Preview Game 69: Phillies @ Rays

June 24, 2009 by  
Filed under Fan News

After shelling the Rays for 10 runs last night, the offense probably can not wait to get back at it again tonight. The Phillies go for the road series win when they send Joe Blanton to the mound.

The Rays will go with starting pitcher Matt Garza, who has now recorded a win since May 16, despite pitching well. Garza enters the game with a 4-5 record but a 3.83 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. Garza has struck out 78 batters and walked 36. Perhaps not the greatest of ratios but it would appear to give Tampa Bay a slight edge on paper.

Blanton enters the game with a 4-3 record and a hefty 5.28 ERA that has been dropping. In Blanton’s game four appearance against the Rays in the World Series he went six innings, struck out seven batters and allowed two runs. Blanton has won his last three decisions but has not received a decision in his previous three outings.

Last night the Rays committed three errors, which lead to five unearned runs. Even if the Rays cut down on the errors they still need to find some momentum on offense. The Rays had eight base hits, but only crossed the plate once.

Phillies record: 37-31
Rays record: 37-35

NL East Standings (Team, record, games behind)

  1. PHILLIES 37-31, –
  2. Mets 35-34, 2.5
  3. Marlins 36-36, 3.0
  4. Braves 34-36, 4.0
  5. Nationals 20-48, 17.0

Pitching probables: Blanton (4-3, 5.28 ERA) vs. Garza (4-5, 3.83 ERA)

TV: Comcast Sportsnet

First pitch: 7:08 p.m. EST

Season series: Phillies lead 1-0
6.23 @ Tampa Bay W 10-1 Preview/Open Thread/Recap

Game open thread will be posted at 6:30 p.m. Game recap will be up tomorrow morning.

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

Escaping Death: The Story Of Jack “Lucky” Lohrke

June 24, 2009 by  
Filed under Fan News

There have been many amazing stories in baseball.

There have also been many weird stories in baseball.

This one falls under both.

Jack Lohrke was born in 1924. He began to play minor league baseball in 1942 when he was 18. Then, he was drafted into the army to fight in World War II.

This is how his story begins:

In 1942, while riding on a train through California to ship off to war, the train Lohrke was on went off the tracks. Three people were killed and many more were severely burned by steaming water that rushed through the train car.

Lohrke walked away uninjured.

In 1943, Lohrke fought in the Battle of Normandy. He survived and fought in the Battle of the Bulge, the deadliest battle fought by American troops in the European Theater.

On four separate occasions, the soldiers on either side of Lohrke were killed.

Each time Lohrke walked away uninjured.

In 1945, Lohrke was sent home from war. He arrived in New Jersey and boarded a plane for his flight back to California. Just as the plane was about to take off, a colonel marched onto the plane and took his seat. Lohrke had to wait for the next plane.

Less than an hour later, the plane crashed in Ohio. There were no survivors.

In 1946, Lohrke was playing Double-A ball with the Spokane Indians in the Western International League. The team was driving up to play a series in Seattle when they stopped at a diner for lunch.

As they were getting on the bus, Lohrke was told he had a phone call. He thought it was odd, considering he was in the middle of the Cascade Mountains. 

It turned out to be the team’s owner, who called to tell Lohrke he has been promoted to Triple-A San Diego Padres (then in the Pacific Coast League).

Lohrke was obviously excited. But he had to make a choice:

Continue with the team to Seattle and take a train back to Spokane from there?

OR

Make it back home on his own?

He chose to hitchhike back to Spokane. He said goodbye to his teammates and watched them board the bus.

About 30 minutes later, the bus skidded on the wet highway and crashed through a guardrail before tumbling 350 feet into a ravine. Then, the gas tank exploded.

Nine of the 15 players on board were killed. This tragedy remains one of the worst disasters in the history of American sports.


The Aftermath

After Lohrke’s many escapes from death, he continued with his baseball career. He played well enough with San Diego to make it to the majors. 

He played for the New York Giants (1947-1951) and the Philadelphia Phillies (1952-1953). 

Lohrke died on April 29, 2009.   

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies-Rays: Rematch? Fine With Me; Phillies Blast Rays

June 24, 2009 by  
Filed under Fan News

Any chance the Phillies can move their remaining home games to Reading or Lehigh Valley?

