4/11/13
In another beautiful night in Philadelphia, the Phillies
concluded their first series of the season against the Mets last night. In the
second game of this series, the Phillies dominated the Mets winning by a final
score of 8-3. Cliff Lee was phenomenal on the mound for the Phillies and the
offense had an onslaught of homeruns that were hit against Mets pitcher Dillon
Gee. The Phillies kept the same lineup last night as they did in the second
game of this series. The Mets made some changes to their starting lineup.
Jordany Valdespin led off and played center field. He replaced Collin Cowgill.
Mike Baxter batted seventh and played in right field. He replaced Marlon Byrd
in the lineup. Kyle Kendrick took the mound last night for the Phillies as
Jeremy Hefner (not related to Hugh) started for the Mets. Kendrick had a decent
first start against the Kansas City Royals, but ran into trouble in the middle
innings. Hefner had a solid first start as he beat the Miami Marlins, who should
be identified as a Triple-A team because they have a terrible ballclub. Will
the Phillies offense continue to mash the Mets pitching or will Hefner step up
and make the Phillies hitters look silly?
The Phillies started out playing homerun derby against the
Mets. Ben Revere led off the Phillies half of the first inning with a walk, but
got caught stealing second base as he overslid the bag. As Jimmy Rollins hit a
double into right field that Baxter misplayed, Chase Utley stepped up to the
plate and hit a two-run homerun into dead center field. Utley’s homerun was off
a two-seam fastball that started tailing away from the plate. Ryan Howard lined
a single into right that dropped in front of Baxter. As Michael Young took a
walk to first base, Domonic Brown mashed a three-run homerun just inside the
right field foul pole and this became a 5-0 game. Brown’s homerun was off a
changeup that Hefner tried to jam him on the inside part of the plate.
The Mets hit three solo homeruns in the entire game. John
Buck, who has hit two homeruns already in this series, hit his third homerun in
the series in the second inning. Lucas Duda hit two homeruns in the fourth and
eighth innings.
The Phillies continued playing homerun derby in the sixth
inning when Laynce Nix hit a pinch hit two-run homerun. The Phillies won this
game by a final score of 7-3.
Kendrick pitched effectively even though he got himself into
trouble at times in the game. The Mets played typical Mets baseball. They had a
runner on base in the first inning, but the Phillies struck out David Wright
and threw out Jordany Valdespin as he tried to steal second. In the second
inning after Buck hit his homerun, the Mets had the bases loaded with one out
and the next two hitters struck out looking. Kendrick pitched the next two
innings with little damage done. The Mets made a huge mental mistake in the
fifth inning as they had runners in scoring position. Ike Davis hit a shallow
fly ball into center field that Revere barely caught and Daniel Murphy forgot
to go back to second base and was doubled off to end the inning. Kendrick
pitched six innings, allowed eight hits, two runs, walked two, and struck out
six batters.
Hefner was horrendous, but he was better than the last time
he faced the Phillies. When he faced the Phillies last year, he couldn’t record
an out in the first inning and allowed seven runs. This time he allowed five
runs in the first inning, and pitched three innings in total. Also, he allowed
six hits, walked three, and struck out two batters. The Phillies could have
done more damage to him in the third when they had the bases loaded with one
out. Instead, the Phillies played typical Phillies baseball and stranded
runners in scoring position.
The Phillies did something that I wrote in my last entry on
what they should work on. I wanted them to work on scoring runs against the
opposition’s bullpen. Josh Edgin, Scott Rice, and Bobby Parnell all pitched well,
but Latroy Hawkins got battered around by the Phillies. Hawkins surrendered the
homerun that Nix hit in the sixth. Hawkins pitched 2/3 of an inning, allowed
three hits, and two runs. The rest of their bullpen pitched 4 1/3 scoreless
innings, allowed one hit, and struck out seven batters.
The Mets didn’t do too much damage to the Phillies bullpen.
Antonio Bastardo and Jonathan Papelbon pitched scoreless innings. Both of them
allowed one hit and Papelbon struck out a batter. Mike Adams got roughed up a
bit. He allowed Duda’s second homerun, but he struck out three batters in his
only inning of work.
Overall, the Phillies should be beating these inferior
opponents, and beating them to the ground. I love that they are hitting the
long ball more often. That’s what made the Phillies in previous years a force
to be reckoned with. If the Phillies can manufacture runs by playing small
ball, that would make this Phillies team complete. They have the lineup to beat
you in both ways. Kendrick pitched like he did in the second half of the season
last year. He threw his fastball, changeup, and sinker effectively. The bullpen
looks to be in better shape when they are winning games. It’s not as nerve-racking
as it was last year.
Do you expect the
Phillies to keep putting up these offensive numbers against another inferior
team in the Marlins? Sound off and stay tuned on Friday when John Lannan takes
the mound for the Phillies against Ricky Nolasco.
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