The Phillies whooped some Mets a** last night. With Cliff Lee on the mound and a wholloping set of home runs, the Phillies were able to even this three-game series at one-a-piece. Cliff Lee was spectacular once again last night. Nearly going the distance, but falling short at 8 2/3 innings, Lee allowed three earned on eight hits while striking out six. In the third inning, the Phillies got a jump start on the Mets and never looked back. Back-to-back homers from Ryan Howard and Michael Young propelled the Phils up and two batters later, John Mayberry Jr. joined the party. With last night's 8-3 win under their belt, the Phils are looking forward to tonight as they attempt to win their first series of the year. Kyle Kendrick (0-1, 7.94 ERA) will take on Jeremy Hefner (0-1, 1.50 ERA) in this series finale at 7:05 PM.
Kyle Kendrick was Kyle Kendrick last Friday. He pitched very well through 4 1/3 innings, retiring 13 of the 16 batters he saw. But after facing those 16 batters, Kendrick crumbled and allowed five earned runs through 5 2/3 innings. Allowing seven of his last 11 batters to reach, Kendrick was tagged with the loss as the Phillies lost 13-4. Last season Kendrick made one starts against the Mets, taking the win while allowing two earned runs through 7 2/3 innings. In his career Kendrick is 5-7 with a 3.56 ERA (32 ER in 81 IP).
Jeremy Hefner is looking to rebound from a hard-luck loss against Miami. Back on Friday Hefner held the Marlins to one run over six innings. Despite a quality start, Hefner took a loss and is looking to make up for it tonight in his first start against the Phillies this year. In his two starts and a relief appearance against Philadelphia last season Hefner went 1-1 with a 16.47 (13 ER in 7 1/3 IP). Hefner has the same numbers against the Phillies in his career.
Game Notes:
- Let's win a series here!
- With some good run support, Kendrick can work in a lot of ways tonight.
- Ryan Howard, Michael Young, and John Mayberry Jr. all homered for the first time last night
Phillies lineup:
- Ben Revere CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Michael Young 3B
- Domonic Brown LF
- John Mayberry Jr. RF
- Erik Kratz C
- Kyle Kendrick P.
Mets lineup:
- Jordany Valdespin CF
- Daniel Murphy 2B
- David Wright 3B
- Ike Davis 1B
- John Buck C
- Lucas Duda LF
- Mike Baxter RF
- Ruben Tejada SS
- Jeremy Hefner P.
First pitch weather forecast: Partly Cloudy – 79° – 0% PoP
Later tonight: Scattered T-Storms – 72° – 60% PoP.
TV: The Comcast Network
Radio: 94 WIp, 1210 WPHT
Let's Go Phillies!
Erik Seybold is the Ultimate Blog King of Journalistic Activities at Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter.
