The Phillies won yesterday's game with a score of 7-2 thanks to home runs from Chase Utley and John Mayberry Jr. Utley drove in three runs while going 2-for-5 while Ben Revere and Domonic Brown both went 3-for-5. Roberto Hernandez went 5 1/3 innings in his Phillies regular season debut, allowing two earned runs on three hits. Today, Cliff Lee (1-0, 14.40 ERA) will get his second start of the year as he takes on the Cubbies and Jeff Samardzija (0-0, 0.00 ERA) in game two of this three game series.
Cliff Lee won his first start of the season,.but it wasn't pretty. Giving up a shocking eight earned runs on 11 hits against the Rangers on Monday, Lee was picked up by his offense. With his team scoring 14 runs to help him out, Lee got the W. Now – granted that the Rangers are a stacked offensive team, it could have simply been that Lee was leaving it over the plate and they were connecting. If there is a problem with Lee, we will certainly see it within his next couple starts. In his career against the Cubs, Lee owns a 4-0 record and a 1.95 ERA in over 50 innings.
Jeff Samardzija pitched a gem on Monday, but his record does not show it. Tossing seven scoreless frames against the Pirates on Opening Day, Samardzija took the no-decision while striking out three. Looking for some offensive support this time around, Samardzija will take on a Phillies lineup who has scored 26 runs in four games this season. On the books, Samardzija's track record against Philadelphia isn't pretty – he owns a 10.80 ERA in 20 innings pitched against them accompanied by a 1-3 record.
Game Notes:
- Jimmy Rollins is back with the club today after taking time off to be with his newborn daughter.
- Chase Utley, who went 2-5 with a HR yesterday, is batting .346 career against Samardzija.
- Justin Ruggiano is 4-for-10 lifetime against Lee with three RBI.
Today's Lineups:
Phillies lineup:
- Ben Revere CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Domonic Brown LF
- Wil Nieves C
- Cody Asche 3B
- Cliff Lee P.
Cubs lineup:
- Emilio Bonafacio CF
- Starlin Castro SS
- Justin Ruggiano RF
- Anthony Rizzo 1B
- Junior Lake LF
- Mike Olt 3B
- Welington Castillo C
- Darwin Barney 2B
- Jeff Samardzija P.
First Pitch: 2:20 PM ET
Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Weather: 43° – Mostly Sunny – 0% Precip
TV: TCN
Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.
