Series Preview - Phillies at Dodgers: April 28th to April 30th

Friday 10:10, Saturday 9:10 and Sunday 4:10
Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles, CA

Phillies 11-9, 2nd Place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Nationals
Dodgers 11-12, 3rd Place in the N.L. West, 3 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks

Phillies Probables:  Jerad Eickhoff (0-1, 2.55), Zach Eflin (0-0, 2.25), Nick Pivetta (0-0, 0.00)
Dodgers Probables:  Kenta Maeda (1-2, 8.05), Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-4, 4.64), Clayton Kershaw (4-1, 2.29)

At the Ballpark:  It's a good weekend for giveaways at Dodger Stadium as all fans will receive a Corey Seager bobble head tomorrow night and all kids will receive a Dodgers batting helmet on Sunday afternoon.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Cesar Hernandez - .321
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 18
Home Runs:  Maikel Franco and Cesar Hernandez - 4
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 20
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez and Odubel Herrera - 3

Wins:  Jeremy Hellickson - 4
ERA:  Jeremy Hellickson - 1.80
Strikeouts:  Jerad Eickhoff - 25
Saves:  Hector Neris - 3

Dodgers Leaders
Average:  Justin Turner - .363
Runs:  Corey Seager - 14
Home Runs:  Corey Seager - 5
RBIs:  Corey Seager - 17
Stolen Bases:  Yasiel Puig and Corey Seager - 2

Wins:  Clayton Kershaw - 4
ERA:  Brandon McCarthy - 2.25
Strikeouts:  Clayton Kershaw - 39
Saves:  Kenley Jansen - 5

1982 Topps #6

1982 Topps #166

1982 Topps #345

1982 Topps #510

1982 Topps Appreciation:  When opening packs of 1982 Topps, I would always get excited when a Phillies card would appear but I remember also enjoying adding cards of Fernando Valenzuela to my collection.  Fernandomania took over the baseball world in 1981 and Topps capitalized on this by including four cards for Valenzuela in its 1982 Topps set.  In 1982, Valenzuela would go 19-13 with a 2.87 ERA, tying for third in the Cy Young voting (with Bruce Sutter) behind Steve Carlton and Steve Rogers.

Fast forward 12 years to the 1994 season, and there wasn't a lot to be excited about as a Phillies fan. Starting pitchers Curt Schilling, Tommy Greene and Ben Rivera were all injured and the starting pitching rotation was in shambles.  When I read news that June that the Phils had signed Valenzuela, who had been pitching in Mexico, I thought back to the days of Fernandomania.  Those days were long gone of course, and Valenzuela lasted eight games with the Phillies, before the player's strike prematurely ended the season.