Phillies at Nationals: July 31st to August 3rd

Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35
Nationals Park - Washington, D.C.

Phillies 47-61, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 12 1/2 games behind the Nationals
Nationals 58-47, 1st Place in the N.L. East, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Braves

Phillies Probables:  Cliff Lee (4-5, 3.78), Roberto Hernandez (5-8, 4.14), A.J. Burnett (6-10, 4.15), Cole Hamels (6-5, 2.55)
Nationals Probables:  Gio Gonzalez (6-6, 3.56), Doug Fister (10-2, 2.69), Jordan Zimmermann (6-5, 3.17), Stephen Strasburg (7-9, 3.55)

At the Ballpark:  Not much going on in terms of giveaways or promotions during this series, although kids will get to run the bases following Sunday's game.  After the Phillies leave town and the Mets come in, the Nationals are giving away a Jayson Werth garden gnome to the first 25,000 fans.  Now that's something that could come in handy.  What squirrel wouldn't be completely terrified by a Jayson Werth garden gnome?

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Ben Revere - .301

Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 56

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 20

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 63

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 29

Wins:  A.J. Burnett and Cole Hamels - 6

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.55

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 133

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 25

2014 Chachi #53 Cameron Rupp

#29

Cameron Arthur Rupp

Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  250

Born:  September 28, 1988, Dallas, TX

Home:  Plano, TX

Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 3rd round of the June 2010 draft

Teams:  Phillies 2013-

Acquired: Via draft

Phillies Cards in My Collection:

#1 - 2010 Bowman Draft Prospects #BDPP41

#8 - 2014 Panini Prizm Autographs Purple #CR

I also have 8 cards of Rupp from between 2010 and 2014 featuring him with the club's minor league affiliates.

First Chachi Card:  2013 Chachi #63

2014 Chachi #52 Aaron Altherr

#40

Aaron Samuel Altherr

Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  220

Born:  January 14, 1991, Landstuhl, Germany

Home:  Buckeye, AZ

Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 9th round of the June 2009 draft

Teams:  Phillies 2014

Acquired:  Via draft

Phillies Cards in My Collection:

#1 - 2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP112

#2 - 2013 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Scout Breakouts #BSB-AAL

In addition to the cards above, I have six minor league cards of Altherr in my collection.

First Chachi Card:  2014 Chachi #52

2014 Chachi #49 Ronny Cedeno

#7

Ronny Alexander Cedeno

Infielder

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195

Born:  February 2, 1983, Carabobo, VZ

Home:  Carabobo, VZ

Signed:  Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, August 27, 1999

Teams:  Chicago Cubs 2005-2008, Seattle Mariners 2009, Pittsburgh Pirates 2009-2011, New York Mets 2012, Houston Astros 2013, San Diego Padres 2013, Phillies 2014

Acquired:  Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the San Diego Padres, January 12, 2014

Phillies Cards in My Collection:

None.  And considering that Cedeno was traded to the Diamondbacks back on June 29th, there's an extremely good chance he'll never have an official Phillies baseball card.

First Chachi Card:  2014 Chachi #49

2014 Chachi #48 Ethan Martin

#49

Ethan Cash Martin

Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  220

Born:  June 6, 1989, Athens, GA

Home:  Toccoa, GA

Drafted:  Selected by the Dodgers in the 1st round of the June 2008 draft

Teams:  Phillies 2013-

Acquired:  Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers with Josh Lindblom and a player to be named later (Stefan Jarrin) for Shane Victorino, July 31, 2012

Phillies Cards in My Collection:

#1 - 2013 Bowman Chrome Cream of the Crop Mini Refractors #CC-PP3

#10 - 2014 Topps Archives #112

I also have four minor league cards of Martin in my collection.

First Chachi Card:  2013 Chachi #54

2014 Chachi #47 Cesar Jimenez

#56

Cesar Enrique Jimenez

Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  208

Born:  November 12, 1984, Cumana, Venezuela

Home:  Cumana, Venezuela

Signed:  Signed by the Seattle Mariners as an amateur free agent, July 2, 2001

Teams:  Seattle Mariners 2006, 2008, 2011; Phillies 2013-

Acquired:  Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Seattle Mariners organization, December 5, 2012

Phillies Cards in My Collection:

No Phillies cards yet for Jimenez, but I have three cards of him in my collection featuring him with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

First Chachi Card:  2013 Chachi #56

Phillies at Mets: July 28th to July 30th

Monday and Tuesday 7:10, Wednesday 12:10
Citi Field - Flushing, NY

Phillies 46-59, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 12 1/2 games behind the Nationals
Mets 50-55, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 8 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Phillies Probables:  A. J. Burnett (6-9, 3.86), Cole Hamels (5-5, 2.72), Kyle Kendrick (5-10, 4.87)
Mets Probables:  Bartolo Colon (9-8, 4.03), Dillon Gee (4-3, 3.49), Zack Wheeler (5-8, 3.64)

At the Ballpark:  There are a bunch of ticket deals for various groups for these three games, but there are no give-aways scheduled.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Ben Revere - .295

Runs:  Chase Utley - 54

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 20

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 62

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 28

Wins:  A.J. Burnett - 6

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.72

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 125

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 25

1988 Topps #30

1988 Topps Appreciation:  Before looking at Sid Fernandez's career stats, I would have sworn he only played for the Phillies for a part of one season.  But the records don't lie.  El Sid signed with the Phillies on July 13, 1995, three days after being released by the Orioles.  In eleven starts, he went a respectable 6-1 with a 3.34 ERA for the Phillies during their forgettable 1995 season.

He hit free agency following the season, but the Phillies decided to bring him back again to start the 1996 season.  He was the club's opening day starter that year (!) in a rotation that consisted of El Sid, Mike Grace, Terry Mulholland (back with the club for his second stint), Mike Williams and rookie Rich Hunter.  All of the sudden, the team's projected 2015 starting pitching rotation doesn't look so bad.

Injuries limited Hernandez to just eleven starts in 1996, and the Phillies cut ties with him following the season.  He'd pitch in one game for the Astros in 1997 before calling it a career.

2014 Chachi #46 Phillippe Aumont

#48

Phillippe Aumont

Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'7"  Weight:  260

Born:  January 7, 1989, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

Home:  Clearwater, FL

Drafted:  Selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 1st round of the June 2007 draft

Teams:  Phillies 2012-

Acquired:  Acquired from the Seattle Mariners with Tyson Gillies and J.C. Ramirez for Cliff Lee, December 16, 2009

Phillies Cards in My Collection:

#1 - 2013 Phillies Team Issue #48

#4 - 2014 Phillies Team Issue #48

I have 8 minor league cards of Aumont, issued between 2010 and 2014.

First Chachi Card:  2012 Chachi #52