The Phillies entered today looking for the first sweep of the year against divisional rival, Miami Marlins. Last night’s game ended in the trilling fashion as Jimmy Rollins hit a walk off homerun in the tenth inning. Jimmy said that he wanted to end it then, since Giancarlo Stanton was due to come up in the eleventh. Stanton in the game hit two homeruns off Jonathan Pettibone and Justin DeFatus.
Today the Phillies sent Kyle Kendrick in to the hill looking for redemption after losing to the Brewers on the home opener. Going into the game Kendrick was 0-1 with a respectable 3.75 ERA from the Phillies fourth starter. Lifetime Kendrick going into the game is 12-2 against the Marlins with a 3.48 ERA and was 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA last season.
Kendrick was opposed by right-hander Henderson Alvarez. Alvarez has started the season losing both games to the Rockies and the Nationals. Alvarez has only pitched 8.2 innings with a 4.15 ERA on the season.
The Game: The day started very shaky for the Phillies. Ryan Howards’ defense has continued its poor trend allowing Christian Yelich reach on an error on a ball that should have been caught. With two outs, Garrett Jones worked a walk off Kendrick. That allowed Casey McGehee to hit a single to score Yelich. 1-0 Marlins
In the top of the second, the Marlins continued their good start of the game. With one out, Jeff Mathis singled to right. Pitcher Henderson Alvarez then bunted him over to set up Yelich. Yelich proceeded with a single to score Mathis. 2-0 Marlins
In the bottom of the third the Phillies got on the board with a blast. After a hard out by Chase Utley to lead off the inning, Ryan Howard went opposite field to blast his second homerun of the young season. 2-1 Marlins
In the fifth, the Marlins added to their lead with a homerun of their own from Garret Jones. But that didn’t stop the Phillies in the bottom of the inning. Utley led off with a singe and with two outs Domonic Brown hit a single to over up chase. Will Nieves would then double to right for his third hit of the game to plate both runs. 3-3 Tie
In the bottom of the eighth, Chase Ultey would continue his hot April with his third homer of the year to give the Phillies the lead. That would be enough for the Phillies. Jonathan Papelbon came in the ninth to close out the game. Papelbon went 123 for the third save of the year. 4-3 Phillies
Other Phillies pitcher to appear in the game were B.J. Rosenberg and Antonio Bastardo, both pitched scoreless innings of relief.
Notable Offensive Performances:
Tony Gwynn Jr.: 3-5
Chase Utley: 3-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, HR
Ryan Howard: 1-4, R, RBI, BB, HR
Wil Nieves: 3-4, 2 RBI
Impact: It is excellent the Phillies look to be turning it around in this series. Chase Utley continues his torrid start of the season, now hitting .500. Chase is definitely the hottest hitter in the MLB right now. Chase is also hitting for power with three homeruns and six doubles. It will be amazing how long he can keep this up. If this high level of performance continues throughout the season, Chase will be in the mix for NL MVP or at least an All Star Appearance.
Up Next: Tomorrow the Phillies open up a four game set against divisional rival, Atlanta Braves and red-hot Freddie Freeman. Freeman is hitting .442 with four homers and four doubles. The Braves will send late spring signing, Ervin Santana to face the Phillies. Most of the Phillies team has never faced Santana in their careers. In his only start of the season he is 1-0 went eight innings, striking out six batters, with a 0.00 ERA. He will be opposed by Phillies starter, Roberto Hernandez. In two starts, Hernandez is 1-0 in 10.1 innings with a 4.35 ERA. Hernandez will look to go longer into the game tomorrow than his first two starts.
Andrew Shipotofsky is writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Ashipotofsky
