LiveBlogging the NBA Draft

Hey everybody. While you wait for the game, be sure to read the Special Phillies Section in today's Daily News.

Here's a few things I'm thinking about as the season gets under way. Feel free to let me know your perspective in the comments.

12:56 -- A very nice tribute to some recently-passed members of the Phillies family highlighted the pre-game festivities -- that, and a rousing ovation for reigning MVP Ryan Howard.

1:00 -- The first two members of the U.S. Navy Parachute team lands with the first ball. All seven have landed safely by 1:02. With "Anchors Away" playing in the backround, it almost feels like an Army-Navy game.

1:03 -- Vince Vukovich, son of the late John Vukovich, throws out the first ball. We're minutes away from the first pitch!

1:08 -- Brett Myers starts off the 2007 season with a 91-mph fastball to Kelly Johnson. Myers goes on to strikeout Johnson, and except for a five-pitch walk to Chipper Jones, has an easy inning. The dangerous Andruw Jones pops up to end it.

It's always kind of funny when the home crowd boos Chipper.

1:15 -- Charlie Manuel's lineup includes a major surprise. Ryan Howard is hitting third. Chase Utley hitting fourth. Manuel said he was kicking the move around for a couple weeks and just decided to do it today. A couple of us in the press box don't like it. How about you?

1:17 -- Howard singles to right after Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino strikeout swinging. Utley grounds out to second to end it.

1:24 -- Brian McCann drills a double to center for the game's first hit but gets stranded as Myers retires the next three Bravos. John Smoltz will lead off for Atlanta in the third; never a bad thing when the pitcher leads off an inning.

1:29 -- Pat Burrell is introduced and gets a warm reception from the home folks. Smoltz starts him off with a fastball outside that Burrell waves out, unable to check his swing. He fails to hold up again a few pitches later and strikes out. He hears his first boos of the season.

1:33 -- Aaron Rowand fists a grounder to short which dies in front of Edgar Renteria. Rod Barajas flies out harmlessly to right to end the inning. Smoltz looks strong.

1:38 -- Myers, obviously wondering why I didn't throw him any verbal bouquets, has an efficient 1-2-3 inning. He's thrown 37 pitches through three innings.

1:43 -- The first Daily News Home Run Payoff inning of the year produces no winners as Myers and Rollins strike out and Victorino grounds weekly to Smoltz. The Braves righthander has five strikeouts and only one ball has left the infield.

1:49 -- Myers walks Chipper Jones on four pitches and goes 2-0 to Andruw Jones before getting him to pop out to third. Brian McCann, who recently signed a lucrative contract extension, takes a Brett Myers off-speed pitch into the rightfield seats. Myers settles down and gets out of the frame.

The Phils will send up Howard, Utley and Burrell in the bottom of the inning. A couple base runners would be nice to see.

Also, any time the score changes, we'll note it at the top.

1:59 -- Another single to right for Howard, so much for that spring training slump. Utley drills a single that the umps say hit Howard on the foot. Replays are inconclusive, but it didn't look to me like it hit him. It's a crucial play. Instead of first-and-third with no-out; it's Utley on first with one out.

2:03 -- Smoltz gives up a walk to Burrell but wiggles out of the inning. The Phillies had their best swings of the game against the veteran righthander, including Aaron Rowand's lineout to short to end it.

2:12 -- Myers has a 1-2-3 inning and fans Kelly Johnson for his fifth strikeout of the day. He's thrown 70 pitches through five innings, 44 strikes.

2:19 -- Phils first base coach Davey Lopes is chatting with umpire Jerry Layne, probably about the controversial play last inning. With two outs, Jimmy Rollins gets the Phillies on the board with a no-doubt-about-it homer to right. Rollins hadn't had any good swings against Smoltz and was in danger of fanning for the third time today. He turned on a fastball for his first homer of the year -- including spring training. Victorino grounds out to end the inning.