The Phillies once again proved that they are a totally different team on the road and jumped all over the Tampa Bay Rays en route to a 10-1 rout in the World Series rematch. Jamie Moyer picked up the win.

Things got off to a good start when Jimmy Rollins reached first base on a throwing error by third baseman Evan Longoria. Shane Victorino walked and Chase Utley hit a double to the gap in left center field, scoring both leadoff runners. As Joe Buck might say, “It’s a good start for the Phillies.” Ryan Howard, playing as the designated hitter, followed up with a double to score Utley. After Jayson Werth hit a single to put runners at the corners, and Pedro Feliz struck out, young John Mayberry Jr. hit a towering three-run home run to put the Phillies up 6-0 with one out.

The Phillies extended their lead in the fourth inning with four more runs to make it 10-0 The four-run inning included a two-run home run by Utley, who had three hits on the night. The Rays picked up their lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning by putting together a few hits against Moyer.

Moyer, with the benefit of a quick big lead, was in control the whole night. Moyer allowed five hits over six innings, striking out four while walking three. Not needing to use some of the usual bullpen guys helped as Tyler Walker and Sergio Escalona pitched the final three innings of mop-up duty. Walker allowed three hits in two innings and struck out one batter. Neither relief pitcher walked a batter.

Clearly it was a rough night for young Rays starting pitcher David Price. Price was pegged with all 10 runs, although only five were earned. The Rays committed three errors while Price was pitching. In 4.1 innings, Price allowed seven base hits, walked a couple batters, and gave up two home runs.

Rollins made a terrific catch in the game when Longoria hit a high fly ball to left field. Mayberry appeared to have it lined up but the ball hit a speaker and bounced back in play. The way the ball fell, Mayberry was now way out of position but Rollins had followed the ball and made the basket catch practically in left field.

Former Phillie Pat Burrell, now the DH for the Rays, had a rough night. The long-time fan favorite went 0-for-3 with a strike out to Moyer. Burrell did walk once.

With the win and the Mets losing to the Cardinals, the Phillies pushed their lead in the NL East to 2.5 games.

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies-Rays: Chase Utley, John Mayberry Pound Tampa Bay 10-1

June 24, 2009 by  
Filed under Fan News

It’s one of the more puzzling stories of the 2009 Philadelphis Philliesthe fact that they dominate on the road, yet can’t buy a win at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies pushed their road record to 24-9 after an absolute drubbing of the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, beating them 10-1.

The Phillies offense blasted off early and often in the top of the first. Rays’ starter David Price surrendered six runs, highlighted by a three-run homer from John Mayberry Jr. Chase Utley had a two-run double, and Ryan Howard smacked an RBI double.

Charlie Manuel spoke on the importance of having Howard back in the lineup.

“It gives us a four-hole hitter who hits 48 to 60 home runs a year,” said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “That’s what it gives us. I don’t know where we’d go to replace him.”

Utley continued his hit brigade, and in the fourth inning, his Price was right when he smacked a two-run homer to right-center to make it an even 10-0.

Jamie Moyer shut down the off-balance Rays the entire game en route to his 251st victory.

Moyer allowed just one run while allowing three walks and striking out four in six innings to sure up the win.

“You’re looking at Jamie, who’s been around, throwing 80 mph, carving us up,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “And then you’ve got the young left-hander who’s throwing 93to 94 [mph] and having a hard time. Baseball’s a beautiful game.”

“You know what you’ve got going into the game (against Moyer),” Rays third basemen Evan Longoria said. “He throws it just a little bit below hitting speed, and that’s just something you have to plan for.”

“I think he was pretty much vintage Jamie Moyer tonight. He made the pitches when he needed to. And he just kept us off-balance.”

Last night was the club’s first win since June 14, and today is a whole new day. The Phils have to do the same thing and hope their pitching does the job.

Joe Blanton will square off against Matt Garza tonight at the Trop.

Quotes: Phillies

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

World Series Phlashback: 2008—Game Three

June 24, 2009 by  
Filed under Fan News

After being swept out of the 2007 playoffs by the Colorado Rockies, the Phillies were determined to not repeat their failures in 2008.

After clinching their second straight division title the Phillies dispatched of the hot Milwaukee Brewers and took out Manny Ramirez and the rejuvenated Los Angeles Dodgers. All that was left was a match-up with the Cinderella story from the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays.

