Photo: Philliedelphia/Andrew Gillen
It has only been 64 days. Just over nine weeks. 92,160 minutes. 5,529,600 seconds. I feel these measurements are worth expanding upon because a Cliff Lee-less Phillies team is not much fun. However, the over two month wait is now coming to a close, and the "mystery team" now has their $120 million player back on the mound for what just may be the second to last time. While Lee's name seems to always be on the trading block, this year has been a bit different. With the injury, interested teams will certainly be eyeing his next two starts before the trade deadline to gauge what is left in the tank. And, depending on those performances, the Phillies could be in for a nice haul should #33 be dealt to a contender.
The National League West leading San Fracisco Giants will be his first opponent. At 26-19, the Giants are one of the best road teams in the NL, and are playing a team that is ten games under .500 in their own ballpark. With his last start in Philly coming on May 18th, Lee hasn't had much of a chance to help improve the 19-29 mark. When he was on the mound, the home/road splits for Cliff have been enormous. His ERA rests under 2.00 in Citizens Bank Park, and is nearly three runs lower than his ERA on the road. His FIP is a run lower, and he's striking out two more batters per nine innings. Lee had an eight inning, two-run victory over San Fran in May of 2013. He is scheduled to throw 85-100 pitches tonight.
Ryan Vogelsong, the former Phillies minor leaguer, gets the ball for San Francisco. Vogelsong has had an interesting major league story, falling out of the league a few years back, only to return in 2011 to a triumphant season. 2014 hasn't exactly been impressive, but Vogelsong is still pitching well. Through the first two months of the season, Ryan had five total starts of at least four earned runs allowed. Since the beginning of June, that has happened just twice. Proving the inaccuracy of wins and losses, Vogelsong is on a four-game losing streak, but has gone at least six innings with just two or fewer runs allowed in three of those.
Game Notes
- The Phillies went 3-3 against their West Coast opponent last season. Including playoffs, they are 14-17 against the Giants since the start of the 2011 season.
- Hunter Pence will be making his second trip to Philadelphia since being traded in 2012. This season, Pence is hitting a tick under .300, along with twelve home runs and 35 RBIs. His 3.5 WAR would be the best on the Phillies right now (0.5 more than Phillies leader Chase Utley). He is 6-for-11 with two home runs against Cliff Lee in his career.
- Koyie Hill has been outrighted to Triple A, while Cesar Hernandez had an option picked up to send him to Lehigh Valley as well. The team made the tough decision to designate Tony Gwynn Jr. for assignment just weeks after his father's passing. Gwynn Jr. had an OBP of .281 with three RBIs and two stolen bases.
Phillies Lineup
- Grady Sizemore CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Domonic Brown LF
- Cody Asche 3B
- Cameron Rupp C
- Cliff Lee P
Giants Lineup
- Hunter Pence RF
- Marco Scutaro 2B
- Buster Posey C
- Pablo Sandoval 3B
- Mike Morse LF
- Adam Duvall 1B
- Brandon Crawford SS
- Gregor Blanco CF
- Ryan Vogelsong P
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Weather: 81°F – Partly Cloudy – 0% PoP
Game Time: 7:05 PM Eastern
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
