Freddy Galvis gets first career start at 3B

Freddy Galvis has finally cracked the Phillies' starting lineup. He replaces Michael Young at third base; it is Galvis' first career start at the hot corner.

Young -- like Ben Revere, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Domonic Brown -- had started all 10 games and batted in the same spot. He gets a day off Saturday against 20-year-old righty Jose Fernandez.

Galvis bats seventh, behind Brown and Laynce Nix, who is in right field again.

For the Marlins, Giancarlo Stanton sits again with a sore left shoulder. The same eight position players are in Miami's lineup, just in different spots.

Cole's use of the cutter

Cole Hamels is using his cutter more than ever this season and it is not paying dividends. With two strikes, Hamels used the cutter 18% of the time the last three seasons. This year, he's used it 35% of the time.

The opposition is hitting .480 (12-for-25) with three doubles and four homers against his fastball and cutter, so it's probably a good idea for Hamels to get back to using his changeup and curve more. Batters have swung through his curve 50% of the time and his change 33% of the time, while going just 3-for-14 off those two pitches.

It seems as though Hamels' gameplan heading into the season was to establish his cutter early as yet another top weapon. But the results haven't been pretty and it will be interesting to see how often he utilizes it tonight.

Phillies lineup

1) Ben Revere, CF
2) Jimmy Rollins, SS
3) Chase Utley, 2B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Domonic Brown, LF
6) Laynce Nix, RF
7) Freddy Galvis, 3B
8) Erik Kratz, C
9) Cole Hamels, P

Marlins lineup

1) Juan Pierre, LF
2) Donovan Solano, 2B
3) Placido Polanco, 3B
4) Austin Kearns, RF
5) Greg Dobbs, 1B
6) Justin Ruggiano, CF
7) Rob Brantly, C
8) Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
9) Jose Fernandez, P

Fernandez has a high-90s fastball, a mid-80s curve and a changeup he throws sparingly to lefties. He threw his fastball on the first pitch to 13 of the 19 batters he faced in his major-league debut against the Mets last week. With two strikes, he threw the curve twice as much as he threw any other pitch.

Comments

[Iceman]

The Braves are about to win again against the Nats. The only time they've lost is when they ran into the Cliff Lee buzz saw.

They're playing without Freddie Freeman and Brian McCann.

[Iceman]

Stanton being held out of these games is simply a precaution while Amaro hammers out the details of trading the entire Lehigh Valley and Reading teams for him.

[CS]

Freddy 0-3, 1 BB and solid D at 3rd.

[MG]

If Fernandez were a LHP and/or if Stanton (and Kotchman) were in the lineup tonight, I would take the Fish at +130 or +135.

Just can't bet on a team with that kind of offensive ineptitude. They have scored 2 runs or less now in 7 of their first 10 games and only score more than 3 runs one time.

Even if you had a team with a great pitching and a stellar defense (neither of which the Marlins possess), that team would lose at a ridiculous high clip given their offensive production so far.

-150 is just too crappy of a payout right now for Hamels too. If he had looked better last time out and just been snake-bitten on a few HRs, I would take him but not until he shows some command on his 4-seamer.

[MG]

Wouldn't it have made a bit more sense to have started Galvis at 3B this spring if the Phils were going to start him there given that he has almost no professional experience there?

Interesting too that Galvis is getting the start too & not Frandsen. It's a smart move given how completely inept the Fish's offense is although I have no idea how Galvis arm/reaction time will play at 3B.

[MG]

Coghlan is out to a slow start & was brutal last year but he is 7-21 with 2 HRs along with 4 BBs vs Hamels.

Why would Redmond leave him out of the lineup tonight and start Ruggiano instead (2-9 that were 1Bs with 0 BBs/4 Ks vs Hamels in his career)?

The only guys that have good numbers vs Hamels are on the DL/injured (Stanton/Kotchman) or not playing tonight (Coghlan).

If Hamels get hit hard by this lineup tonight and can't command his fastball, it is time to start to be a little concerned about him.

[epicurean]

Galvis started at 3B a few times during ST, MG. Also, I have a feeling that Charlie is going to be treating Frandsen as his 'big bat off the bench' for the foreseeable future, or at least until Delmon Young gets back.

[MG]

Reliever velocity:

Papelbon right now is only topping out at 91-92 on the gun and Adams is struggling to top 90 MPH.

They both can get by because their fastball command is good/very good most night but it going to hurt their effectiveness over the course of the season if that is their max velocity now especially because both guys throw a 4-seam fastball regularly and up until the past year or so were at least at 93-94 MPH on it.

[CS]

I said the first half of last year we should have traded Hammels to Texas for Olt and whatever else we could get.

[Eagles fan]

@CS But they didn't trade him so what do they do with him now?

[aksmith]

Adam Morgan with 8 shutout innings against Syracuse today. Looking good.

If Adams continues his trajectory, Ethan Martin can have some semblance of control and Biddle progresses as predicted, the Phillies future starting staff may be pretty good and pretty cheap.

