Kyle Kendrick Aims To Keep Rolling; Lincecum, Giants Stand In His Way

There's no doubt that if you stayed up for last night's entire game then you were either very tired this morning and woke up happy, or you were late to work but you don't care because your excuse is that the Phillies were on last night. These west coast games are very plausible excuses for tardiness to work, school, and other activities. So if you didn't stay up last night, read our recap here. If you did stay up all night, you know that Cliff Lee got his third win over the season after tossing eight innings of two-run ball. The Phillies were able to mount six runs on the Giants, five off of Madison Bumgarner.

Kyle Kendrick (3-1, 2.43 ERA) will look to keep the good stuff coming as he takes on the Giants and Tim Lincecum (2-1, 4.41 ERA), who is seeking to settle down his up-and-down-like season so far.

Kyle Kendrick is coming off of yet another quality start against the Marlins on Thursday. The Phillies most consistent pitcher yielded just two earned runs on seven hits through seven frames and was rewarded with his third win of the year. The Phillies are 4-2 in Kendrick's six starts, but he has only accounted for one of those losses. Over his last three, Kendrick is 2-0 while pushing out a 1.64 ERA (4 ER in 22 IP). In three career starts against the Giants, Kendrick is 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA (5 ER in 18 2/3 IP).

Tim Lincecum has been good this season, but he has been bad this season as well. The former-Cy Young Award winner is coming off of a five-run outing against Arizona this past Wednesday. Lincecum allowed a season-high 10 hits through five innings, but his teammates were able to bail him out and came back to win after Lincecum left the game. The two starts prior to his last, Lincecum allowed just two earned runs in 13 2/3 innings of work.  In his career against Philadelphia, Lincecum has success with a 5-2 record and a 3.00 ERA (25 ER in 75 IP). 

Game Notes: 

• Kyle Kendrick on his season so far: "I've always kind of expected this out of me," Kendrick said after his last start. "I know it hasn't been there in the past like I've wanted, the fans have wanted it, my teammates, the coaches, the organization. But I expect this out of me.
• Ryan Howard is hitting .240 (6-for-25) in his career against Lincecum, but three of those hits are home runs.
• At 15-18 the Phillies are in third place in the NL East and are 5 GB of Atlanta.

Phillies lineup:

1. Jimmy Rollins SS
2. Chase Utley 2B
3. Michael Young 3B
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Carlos Ruiz C
6. Domonic Brown LF
7. Laynce Nix RF
8. Ben Revere CF
9. Kyle Kendrick P

Kyle Kendrick will start tonight's game.

Giants lineup:

1. Angel Pagan CF
2. Marco Scutaro 2B
3. Pablo Sandoval 3B
4. Buster Posey C
5. Hunter Pence RF
6. Gregor Blanco LF
7. Brandon Belt 1B
8. Brandon Crawford SS
9. Tim Lincecum P

Tim Lincecum is starting tonight's game.

First Pitch Forecast: Partly Cloudy – 55° – 10% PoP

TV: CSN
Radio: 94 WIP/1210 WPHT

Let's Go Fightins!

Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter.