Saturday, July 30, 2011

2011 Topps Allen & Ginter #65 Ryan Howard

Phillies 7, Pirates 4
Game 106 - Saturday Night, July 30th in Philadelphia

One Sentence Summary:  With Hunter Pence batting fifth in the tonight's line-up, Ryan Howard had all the protection he needed, going 4 for 4 in the 7-4 Phillies victory.

What It Means:  The Phils improve to 67-39 and they'll go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon.

What Went Right:  The big story was Pence's debut, as the newly acquired right fielder was batting fifth in the line-up and wearing #3.  Pence should have had a hit in his first at-bat, but a bad call by the umpire sent him back to the bench.  He finished the night at 1 for 5, with an RBI single in the eighth.

Howard fell a triple short of the cycle.  He hit a solo home run in the second - his 21st of the year.  In the third, he hit an RBI-double to left for his 1,000th career hit.  He followed that with an RBI-single in the fourth and another double in the sixth.

Cliff Lee (10-7) got back on track with an 11-strikeout performance, allowing four runs on eight hits in 7 2/3 innings pitched.  Ryan Madson struck out the side in the ninth for his 18th save.

Featured Card:  The Big Piece displays his weapon of choice in this year's Allen & Ginter release.

Transactions:  When Pence was added to the active roster today, Domonic Brown was optioned back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Brown is going to switch over to left field and he began the learning process tonight with the Iron Pigs.  (Current left fielder Raul Ibanez is a free agent at the end of the season.)  Placido Polanco was activated off the disabled list and reliever Drew Carpenter was optioned out.

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