Sunday, April 7, 2013

2013 Phillies Team Issue #28 Kevin Frandsen

Phillies 4, Royals 3
Game 5 - Saturday Night, April 6th in Philadelphia
Record - 2-3, 4th Place, 2 games behind the Nationals and Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Kevin Frandsen hit a three-run, walk-off double to give the Phillies a thrilling 4-3 victory.

What It Means:  Thanks to Frandsen and some patient batters in the ninth, it meant the Phillies finally gave the fans in attendance at Citizens Bank Park a reason to cheer.

What Went Right:  Frandsen's heroics were set up when Royals closer Greg Holland walked Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Michael Young to start the bottom of the ninth.  The Phillies had managed to score only once in the first eight innings but Frandsen's double to left center cleared the bases and started the celebration.

Not to be overlooked in this big win is the fact that fifth starter John Lannan pitched remarkably well.  He no-hit the Royals through four and pitched seven solid innings while allowing three runs on five hits.  He struck out five.

Featured Card:  What's a guy gotta do to get a Topps Phillies card?  Frandsen has only two Phillies cards to date, both coming within the Phillies team issued sets.  I'd love to see him with a card in Topps Series Two or even the update series.  If Fleer and Upper Deck were still around, Frandsen definitely would have had a standard sized card by now.

Field Report:  For the second game in a row, we were there.  It was a cold and at times boring game, but it was nice to even my personal Phillies record this year to 1-1.  Prior to the game, I took a picture of the 2011 Topps-style giant cards of Humberto Quintero and Lannan, as featured in the game's starting line-up in Ashburn Alley.  We also cheered as Jimmy Rollins received his fourth Gold Glove.

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