2:27 -- Chipper Jones lines a one-out single to left-center for his second hit of the day. Andruw Jones, who had two infield pop outs, got full contact on a Myers offering and lined it to straight away center. Aaron Rowand tracked it down, while Chipper smartly tagged up from first. The Phillies decide to pitch to Brian McCann, who has doubled and homered. Myers strikes him out swinging.

Anybody seen the beer man?

2:35 -- Smoltz finally gets Howard out, using a 91-mph inside fastball to get the Phillies slugger swinging. After a Pat Burrel single, Wes Helms hits a double over the head of Andruw Jones -- a feat unto itself -- to tie it. Nice to see a two-out RBI.

Kelly Johnson drops a pop up off the bat of Aaron Rowand to drive in Helms. It's ruled a hit, which is questionable. Who cares, right? The Phils have their first lead of the season.

Rod Barajas flies out to end the inning. Both bullpens are stirring.

2:48 -- Myers gets two more strikeouts, giving him eight on the day, as he retires the Braves in order. He's due to lead off the bottom of the inning. He's thrown 96 pitches. Would you hit for him?

2:55 -- The Braves take Smoltz out in favor of Mike Gonzalez, who promptly walks Brett Myers on four pitches. Jimmy Rollins follows it up with a double to left, second and third no out. Good thing Myers shed that weight coming into the season. Otherwise, he might be puking all over third base coach Steve Smith.

Victorino and Howard both strikeout swinging. Bobby Cox doesn't walk Utley because he has the situation in his favor (lefty pitcher vs. lefty hitter). Utley grounds out to short. Leaving those runs out there could be costly. If nothing else, it kept Myers on base the whole inning. Ahh, he's an athlete. He can handle it. Right?

3:04 -- Renteria hits an 0-2 Myers offering off the brick wall in deep center field ties it. Manuel comes out to relieve Myers, who exits with nine strikeouts, four hits and three runs allowed. Lefty Matt Smith enters the game to face Chiper Jones (with Andruw Jones and Brian McCann looming) with two outs.

3:11 -- Smith gets Chipper to ground out to Jimmy Rollins to end it. Pat Burrell, who leads off, could really get the fans on his side with a blast.

This entry got deleted by gremlins.

Pat Burrell hit an exciting grounder down the third base line that turned out to be foul, then fouled out and got his first boos of the season. That's the gist of it.

3:26 -- Manuel opts not to make the double switch meaning this will (or at least better be) his only inning. Andruw Jones flies out to deep right to start the inning, but is followed by Brian McCann's single. The Braves pinch-run for McCann who exits with three of Atlanta's five hits.

Gordon gets Jeff Francoeur flailing at a breaking ball away for his first strikeout of the year. A Ryan Howard error and an infield single load the bases, but Gordon blows away Brayan Pena to send it to the bottom of the ninth.

Righthander Bob Wickman is coming in for the Braves. The Phillies will counter with pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs followed by the top of the order.

This is a good one.

3:36 -- Dobbs grounds harmless to second on the first pitch. The kid was a little anxious there. Jimmy Rollins also strikes out, for the third time today. Shane Victorino doubles to left leaving Bobby Cox with an interesting dilemma. Do you walk him? Cox is pitching to him!

With chants of "MVP, MVP," Howard sees two balls before Cox puts him on. Utley up with two on, two out. I'm going to post this and come back with how Utley fares. We're tied 3-3.

3:45 -- Utley pops out foul to third. We're going extra innings. The heart of the order is in the books for the while. It'll be up to the bullpen to hold it together. Ryan Madson will be pitching for the Phils.

3:48 -- Madson starts off by walking Kelly Johnson, prompting moans from Phils rooters. Edgar Renteria proves those moans well-founded by depositing a Madson offering into the right-center field seats. It's Renteria's second homer of the day and there's a dash toward the exits.

3:57 -- Madson gets out of the inning with no further damage, but the Phils are in a tight spot. Pat Burrell, Wes Helms and Aaron Rowand are due up. The Braves will send in Chad Paronto for the save.

4:01 -- The Phils go quietly in the 10th. Burrell strikes out to start the inning, but he's making progress -- he struck out swinging.

