Series Preview - Giants at Phillies: June 2nd to June 4th

Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:05 and Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Giants 22-33, Tied for 4th Place in the N.L. West, 11 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks and Rockies
Phillies 17-34, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 15 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Giants Probables:  Ty Blach (3-2, 3.83), Johnny Cueto (5-4, 4.37), Matt Moore (2-6, 4.98)
Phillies Probables:  Jerad Eickhoff (0-5, 4.74), Ben Lively (0-0, 0.00), Jeremy Hellickson (5-3, 4.45)

At the Ballpark:  For fans attending Saturday afternoon's game, there will be a postgame concert by The Avett Brothers.  Your game ticket is also your concert ticket!  On Sunday, all kids will receive a pair of Maikel Franco batting gloves.

Giants Leaders
Average:  Buster Posey - .348
Runs:  Brandon Belt - 27
Home Runs:  Brandon Belt - 10
RBIs:  Brandon Belt - 22
Stolen Bases:  Eduardo Nunez - 13

Wins:  Johnny Cueto - 5
ERA:  Johnny Cueto - 4.37
Strikeouts:  Jeff Samardzija - 84
Saves:  Mark Melancon - 10

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Aaron Altherr - .299
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 35
Home Runs:  Aaron Altherr and Tommy Joseph - 8
RBIs:  Aaron Altherr and Maikel Franco - 28
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 6

Wins:  Jeremy Hellickson - 5
ERA:  Jeremy Hellickson - 4.45
Strikeouts:  Vince Velasquez - 53
Saves:  Hector Neris - 4

1982 Topps #406

1982 Topps #231

1982 Topps #754

1982 Topps Appreciation:  On December 14, 1982, the Phillies traded Mike Krukow, Mark Davis and minor leaguer C.L. Penigar to the Giants for Al Holland and Joe Morgan.  Holland and Morgan would make contributions to the 1983 Phillies team that won the N.L. pennant, while Davis would go on to win a Cy Young Award with the Padres in 1989.

Holland was the key to the deal for the Phillies.  Inserted into the closer's role in 1983, he solidified the back-end of the bullpen that had been in flux since Tug McGraw's success a few years' prior.  Mr. T saved 25 games in 1983 and had a fantastic ERA of 2.26.  He struck out Bill Russell to clinch the 1983 N.L. pennant and jumped into Mike Schmidt's arms to start the on-field celebration.

Davis is featured on the card I most coveted during the summer of 1982, as Bob Dernier had emerged as my favorite baseball player.  I have yet to tell the story on this blog of how I ended up playing catch with Dernier before a Phillies game, and it's a story I'll need to share at some point.