It's official - tonight's Phillies lineup will be quite unrecognizable. No Carlos Ruiz. No Placido Polanco. No Chase Utley. All are on the DL. Instead, we're very likely to have a lineup with three spots taken by Wilson Valdez, Juan Castro, and Brian Schneider.
They'll be squaring off against Mike Leake, the Reds starter whose impressive rookie year is being eclipsed by that guy who pitches for the Nationals. Have you heard of him. I think his name is Steven Spielburg or something like that. But I digress. Leake has a stellar 2.92 ERA, but that's deceiving. He has a 1.41 WHIP, 4.37 xFIP, and 4.40 SIERA. What that means, for those not intimately familiar with these acronyms, is simple: Leake is hittable and his low ERA is not reflective of his pitching this season, which is much more mediocre than a 2.92 ERA might indicate.
The Phillies should be able to take him. Of course, it's not really the Phillies that will be facing Leake tonight, so who knows?
Discuss the game below.
Current Series
Reds lead the series 1-0
| Mon 06/28 | WP: Johnny Cueto (8 - 2) LP: Kyle Kendrick (4 - 3) | 3 - 7 loss |
Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday, Jun 29, 2010, 7:10 PM EDT Joe Blanton vs Mike Leake Clear. Winds blowing out to right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 75. Complete Coverage > | ||
| Wed 06/30 | 12:35 PM EDT | |