I don't see Pettibone being a good or even average major league pitcher, but those three are good prospects.

[The Perils of Thinking]

CS: ... And now you see that you were wrong?

[EDGE]

Bad time to bring up Olt's name. He's hitting .086 in AAA.

[bay_area_phan]

Papelbon was hitting 94 in the Mets game a few nights ago, and he even hit 95 once. But he had a fairly stiff wind behind him. I have no idea if the wind can affect the velocity on pitches.

[nik]

Matt Harvey is looking like an Ace. Its gonna suck looking at a Harvey/Wheeler 1/2 for the next 6+ years.

[chondromalacia]

harvey throwing a no-hitter through 6 if anyones keeping tabs

[chondromalacia]

nice... totally jinxed it

[Iceman]

Harvey will be terrorizing us for years. His stuff was big league ready the moment he stepped on the mound.

[GTown_Dave]

Galvis. Meh. I'd probably have gone w/ Frandsen in hopes of generating a bit more offense, but considering how bad the Marlins have been it really shouldn't matter either way.

[bullit]

speaking of inexperienced 3rd baseman, dick allen played every game of his 1964 rookie year there. and made 41 errors. still his offensive stats were so gaudy he was named rookie of the year.

[bay_area_phan]

Tonight's stat line from Reading pitcher Austin Wright: 1 IP, 0 hits, 1 HBP, 5 walks, 4 earned runs. Whereupon he exited the game.

So, on the bright side, no hits allowed.

[Fatalotti]

I generally don't claim that a player has to dominate on any given night. No matter how good the player, he can have an off night and just not perform well.

But Cole Hamels had better not just beat this team, but beat them senseless. This is like getting to face a rehab assignment lineup, during a regular season start. And since Hamels has already cost this team two wins, to come up short tonight would be literally inexcusable.

[Andy]

Allen continued to play 3B and got better. I bet the Marlins wish they had him there right now.

I've never seen a line-up so bad at a major league level except in September for two teams completely out of it at the end of a 15 inning game.

Even then.

If Hamels gets close to his full capability going tonight it will be amazingly ugly. (Really: Polanco, Kearns, Dobbs?)(?!)

No way the Phils win this game.

[Andy]

Matt Harvey could (evidently) strike out Chuck Norris five times in one pitch. The only way he would not be a Total Baseball God would be if he were drafted by the Phillies.

[Fatalotti]

Good luck Freddy. Break a leg! (but not your back again)

[Fatalotti]

I know he's going to get going, but watching the way Revere hits the ball, and the way defenses play him, I just can't actually visualize how he's going to get going.

[Fatalotti]

"He's not going to throw more than 170 innings this year"

The Marlins want to make sure he stays in good shape for when they trade him to the Yankees.

[Conway Twitty]

After Kratz bats, we will be batting 8 LH in a row. Guess Cholly knows they only have 1 LH in the pen.

[GTown_Dave]

Nice play by Hamels.

[GTown_Dave]

Laynce Nix, Plus Defender.

[gobaystars!]

Nix is winning some people over this week.

[NEPP]

Hell of a catch!!!

[bay_area_phan]

That was an absolutely routine fly ball. Nix is nearly as slow as Ryan Howard.

[bullit]

don't whip yourself into a froth, fata. have a hit of my 'mr. nice guy X blueberry' lol

[GBrettfan]

That was an impressive catch - didn't think Nix had it in him. Hat tip to him!

[Fatalotti]

Great play by Nix!

Hamels was not very impressive in that inning. About 6=7 foul balls and a couple hard hit balls.

Control looks better, though.

[NEPP]

Nice curveball by the rookie there.

[Fatalotti]

Nix and Galvis aren't afraid of this rook!

[Muuurgh]

Fresh

[NEPP]

Freddy!!!

With a hit!

[Fatalotti]

Got away with one there. He hung that pitch.

[GTown_Dave]

No soup for former Phillies tonight!

[bay_area_phan]

That was a much tougher catch than Nix's.

[GTown_Dave]

Now Howard! Who are these guys?

[Fatalotti]

Hamels paid off the BAbip fairy last night.

[NEPP]

Nice play, Ryan.

[The Hook]

Flashing a Lil leather boys

[bay_area_phan]

He's getting hit a little too hard for my taste but at least he's throwing strikes. If he can do that, he should be fine.

[MG]

Hamels location looks better so far including on his 4-seamer.

This lineup is so pathetic though it is almost impossible to judge how Hamels is because he apparently has little fear at throwing everything over the plate.

[GBrettfan]

Nice defense tonight. Any chance that the extra fielding practice is paying off (Although, is that only ground ball practice?)

Keep it up, boys.

[Fatalotti]

Still looks like Hamels can't throw his cutter where he wants it.

[Fatalotti]

I remember reading that Ben Revere rarely struck out.

[NEPP]

Rarely=1-2 times per game apparently.

[The Hook]

Time to start sizing up that fastball and attacking it. Seen him once time to adjust

[Allen Thornberg]

Two of those balls to Rollins were definitely strikes, but I'll take them.

