Despite two straight ugly losses, the Phillies can salvage a split in the four-game series on Thursday afternoon with Cliff Lee on the mound.
Charlie Manuel has been challenged to come up with different lineups through the first 23 games of the season. Thursday's game is no different. With center fielder Ben Revere struggling, Manuel gives Ezequiel Carrera a start.
Meanwhile, Laynce Nix and Kevin Frandsen also pick up a start to give John Mayberry and Michael Young the day off.
Here's how the Phillies line up against right-hander James McDonald and the Pirates:
1. Jimmy Rollins,
SS
2. Kevin Frandsen, 3B
3. Chase Utley,
2B
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Laynce Nix,
RF
6. Dom Brown, LF
7. Ezequiel Carerra, CF
8. Erik Kratz, C
9. Cliff Lee,
P
Utley is 4 for 6 with a homer and a pair of walks against McDonald. Ryan Howard is 3 for 4 with a homer while Jimmy Rollins is 3 for 9 with a solo homer.
In his career against the Pirates, Lee is 1-0 with a 3.05 ERA in three starts. He has 20 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings.
The Pirates lineup:
1. Starling Marte, LF
2. Brandon Inge, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Gaby Sanchez, 1B
5. Michael McKenry, C
6. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
7. Jose Tabata, RF
8. Clint Barmes, SS
9. James McDonald, P
Inge has three career homers off Lee and is 16 for 43 (.372) against the Phils' lefty. Inge has also whiffed 15 times against Lee.
DOM finally scores a man from 3rd!!! 1-7.
Posted by: lorecore | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:03 PM
I like that the box score will show that Ryan Howard was too fast for McCutchen's cannon.
Posted by: Mick O | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:03 PM
Wouldn't have produced, though, if not for that wild pitch; no way Howard gets home from second on a sac fly.
Posted by: Allen Thornberg | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:03 PM
AT: Nobody gets home from 2nd on a sac fly.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:04 PM
3-1 lead after six. They got us just where they want us.
Posted by: Little Ollie | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:04 PM
True, but Howard even more so than everybody else...
Posted by: Allen Thornberg | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:04 PM
Why not bat Galvis in this spot?
Posted by: mainerob | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:04 PM
In 2012, John Mayberry was the worst player in the majors at scoring a man from 3rd lt 2 outs, (25%) with at least 15 opps. He was 6-24.
Posted by: lorecore | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:04 PM
I don't want to alarm you guys, but technically "2" IS a crooked number...
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:04 PM
If the Phillies lose now, it's all on Cliff Lee and/or the bullpen. When the offense bangs out 5 hits and 3 runs, there's just no reason your team should ever lose.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:05 PM
Carrera showing he can fill in for Revere quite nicely.
Posted by: Allen Thornberg | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:05 PM
Only thing I didn't like from Utley there, by trying to make it a more difficult throw, he actually put himself closer to the catcher. Whereas if he ran in the normal basepath and slid around the back of the plate, he might have been safe.
Posted by: Cyclic | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:06 PM
sadly, all evidence suggests that Carrera is the superior hitter to Galvis.
Posted by: lorecore | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:06 PM
While true, that kid the Cards have who stole 100 bases in a season (or whatever the number was) doesn't score from 2nd on a sac fly.
Any time you impact the ball and make a force out while advancing a runner 2 bases, it has to count as something more than just a sacrifice.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:07 PM
Stupid, stupid UC. He has Mayberry batting for Nix and then doesn't go with Galvis for Carrera. He could have gone out to play left, moved Brown to right and put Mayberry in center.
Probably one too many moves for his pea brain to absorb.
Posted by: mainerob | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:07 PM
With McDonald out, the Pirates also lost their best hitter today.
Posted by: SLO Phan | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:07 PM
Charlie will only pull Kliff now if his arm falls off.
BTW, it's real easy to see why Carrera got DFA'd by the Tribe.
Posted by: awh | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:08 PM
Wicked deuce
Posted by: clout | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:08 PM
Galvis isn't a good hitter, however. Trading one sure out for another is pointless if things are working out otherwise.
Especially since as good a defender as Freddi is, he's not an outfielder. I'd rather have 3 outfielders playing if we've got the lead.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:09 PM
I don't know why everyone is so down on Carrera. He's put the ball in play in the air in consecutive ABs. That alone makes him a better hitter than Revere.
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:10 PM
At least two of those "balls" to Marte were obvious strikes; this ump is really clueless.
Posted by: Allen Thornberg | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:10 PM
I'm not sure I have anything in common with anyone advocating Freddy Galvis's use as a pinch hitter.
