Pitching was good again tonight except for one pitcher: Tommy Hunter. I have been very disappointed in Hunter. I expected much more from him. He is the big free agent signed to stabilize the bullpen. He is getting $9 million a year for two years after making a total of 3.4 million total for the previous two years. The Phillies clearly expected him to step up. He has failed. ERA now over 5. He has consistently not done the job. I guess the good news is that relievers are often so erratic that he could suddenly put up a dominant stretch of relief appearances and become a valued contributor to the team. Perhaps next season he will have a much better year if he doesn't turn things around sooner.
The Phillies win this first game in the 4 game series and are now 2-2 on this tough homestand. They continue to hang around and are now 43-36, back to 7 games over .500. Bouncing back to win two after dropping the first two to the Yankees shows the resilience of this team.
Offensive star tonight was Hoskins, 3 for 4 with a double and home run. Franco also hitting the ball well. Please, let's move Kingery down to bat 7th or 8th. Franco batting in the slot Kingery was in tonight might have gotten the Phillies a couple more runs.