For either team the 2008 Fall Classic was going to be the perfect ending to a wonderful season. Philadelphia though was looking to capture their first world championship in any sport in a quarter century.

We continue our next phlashback series with a look at game three of the 2008 World Series, which took place in Philadelphia.

2008 World Series

Tampa Bay Rays (97-65) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (92-70)
Game Three: Phillies win 5-4, Lead Series 2-1

For the first time in fifteen years the World Series had returned to Philadelphia, but the return would be delayed by rain. After a 91 minute rain delay the Phillies and Rays resumed their series, which was tied at one, in the latest starting World Series game in history. Jamie Moyer took the mound in the first World Series game of his lengthy career.

Moyer set the Rays down in the first inning despite walking Carlos Pena. The Phillies offense would be quick to give Moyer a lead in the bottom of the first inning. After Jimmy Rollins lead off the inning with a single Chase Utley later brought Rollins home on a ground out.

Rays starter Matt Garza struck out Ryan Howard and got Pat Burrell to pop up to end the inning.

The Rays responded in the top of the second by scoring Carl Crawford, who hit a lead off double, on a sacrifice fly. But the Phillies struck back and regained the lead in the bottom of the inning when Carlos Ruiz hit a solo home run off of Garza.

Home run trots would continue later on in the bottom of the sixth inning. With Moyer cruising it was Utley and Howard who would boost the lead to 4-1. The second and first basemen hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning.

Just before the seventh inning stretch though Moyer got into a bit of trouble. Carl Crawford hit a successful bunt for a single to lead off, although replays show that Moyer got the ball to Howard in time for the out.

Dioner Navarro followed with a double to left field to put the lead off runners in scoring position. Gabe Gross’s ground out scored Crawford, cutting the Phillies lead to two runs.

Chad Durbin came in to reliever Moyer, but a Jason Bartlett ground out scored Navarro to trim the lead down to one run. Durbin got the Phillies out of the inning though with that small lead.

As had become the standard, Ryan Madson entered the game to set the game up for a Brad Lidge save. Clinging to a one run lead things were getting tense at Citizens Bank Park for the fans.

B.J. Upton was the lead off batter and Madson failed to put him away. Upton hit a ground ball to Rollins on a 3-2 pitch, and Rollins double clutched the ball and didn’t get the ball to first in time.

With American League rookie of the year Evan Longoria up the Rays were seeking to take over the momentum in the game. On Madson’s first pitch to Longoria the speedy Upton stole second base.

On the very next pitch Upton then attempted to steal third base. Ruiz’s throw got past third basemen Pedro Feliz though and Upton raced home to tie the game at four runs apiece. The Rays seemingly had taken the game over, but they still had to take a lead, which they failed to do in the eighth inning.

Jayson Werth looked to give the Phillies the lead right back in the bottom of the eighth and drew a lead off walk. Werth took off and stole second base himself with Utley up to bat. Utley then struck out and Howard came up to the plate and Phillies fans were feeling good. But then Werth was picked off at second base and Howard struck out to end the inning.

After J.C. Romero pitched a perfect ninth inning it was up to the unsung heroes of the Phillies offense to put an end to game three.

Eric Bruntlett, who had replaced Burrell in the seventh inning in left field for defensive purposes, lead off the inning by getting hit by a pitch. Bruntlett took off to second base on a wild pitch by Rays reliever Grant Balfour, and then reached third base on an error on the throw to second.

The winning run was now ninety feet away with nobody out. The Rays decided to intentionally walk Shane Victorino and pinch hitter Greg Dobbs to load the bases and setting up a force out at home.

Up stepped Ruiz, who had already hit a home run in the game. On a 2-2 pitch Ruiz hit a chopper down the third base line and Longoria could not field the ball clean enough to get a decent toss home to get Bruntlett. The Phillies walked off with the thrilling game three victory late into the night.

With the win the Phillies took a 2-1 series lead and felt good about their chances of wrapping things up at home. The Phillies had not lost a post season game at home through the first two rounds.

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

Amaro’s Pitching Moves Makes Me Sick

June 23, 2009 by  
Filed under Fan News

When Ruben Amaro was appointed general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies shortly after the team’s 2008 World Series victory, he knew the only way his inaugural season would be considered a success was if the Phillies managed to make it back to the World Series. Not an enviable position to be in considering the difficulties involved in repeating, let alone making it back to the World Series two consecutive years in a row.