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:14 PM
Too bad we don't have a good BP, so that Cliff would have been able to come out of the game before giving up that run.
Posted by: SLO Phan | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:15 PM
Phylum?
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:15 PM
I know Charlie hates to pull a starter mid-inning, but he NEEDS to get Lee out of there, now.
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:15 PM
Cholly and Hurdle, great minds think alike. Lol
Posted by: Sil Campusano | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:16 PM
When Gameday said, "In play. Run," I figured it was a homerun. So I'll actually take a single.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:16 PM
Terrible decision. NEVER listen to the SP. He'll says he's good whether it's true or not.
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:17 PM
is this a mistake? yes. this is a mistake.
Posted by: HammRadio | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:17 PM
I don't think sticking with Lee when he's been getting outs, by and large, was a terrible move.
Especially not considering it's Lee.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:17 PM
GTown, Factoid:
Ben Revere's .472 OPS is the second lowest in the NL, higher than only Juan Pierre's.
Posted by: awh | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:17 PM
awh: Well come on. We know Pierre's not going to get anything to hit out of the 4-hole...
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:18 PM
That was predictable.
Posted by: Sil Campusano | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:18 PM
Who could have ever seen that coming?
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:19 PM
Like I said, terrible decision. Charlie never f*cking bothers to learn how to know when his guys are finished. Blithering jackass.
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:19 PM
Game over.
Posted by: Allen Thornberg | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:19 PM
And Alvarez coming up...shoot me now.
Posted by: Allen Thornberg | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:19 PM
Broken bat floater. Not much u can do.
Posted by: clout | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:19 PM
How was that a bad pitch, GTown? It was a couple of inches off the dirt when the bat hit it. It's really hard to blame that on the guy throwing.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:20 PM
They used to call Sparky Anderson "Captain Hook" because he came out and got his pitchers early.
Isn't Sparky in the HOF?
Posted by: awh | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:20 PM
Sparky didn't have Phillipe Aumont as his best option.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:21 PM
Yeah, no problem leaving Lee in. Phils needs to sink or swim with these SP, esp. after last night.
Posted by: Sophist | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:21 PM
But now he can pinch hit for him! Now he can still get the win if by some freaking miracle we score in the bottom of the inning!
Posted by: Sil Campusano | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:21 PM
Maybe its because we're focusing on it more after Amaro's comments this offseason, but I swear the runners who reach base on walks have been scoring at an insanely high rate in phillies games - especially recently.
Posted by: lorecore | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:23 PM
Phillibuster: I'm blaming the idiot managing. I've seen this episode of "Phillies Lose!" before.
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:23 PM
GTown: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:24 PM
Pirates still have Tony Watson available out of the pen in case they get in trouble with utley/howard coming up.
Posted by: lorecore | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:24 PM
Kratz, PH, Rollins
Posted by: awh | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:24 PM
Man, Kratz shaved looks even more babyfaced.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:25 PM
Kratz' OPS will be .500 when Ruiz returns.
Couldn't imagine a worse month from him.
Posted by: Sophist | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:25 PM
That wasn't really a fair strike call, all things considered, but technically his bat did break the plane.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:27 PM
Jimmy is due for a dinger...
Posted by: awh | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:27 PM
Nevermind.
Posted by: awh | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:28 PM
Wait. What? The Phils didn't score any runs there to retake the lead? Hard to believe, Harry.
Posted by: SLO Phan | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:28 PM
Did PNC just buy Citizens or something? I thought they only played this awfully in Pittsburgh.
Posted by: Dickie Thong | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:31 PM
Check this out at mlbtr:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/04/phillies-notes-.html
Amaro in an interview with Morosi.
Posted by: awh | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:32 PM
Cheer up, Dickie! This is the favorable part of the schedule!
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:32 PM
Pittsburgh signed an agreement with Philly. We lose to them in baseball this year, but in the fall we get to win in hockey and football.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:32 PM
awh, thanks for the link. Though, it only substantiates my proclamation that we're about to see a fire sale. That is, unless we can play the Marlins every game for the rest of the season.
BTW, WTF is with Amaro even uttering D Young's name in that context? This guy must have inherited Mini Mart's stash of RAJ pictures.
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:35 PM
re Amaro: how could they trade a bunch of their vets and still have a $165M+ payroll next year? There aren't big FA anymore, are there?
Posted by: Sophist | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:35 PM
I imagine the thought isn't to trade "a bunch" of vets, but rather that a bunch of vets will be available as potential trade acquisitions.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:37 PM
Yep, here we go.
Posted by: SLO Phan | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:38 PM
This is how Aumont drives you crazy. Gets a guy out on a great fastball with late movement and then hits the worst hitter in the lineup and then forgets the strike zone.
