Photo: Philliedelphia/Andrew Gillen
Ryan Howard is on a tear, and it will continue in St. Louis
On June 2nd, 2013, the Phillies were coming off of 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. It was their second loss of the series, and it pushed their season record to 26-29, three games under the .500 mark. During that matinee June 2nd game, Cliff Lee led the Phillies into victory. Domonic Brown collected four RBIs, including a three-run home run, and the team was at least able to salvage the final game of the series against the Brew Crew. Fortunately, it lead into a sweep of the Miami Marlins, and another win against the Brewers for a five-game winning streak. Flash forward to tonight's game, with the Phillies having just swept the Atlanta Braves and taken Game One against St. Louis. A victory this evening doesn't put them back above .500, but it tightens the already log-jammed NL East division.
Leading the charge into tonight's 8:15 PM Eastern contest is A.J. Burnett, who, after having an extended tough stretch of starts, has had back-to-back respectable performances. The veteran's biggest downside continues to be the amount of baserunners he allows, leading the National League in walks and ranking inside the top-20 in hits allowed. However, it is something that he is improving upon. In his last 15.1 innings pitched against the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres, Burnett has surrendered a total of just two free passes and eleven base knocks. The walks are something to keep an eye on, as in the nine starts Burnett has allowed two or less walks, he's given up more than four earned runs just once.
Jaimie Garcia hadn't pitched in the major league in just over one full year. He went down due to a shoulder injury on May 17th of 2013, and didn't make his first start until May 18th of this season. Since that first start, Garcia has been quite effective for the Cardinals. In his six starts thus far, he has given up more than four earned runs just once. He's also given up just five walks in 38.2 innings pitched. The seven year veteran is coming off of two very good outings against two current division leaders. Against the Toronto Blue Jays, Garcia matched three hits to three walks allowed in a seven inning, no-runs-allowed performance. He'd go the same distance against the Washington Nationals, this time giving up a single earned run. The Cardinals went on to victory in both games.
Game Notes:
- Cody Asche has been activated and is set to return to the Phillies lineup tonight. In his five minor league rehab games, Asche collected three home runs, nine RBIs, and six runs scored. He was 8-for-13 in those games. The third baseman was ten for his last twenty-five with a home run and two doubles before hitting the shelf in late May.
- The Phillies' last four wins have been a direct result of Ryan Howard's torrid run. He's had seven hits in his last twenty-one at bats. Those seven hits include three home runs and a double. His four walks have been equally as important, and with three games left in a ballpark that Howard has owned in his career, these numbers could jump even higher.
After their loss to the Cincinnati Reds on June 8th, the Phillies were eight games under .500, and sat 7.5 games out of first place in the National League East. Less than two weeks later, the team is just five games under that elusive even record, no longer in last place, and just four games out of the top spot.
Phillies Lineup
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Carlos Ruiz C
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Domonic Brown LF
- John Mayberry Jr. CF
- Cody Asche 3B
- A.J. Burnett P
Cardinals Lineup
- Matt Carpenter 3B
- Jon Jay CF
- Matt Holliday LF
- Allen Craig RF
- Matt Adams 1B
- Yadier Molina C
- Johnny Peralta SS
- Kolten Wong 2B
- Jaimie Garcia P
Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
Weather: 86° - Partly Cloudy – 0% PoP
Game Time: 8:15 PM Eastern
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
