The Reading Phillies take batting practice before last night's home opener. Joe Blanton led off the three-game series in Washington with a serious clunker, Jayson Werth homered and romped against his old mates, and the Phillies lost 7-4. Said radio color guy Larry Andersen, "If you don't know how to get Jayson Werth out, you haven't been watching."
"I got 'em, I got 'em." That's what Roy Halladay said to manager Charlie Manuel when Manuel jogged out to the mound in the 9th. Halladay had held the Nationals scoreless through eight, then allowed two runs in the 9th. But he did indeed "have them", striking out the last two batters in a 3-2 complete game win.
Cliff Lee rebounded from his dreadful outing in Atlanta with a complete game shut-out on Thursday night in which he threw just 99 pitches, struck out 12, walked one, and gave up three hits. Nats' starter Jordan Zimmerman was perfect through five but Carlos Ruiz led off the sixth with a home run. The Phillies added three more runs in the 4-0 win, which took just two hours and six minutes to complete. Jimmy Rollins, long denied, finally got his first RBI of the season.
Early on, it feels a lot like Christmas.
