Phungo Game Report - 2010 08 17 Giants @ Phillies

Great night to be at the Ballpark - The Confluence of several events made for a great evening.

1) Going into the game the Phillies and Giants were both playoff contenders locked in a virtual tie for the wild card spot in the NL playoff race.

2) Pat Burrell also returned to Philadelphia, playing left field for the Giants.

3) The game was the 2nd home start for recent acquisition Roy Oswalt.

4) There was one final bit of spice that added to the electricity of the evening - Phils All-Star 2nd Basemen Chase Utley returned to the lineup after several weeks on the DL.

I must also add that it was a rare perfect night for baseball, in what has been an extremely hot and steamy summer here in the Northeast.

SnapShots

Cards That Never Were

Roy Oswalt - notice that the 2009 Topps Style card specifies Oswalt as RHP rather then just P for pitcher.

Mike Sweeney - the new Number 5

The Old Number 5

Pat Burrell was given a short ovation when he batted and cheered positively when lineups were announced. He got booed a lot more after he hit a line drive 2-run homer in his first at bat.

Good Guy Awards

Tim Lincecum was doing his thing signing many autographs and interacting with fans. I also saw Buster Posey sign a couple of autos and Giants First Base Coach Roberto Kelly signed an item for a fan.

Game Notes

Roy Oswalt pitched 7 good Innings. He gave up 3 runs off 2 homers, Burrell's 2 run dinger, and a solo shot by Jose Guillen. Barry Zito kept the Phils off balance for the first 4 innings but ran into some trouble in the 5th and could not get an out in the 6th. Zito Left the game down 4-2 giving up 4 earned on 8 hits and 1 walk over 5+ innings.

The Phils would eventually put up a 5 spot on the Giants Bullpen in the 8th to turn a tight game into a blowout. A controversial bulk call, in which Jimmy Rollins would have gotten picked off otherwise, extended the inning - likely contributing to the Phils final 2 runs.

The Phils did something they have not done well all season. They got hits in key situations. It is a rare night when you will see the Phils score 9 Runs without aid of a Homer. Placido Polanco was key in that effort collecting 4 hits in 5 ABs. Rollins, Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino all had hits that plated multiple runners. Utley was the only Phils position player to not record a hit or score a run. He did reach once on an error and hit one flly ball pretty well to center.

For a Look back at a previous Game Report Click Here to read about the Team Phungo trip to see some A-Ball between the Salem Red Sox and Wilmington Blue Rocks.

The last Phillies Phungo Game Report was on a July game vs the Braves.

The most recent Phungo Game Report featuring the San Fransisco Giants was last September.

Phungo Game Report - 2010 08 14 Salem Red Sox @ Wilmington Blue Rocks

To take advantage of a rare beautiful night in August, Team Phungo made the jaunt to Wilmington to catch the Blue Rocks hosting the Salem Red Sox. Both teams are members of the Class Hi-A Carolina League. The Blue Rocks are affiliated with the Kansas City Royals, while Salem's Parent club is the Boston Red Sox.

It was Judy Johnson Night at the ballpark - Johnson was a negro league player from Delaware and the Blue Rocks play on a field that bears his name. The Blue Rocks do a good job of honoring Johnson and the Negro Leagues, bringing in the several players and their living relatives. A rather large silent auction listing dozens of items was held during the game. Autographed photos of players past and present were up for bid.

The Game ended up being an early blowout. The Blue Rocks led 8-0 in the third and would prevail 11-0.

Snapshots (For most pix you can click to enlarge)

Wilmington Blue Rocks - Kansas City Monarchs

For the Judy Johnson celebration both teams donned the uniforms of Negro League teams. Wilmington wore the uniform of the Kansas City Monarchs.

Salem Red Sox - Homestead Grays

The Salem Red Sox wore the uniforms of the Homestead Grays. The Grays were one of the teams that Judy Johnson played for as well as Josh Gibson.

Blue Rocks LHP Will Smith

Will Smith is with his 4th team this year, He was involved in a trade that sent Major League infielder Alberto Collaspo to the Angels. Smith has struggled at higher levels this year but returning to Class-A ball may have helped him as he shut out the Red Sox for 7 innings on yielding just 3 hits and one walk. Prior to this season Smith was the Angels #15 prospect according to Baseball America.

Wil Myers

The Blue Rocks DH was Will Myers who Hit his first Home Run as a Blue Rock. Myers was promoted to the Blue Rocks mid-season and was ranked as the Royals #3 prospect by Baseball America prior to the 2010 season. the 20-year old is currently batting .323 (.435 OBP) with 11 dingers between Wilmington and Burlington.

Christian Colon

Kansas City's first pick this year was Christian Colon. He was picked 4th overall and as far as I know he is currently the highest ranked pick from the 2010 draft to sign. Colon is batting .258(.309 OBP) through 163 ABs for the Royals.

Oscar Tejeda

I couldn't find many BoSox prospects in this game. Tejeda was Boston's #12 BA Prospect prior to a pedestrian 2009. Tejeda is in the middle of a bounce back year batting .312 (.349 obp) with 10 homers.

Blue Rocks Retired #33 Mike Sweeney

One of the Blue Rocks Retired Numbers is #33 which was worn by the Phils latest Addition Mike Sweeney.

I seem to always enjoy Wilmington and should get down there more often. For less than the price of parking at a Phils game I got nice a nice night out of baseball, took some fun pictures, and learned a little history of the game as well.