Game 111 - Alumni Weekend Continues

White Sox 10, Phillies 5
Game 111 - Sunday Afternoon, August 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 58-53, 3rd place, 7 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  In a game celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the 2009 N.L. Champions, the current version of the Phillies lost to the White Sox, 10-5.

What It Means:  The Phillies lost two out of three to the White Sox, who are not a very good team.  They'll head to the west coast next, opening a three-game series in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks on Monday night.

Alumni and the 2009 Phillies

Pedro Martinez throws to Jayson Werth

What Happened:  One bad inning ruined Drew Smyly's successful start to his Phillies career, as he allowed five runs - including a Leury Garcia grand slam - in the second.  Mike Morin also fared poorly, giving up four more runs in his two innings of work.  Corey Dickerson received his first start, going 2 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  We got to the ballpark early as the Phillies had announced there would be autograph opportunities with alumni before the game.  They didn't announce who or where the autograph tables would be, but we did know there would be a table in the Hall of Fame Club.

Once inside, the four of us divided and conquered with Jenna and Ben waiting in line for Joe Blanton and Brett Myers while Doug and I hustled to the Hall of Fame Club.  (Side story . . . We rode up in the elevator with someone I could have sworn was a former player.  Turns out it was former Phillie Keith Hughes and we blew an opportunity to get his autograph.)  Somehow Doug and I managed to be the first in line for Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer in the Hall of Fame Club, while Jenna and Ben made their way to Bull's BBQ to get in line for Dale Murphy.

Autographs from Blanton, Myers, Kendrick, Moyer and Murphy secured, Doug and I waited in the long line for Mike Lieberthal and Randy Wolf, while Jenna and Ben headed back up to the Hall of Fame Club to try to get Kendrick and Moyer again.  We managed to get Lieberthal and Wolf right before the line cut off while Jenna and Ben were among the last to get Moyer (Kendrick had already departed).

After catching our breath, we enjoyed the fantastic pre-game ceremony honoring alumni and the 2009 team.  It was especially cool to watch Pedro Martinez throw out the first pitch to Jayson Werth.

Transactions:  In a somewhat surprising move, Maikel Franco was optioned to the IronPigs and Brad Miller was activated from the injured list.  Franco has all but lost the starting third baseman's job and the move allows the Phillies to see more of Scott Kingery in the position while also giving more playing time in the outfield to Roman Quinn, Adam Haseley and Corey Dickerson.