Wednesday, May 15, 2013

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-16 John Mayberry

Phillies 6, Indians 2
Game 40 - Tuesday Night, May 14th in Philadelphia
Record - 19-21, 3rd Place, 3 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Jonathan Pettibone and John Mayberry, Jr. starred as the unlikely duo who led the Phillies to a 6-2 win over the Indians.

What It Means:  If my ears didn't deceive me, I actually heard Phillies radio announcer Larry Andersen state towards the end of the game that this was "the best game" the team had played all year.  It was an especially nice win after getting embarrassed and outscored 20-2 during a two-game series in Cleveland a few weeks ago.

What Went Right:  Pettibone improved his record to 3-0 with another strong pitching performance.  In 6 2/3 inning, Pettibone allowed two runs on four hits while striking out three.  The bullpen pitched 2 1/2 scoreless innings.

Kevin Frandsen and Domonic Brown both hit solo home runs for the Phils.  Mayberry had the big hit however, with a two-run double in the fourth, giving the Phils a 3-2 lead and enough runs to win the ballgame.

Featured Card:  Mayberry raised his average to .242 with his three-hit night.  So far this year, Mayberry has appeared on only two Phillies baseball cards - within the team-issued set, and within the Topps Phillies set, pictured here.  Topps did a great job with the photo selection for this card, and there's a very good chance this is exactly what Mayberry's card will look like in the second series of the Topps flagship set.

For the record, Topps has an unpredictable track record when it comes to the use of "Jr." at the end of Mayberry's name on his cards.  "Jr." appeared on Mayberry's 2009 Topps Update, 2009 Topps Heritage and 2012 Topps Heritage sets.  The "Jr." has been dropped on all of his other Topps cards to date.  And now you know.

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