In a game of slightly less consequence than the one in Boston, the Phillies are making a stop in Milwaukee tonight to begin a set with the Brew Crew (15-19), and we're breaking out the "Where Are They Now" tag for this one. Jamie Moyer will take the hill for the first time since becoming the oldest man to throw a complete game shutout in Major League history. He'll be pitching against former Phil Randy Wolf.
Wolf's numbers have steadily improved every year since his exodus from Philadelphia, yet he hasn't been able to stick in any one place. We last saw him this past season on his second stint with the Dodgers where he had a strong campaign, going 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA and making all 34 of his starts. The Fightins weren't kind to Wolf in the playoffs though, scoring three through 5.1 innings, and handing him a no decision in their eventual Game 4 victory in the NLCS. FYI, Ryan Howard took Wolf deep in the first inning that night.
However, the Phillies will be without their proverbial silver bullet tonight. Carlos Ruiz is 4 for 7 (including post-season) lifetime with a dinger against Wolf. He's day-to-day after injuring his knee in a play at the plate on Wednesday, which will give Paul Hoover his first start of the year. Shane Victorino has also experienced some success versus Wolf, going 4 for 12 (again, plus playoffs) with a home run, and scoring the team's third run in Game 4 after reaching on a triple.
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Of course, the bigger story heading into the game will undoubtedly be about Jamie Moyer making history in his last appearance. Even non-baseball fans are impressed that a 47-year-old can pitch an entire game, holding opposing hitters to two hits in the process. And you know what? The man deserves his moment. People like me were calling for somebody younger to take his spot in the rotation this season, but that was clearly a mistake.
He'll have to do it again tonight though. Gramps last faced the Brewers in relief in '09, taking over for Kyle Kendrick in the fifth and pitching four innings. Craig Counsell notched a two-run single in the sixth in an otherwise solid outing. His only other start against Milwaukee since the '08 NLDS was last April 21, where he picked up a win after allowing four runs in six frames. Ryan Braun has been Jamie's kryptonite, going 3 for 3 with two bombs in that game, and 6 for 12 all time. Yeah, he's pretty good.
Obviously this all takes a back seat to a ho-hum Game 7 elsewhere, but with an 8:10 p.m. start, you might be able to at least catch the latter half of it in between drinks of celebration/mourning. By the way, the Phils will wear their powder blues tonight, which is a cool coincidence because Jamie actually would have worn them at one time had he been on the club then.