The good news is Ryan Howard's knee issue doesn't appear to be overly serious. It's not keeping him out of tonight's lineup at least. The bad news is he's 0-6 against tonight's starter Jose Fernandez. That seems to be a trend with the Phillies lineup this evening. Nobody in tonight's starting nine has a hit off of Fernandez.
[Related: Of course Ruben thinks the Phils' offense can turn it around]
Granted, the Fightins have only faced the young right-hander twice. Freddy Galvis actually has two hits off of him, but Charlie has decided to keep him on the bench. Laynce Nix also has a hit off of him, but he doesn't do much starting these days.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
It's not like Fernandez is the next great thing. He has just baffled the Phillies. Corey Seidman points out the disparity between Philadelphia and the rest:
Fernandez against the Phillies: 0.00 ERA in 13 innings, .071 opponents’ batting average.
Fernandez against all other teams: 4.91 ERA, .261 opponents’ batting average.
Fernandez is a strike-thrower with a mid-90s fastball, a sharp, biting curve in the mid-high 80s and a changeup that he’s used more against the Phillies than against most other teams.
The Phillies will give Tyler Cloyd his second start of the season after an impressive debut a couple of weeks back in Arizona.
With Chooch hitting the DL this morning, Erik Kratz will handle the catching. Humberto Quintero will be available on the bench.
7:10 start time from Florida. Thinking it is about time for Chase Utley to do some voodoo crap in the clubhouse to wake the team's bats up.
Tonight's lineup: