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Gamenight: Reds (28-31) At Phillies (35-25)

The Phils could secure an 8-2 homestand, at worst, with a win tonight against the Reds. The Phils will tote Brett Myers out there. Myers had a nice start last time out against the Rockies, going eight innings while striking out a season-high 11. He’ll need to duplicate that tonight.

Why? The Reds throw out there Edinson Volquez, who pitched well against the Phillies this season and is the National League ERA leader. He’s a hard thrower and very deceptive at that, but with patient Phillie bats, he could be beaten. Meanwhile, the bullpen has been taxed with Tom Gordon and Brad Lidge seeing the past three games each. They might not be available tonight. The plan would be to get Myers eight, then turn it over to either Romero (in a close game) or Condrey/Seanez (in a blowout).

Ken Griffey Jr.? Not in the game. At this point it’s probably to get him 600 in Cincinnati. There’s rain (and a tornado) in the forecast, as it has been all day. With a day game set for tomorrow, it’s possible this one could be called.

Phillies: Brett Myers (3-6) 5.52 ERA
Reds: Edinson Volquez (7-2) 1.46 ERA

Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EST
Weather: 77 degrees, isolated storms
Lineup: Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, Burrell, Jenkins, Feliz, Coste, Myers

MLB TV
MLB Gameday Audio
MLB Gameday

Your gamenight beer: We’ll need something stronger tonight, something that’ll ignite the bats over flame-throwing Volquez. I suggest Sam Adams Honey Porter, a delicious, sweet but strong beer that you can cut some wood with. As the rain pours down and you think about an eight- or nine-win homestand, take comfort in this beer and eat some buffalo wings.

Go Phillies!

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.