Game 160 - Monday Night, October 1st in Washington
Record - 81-79, 3rd Place, 15 games behind the Nationals
One Sentence Summary: Darin Ruf and Kyle Kendrick spoiled the Nationals' ability to celebrate their division title on the field as the Phillies won, 2-0.
What It Means: The Phillies clinched their division titles in 2007, 2008 and 2010 in games against the Nationals, but they didn't allow the Nationals to return the favor this year. I guess that's small consolation for the Phils. The Pirates defeated the Braves about ten minutes prior to the end of this game, meaning the Nationals were forced into a subdued, in-dugout celebration of their division pennant. Sit on it, Jayson Werth.
What Went Right: Kendrick has been frustratingly inconsistent this year, but when he's been on, he's been very, very good. He pitched seven shutout innings and allowed just four hits in his final start of the year. The promising bullpen trio of Justin De Fratus, Jeremy Horst and Phillippe Aumont pitched the final three frames, preserving the shutout. Ruf hit a two-run triple in the second providing the only runs of the game.
Featured Card: I don't want to take anything away from Kendrick's performance, but if not for Ruf's hit, we would have been forced to watch Werth and Bryce Harper jumping up and down on the field in celebration. I would hope to see more of Ruf in a Phillies uniform in 2013 - both on the field and on cardboard.
I forgot that Darin Ruf had an almost-Phillies card in 2010. If you overlook the small "Clearwater" above the Phillies logo, it does look like it is his first Phils card.
ReplyDeleteBecause they use the same design as the Topps set each year, I've mixed these Topps Pro Debut cards in with my base Topps cards to make my Topps set even bigger.
Anyway, Ruf looked good on that triple, although I have to say that with the crazy bounce it took off the wall, I think Pierre would have stretched it even one more base.
Ruf is one of the many reasons I'm already looking forward to pitchers and catchers reporting to Clearwater in February.
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