Game 60: Jim Thome is cleaning up
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Game 60: Jim Thome is cleaning up
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
BALTIMORE — The last time the Phillies played at Camden Yards, Ryan Madson tossed 8 2/3 scoreless innings and Sal Fasano caught. So, yeah, it's been a while.
Charlie Manuel will attempt to conjure old spirits by batting Jim Thome cleanup in the first of nine games with a designated hitter.
1. Jimmy Rollins 6
2. Juan Pierre 7
3. Hunter Pence 9
4. Jim Thome 0
5. Shane Victorino 8
6. Carlos Ruiz 2
7. Ty Wigginton 5
8. John Mayberry Jr. 3
9. Mike Fontenot 4
Joe Blanton starts against Jake Arrieta, who leads the majors with seven losses. He has a 5.53 ERA in 70 innings. He has failed to complete six innings in each of his last three starts.
Thome is 2 for 20 this season with 11 strikeouts. Half of those at-bats have come as a starter; the other half as a pinch-hitter.
Placido Polanco (finger, wrist) is missing from the lineup for the third straight game. That means Wigginton is at third again, one day after making two errors.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Thome needs to retire or be released. Bring up Brown for the AL series, and let's see if he can hit.— jerseyshorefan- In other words, "Phillies give fans the finger."— jtj10
- Well, we know one player will go 0-4.— Sam Crow
Comment removed.- The rat glued to the top of "Wheels" head is laughing so hard at this lineup he almost slipped off the side of "Wheels" head. The last time the rat laughed this hard was when that dork "Wheels" got locked in the john on the team bus.....
Quick, "Wheels", get some extra glue and affix the rat back onto your head...middle in, of course.— kelprod2 - So Chris Wheeler wears a hairpiece like many other 66 year old men, so what? We need good baseball and a win tonight.— tommazza
- So Chris Wheeler wears a hairpiece like many other 66 year old men, so what? We need good baseball and a win tonight.— tommazza
- OK, with Thome batting 4th, why Victorino 5th? Why no Ruiz? Charlie is losing it.
— BaseballinReading - seems appropriate that there is already a 0 next to Thome's name— warbiscuit
- Here is how the real line-up goes based on that:
1. Pop Up
2. Single/Walk
3. GIDP
4. Strike Out
5. Pop Up
6. Extra Base Hit
7. Ground Out
8. Strike Out
9. Single/Walk
— Dan in Holmesburg - Thome aside, the line-up is good enough to win games and so is the starting pitching. Look at what the Dodgers did the last 4...........of course they have a professional field manager.— Northcountry
- Who'll have the most strike-outs, Thome or Mayberry?— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- so let Thome in the announcer booth and let Wheeler bat cleanup... Wheeler unlikley to do much worse and Thome might have more to say than unlistenable Matthews gibberish -- actually this team has regressed since Kalas's untimely passing so maybe it's the announcers fault ... but frankly there is no worse and annoying announcer than Yankees announcer Charley Steiner who can ony be described as vomit--inducing if one stumbles across the Yanks broadcast in hopes of listening to them lose and doesn't change the station soon enough to have one's brain attacked wiht the most condescending and unintelligent noises outside of NPR— warbiscuit
- Charley Steiner has been with the Dodgers for at least 3 years now — eisenser
- And there are some who say this mess isn't the responsibility of Chollie.— wo_fat