So far, the only successful move Amaro has made is the signing of Raul Ibanez to replace Pat Burrell. But given former GM, and current Senior Advisor to the GM, Pat Gillick’s ties with the Seattle Mariners, you would have to be fooling yourself if you didn’t think Gillick played a key role in the Phillies decision to sign Ibanez.

When analyzing Amaro’s three off-season moves made to bolster the pitching staff, you would need to give him a big fat F. Amaro never should have resigned Jamie Moyer as he passed over established top of the rotation starters like Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Brad Penny in order to resign the 46-year-old lefty. The Ronnie Paulino for Jack Taschner trade is looking worse by the minute as Taschner continues to struggle, while Paulino is successfully platooning with John Baker down in Florida. And Chan Ho Park has been a colossal bust as a starter and the jury is still out on him as a relief pitcher.

Let’s take a closer look at the players involved.

Jack Taschner has given up 25 hits and 17 walks in just 23 innings. His ERA is a deceiving 4.56,  since many of the runs he has surrendered get charged to other pitchers. Other than Brad Lidge, he is the only regular relief pitcher on the team without a hold, and it’s not for a lack of opportunities.

During Friday’s loss the Orioles, there was no hold on the line. Instead, he was just plain awful to start the 9th inning, surrendering three more runs essentially eliminating any chance of a 9th inning comeback.

Ronnie Paulino was traded for Jack Taschner at the end of spring training after he failed to beat out Chris Coste for the back up catcher position. So far he has been great for the Marlins, in a L-R platoon with John Baker.

Paulino—.290, four HR, 14 RBIs in 100 at-bats

Coste—.250, two HR, seven RBIs in 84 at-bats

Defensively, it’s not even close, as Coste is well below average with three passed balls already, not to mention his penchant for calling the wrong pitch in key late inning situations.

The Chan Ho Park experiment as a starting pitcher ended quickly as he was replaced by J. A. Happ in the rotation, following a string of ineffective starts. Overall he has given up 57 hits and 24 walks in 48.1 innings with a 6.14 ERA. Despite the struggles in the rotation, the South Korean righty has shown signs of life during his few appearances out of the bullpen.

Last but not least, we have Jamie Moyer. He has given up 93 hits and 18 walks in 72.1 innings with a 6.35 ERA in 13 starts. His WHIP is 1.53, highest among the starters. Perhaps what hurts the most is his inability to pitch past the 6th inning.

The Phillies are 36-29 and two games up on the New York Mets. However, the team has lost four in a row at home, and six of their last seven to post a horrific 13-20 home record. The starting rotation is dead last in ERA and next to last in innings pitched. With Brett Myers out for the season and the bullpen on the verge of imploding from overuse, it’s time for Amaro to be proactive and not wait until the trade deadline to make a move for pitching.

The starting pitching market has been analyzed to death so we don’t need to rehash it, but how about another late inning reliever with electric stuff such as San Diego’s Heath Bell. He’s cheap, reliable and can certainly be pried away from the Padres for a top prospect or two. Even a work horse like Arizona’s John Rausch would provide a huge boost to the depleted and overworked bullpen. Despite the surprising start by Clay Condrey, now on the DL, he has shown in his past two outings that he is in way over his head pitching in crucial situations that both Bell and Rausch are better suited for.

Condrey needs to return to his role from last season as a long relief and/or 6th inning guy.

So far, Amaro has not shown the ability to make the right moves. Let’s be honest, Ibanez has turned out to be better than anyone could have imagined, but offense has never been this teams problem. The Phillies’ chance at making it back to the World Series to try to defend the crown now lies in the hands of Amaro.

Will he be as successful as his predecessor Pat Gillick, whose mid-season acquisitions of Joe Blanton, Matt Stairs, and Scott Eyre all played key roles in winning the championship last season.

Or will his moves turn out to backfire like his off-season moves of Moyer, Taschner, and Park?

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

Best Current Baseball Players by Uniform Number 1-10

June 23, 2009 by  
Filed under Fan News

Some of the best players in baseball history have been identified by the uniform number they wore.

Mickey Mantile was number seven, Ted Williams was number nine, Joe DiMaggio was number five and of course Babe ruth was number three.

This got me wondering what players in this era are the best players to wear their certain uniform numbers.

