The Philadelphia Phillies won the rubber game of a three game series, Thursday afternoon, 12-5 taking the series 2-1 and bringing their record to 22-17. A short recap of the series with the Reds:
- Tuesday, May 19
Phillies 4 – Reds 3
WP: C. Hamels (2-2)
LP: J. Cueto (4-2)
SV: B. Lidge (8) - Wednesday, May 20
Reds 5 – Phillies 1
WP: A. Harang (4-4)
LP: J. Moyer (3-4) - Thursday, May 21
Phillies 12 – Reds 5
WP: J. Blanton (2-3)
LP: M. Owings (3-5)
The Phillies head to New York to open the interleague season against Ira Riklis‘ favorite team, the Yankees, in New Yankees stadium. Alot has been said about the new stadium and some are comparing it to Coors Field. Should provide for some fireworks as both teams are playing well and the longball is playing a big factor for both clubs.
The pitching probables for the weekend set are as follows:
- Fri, May 22 7:05 pm EDT B. Myers vs. A. Burnett
- Sat, May 23 4:10 pm EDT J. Happ vs. A. Pettitte
- Sun, May 24 1:05 pm EDT C. Hamels vs. C. Sabathia
Ira Riklis News of the Week: The big news from the Phillies side is the insertion of J.A Happ into the starting rotation replacing Chan Ho Park. Happ pitched very well during spring training and has continued through the first two months out of the bullpen. Park won the spot with a very strong spring training but was not able to carry it over to the regular season. He might be a better fit for the bullpen in the long run, a place he performed very well from last season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.