Braves win, 5-3. One down, 161 to go.

Borrowing a tradition from hockey, today's three stars are Edgar Renteria, Brett Myers and Brian McCann. Would be interested in yours.

The Phils are off Tuesday and hook up with the Braves on Wednesday night. Cole Hamels will face Tim Hudson.

Nice to wake up this morning and see the Phils just three games back of the slumping (and hobbling) Mets, who lost again last night.

On the bump for the Phillies today will be young righthander Kyle Kendrick, who was called up from Double-A Reading to take Freddy Garcia's spot in the rotation.
John Danks, a young lefty and former Rangers prospect acquired by the White Sox in the deal that sent Brandon McCarthy to Texas, is on the mound for Chicago. Supposedly, he has a nasty curveball.

Can't wait to see what kind of reception Jim Thome gets when he comes to the plate for the White Sox and, more importantly, how Kendrick handles him.

As expected, Jim Thome is hitting third and playing first base for the White Sox today. Thome has hit 25 homers in 335 career ABs at Citizens Bank Park and eight in 114 ABs this year. Obviously, he's never faced Kyle Kendrick and five will get you 10 that he probably never heard of him until the last day or so.

Chicago's lineup: 1. Jerry Owens, LF; 2. Alex Cintron, 2B; 3. Jim Thome, 1B; 4. Jermaine Dye, RF; 5. A.J. Pierzynski C; 6. Luis Terrero, CF; 7. Josh Fields, 3B; 8. Juan Uribe, SS; 9. John Danks, LHP.

Phillies lineup: 1. Jimmy Rollins, SS; 2.Shane Victorino, CF; 3. Chase Utley, 2B; 4. Ryan Howard, 1B; 5.Pat Burrell, LF; 6. Jayson Werth, RF; 7. Wes Helms, 3B; 8. Rod Barajas, C; 9. Kyle Kendrick, RHP.

The skies are cloudy, but the sun is trying to break through. The outfield flags indicate the wind is blowing across the field, from rightfield to left.

OK ... Thome update, lineups, weather report ... what's am i missing? Oh yeah, BEER MAN! (Just kidding, boss.)

The first pitch of Kyle Kendrick's career was low for a ball to Jerry Owens. Owens worked a full count before grounding out to Jimmy Rollins. After an Alex Cintron double down the first base line, Jim Thome was greeted with a rousing ovation.

Thome, with that familiar pre-pitch point of the bat toward the mound, nubs a grounder in the dirt just in front of the plate. Catcher Rod Barajas easily throws him out as Kyle Kendrick takes a huge sigh of relief.

Jermaine Dye picks up Thome by drilling a double just over the glove of Shane Victorino, 1-0 Chicago. Victorino appeared to have the ball tracked, but couldn't make the play; making his first start of the season in center probably didn't help.

The next hitter, A.J. Pierzynski, hit a long, loud foul ball before grounding out to short to end the inning. When the score changes, it'll be noted in the header.

Jimmy Rollins popped out, but Shane Victorino worked a walk. Victorino definitely has the young Danks' attention as the pitcher has thrown over to first several times.

Sure enough, Victorino steals second - his 20th of the season already - and Chase Utley sends him home with a single to right. That's the way this lineup is supposed to work.

Ryan Howard popped out and Pat Burrell grounded out to end the inning.

Tough start for the youngster, Kendrick. Luis Terrero leads off with a hit by pitch and promptly steals his first base of the season. Josh Fields, playing because Joe Crede is injured, follows with an RBI single.

Answer: Juan Uribe. Question: Who was the first strikeout victim of Kyle Kendrick? That was an out he needed. Kendrick followed that up with his second career whiff by getting opposing pitcher John Danks swinging. The inning ends on a flyout to left.

Wes Helms just homered with one out. It's the first HR for Helms this season and colleague Paul Hagen points out just the third for a Phils third baseman all season.

