Angels at Phillies: May 13th to May 14th

Tuesday 7:05 and Wednesday 1:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Angels 19-17, 2nd Place in the A.L. West, 3 games behind the Athletics
Phillies 17-19, Tied for 4th Place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Braves

Angels Probables:  Matt Shoemaker (0-1, 4.05), Garrett Richards (3-0, 2.80)
Phillies Probables:  Cliff Lee (3-3, 3.64), A.J. Burnett (2-2, 2.90)

At the Ballpark:  All fans will receive a pair of Phillies sunglasses at tonight's ballgame.  Unofficially, it's also Millville, NJ night as the town sold over 6,000 tickets to this game in order to provide a warm welcome to hometown hero Mike Trout.  As a native of Millville, I'll be in attendance with a few thousand fellow Phillies fans who will undoubtedly change their life-long allegiances once Trout comes up to bat.  If I had my way, the Phillies will jump to a 10-0 lead and the only runs scored by the Angels will come on a few Trout home runs.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .338

Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 21

Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 7

RBIs:  Marlon Byrd - 23

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 12

Wins:  Antonio Bastardo and Cliff Lee - 3

ERA:  A.J. Burnett - 2.90

Strikeouts:  Cliff Lee - 51

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 11

1988 Topps #774 and 1988 Topps Traded #97T

1988 Topps Appreciation:  I thought these two cards would be a cool pair to put together for this series preview post.  The two Angels managers pictured here - Gene Mauch and Cookie Rojas - will forever be part of Phillies history for their roles not only in the fateful 1964 season, but throughout the decade of the '60s.

Mauch's 1,331 career wins with the Phillies between 1960 and 1968 are now second only to Charlie Manuel's 1,416 career wins.  Mauch never made it to the World Series, although he came closest with the 1964 Phillies and the 1982 and 1986 Angels.  In the middle of spring training in 1988, Mauch abruptly announced his retirement due to health issues.  He was replaced by his long-time player and coach, Rojas.

Rojas had a decent first year with an aging Angels team, going 75-79, but he was fired with eight games left in the season and replaced by Moose Stubing.