ST Game Thread 3/5 Phillies vs Reds at Sarasota
By
Cincinnati Reds Video Poker
Posted at 2:01 pm
Lineups according to C. Trent:
PHILLIES
Rollins SS
Victorino CF
Utley 2B
Burrell LF
Dobbs 3B
Helms 1B
Bourn RF
Ruiz C
Lieber P
THE UNSTOPPABLE REDLEGS
Phillips 2B
Hamilton CF
Encarnacion 3B
Dunn LF
Valentin C
Gonzalez SS
Bellhorn 1B
Hopper RF
Wilson P
I'd have to say that Paul Wilson is the favorite for #5 pitcher at this juncture, with Bailey looking like he needed some more seasoning in the minors after yesterday's struggles in the 2nd inning. We haven't seen ELizardo at all, not sure if he is healthy or not. I guess Saarloos and Livingston are in the mix as well, but they can always use Saarloos as a swing man since he has bullpen experience, and I don't know if you want to do that with Wilson who is coming off of a major arm injury.. better to have him in a set routine.
Late scratch — Kareem Garcia playing LF instead of at Burrell.
No Reds broadcast, must listen to the Phillies announcers.
Wilson walks the speedy Jimmy Rollins.
Groundball thru the right side, base hit for Victorino. Runners at 1st and 2nd with Chase Utley at bat. Utley got a monster long term contract during the off season.
Base hit to center… bases loaded no outs. Wilson in big trouble.
Pop out to Phillips who made it interesting by falling on his wallet.
Dobbs at bat, hitting over .700 this spring.
Sac Fly to CF. 2 outs.
Helms drives a ball to right center, it goes to the wall, a 2 run double. 3-0 Phillies.
Ouch. Not a good showing so far for Wilson.
Wilson has been horrible. Falling behind in the count to almost every batter.
A strikeout. 3 runs and 3 hits for the Phillies.
Line drive off of the 3B glove, into LF for a base hit… single by Phillips, a “laser beam”.
Bouncer with eyes that goes thru to RF… men on 1st and 2nd.
Encarnacion hits a bouncer which results in a fielder’s choice at 3B.
Let’s see if Dunn gets the bat off his shoulder. Wind blowing out towards center…. takes the first pitch low.
Up and in. Ball 2.
Called strike.
Swing and a miss on a offspeed breaking ball. Dunn strikes out. He’s in midseason form.
I don’t expect Wilson to make the club. Heck, after he shut down his minor league rehab last year, I thought he was done. I’m impressed he’s competing at all.
And Dunn struck out, but he did it swinging!
Valentin hits a fly ball caught by Victorino in shallow center. End of the 1st inning, Phils leading 3-0.
Groundout to Alex Gonzalez at short.
Ground out to Phillips at 2B. Wilson still pitching, btw.
Rollins walks again.
Rollins steals 2nd. Its usually not a good idea to walk the fastest guy on the roster.
Victorino drives him in with a base hit to CF.. so Wilson gets burned by a 2 out walk.
I think he walked Utley… Garcia now at bat. It is doubtful Paul Wilson will make it to the third inning, as he was orignally slated to pitch 3. His pitch count is very high at this point.
Hopper makes a catch for the final out. 4-0 Phillies.
Good Lord, C. Trent is talking about that girl again. I’d have to say we are doing a better job at play-by-play over here at RHM and we’re not even attending the game.
AGON coasts into 2B after Garcia allows the hit to get past him in LF.
EZ pitched one scoreless inning on Friday. nothing is wrong with him. and i think saarloos is the favorite for the fifth spot, esp after wilson’s outing today.
Why did the Phillies sign Jamie Moyer when they had John Lieber who now becomes the 6th man in their rotation? Supposedly they are looking to trade Lieber. Should be some interested teams. Bellhorn advances the runner to third with a sharp ball to the right side.
Yea I’d have to agree that Saarloos is winning the competition at this point. It’s still early. The one thing going against Saarloos is that he could also serve in the pen, whereas some of these other guys are starters only. We’ll see how it shakes out.
Hopper strikes out with a runner on third…ouch, that does not help your chances of making the team, Norris.
Thanks for doing the play-by-play, smartelf. It’s the only access I have to the action from my desk at work.
I didn’t think that anyone *really* thought Wilson was coming back, except maybe Marty.
Wilson being allowed to bat? Hmm…
Yea I bought into Marty’s hype. he convinced me Wilson and Bailey were looking outstanding.
Wilson strikes out, predictably. Now watch him get yanked after facing 1 batter in the next inning.
Saarloos is definitely the early favorite for the fifth spot. There’s no chance of Bailey making the team, and Wilson is a long shot. He’ll have to improve greatly from today’s performance.
Hopefully, we’ll see more of Ramirez. I liked a lot about him last year.
So the woman C. Trent was drooling over is back today? I’m glad he’s having fun.
I’m all for giving him a chance, but I’m not too surprised to see him get knocked around. He’s been out for a long time.
Well, my lunch break is over, so no more comments from me. Let’s see how the offense responds to being down for the first time. Hopefully, they can do it.
Go Reds!
Wilson strikes out another batter!
I suppose we shouldn’t forget about Matt Belisle. He had a couple nice starts at the end of last season…and has always had a lot of potential. he’s nearing the point in his career where he has to be given a chance at a starting spot.
Called strike 3, Helms caught looking. Suddenly Wilson has found his command.
Scalded one-hopper past Phillips and into RF. Base hit.
2 outs, runner on first and Ruiz at-bat.
Runner (Bourn) steals 2nd, valentin’s throw was high and wide.
I can’t think of anything I’ve seen from Belisle to make me think he’d be a legitimate starter. Nothing wrong with pitching out of the ‘pen, though.
Nice to see Wilson getting it together. Maybe he’s just rusty.
Ruiz hits a linedrive bashit to RF, Bourn comes into score. Phillies using the running game to their advantage against Wilson. Pinch hitter for Lieber.
Hopper tries to make a diving catch but it pops out of his glove. Runners at first and 3B… I doubt Wilson can last much longer.
Yup, Narron comes out and yanks him.
Uh, RHM, Belisle’s best work has been as a starter. Its been when he gets moved to the pen as a long reliever where he gets arm trouble and an inflated ERA. I can vividly recall a game where he pitched magnificently against Roy Oswalt and the Astros, at Minute Maid. he had two high quality starts late last season. he has the best velocity of any of our pitchers. It’s been puzzling to me that he has not made the rotation yet… he has been the 6th man for a lot and just when he would be needed to fill in for an injured starter he usually has arm troubles from having pitched as a reliever.