Gameday: Phillies (33-30) at Yankees (41-24)
Philadelphia Phillies (33-30) at New York Yankees (41-24)
Kyle Kendrick, RHP (3-2, 4.80 ERA) vs. Andy Pettitte (8-1, 2.46 ERA)
Time: 7:05, Yankee Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 73
TV: WPHL
Twitter: @philliesnation
Now we conclude the much-anticipated 2009 World Series rematch, in which the Yankees throw the same three starters, in the same order, that pitched last fall, while the Phillies counter with three starters who weren’t even on last year’s postseason roster. So far, it’s gone OK, with the offshore bombardment of Roy Halladay being followed by a quality showing from the offense last night in a 6-3 win. Tonight, we get Andy Pettitte, one of the hottest pitchers in baseball, whose ERA and WHIP are the lowest they’ve been in five years.
We also get another puzzling lineup decision in a series full of them. First, the Utley/Polanco swap from Tuesday (repeated tonight), then putting Greg Dobbs at DH last night, a move that was met with much heckling in the Twitterverse (Dobbs had a RBI single and run scored in 2 at-bats last night). Tonight, we get Ben Francisco, a capable, if not spectacular, outfielder, in the DH role while Raul Ibanez, who is continuing his rapid and disturbing transition into a statue, mans left field. It’s difficult to know what Uncle Cholly’s thinking, but if it ends up with the Phils taking two of three from the Bronx Bombers in the New Yankee Workshop, I won’t ask questions.
Tonight’s Lineup:Victorino (CF), Utley (2B), Polanco (3B), Howard (1B), Werth (RF), Ibanez (LF), Francisco (DH), Schneider (C), Valdez (SS), Moyer P.
Credit where credit’s due–those dudes up in Massachusetts are quite creative. One of this summer’s seasonal offerings from the boys who brought craft brewing to the American masses is an IPA called Latitude 48. Essentially, the people up at Sam identified the 48th parallel in the northern hemisphere as the “hop belt”–the ideal place for those selfsame plant products to grow. So they took a bunch of hops from the 48th parallel around the world (American, German, and English hops), stuck ’em in a barrel, and out comes this pleasant, somewhat hoppy IPA, the Boston Brewing Co.’s first since it retired the English IPA. Enjoy.
Go Phillies!
