary a cloud in the sky and the sun is shining bright, that usually means hittin’ weather, like Charlie says.
In Game 1, some guy named Elih Villanueva will be on the mound for the Marlins; it’s his first career start. Kyle Kendrick goes for the Phillies. If he can go six innings, it’s a victory, almost guaranteed. If they don’t rip through the bullpen, it’s certainly a positive. In his last 3 starts against Florida, he’s 3-0 with a 3.50 ERA. He’s getting them at a good time too. They’ve now lost 15 of 18.
In Game 2, it’s an awesome pitching matchup between Anibal Sanchez and Roy Halladay. Here’s a ridiculous stat: Halladay has allowed 1 earned run or less in 5 of his 8 career starts and has struck out 8 or more in 5 straight. But Sanchez has been impressive so far this season, just not against the Phillies in his career. He’s 3-7 with a 5.65 ERA in 12 lifetime starts versus the Phils. Could that mean the offense continues to roll? Let’s hope.
PHILLIES LINEUP:
Rollins SS, Victorino CF, Utley 2B, Howard 1B, Brown RF, Francisco LF, Valdez 3B, Sardinha C, Kendrick P
GAMEDAY BEER: Sam Adams Double Bock
A doubleheader calls for a double bock. And why not drink it from one of the best beermakers on the planet. Can’t say I’ve ever had a less-than-stellar beer from Sam Adams. Haven’t had this one, but my does it look tasty. They use an enormous amount of malt, half a pound per bottle, to brew this intensely rich lager. Its deep brown-ruby color is all made in the kettle, no black malt is used, resulting in a rich sweetness that is free of the rough taste of burnt malt. It’s probably not best for the warmth of the day game, but at least for the evening game, it’ll be a great change of pace for game 2. -By Pat
Go Phillies!
GAME 1 Recap: How about that there Kyle Kendrick? He jumps in and throws a gem, striking out five over seven innings for his 4th win of the season. Above, I wrote that if he went six innings, it was a guaranteed victory. He did not let me, or anyone else, down. His work on the mound, with the help of the offense, gave the Phillies their 42nd win of the year in the 8-1 victory.
This Marlins team is in an absolute free fall. They have now lost 16 of their last 19 games, dropping to fourth place in the NL East. To make matters worse, their Ace Josh Johnson has been put on the 60-day DL.
Rookie Elih Villanueva got the spot start for the Fish and threw 92 pitches in just three innings, taking the loss in his first career start. He had no chance as the streaking Phillies offense struck for 8 runs.
Wilson Valdez’s 3-run triple and Jimmy Rollins’ 3-run homer sparked the win. More coming later.
