4/2/13
Everybody rejoice. Baseball is back. This is my first blog entry of the Phillies and I hope all of you will stick around and enjoy this 162 game marathon of a season.
The Phillies and Braves both made splashes this offseason. The Braves splashes were louder than the Phillies. If you have already read my preview to the Phillies season, you know what the Phillies did in the offseason. Meanwhile, in tomahawk chop land, the Braves lost their hall of fame worthy player in Chipper Jones to retirement. They traded left fielder Martin Prado along with a few prospects for outfielder Justin Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson. The Braves also lost centerfielder Michael Bourne to free agency, and traded starting pitcher Tommy Hanson to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for reliever Jordan Walden. B.J. Upton was the Braves big free agent signing this offseason to shore their position in centerfield. The Phillies will have to rely on pitching and defense as they have been for the past three years. There have been new wrinkles in the lineup that have been discovered in the spring. Ben Revere has been in the leadoff spot and Charlie Manuel will experiment trying him out at that spot. This has made longtime leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins bump down in the lineup batting second. This year we will see what a full season of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley can provide for the Phillies. The Braves have a lineup that is full of power and a lot of strikeouts. Both Justin and B.J. Upton, Dan Uggla, Jason Heyward, and Freddie Freeman are all prone to striking out a lot. Their starting rotation isn’t as flashy as it was last year, and their bullpen has a lot of young players besides Craig Kimbrel and Eric O’Flaherty. The Phillies will be without their starting catcher Carlos Ruiz for the first 25 games of the season as he serves his suspension for using adderall. They will also be without outfielder Delmon Young as he was placed on the 15-day disabled list. The Braves will be without their starting catcher in Brian McCann, setup man Jonny Venters, and shortstop Paul Janish. All of them have been placed on the 15-day disabled list. McCann is recovering from a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. Venters has a sprained elbow and Janish has a shoulder injury. Cole Hamels made his first ever opening day start for the Phillies while Tim Hudson started for the Braves.
The Braves offense got on fire in the first three innings of the ballgame. Hamels surrendered a two-run homerun to Freeman and a solo shot to Uggla. Both of those homeruns were on the same fastball right down the middle of the plate. Then Freeman ripped an RBI single past a leaping Utley that scored Andrelton Simmons. They had a 4-0 lead in the third inning.
The Phillies got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when Utley hit his 200th career homerun to dead centerfield to make it a 4-1 game. In the fifth, Utley hit a sharp line drive to right field that scored two runs and made it a 4-3 game and knocked Hudson out of the game. Hudson cruised through the first three innings, but fell flat during the fourth and fifth innings. He threw 4 1/3 innings, allowed six hits, gave up three runs, walked three and struck out three hitters. Luis Avilan replaced Hudson. He struck out Howard with runners in scoring position. This is all too familiar to Phillies fans who have watched Howard’s entire career. After he intentionally walked Michael Young to load the bases, Domonic Brown grounded out to second base to kill the rally.
The Braves answered back with another solo homerun. This time it was by Justin Upton on a fastball right over the plate. He made it a 5-3 game. Hamels was finished after five innings. He allowed seven hits, five runs, walked one and struck out five hitters.
Chad Durbin relieved Hamels and the results were terrible. Durbin did not record an out and allowed all of the hitters he faced to reach base. Gerald Laird hit an RBI bloop single to centerfield that scored Uggla to make it 6-3. Durbin was taken out of the game after that bloop single for Jeremy Horst. Horst allowed a run to score, but that run was scored when Reed Johnson grounded into a double play to make it 7-3. Durbin allowed two hits, two runs, and walked a hitter.
Eric O’Flaherty replaced Avilan in the seventh inning. Avilan pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one batter. O’Flaherty allowed a triple to Utley. Then Howard grounded out to first base and Utley strolled home to make it a 7-4 game.
Walden replaced O’Flaherty in the eighth inning. O’Flaherty allowed one run in one inning and allowed one hit. Walden was effectively wild. He allowed John Mayberry Jr. to double down the left field line, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Erik Kratz knocked Mayberry Jr. home on an RBI single and it was a 7-5 game. Kratz moved to second base on a wild pitch, but Laynce Nix or Revere could not drive Kratz home. Revere’s out was a tough call by the umpire since Revere is not prone to striking out.
Phillippe Aumont replaced Horst in the eighth inning. Horst threw 2 scoreless innings, allowed one hit and struck out two. Aumont threw a solid scoreless inning. He also walked and struck out one hitter.
Craig Kimbrel threw a scoreless ninth inning. He got a little help from umpire when he struck out Rollins, but got Utley and Howard to fly out to end the game. The winning pitcher was Avilan. Hamels was the losing pitcher and Kimbrel recorded his first save of the season.
Overall, I liked what I saw from the Phillies offense. They didn’t give up when it was a four run deficit. They kept chipping at the lead, but in the end it wasn’t enough. Hamels seemed like he was too amp’d up to pitch in his first ever opening day start. He threw a lot of fastballs and cutters and not a lot of the changeup, which is his bread and butter pitch. That’s why his location and control looked off. I really liked what I saw from Utley. He was one hit shy of hitting for the cycle. The Braves showed me that when they hit homeruns, they win games. Hudson didn’t pitch like he was an ace. He may be like Roy Halladay as in age being a factor with his effectiveness. I can see the Braves bullpen being a problem with Venters being sidelined for a few weeks. If the Braves use Walden as their setup man to get to Kimbrel, that will make the Braves fans chew on a lot of tums during the season.
How do you feel about the Phillies after their first game of the season? Sound off and stay tuned on Wednesday as the Phillies put Roy Halladay on the mound against Paul Maholm.
No comments:
Post a Comment