Categories: Gameday 2009Posts

Gamenight: Nationals (4-13) At Phillies (9-8)

Washington Nationals (4-13) at Philadelphia Phillies (9-8)
Shairon Martis (2-0, 4.11 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (0-2, 7.31 ERA)

Time: 7:05 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia.
Weather: Sunny, 86
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Twitter: Phillies Nation

Sweep. A nice word, really. The Phillies took their first one of those this weekend in Miami, breaking the Marlins with two comebacks and a wipeout. They got good (enough) pitching, got good (enough) hitting and … well they did field spectacularly. Now the Phillies return home and get a visit from the lowly Nationals, a team coming off its first road win of 2009 (a win yesterday over Oliver Perez and the Mets).

And the Nats will throw out there the Phils first repeat ball-thrower: Shairon Martis. He gave up just two runs in 6.1 innings, defeating the Phillies April 16 in Washington. Lou Marson and Raul Ibanez collected two hits off Martis in that game, while Chase Utley had the other. For a rookie he has been effective this season.

The Phils bring out Joe Blanton, who was the opposing pitcher in that April 16 game. He gave up three runs in six frames. Those three runs came from an Adam Dunn home run, a cannonball that practically destroyed some seats in Nationals Park. Blanton is 0-2 this season, coming off a six-inning, three-run start against Milwaukee.

Your gamenight beer: I’m on a boat. Are you? Get some Shipyard Export Ale from the Shipyard Brewing Co. This American pale is a decent try and light on the palate. It makes for a nice change of pace from your usual bitter APAs, especially on a hot night such as this. Stay away from the pork and have some roast beef.

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.