Now Kyle Kendrick just bloops one to rightfield for his first major league hit. He stuttered as he reached first base as if he had never been there before. Oh, that's right. He hadn't. Clutch move by White Sox first baseman Jim Thome to be sure to retrieve the ball for the youngster.

Jimmy Rollins grounds out to end it, but it's been an interesting first couple innings. Now, the clouds are rolling in.

Cole Hamels and Adam Eaton are on the top step of the dugout checking out Kyle Kendrick and making quite a mess with their sunflower seeds. You could only imagine what they're talking about.

They've just witnessed a couple stinging line drive singles - one from Alex Cintron, the other from Jim Thome - as Chicago has first and third. The Thome single was a play that an above-average first baseman would have made. Unfortunately, Ryan Howard is not an above-average first baseman.

The Phillies just traded a doubleplay for a White Sox run as Jermaine Dye grounded into a 6-4-3. The White Sox continue the see-saw by ending the inning up again by a run.

Victorino and Utley pop out, but Ryan Howard hits a seeing-eye single to center to keep the inning alive. Pat Burrell follows with a walk.

Jayson Werth strikes out and we have our first scoreless half inning.

Terrero leads off with a lazy fly out to center. Kendrick has thrown 56 pitches, 23 for strikes. He's give up five hits, but hasn't walked any one yet.

The Daily News Live Blog jinx lives! Josh Fields just walked.

Kendrick induces Juan Uribe into a 6-4-3 double play (as I fix a couple typos in the previous sentences) to end the inning.

Congratulations, Pat Burrell. Seems Rod Barajas has replaced you as the primary target of the fans' wrath. Barajas struck out for the second time today to incur some hostility from the crowd. They still are smarting over that play a few weeks ago when he stood up rather than block the plate. For who, for what?

Phils go quietly in the inning, but will have the top of the lineup leading off the fifth.\

Mike from Seattle asks what type of pitcher Kendrick is. Power? Finesse?

He’s definitely not a power pitcher. His fastball has been in the low 90s. He’s getting guys out by spotting his fastball and chasing his off-speed pitches. I’m impressed by his aggressiveness. He’s been around the plate most of the day, so far.

With two on and two out, Jayson Werth makes a diving catch in right-center to rob Jermaine Dye of extra bases and keep at least one run from scoring. The Phillies defense hasn't been great today, but that was a sparkling play. Jimmy Rollins will lead off. Let's see if they can carry the momentum.

Victorino singles with one out. Will he steal? Would you send him with Utley and Howard due up against the lefty Danks? ... The Sox have a righthander warming up.

Victorino holds his place as Utley works a walk. Pitching coach Don Cooper is out for a visit to Danks, who has thrown 98 pitches as Ryan Howard steps to the plate.

Howard strikes out swinging. Chisox manager Ozzie Guillen comes in to pull Danks from the game. Righthander Ryan Bukvich will come in to face Pat Burrell.

I was feeling bad that I had never heard of Ryan Bukvich until I read that this is just his fifth game of the year. The youngster had appeared in 48 games in his career entering the year, most with Kansas City (another reason I never heard of him).

Give him credit, though. He got out of the inning when Pat Burrell hit a tracer that was gobbled up by third baseman Josh Fields.

Danks has his first 1-2-3 inning, ending it with a strikeout of Fields. This could be it for the young righty, who is due to hit fourth in the bottom half of the frame. Not even Charlie would send him out to hit, would he?

Jayson Werth gets it going by beating out an infield single and then perfectly reading a bloop Wes Helms single to get to third base with no out. Barajas is up.

Barajas strikes out looking. Mike from Seattle can probably hear the boos from there.

Aaron Rowand, pinch hitting for Kendrick, hits a soft grounder to third that drives Werth home. The score is now tied as Ozzie Guillen goes to lefty Matt Thornton to face Jimmy Rollins.

Rollins actually is hitting .301 as a righty, .282 as a lefty. His power numbers, though, are better as a lefty. He'll hit righthanded against Thornton.

