The trade deadline excitement, or lack thereof in the Philadelphia area, probably caused a number of fans to lose any desire they had to continue watching the team play. Many figured that going into last day of July and moving forward, it would be another eight weeks of losing and unexciting baseball. However, even with the injury to Cliff Lee, the Phillies have put together back-to-back victories against the best team in the National League East with last night's stressful 2-1 win. With a win tonight, Ryne Sandberg's team would not only put together a winning streak, but would clinch at least a series victory in the four game set with the Washington Nationals. It will be A.J. Burnett making his 24th start of the season for Philadelphia, while Jordan Zimmermann takes to the mound for the Nats.
Pleasantly put, A.J. Burnett did not have his greatest of outings in his last start. The seven earned runs over five innings that Burnett surrendered to the Mets in New York were the second most he's given up all season. Which, exactly, was his worst outing this season? Well, when compared by number of runs allowed, it was his June 4th game against these same Nationals. On that day, A.J. did throw a full six innings of work, but ten hits and four walks led to eight earned runs and an obvious loss for the Phillies. Burnett has had two other outings against Washington this season. Those two appearances combine for 13.2 innings with three runs allowed and thirteen strikeouts recorded. Both games ended with a team victory.
Jordan Zimmermann is having a bit of a better season than some may realize. He ranks in the top five in the National League in both FIP (2.84) and WAR (2.9). His walk rate of 1.51 per nine innings ranks him fourth in the league, but he does have one noticeable weakness. He's leaving less than 75% of his baserunners on the paths, and has one of the league's highest BABIP rates. Getting baserunners on Zimmermann seems to be the best way to get to him, and that's exactly what the Phillies did on July 11th. In just 3.1 innings, the Phils had had six baserunners, four of which scored in an eventual victory. In Jordan's other game against Philly, he'd allow six baserunners once more, but in eight innings instead. Washington came away with the victory that day.
Game Notes
- Marlon Byrd, who had been heavily talked about on the trade block up through the deadline, is having one of the best seasons for a Phillies outfielder in recent years. After making his major league debut in 2002, Byrd did not hit home run number 21 of his career until 2007 with the Texas Rangers. He already has 21 this year, and is on pace to break his record of 24 that he set last season.
- Speaking of Phillies outfielders, Grady Sizemore continued to put together a great start to his career in Philadelphia with two hits in last night's matchup. In just 17 games with the Phillies, Sizemore has collected 22 hits and has scored ten runs. In 52 games with the Red Sox, Sizemore recorded forty hits and fourteen runs, meaning he's on pace to put up those same numbers with the Phils in half the time.
- Since his return to the Phillies lineup at the end of July, Carlos Ruiz is hitting a cool .355 in seven games. He's had eleven hits in 31 trips to the plate, including four doubles. Interestingly enough, Ruiz has had an at bat from every spot in the order this season except leadoff.
Phillies Lineup
- Ben Revere CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Grady Sizemore LF
- Carlos Ruiz C
- Cody Asche 3B
- A.J. Burnett P
Nationals Lineup
- Denard Span CF
- Anthony Rendon 3B
- Jayson Werth RF
- Adam LaRoche 1B
- Ian Desmond SS
- Bryce Harper LF
- Asdrubal Cabrera 2B
- Wilson Ramos C
- Jordan Zimmermann P
Location: Nationals Park, Washington DC
Weather: 76°F – Overcast – 11% PoP
Game Time: 7:05 PM Eastern
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
