Astros at Phillies: August 5th to August 7th

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Astros 47-65, 4th Place in the A.L. West, 21 1/2 games behind the Athletics
Phillies 49-63, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 12 games behind the Nationals

Astros Probables:  Dallas Keuchel (10-7, 2.97), Brad Peacock (3-7, 4.93), Collin McHugh (4-9, 3.32)
Phillies Probables:  Kyle Kendrick (5-11, 4.92), David Buchanan (5-5, 4.40), Roberto Hernandez (6-8, 3.87)

At the Ballpark:  There are a few different theme nights during this series, but otherwise no giveaways or special promotions.  The true fun will come over the weekend when the Phillies host their annual alumni weekend and Wall of Fame festivities.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Ben Revere - .302

Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 57

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 21

RBIs:  Marlon Byrd and Ryan Howard - 63

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 30

Wins:  A.J. Burnett, Cole Hamels and Roberto Hernandez - 6

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.42

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 139

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 26

1988 Topps #342, #306, #24 and #643

1988 Topps Appreciation:  This quartet of Astros spent time with the Phillies, with some making more of a mark than others.  Of the four, Larry Andersen is the most well-known ex-Phillie.  L.A. had his first stint with the Phils from 1983 to the beginning of the 1986 season when he was released by the club and signed by the Astros in mid-May.  He'd go on to pitch five scoreless innings over two games for the Astros in the 1986 N.L.C.S. against the Mets.

Phillies Room favorite Rocky Childress appeared in 18 games for the Phillies in 1985 and 1986 before becoming a regular in the Astros bullpen in 1987.  He kicked around for the Astros Triple-A teams until 1991.

You're forgiven if you don't recall Billy Hatcher's 43 games with the Phillies prior to the player's strike ending the 1994 season.  And I'd be very impressed if you remembered either of Jim Deshaies' two starts for the Phillies in 1995.  Deshaies lasted a combined 5 1/3 innings, allowing 12 runs on 15 hits for a career Phillies ERA of 20.25.  I wrote about his lack of a Phillies card (and rightfully so) back in my 1995 Phillies Missing Links post.

1994 Flair #413 Billy Hatcher

Current Reds' first base coach Billy Hatcher played 43 games for the 1994 Phillies, blue hats and all, hitting just .246. Billy is a hero in Cincinnati, having gone 9 for 12 in the 1990 World Series, helping the Reds win it all against the highly favored Oakland Athletics.

Billy was acquired (with Paul Quantrill) from the Boston Red Sox in May 1994 for Wes Chamberlain. The departure of Wes Chamberlain represented the 3rd major trade of key Phillies from the 1993 team, following the trade of Mitch Williams to the Astros in December 1993, and the trade of Terry Mulholland to the Yankees in February 1994.