Kendrick’s Bat Pads Solid Outing, Phils Win 2-1

Kyle Kendrick scattered six hits and one earned run across seven innings while adding two singles and an RBI double to lead the Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Kendrick Takes Team Lead in Victories

With his tenth win of the year, Kendrick now leads the Phillies in victories. It was a very solid outing for Kendrick, who struck out two against one walk, but luck has been on his side for most of the 2014 season. Coming into tonight’s game, Kendrick ranked 42nd out of 43 qualified National League pitchers in ERA and 40th in WAR. Tonight, all of that went out the window as Kendrick all but locked up the spot as the team’s leader in wins.

The question now becomes: if you are the Phillies, do you sign Kendrick in the offseason? With question marks surrounding Cliff Lee (health) and A.J. Burnett (performance/retirement), the Phillies may go into the offseason with some combination of Cole Hamels, David Buchanan, and Jonathan Pettibone as guys who have significant Major League Experience with Kendrick expected to command somewhere in the neighborhood of $8-10 million per year. Do you do it?

Byrd Comes Through Late, Giles and Papelbon Continue Great Seasons

Marlon Byrd singled home Maikel Franco from second off Marlins reliever Chris Hatcher in the top of the eighth to make the game 2-1. Ken Giles pitched a 1-2-3 eighth while Jonathan Papelbon closed out the game in the ninth for his 38th save. Papelbon is now just seven saves away from tying Jose Mesa for the Phillies’ all-time lead in saves.

The Phillies look to win the series against the Marlins tomorrow at 4:10 PM when David Buchanan takes on Tom Koehler.