The tough road trip is off to a great start, with the Phillies beating on the worst team they'll face on the swing and gearing up for a monster showdown with the Dodgers in LA.
The questions about the Phillies' rotation remain, but the young guys (Bastardo and Happ) have stepped up better than anticipated, and the vet (Blanton) and super vet (Moyer) have regained their form. Happ gets his third turn tonight, coming off of solid outings against the Yankees and Nationals. Happ will face Chris Young, the Padres #2 starter. Young's a solid pitcher, and his numbers are particularly good at home. Ya know, before tonight. As we saw on April 17, the Phillies can hit him. That 7 ER outing was one of three in which Young has given up 6 or more, and if the past two nights are any indication, the Phils don't look too interested in holding back on this road trip.
The pitching has been hot, and the bats are making a bandbox out of a huge park. With the Mets stumbling out in Pittsburgh (they got lucky to have a rainout tonight), this game is important in that it's a great opportunity to add to their divisional lead before facing the team with the best record in baseball. The Mets are really banged up by some lingering injuries to key players, and more than likely, that won't be the case for the whole season.
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/06/ph...
