Game 7: Phillies open at home under sunny skies

Kyle Kendrick takes the ball for the Phillies as they open at home against Kyle Lohse and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Looks like the Phillies made the right move postponing the home opener by one day to Tuesday, as the forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-60s under sunny skies.

Chase Utley, however, is under the weather and won't be in the lineup. In fact, he's not even at the park — the second baseman is under quarantine as he battles the flu.

Cesar Hernandez will start in his place and bat seventh in the order. Carlos Ruiz will take Utley's spot in the order and bat third.

Kendrick hopes to build on a successful first start in which he limited the Rangers to one run on five hits over seven innings. His brilliant outing was, of course, wasted when Jonathan Papelbon blew the Phillies' two-run lead in the ninth inning and ultimately walked in the winning run.

Lohse, the former Phillie, is coming off a decent first start of his own in which he allowed three runs and five hits over seven frames while striking out eight Atlanta Braves. The right-hander is 4-4 with a 2.98 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 13 career starts against the Phils.

Current Phillies are batting .231 against him, with Ryan Howard (11 for 24, 3 HR) leading the way. Jimmy Rollins falls at the other end of the spectrum and is only 7 for 40 with a homer in his career against Lohse.

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Comments

[clout]

Rosin gets no love because he doesn't throw very hard. But he's got great control and knows how to pitch. He's best suited as a middle reliever/swingman.

Luckily, Phillies bullpen has a bunch of hard throwers, so no help is needed.

[Dickie Thong]

Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki)
Utley is at the ballpark. Ryno said he's available to pinch-hit, but is still sick.

[Willard Preacher]

MLB starting 3B Cody Asche is being punished by not starting, and having to do extra infield work, huh? I guess the next step is windsprints after the game and not getting a Capri Sun and Ziplock bag of orange slices during the 7th inning stretch? Give me a break. Maybe, just maybe, he's not a good fielder!!

But, at least we have Nix. It's just that he can't hit. Nothing a good solid off-day afternoon of extra BP can't fix.

{your 2014 Philadelphia Phillies}

[Willard Preacher]

Seriously though, they should consider the Capri Sun punishment. You'd be surprised by the motivational impact the threat of losing a dose of high fructose corn syrup has on a guy...

[clout]

WP: Asche is not a good fielder and anyone who reads scouting reports knows that. But he's not hopeless and there's no reason he can't become at least league average.

That said, his bat will determine whether he can be an everyday player at this level and the jury remains out on that.

[If the Schu fits]

Utley's at the ballpark? I hope they are disinfecting the clubhouse. These bugs can work their way through a team like wildfire on a dry prairie. Just ask Laura Ingalls.

[GBrettfan]

Speaking of being sick and pinch hitting, remember the time that Howard was in the hospital with a fever, got out, came to the park, pinch hit a HR, then went back to the hospital and IV fluids? It was in the "Get me to the plate, boys" days, I believe.

[Bubba]

Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki)
Utley is at the ballpark. Ryno said he's available to pinch-hit, but is still sick.

Why do I have visions of Donovan McNabb dancing in my head?

[awh™]

"PB and timr: True on Braun's handling of getting caught, which was horrible. I don't like the guy either. That said, most of the vitriol I heard from fans on the TV broadcast was of the "cheater" variety. It's not his cheating that distinguishes him from our players - it's the fact that he's a self-centered a**h***.

Come to think of it, since my 6-year-old picked up on the chants, maybe we were better off with "cheater." :)

Colonel, what they really should be chanting when Braun comes to the plate is

"Liar, Liar, Liar..."

[awh™]

GBrett, one year in Cincinatti, a flu-stricken Howard came in and hit a PH HR to tie the game late, and them hit a HR in extra innings that won the game.

IIRC it was in 2006 or 2007.

[Cyclic]

awh, are you mixing memories?

Didn't JMJ do that against Cincinnati?

[Cyclic]

I'm wrong. JMJ did it against the Marlins last June.

[Jake]

awh - I remember that game, and I believe it was in '09 or '10

[Steve]

Wasn't that in Arizona?

[awh™]

Cyclic, no, Howard id it one year at Great American Ballpark.

Brett Myers was the SP that day.

[Knute Rockne]

Win one for the Utley!

[Cyclic]

2006, CIN. awh and GBrett were right.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN200605140.shtml

PH HR tied it in the 8th.

[awh™]

Here you go, May 14, 2006:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN200605140.shtml

[GBrettfan]

I found it. It was a 2009 game v. the Orioles that the Phillies ended up losing, although Howard's PH HR off Danys Baez gave them the lead.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090620&content_id=5434416&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

[awh™]

Damn, Cyclic, you beat me again...

[Dickie Thong]

@GBrettFan: I was at that game in 2009 and remember it vividly. It was awesome. Although, looking back at it now, the pitcher was Danys Baez, so it wasn't that incredible :)

http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090620&content_id=5434416

[Cyclic]

Glory days...

[GBrettfan]

I was joking with my friend yesterday that maybe if we paid people in opposing parks to boo Howard, he'd hit 3 dingers in a game, too.

[GBrettfan]

I'm watching Comcast Sports Network right now, and apparently, Cody Asche tweaked a hamstring, and that's why he's not in the lineup.

[Jake]

Cyclic - Yup, that was the game, 2-1 final score. I think I was reminiscing about that game with a friend in '09 or '10, hence my confusion.

[GBrettfan]

I don't think I remember the game that awh mentioned. It was the first year I got interested in the Phillies, so my attention wasn't what it's been since then. It's impressive that he's successfully PH twice while sick, though. He always was a good pinch hitter, I remember...although maybe not in the past few years.

[GBrettfan]

"Twice"...meaning, in this case, at two different times, in '06 and '09.

[curt]

OK, he tweaked a hamstring, but think of all the new stuff he learned about playing 3B before that happened.

[Willard Preacher]

"apparently, Cody Asche tweaked a hamstring"

So, we're going with a short bench tonight after all. Sure hope they don't DL him or anything crazy.

[Jack]

That Orioles game in 2009--Madson blew it in the 9th after Howard tied it, right?

That game was a key flashpoint in the "Madson doesn't have what it takes to close" debate.

[M. Martinez]

Any word if Asche tweaked the hamstring during that brutal extra infield practice Bo put him through?

Mini is just a phone call away...

[Cyclic]

Pitching and defense!