Utley, Mayberry Power Phillies to 7-2 Win Over Cubs
After a disappointing finish to the series in Arlington earlier this week, the Phillies kicked off the second series of the season with a 7-2 win over the Cubs at a cold Wrigley Field.
The Chase of Old
-Chase Utley looked like a young man today, finishing the chilly afternoon 2-for-5 with a homer and three runs batted in. That patented quick Chase Utley chop was back on display.
-Ben Revere and Domonic Brown also collected three hits apiece, with Brown knocking in two runs. John Mayberry Jr. hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer. Revere used his speed, Brown went the other way, and Mayberry proved he should ONLY be used against lefties.
-The Phillies saw a ton of pitches on the day; 171 in all. Carlos Ruiz walked twice while being moved to the two-hole in the absence of Jimmy Rollins. Would we be better off seeing Chooch stay there when Jimmy returns tomorrow? I think J-Roll in the sixth spot could pay dividends and would allow him to be more of an RBI threat, while Ruiz’s on-base presence at the top of the order can pay off, too.
Roberto/Fausto Good in Debut
-Roberto Hernandez was solid in his Phillies debut, going 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking just one. Ryne Sandberg pulled him after just 73 pitches so that Jake Dikeman could face back-to-back lefties Anthony Rizzo and Nate Schierholtz. The move worked as Diekman sat them both down. Hernandez has sort of a funky delivery that can leave batters guessing.
-As I mentioned, Diekman did his job to close the sixth. In the seventh, we finally got a look at Justin De Fratus, now wearing No. 30. He retired the Cubs in order on just 13 pitches.
-Antonio Bastardo was used again and looked a little erratic as he walked two in his inning of work. Mario Hollands sat down two batters in the ninth and Jeff Manship saw his first bit of work retiring the final batter of the game. Brad Lincoln, where are ye?
