Morning Phil Up – 4/5/2014 – The Toronto Blue Jays and J.A. Happ come to town

J.A. Happ. Image Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday’s Game

Phillies defeat Nationals 1-0

Quick Summary

Roberto Hernandez, Mike Adams, Antonio Bastardo, and Jonathan Papelbon combined to shut out the Nats on a windy day. For a more detailed recap, click here.

Emotional reaction immediately after the game

I can’t believe they won that game.

Less emotional reaction after thinking about it a bit

I’m still a bit surprised. I kept waiting for the Nats to have their inevitable three-run inning. I’m still waiting.

Hero

Roberto Hernandez wasn’t scheduled to start, but the Phillies were glad that he did. He pitched 7.1 scoreless innings.

Goat

It’s weird giving this to the guy who had the game’s only RBI, but Chase Utley made a mental error on the base paths, and a physical error at second base.

Today’s Game

Toronto Blue Jays (14-17) at Philadelphia Phillies (15-14)

Kyle Kendrick. Image Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Game time: 7:05 PM

TV: CSN

Starting pitchers: J.A. Happ (0-0) vs. Kyle Kendrick (0-2)

Preview

The Toronto Blue Jays come to Philadelphia for the first time since 2010, and they’re bringing a familiar face with them.

Tonight’s starter is former Phillie J.A. Happ. Happ was a pleasant surprise for the Phillies in 2009 as he went 12-4 and finished in second place in Rookie of the Year voting. He was then traded to Houston the following season as part of the Roy Oswalt deal.

He’ll be opposed by a teammate from that 2009 team: Kyle Kendrick. Due to the recent off days, Kendrick hasn’t pitched since April 24. Let’s hope the down time hasn’t caused any rust.

Link of Interest

The Morning Call – Papelbon’s fastball key to recent success

After the first week of the season, it looked like this could be a long year for Jonathan Papelbon. But since his disastrous outing against Texas, Papelbon has been excellent. He’s now pitched eleven consecutive scoreless innings. The key has been a slight increase in velocity, and also better command of all of his pitches.

Tweet of Importance

It is still early, but maybe those people who predicted the Phillies to only win 70 games were a bit off.