Photo: Philliedelphia/Kevin Durso
After six long months of anticipation, the Phillies are finally returning to Citizens Bank Park. Coming off a 2-0 victory over the Braves, their first of the season, the team will play it's first of five (six you you split the home-and-home series vs. Boston) interleague series against the Kansas City Royals (1-2). Cliff Lee was masterful in Atlanta, tossing eight shut out innings while striking out eight. Papelbon then came in to close it out with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth. Today, we will see former Ray Wade Davis (2012: 3-0, 2.43 ERA out of the bullpen) take on fan "favorite" Kyle Kendrick (2012: 11-12, 3.90 ERA) as the Phillies look to even their record at 2-2.
The Phillies have not faced the Royals at home since 2004, meaning Kyle Kendrick has never faced the team. However, Jeff Francoeur (8-17 vs. Kendrick) will be making his return to Philly. We all know Spring Training numbers are next-to-pointless, so Kendrick's 1-3 record and 6.88 ERA shouldn't scare you too much. It's his inconsistency that is of some concern. Will we get the Kendrick that we've seen throw 15+ straight innings of shutout ball? Or will we be stuck with 3 innings and 5 earned runs? Perhaps this is the season we can finally stop asking "What if?" about Kyle Kendrick.
During the offseason, Wade Davis was sent from Tampa Bay to Kansas City in the James Shields-Wil Myers trade. After starting 29 games for the Rays in 2011, Davis was sent to the bullpen for 2012, where he pitched in 54 games. He was rather impressive in that role, posting just a 2.43 ERA with 87 strikeouts. This spring, Davis went 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA. Again, not incredibly important. However, the seasoned righty will probably pose a decent threat against this Phillies lineup. Mayberry, Revere, Rollins, and M. Young are a combined 4-14 (.286) with 2 K's against Davis, and are the only active Phillies with experience against him.
Game Notes:
- Mike Schmidt and George Brett will throw out the first pitch. Both played in the 1980 World Series (Phillies vs. Royals)
- This will be just the 3rd regular season matchup between these teams since 1901. Both teams are 3-3 in those games.
- No one on the Royals squad has hit a home run this season, and nobody has more than 1 RBI.
Phillies Lineup:
- Ben Revere CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Michael Young 3B
- Domonic Brown LF
- Laynce Nix RF
- Erik Kratz C
- Kyle Kendrick P
Royals Lineup:
- Alex Gordon LF
- Alex Escobar SS
- Eric Hosmer 1B
- Mike Moustakis 3B
- Salvador Perez C
- Jeff Francoeur RF
- Lorenzo Cain CF
- Chris Getz 2B
- Wade Davis P
Forecast: Rain clears by noon – 60° – 0% PoP.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: 94 WIP (FM); 1210 WPHT (AM)
Let's Go Phillies!
Andrew Gillen is a featured writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewJGillen
