Friday, April 7, 2017

2002 Fleer Tradition Update #U234 Jeremy Giambi

Reds 7, Phillies 4
Game 3 - Thursday Afternoon, April 6th in Cincinnati
Record - 1-2, Tied for 3rd place, 1 game behind the Nationals and Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Daniel Nava's two home runs weren't enough to overcome shaky pitching performances from Clay Buchholz and Adam Morgan as the Reds won the series finale, 7-4.

What It Means:  The first series is in the books and the Phillies will open their 2017 home schedule this afternoon against the Nationals.

What Happened:  Buchholz left with the game tied 4-4 after five innings.  Morgan retired the first two batters he faced but then allowed a pinch-hit home run to relief pitcher (!) Michael Lorenzen. He'd surrender a two-run home run to Adam Duvall an inning later.

The Phillies offense had six hits, including Nava's two home runs, and went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position.

Featured Card:  Nava became the first Phillies player to hit home runs in his first two at-bats with the club since Jeremy Giambi did it back on May 25, 2002.  Nava will most likely make his Phillies cardboard debut in the team issued photo card set, which I don't have yet.

Phillies Debuts:  Two former Red Sox made their debuts in this game and two Phillies prospects received their first Major League starts.  Brock Stassi had made his debut on opening day.

  • Daniel Nava (lf) - As mentioned above, Nava hit home runs in his first two at-bats.
  • Andrew Knapp (c) - The back-up catcher went 0 for 2 with a pair of walks and a pair of strikeouts.
  • Clay Buchholz (rhp) - In five innings, Buchholz allowed four runs (all earned) on seven hits while striking out three and walking two.

No comments: