Say, did you know that John Lannan is a daredevil motorcycle racer? He also enjoys Thai food, the color orange, and drinks spiced with jalapeño. He has an aviary full of rare jungle birds.
In the game thread, I promised that if John Lannan pitched well, I'd make him seem interesting (or more interesting than a pet rock). And I keep my promises. Lannan pitched a gem tonight, going seven innings and giving up five hits and one run.
On any other night, that would be the story. But tonight that's just the appetizer. Not even the appetizer. John Lannan's pitching performance is just the amuse bouche. I want you to get ready for what I'm about to tell you. Are you ready? Are you sure? Ok.
The Phillies scored 16 runs tonight. 16. Prior to this, the Phillies had only scored nine runs in a game. Tonight they beat that by seven. They scored in seven of nine innings tonight. Every single Phillies starter had at least one hit, plus Kevin Frandsen and John McDonald who came in for Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins in the late innings. That's 11 different Phillies with at least one hit. Every starter but Revere crossed the plate to score a run. They ended the night with 21 hits. They started by smacking Chris Capuano around early and they didn't let up.
In a game like this where there were so many good, wonderful, pleasant, marvelous things that happened, it's tough to single out anything. But there were a few things that were especially delightful.
Phillies had an OBP of .519 today.
— The Good Phight (@TheGoodPhight) June 29, 2013
-- Delmon Young went 3-for-6 with six RBIs, a career high. His streak of at-bats with a hit came to an end at seven. I'm classifying this as delightful because technically those are good things and they helped the Phillies. I still don't like him.
-- Other attractive lines for the evening include Michael Young (4-for-6 with a home run), Chase Utley (2-for-3 with a walk), and Jimmy Rollins (2-for-3 with a walk, same as Utley).
-- But what about John Lannan's night at the plate, you ask? Oh, I can tell you about John Lannan at the plate. He went 3-for-4 with one RBI. It was his first career three-hit game. He truly did it all tonight.
-- And just to put a brightly colored, silly looking hat on this game to finish it off, the Dodgers brought in Skip Schumaker to pitch the ninth inning. Schumaker is actually a second baseman and outfielder and not a pitcher. I love it when position players pitch. After two quick outs, Schumaker loaded the bases but was saved when Humberto Quintero struck out. I know it was a lopsided win and all, but I hope his teammates rib him for that a little bit.
What more is there to say? Just this, I think.
#Dodgers' 16-1 loss is worst home loss since Jackie Robinson's rookie season: http://t.co/RuMnwtqBeL
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) June 29, 2013
Source: FanGraphs