2010 Phillies Team Issue #38 Kyle Kendrick

Phillies 4, Cardinals 0

Game 27 - Wednesday Night, May 5th in Philadelphia

Another night, another fine pitching performance in South Philly. (And thankfully there were no buffoons running onto the field during the game tonight.) Kyle Kendrick out dueled Brad Penny and the Phils won their second low-scoring game in a row, 4-0.

The Phillies collected their first hit and their first runs in the 4th inning, when Placido Polanco launched his 4th home run of the year with Shane Victorino aboard. Victorino followed that up in the 6th with a solo home run. Finally, pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs drove in pinch-runner Wilson Valdez with a double to center in the 7th.

Kendrick was quite possibly pitching to keep his rotation spot, and his performance could have delayed his transfer to the bullpen. Through 7 innings, he allowed 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Most importantly, he looked confident on the mound. In his prior pitching performances this year, he looked tentative, as if any hit, walk or umpire's tight strike zone could spook him. The Cuban Connection of Danys Baez in the 8th and Jose Contreras in the 9th pitched perfect innings to secure Kendrick's first victory of 2010.

Depth at Short: Juan Castro left the game in the 7th with a strained left hamstring, and he could be DL-bound. In the interim, it appears as if Valdez may be the team's new shortstop. Jimmy Rollins hopes to begin a rehab assignment as soon as this weekend in Lehigh Valley.