Subbing in for the scratched JA Happ, Bud Norris had the fortune of facing a very hot Phillies lineup that hadn’t managed a home run in the first two games of the season. It didn’t take too long for that to change.
Ryan Howard was facing a 3-0 pitch with Polanco and Rollins already on base. Charlie always gives his big man the green light, so the bat was ready to go. Norris got way too much of the plate and way too much of the sweet spot of Howard’s stick, and Ryan deposited it into the Phillies bullpen for a three-run bomb. Ryan’s hit safely in each game so far this season. He leads team with 5 RBI’s.
Ben Francisco continued swinging his hot bat, lining a low fastball over the wall in left center for an extra first inning run. Norris only gave up 18 home runs in over 152 innings last year, and that’s two in one inning so far.
Phillies lead 4-0 and Roy Oswalt has a nice lead to deal with.