Posted by: clout | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:38 PM
I don't know that there's another player in all of professional sports that gives me the excited to watch/impending doom feeling that Aumont brings to the table.
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:40 PM
WP: I imagine that guys standing in the batter's box feel the same way.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:40 PM
Didn't we see this last night? Is anyone warming up?
Posted by: Sophist | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:41 PM
Sophist: Nope. And why bother, right? Bullpen sucks, so there's no need to waste energy managing.
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:42 PM
Don't worry Durbin is warming...
Posted by: HammRadio | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:42 PM
Looks like Cholly will have to learn to love bringing Aumont out to throw in late and tied situations.
Posted by: curt | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:43 PM
Really? Aumont at 18 pitches, bases loaded and responsible for 1 out, is riding this one out?
Posted by: Sophist | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:43 PM
Aumont is going to give it up here. He has no idea where the ball is going today.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:43 PM
Is Papelbon dead? I mean, what are we saving the dude for? We don't have any 9th inning leads??
Posted by: Sophist | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:43 PM
LOL.
Posted by: SLO Phan | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:44 PM
Aumont needs to change professions and become an Italian chef.
Posted by: awh | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:44 PM
If nothing else I'm hoping Aumont's repeated failure to show any consistency will hasten his departure. I'm tired of this farce.
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:44 PM
Can't believe I wasted a work from home day to watch the precise game as last night.
Posted by: can_of_corn | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:45 PM
Poor man's Wayne Gomes is a nice comparison so far for Aumont.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:45 PM
Not a problem. Jack says that unless the Phillies score 5 or more runs, it doesn't matter how many runs the pen allows.
Posted by: clout | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:45 PM
Ugh, this team.
Posted by: johnnysanz3 | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:45 PM
I am absolutely disgusted. Just disgusted.
Posted by: awh | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:45 PM
I feel like Aumont might do better with fine French cuisine.
Or sloppy joes. It's hard to tell which it'll be when he puts it in the oven.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:46 PM
Throwing in the white flag, here comes Durbin, LOL
Posted by: johnnysanz3 | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:46 PM
He's improving - the Reds only needed 8 minutes to get it done.
Posted by: curt | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:46 PM
Piece of advice for RAJ - when you do decide to call around to other teams to see what you can get for all these veteran expiring contracts, do it on an off day, or at the very least before Cholly has a chance to go to his bullpen. You'll have a bit more leverage...
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:47 PM
Didn't Durbin not allow any runs (inherited or otherwise) in his last 2 appearances?
Sounds like we've got our new 8th inning guy!
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:48 PM
So is Amount ever going to be good? If not, can we just set Ruben Amaro's office on fire already?
Posted by: TK | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:48 PM
So its official, Ruben got exactly bupkiss for the first Lee deal.
Yeah, this the guy who is going to rebuild this team. Terrific.
Posted by: Five-4-One | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:50 PM
I think the most disappointing thing here is that we all thought this team would be better than this. And that, to me, is one of the biggest differences between now and the late 90s. Back then, we didn't expect anything and that's exactly what we got. But now, we expect this guys to do better than this and it isn't happening. And it's not happening in almost all facets of the game. 2008 might as well be 33 years ago.
Posted by: SLO Phan | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:50 PM
The Phillies are out doing themselves in trying to generate the worst game of the year.
Posted by: HammRadio | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:51 PM
Maybe we really, really want to get Appel?
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:52 PM
Smart move by Charlie...bringing in Durbin to intentionally walk a guy means that runner won't be inherited.
Posted by: lorecore | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:52 PM
I'm sure that will be an Out once D. Young is in RF.
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:52 PM
Hang on, you mean you can be safe on a tag play at the plate?
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:52 PM
Throw was in time but way off line.
Posted by: clout | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:53 PM
It sucks, but sac fly is one of the best feasible outcomes in that situation.
Now we just have to hope Melancon trips on the mound and shatters a hip.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:53 PM
"The Phillies are out doing themselves in trying to generate the worst game of the year."
You accidentally omitted "daily" from this sentence.
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:54 PM
Aumont a Homeless man's Wayne Gomes?
Posted by: MG | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:55 PM
Gtown: The decision to leave in Lee in the 7th is hard to argue, and even harder after watching the 8th.
Posted by: lorecore | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:55 PM
Phillibuster: Won't matter. Pittsburgh will just roll out someone else the Phillies can't hit. Basically anyone w/ an arm.
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:55 PM
GTown: I beg to differ. I counted at least two arms on Phillipe Aumont.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 03:56 PM