Rollins walked; first and second, two outs. Victorino grounded out on a play that Jim Thome had to dig out of the dirt. Good job by the boys to take Kyle Kendrick off the hook. He'll get a no-decision. Ryan Madson is coming in.

Double-switch by Charlie. Rowand stays in to play center. Victorino moves to right. Madson will replace Werth in the lineup.

Juan Uribe leads off and reaches on an error by Wes Helms. The error allows the White Sox to roll the dice and leave Matt Thornton in the game to bunt. The move doesn’t work as Thornton strikes out. But he remains in the game and will face lefties Utley and Howard in the bottom of the inning.

Madson gets consecutive ground outs to end the frame, including the inning-ender by Alex Cintron who had been 3-for-3 with a couple doubles.

Madson's due to hit fourth in the bottom of the seventh. Mike Zagurski has been warming up.

Utley leads off with a classic Chase Utley double. He hits a liner that handcuffs third baseman Josh Fields and rolls into leftfield. Busting it out of the box the whole way, Utley easily beats the throw into the second.

At this point, it appears the White Sox are not walking Ryan Howard. Good move. Howard struck out swinging on some high heat from Thornton.

Now they're walking Pat Burrell. Interesting move. It gets Madson out of the game and forces the Phillies to use Abraham Nunez as a pinch-hitter.

The move backfires as Nunez flares one into rightfield to score Utley. Phils lead.

Helms pops out to second, but Barajas walks. Aaron Rowand is up with the bases juiced.

Grand slam, Aaron Rowand. 8-3 Phils. He drilled an 0-2 pitch into the leftfield seats for his ninth homer of the season and second of his career. The other came off Jeremy Bonderman, who oddly enough is scheduled to start Friday when the Tigers visit.

Jimmy Rollins ends the inning with a flyout to center, but not before the 42,677 at Citizens Bank Park give Rowand a curtain call.

Mike Zagurski comes in to relieve Ryan Madson. Jim Thome, who led off, dumped a single to right. He's now 2-for-3 with two singles and an intentional walk.

Never got around to passing along Kyle Kendrick's stats for the day:
6 IP, 6 H, 3 R (all earned), 2 BB, 4 Ks ... He threw 92 pitches, 55 for strikes.

Jermaine Dye rockets a Zagurski pitch to the top of the fence in right-center; second and third with no outs.

After an RBI ground out, Charlie Manuel summons righthander Yoel Hernandez, who gets out of the inning.

Some dude named Boone Logan is coming in to pitch for the White Sox. Love these Inter League games. I couldn't get a Tom Glavine-Cole Hamels pitching duel. I have to get John Danks, Ryan Bukvich and Boone Logan.

Victorino-Utley-Howard for the Phils in the bottom of the inning.

So I bust on Boone Logan and tout that the meat of the Phillies lineup is looming. Naturally, Logan strikes out the side.

Antonio Alfonseca will come on to pitch the ninth for the Phils.

Alfonseca starts off by walking Juan Uribe and has a brief meltdown. After the fourth ball, Alfonseca turns away from home plate umpire Adrian Johnson and flips his glove in the air disgustedly.

Umpires don’t dig that kind of stuff and Chase Utley quickly scurries in to calm down Alfonseca. Rich Dubee comes out as well. The mound session ends with what looks like Alfonseca apologizing to Johnson.

Alfonseca gets Rob Macowiak to ground into a doubleplay and a fly out a batter later to end it.

The Phils win and close the Mets lead to 2 1/2 games. It’s the first home sweep of the year and improves the Phils to 31-20 since April 20, best mark in the majors over that time span. The Mets are at the Dodgers tonight (10:10 p.m. EST start).

Oh, and for the third consecutive game, Jim Thome was on-deck when the game ended.

Thanks to all for the kind words. It was fun and hopefully something my bosses consider in the future. I also appreciated the feedback during the game.

Someone asked about the pitching matchups for the Tigers series. Friday: Jeremy Bonderman vs. Jon Lieber. Saturday: Andrew Miller vs. Jaime Moyer. Sunday: Justin Verlander vs. Adam Eaton.

-- Ed B.