Morning Phil Up – 4/13/2014 – After Jimmy Rollins’ walk-off homer, the Philadelphia Phillies look for a sweep of the Miami Marlins

Apr 11, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) avoids a pitch during the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Marlins 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday’s Game

Phillies defeat Marlins 5-4

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Emotional reaction immediately after the game

Jimmy Rollins! JIMMY ROLLINS! JIMMY ****ING ROLLINS!

Less emotional, more optimistic reaction after thinking about it a bit

Considering the bullpen had to pitch five innings, giving up two runs isn’t so bad.

Hero

I suppose this has to go to Rollins whose homer in the tenth inning ended the game. Special mention should go to baseball’s new replay system which overturned a call at second base and prevented the Marlins from scoring two runs.

Goat

Marlins reliever Dan Jennings came into the game knowing he had no margin for error. He made a big error, serving up Rollins’ homer.

Today’s Game

Miami Marlins (5-7) at Philadelphia Phillies (5-6)

Game time: 1:35 PM

TV: TCN

Starting pitchers: Henderson Alvarez (0-2) vs. Kyle Kendrick (0-1)

Quick Preview

After last night’s dramatic victory, the Phillies will go for a sweep behind Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick has had success against the Marlins in his career, owning a 12-2 mark against them. Kendrick struggled in his last start, but considering his career of inconsistency, that probably means he’ll pitch well today.

The Marlins will counter with Henderson Alvarez. In his last start, Alvarez pitched decently giving up one run in 5.2 innings, before the bullpen imploded.

If the Phillies want to complete the sweep, it would certainly help if they could contain the one truly dangerous player in the Marlins’ lineup.  Last night, (future Phillie?) Giancarlo Stanton hit two home runs, basically supplying the entirety of the Marlins’ offense. It would behoove the Phillies’ pitchers to pitch very carefully to him today.

Link of Interest

Philly.com – Giles lighting up the radar gun

Reading reliever Kenny Giles still has some work to do before he reaches the major leagues, but team officials are confident that he’ll be on the Phillies sooner rather than later. The main reason is that he throws a fastball that often comes in at more than 100 MPH. He still needs work on his secondary pitches, but that task is often made easier when a pitcher has such a devastating fastball.

Tweet of Importance

Apparently, the fans aren’t quite as excited about the Phils these days.