Some of the choices were head and shoulders above others whose numbers they shared and some were tough choices between All-Star Players.

I now present to you the best players in the Major Leagues to wear the Uniform Numbers 1-9.

Agree? Disagree? Tell me about it in the Comments Below.

And most importantly, Enjoy!

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Mid-Season Report

June 23, 2009 by  
Filed under Fan News

The Philadelphia Phillies are in first place in National League East and are five games over .500, but the season has been more disappointing than thrilling. 

They are currently riding a six-game losing streak and now head into Tampa for a World Series rematch with the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays. With a few weeks to go before the mid-summer classic, let’s look at a mid-season report on the reigning World Series Champions.

 

What’s Looking Good

  • The Phillies are 36-31 and are 1.5 games up on division rival New York Mets. 
  • The best story of the year has got to be the emerging star of Raul Ibanez. With veteran Pat Burrell leaving, the Phillies were wondering where that missing thunder would come from. It didn’t take long to see that Ibanez would be that immediate answer. Before landing on the DL, Ibanez was batting over .300 with a team-leading 22 home runs. He was the protection the team was needing behind Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. The Phillies really need him back in the middle of the lineup.
  • Utley and Howard are doing exactly what they are supposed to do.  They are driving in runs and the ball is jumping out of the yard. 

 

What’s Not Looking Good

  • The biggest disappointment is leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins. He is floating above the Mendoza Line with his OBP and stolen base numbers really struggling. Manager Charlie Manuel doesn’t like moving him from the leadoff spot because he frankly doesn’t know who else to put there. 
  • Brad Lidge. Lidge last year was “Lights Out Lidge.” This year it’s been more like “Blow Up Brad.” Every save is a nightmare as is every blown save he gives up. He is now on the DL, and it might be just what he needed. Hopefully he can come back and be his dominant self that the Phillies got used to in 2008.

 

Looking Ahead

The Phillies are struggling but are still in first place. The Mets are falling apart injury wise, and the Phillies need to extend the lead before it is too late. The Braves and Marlins don’t show immediate threats, and the Nationals will be mathematically eliminated by the All-Star break.

If the Phillies can stay healthy and get that lineup into postseason-form soon, I don’t see them not making the playoffs and putting up a great fight to defend their title. 

End of season prediction: 90-72 record, finishing in first place in the NL East.

They will look to add another strong starting arm (hopefully Jake Peavy), and Rollins will have a terrific second half batting .320 and scoring tons of runs in front of the power bats of Utley, Howard, and Ibanez.

Go Phillies. Beat the Mets.

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies 2008 World Series Phlashback: Game Two

June 23, 2009 by  
Filed under Fan News

After being swept out of the 2007 playoffs by the Colorado Rockies, the Philadelphia Phillies were determined to not repeat their failures in 2008. After clinching their second straight division title, the Phillies dispatched the hot Milwaukee Brewers and took out Manny Ramirez and the rejuvenated Los Angeles Dodgers. All that was left was a matchup with the Cinderella story from the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays.

For either team, the 2008 Fall Classic was going to be the perfect ending to a wonderful season. Philadelphia though was looking to capture its first world championship in any sport in a quarter century.

We continue our next “phlashback” series with a look at Game Two of the 2008 World Series, which took place in Tampa.

2008 World Series

Tampa Bay Rays (97-65) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (92-70)
Game Two: Rays win 4-2, Tie Series 1-1

Before heading to their home stadium, the Philadelphia Phillies were looking to put a firm grip on the World Series. A second win on the road would accomplish that, but it was not to be this time around. The young and feisty Tampa Bay Rays took advantage of some weak ground balls to bring home two runs in the first inning, and they held on to take Game Two of the World Series.

Brett Myers took the mound for the Phillies. Having put on a show with his bat in his first two games in the previous rounds, Myers would be all about pitching in Game Two of the World Series. After Myers walked Akinori Iwamura to start the bottom of the first inning, B.J. Upton hit a ground ball single to right field . Iwamura advanced to third base on a throwing error. Upton advanced to second to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out.

Back-to-back ground outs by Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria brought home Iwamura and Upton and put the Rays on top 2-0 after the first inning. The Phillies put together a threat in the top of the second inning, but could not capitalize.

