Happ to start tomorrow
Phillies lefthander J.A. Happ will start tomorrow night against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.
Happ to start tomorrow
Todd Zolecki
Phillies lefthander J.A. Happ will start tomorrow night against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.
Happ hasn't started since Aug. 26 with triple-A Lehigh Valley and hasn't pitched in a game since Sept. 9, but the Phillies considered him a better option than righthander Kyle Kendrick. It sounds like Adam Eaton wasn't part of the discussions, which probably shouldn't be a surprise considering how he pitched earlier this season for the Phillies and in the minor leagues.
"Probably Kyle's struggles," pitching coach Rich Dubee said, when asked what pushed Happ to the top. "They really haven't seen Happ. He's lefthanded. We thought it was just a little better match up."
The Phillies also need a fifth starter next Monday against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Dubee said Monday's starter hasn't been decided, but I'm guessing if Happ pitches well he would start Monday. Happ said he is looking forward to the opportunity of pitching in a big game in a big part of the season.
"It's definitely exciting," Happ said. "I'm sure it's not their first choice. It just kind of happened because of the doubleheader. They needed somebody."
But they chose Happ because they feel he gives them the best chance to win.
We'll find out tomorrow night.
Bobby its about time---Its really amazing that our MVP is on fire and the sleazy, scumbag fans and writers and blogmasters choose to talk about Kendrick and Happ--A true indictment of the classless philadelphian... R. Howard you are the man!!!— Truth
Suddenly I'm rethinking my position.— bobby- Lights. Out. Lidge. Was there ever a doubt? (Can you imagine if that guy walks after the BS call by the 3rd base umpire?) Way to go Phils! Hello, 1st place!— bobby
- Boys and girls, it's a nice view from the top! I won't need a stress test during my next physical after that bottom of the 9th but we got through it! Nice job by the offense picking up Moyer, who has picked up the offense all season. GO PHILS!!!!— KMG
- both former mvps have been playing better and magically the phils are winning. it would have been funny if howard would have gotten the cycle tonight, but jroll keeps missing it by a triple.— timm2
- Playoff drive update: The Cards lost to the Reds 7-2. They have now lost 6 in a row and are basically out of it. The Astros lost one of the two extra games they had over us yesterday and they went on to lose to the Marlins 5-1 tonight. The Mets lost one of their extra games yesterday and they also dropped another one tonight to the Nationals 1-0. The Brewers are losing to the Cubs 5-3 in the top of the 9th. A loss for them in a game Sabathia pitches would be sweet. It would also be his first loss with them. Hopefully this trend will continue for a while.— bski
- I take it back. I take it ALL back. I don't care about 200+ strikeouts. I don't care about BA. I don't care about defense. I now only care about HUGE GAME SAVING HOME RUNS IN LATE SEPTEMBER! Give Ryan Howard $200M. Give him my first born. Give him whatever he wants; I was so wrong. Big man, you are freakin' unbelievable. No matter what the pompous voters say, you really are the MVP, again.— RollinsWasRight
- WE'RE #1!!! WE'RE #1!!! I was holding my breath through the whole 9th inning!— Norma
- Request for Brad Lidge... I know you are a funny guy; I know you have a bit of a sense of humor... however, next time, in a HUGE game like this, a bullet-sweating, coronoary-causing, tense game like this, could you perhaps record the final 3 outs WITHOUT DOING YOUR HILARIOUS MITCH WILLIAMS IMPERSONATION???? I swear I think tonight's game took 10 years off my life.— RollinsWasRight
- Anyone else realized this spot in the rotation comes up on the last Sunday of the season? Let's hope it doesn't matter.— 2Parm
- Thanks Rollins-- When howard was busy stroking game wining HR's Chase Utley was popping out. Where the heck is Chase. Didn't he have like 20 Hr's in mid may and has he even broken 30 yet? Where are the boo birds? CHASE UTLEY SUCKS>....— Truth
- RWR....I was thinking the same thing about Lidge reminding me of "Wild Thing"! LOL!— Norma
- If Meyer can pitch next year the way he has since he has come back from the minors, we'll have two #1 starters.— judas_priest
- Someone obnoxious and arrogant enough to call himself "Truth" should try to get the facts right. Utley's 20th home run was early in June and he hss 31. Plus an RBI double in this game.— judas_priest
- Sometimes people can "truthfully" be ignorant dimwits. Yes, Ryan is having an unbelievable September and deserves a ton of credit for picking this team up when all seemed lost. I am not criticizing him when I say that if he and other Phillies had played like this (as was expected by many) we wouldn't have to sweat out games night after night in September. And Chase Utley has, I think, 31 HR's, which is not bad for such a relatively skinny man. I'm sure nobody expects Chase to hit 35-40 HR's every year...not even Chase himself. He's a different type of player. Utley was as hot in April-May as Ryan is now and he carried the team to quite a few victories at that time...if we didn't get those wins (while Howard and others were utterly terible) then Ryan's dramatics wouldn't mean anything in September. But why do we need to defend Utley or any other Phillie? Aren't they all members of our team? Can't this city and fan base EVER just be happy?— MrPhillie
