The best news today, aside from the Phillies' win last night, is that we won't have to see the Braves again for over a month. After seeing them three times in the last month, the Phillies won't face the Braves again until the beginning of September. Of course, they'll play them twice that month, once at the start and once at the end, but that's a small price to pay for more than five weeks of Braves-free baseball.
Here's the lineup for today's series finale.
Of course, the big question is: how many runs will Kyle Kendrick give up in the first inning? I'm thinking... five. I'm putting my money of 5. Seems safe, considering that Kendrick has an 11.37 ERA in the first inning this season. That's really really bad. Putrid. For awhile it seemed like it might be bad luck, but now I think the problem is in his head. Part of it is that no one will stop talking about it, but when it's that bad everyone has to bring it up. And then Kyle is thinking about it, and he gives up another eighteen runs in the first inning, and the never ending feedback loop of suckitude continues.
Today could be the day he breaks the curse. I've been saying that for a month now, but until he actually fixes his first inning issues it's the only thing I can really say. Other than "STOP IT, KYLE."
Discuss the game in the comments below.