After Ryan Howard led off the second inning with a double and Pat Burrell walked, Shane Victorino popped out, failing to advance the runners. Greg Dobbs then struck out looking, failing to bring home Howard and Burrell from scoring position after each advanced a base on a wild pitch by Tampa Bay starting pitcher James Shields. Pedro Feliz lined out to end the inning.

In the next inning, the Rays continued to apply the pressure on Myers. After loading the bases with one out, Upton hit a two-out single to right field, scoring catcher Dioner Navarro; right fielder Rocco Baldelli tried to score but was out at home on a close play. Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz held on to the ball and made the tag, which appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The inning ended with the Rays up 3-0.

The Rays tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth inning off of Myers, but Myers was doing a decent job of keeping the Rays in check and keeping the Phillies in the game. The Phillies just could not take advantage of lead-off runners, stranding lead-off runners in the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings. Even in the sixth inning, the Phillies could not convert a pair of base hits into into any runs.

Eric Bruntlett, of all players, finally put the Phillies on the scoreboard with a two-out solo home run off of reliever David Price. The shot may not have fueled a comeback, but perhaps it sent a message that the Phillies wouldn’t wither away from the Rays, despite their offensive struggles.

With three outs left to make some magic happen, the Phillies gave it a good shot. Ruiz led off with a double, but Jimmy Rollins failed to move him to third, popping up for the first out. Jayson Werth reached first base on an error, and Ruiz scored to cut the Rays’ lead to two runs. With two outs to work with, the Phillies just needed to score two more times to tie things up. With Chase Utley and Howard up next, optimism was high for Philadelphia.

But Utley struck out and Howard grounded out to end the ball game, cutting short a promising rally in the final inning. Tampa Bay took Game Two by a score of 4-2, but the Phillies were still feeling confident.

They were ready to take care of business at home, starting in Game Three.

———————-
I originally recapped this game on my personal blog, before this site existed. To read it, click here.

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

Preview Game 68: Phillies @ Rays

June 23, 2009 by  
Filed under Fan News

When we last saw these two teams in Tropicana Field, it was Game 2 of the 2008 World Series. Tonight, there is considerably less at stake, but that does not mean it is not an important game to either team.

The Phillies start their road trip with a three-game set against their World Series opponents and are looking to find a way to turn their season around. Despite leading the NL East, recent home woes have left fans feelings a new low about this team in 2009.

Jamie Moyer will get the start as the pitching staff searches for its own turnaround.

Moyer enters the game at 4-6 with a 6.35 ERA, but has shown improvement since the start of the season. He had what the team hopes was a hiccup in his last start, when he allowed six runs on 10 hits in six innings of work (Moyer was taken out in the seventh inning).

He threw a good game against Tampa Bay in Game 3 of the World Series, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing just three runs on five hits on the rain-delayed evening.

The Phillies went on to win the game in the ninth, rendering Moyer’s performance a no-decision.

For the defending AL Champion Rays, the team finds itself six games out of first place, despite a 37-34 record. Not only are the Rays looking up at the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox, but the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays have a head start on the as well.

Tampa will send David Price to the mound for tonight’s series opener. In his last outing, he pitched a career-high seven innings against the Colorado Rockies.

Price faced the Phillies in two relief appearances in the World Series, allowing two runs (one earned) in 3 1/3 innings pitched.

For Phillies fans, the most interest in this game will center on Rays designated hitter Pat Burrell. The longtime Phillie has played in just 39 games this season, batting .240 with just one home run and 18 RBI to go along with 22 walks.

Believe it or not, he has two stolen bases.

The Rays, even more so than the Phillies, are riddled with injuries. Among those on the injured list include second baseman Akinori Iwamura, and pitchers Troy Percival, Scott Kazmir, and Jason Isringhausen.

Phillies record: 36-31
Rays record: 37-34


NL East Standings (Team, record, games behind)

  1. PHILLIES 36-31, –
  2. Mets 35-33, 1.5
  3. Marlins 35-36, 3.0
  4. Braves 33-36, 4.0
  5. Nationals 20-47, 16.0

 

Pitching probables: Moyer (4-6, 6.35 ERA) vs. Price (1-1, 3.46 ERA)

TV: Comcast Sportsnet

First pitch: 7:05 p.m. EST

Season series: First meeting

Game open thread will be posted at 6:30 p.m. Game recap will be up tomorrow morning.

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

« Previous PageNext Page »