[GTown_Dave]

... watching the way Revere hits the ball, and the way defenses play him, I just can't actually visualize how he's going to get going.

Of course there's always a chance he won't, & his .294 BA last season (in 124 G) will prove the outlier.

[MG]

Damn JRoll had 2nd stolen by a mile.

[Fatalotti]

Good AB by Utley. Hit the ball hard.

[MG]

Hard to see the Phils stringing together a couple of hits against Fernandez tonight until he tires a bit.

Almost going to need to take him hard to get on the board against him and this team doesn't hit fastball pitchers anywhere like they used to.

[MG]

yard. That almost sounded like a veiled Deliverance reference which was certainly not my intention.

[GTown_Dave]

"Squeal like a pig, Fernandez!"

[Fatalotti]

Walked that bum....

[MG]

2 lousy fastballs by Hamels. Missed their spots by at least half a foot both times.

[Iceman]

Revere looks completely out of sync. He's swinging and missing more than he ever has.

He'll get it going, but I wonder how long Manuel will give him to work things out in the lead off spot.

[MG]

It is really a 'SAC' when a hitter in this Fish lineup bunts to move a runner over?

[Fatalotti]

That play reminded me that, no matter how much I didn't want him on the team last year, Pierre does hustle the hell out of every ball. And a rather routine grounder, Utley still had to get that ball out quickly, because Pierre was busting it.

[Fatalotti]

MG, it's a SFP (Self Fulfilling Prophecy)

[GTown_Dave]

I gained a ton of respect for Pierre last season. Enjoyed listening to him talk baseball in interviews, as well. He'd make a good coach.

[MG]

Phils are going to hand out an awful lot of those Phils Fan Packs during the Home Run Inning this year.

[Allen Thornberg]

Geez, nice plate patience, Howard.

[Fatalotti]

This guy's turning our lineup into a facsimile of the current Marlins lineup.

He's got good stuff and great location tonight.

[bay_area_phan]

Dom following up a good game with a couple of truly hideous ABs.

[SLO Phan]

Jeez. Franzke didn't even have time to introduce Howard or Nix before they were out.

[GTown_Dave]

MG: One cash winner through the first 10 games played.

[GBrettfan]

Harry died today, did everyone but me remember?

Franzke & LA on the day of his death.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm_60DbdCPo

[MG]

Dave - They should just let it keep building and building up. It would be kind of awesome if a winner won something like $5 or $6k.

[Allen Thornberg]

OK, what extra inning do we wind up losing this 1-0, on a walkoff single by Polanco off of Durbin?

[GTown_Dave]

Corey Seidman: Hamels: 39 pitches -- 29 fastballs, 4 cutters, 4 changeups, 2 curves. No cutters since the first.

No reason to not go right after this lineup.

[Fatalotti]

Has Hamels thrown a cutter for a strike yet?

[GBrettfan]

(I should say, died on this day 4 years ago.)

[MG]

Dave - That verifies what I saw. Hamels is just pounding the zone tonight and doesn't really care that much as long as it is over the plate.

You really can't take any kind of conclusions about his fastball command.

[Fatalotti]

Maybe it's just me, but I think those 90 mph fastballs that are darting in on the righties look like cutters to me, and they look they are missing.

Am I wrong?

[Fatalotti]

Not the most impressive display of arm strength by Galvis.

[MG]

Lousy throw by Galvis.

[Fatalotti]

$2 M literally wasted on that home run "structure".

[Fatalotti]

Christ Hamels, put this bum away.

[GTown_Dave]

The thing about the Marlins' "Home Run Spectacular" is not just that it's ridiculous, it's also comically small compared to its ballpark setting. Like Stonehenge in 'This Is Spinal Tap'.

[Corn]

Shame Frandsen can't switch hit

[MG]

Hamels command is still off tonight when he wants to put a pitch somewhere with 2 strikes.

[Fatalotti]

More foul balls...

[EDGE]

That Dobbs ab hurt his pitch count that inning.

[GTown_Dave]

I think Hamels out-clevered himself that inning. Tossed in a bunch of Change-ups, & several more Cutters. Why not just throw the Fastball until the Marlins show they can hit it?

[Fatalotti]

If the Phils want to contend this year, Hamels can't even be a question mark. He HAS to be the guy he was last year and the year prior.

So far, he's not that guy.

[MG]

63 pitches through 4 IP. Hopefully they can get a quick inning or two from Hamels so he can give them 7 tonight.

[MG]

I can see why the Fish are pretty high on this kid. He's been a bit erratic so far but he has the velocity and the pitching parsenal to be a frontline pitcher.

[MG]

Still a good AB by Hamels. He has showed real improvement as a hitter (and bunter) since he first came up.

[lorecore]

Phils just need 1 person to guess right on a mid90s fastball. That'll be game.

[bay_area_phan]

Brantley looks like a guy who should be playing on the Phillies.

[bay_area_phan]

Nix is unfathomably slow.

[MG]

A Fish hitter finally squared up one of those fastballs right over the plate.