No Walk Streak: When Will It End?
Returning to friendly Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies bats showed some life. But, an eighth-inning homer by Beltran handed the Phillies a one-run loss, even though they out-hit the Cardinals, 13-7 (11 singles, two doubles). For Beltran, that’s four homers in his last 11 games at Citizens Bank Park.
For the seventh straight game, the Phillies failed to score in innings one through five. That’s hard to do. Down, 2-0, they tied it in the sixth. Down, 3-2, they tied it in the seventh. In the last of the ninth, the Phillies had runners on second and third with one out but didn’t score. That’s hard to do.
But, once again, they didn’t draw a walk. Their last one was an intentional walk on Sunday, that’s 135 plate appearances. That’s also hard to do. When will it end? The Cardinals had three walks and one scored.
Baron’s Corner
When it comes to reaching out to the community, the Phillies players excel. This weekend, three will be purchasing tickets for groups: Friday–Charlie’s Lineup (Covenant House Pennsylvania); Kendrick’s Krew (Bancroft School) and Saturday–Hamels’ Heroes (Wounded Warrior Project) . . . Don’t forget Sunday’s game is 8:05 and will be on ESPN TV. http://www.phillies.com/alumni has a feature on John Kruk who is now part of the Sunday Night ESPN broadcasting team . . . Happy Birthday: Tommy Hutton, 67, on Saturday; Greg Legg, 53, on Sunday.
Minor League Report
**Lehigh Valley pounded out 18 hits in romping over Pawtucket, 14-5. 3B Cody Ashe, 4-6. Cody Overbeck, 3rd homer, a grand slam. No decision for LA Adam Morgan, 5 innings, 1 hits, 1 run, 4 strikeouts. Needed 100 pitches to get through 5 innings.
**Reading lost, 7-1, at Richmond. 1B Jim Murphy, 3rd HR.
**Clearwater dropped a 5-2 decision to Brevard County. 2B Carlos Alonso had one-third of Clearwater’s nine hits.
**Lakewood nipped Savannah, 3-2. 3B Mitch Walding, singe, 3rd double, RBI.
This Date
April 19, 1900—Phillies win in Boston, 19-17, in 10 innings, the highest scoring opener in NL history. Boston scored nine in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.
April 19, 1937–Phillies win a doubleheader beating Boston, 2-1, in 11 innings and 1-0 at Braves Field. It is the only time the Phillies started the season with a twinbill.
April 20, 1989—3B Mike Schmidt’s first-inning double in Pittsburgh off Mike Dunne breaks Richie Ashburn’s club record for career hits (2,217).
April 21, 1898—RHP Bill Duggleby hits a grand slam home run in his first major league plate appearance (2nd inning) in a game in New York.
Comment Corner
Thanks to Dennis Orlandini for his comments about the Phillies Yearbook history. Yes, we considered ending it one time because it just didn’t sell as it had done in the past. But, I didn’t want the end to happen on my watch.
I believe only the Yankees have a longer run in producing Yearbooks. If anybody knows that, post a comment.
Comments are always welcomed, pro and con.
Cheers.
Phillies Insider 
The Dodgers (Brooklyn & Los Angeles) also have a longer run.The Brooklyn Dodgers
first yearbook was printed in 1941. It sells on e-bay from time to time. It’s a hefty price if you want an original ’41 YB. However it is also available at a much more affordable price as a Reprint.