Phillies Nation: Lee: Behind Revere, New-Look Lineup Shows Patience

For the better part of three innings, Hudson was in cruise control.  He was getting ahead (10/11 first pitch strikes) and putting Phillies hitters away (11 hitters faced through three).  But the Phillies gradually raised his pitch total from 13 in each of the first two innings to 19 in the third, 21 in the fourth and 24 in the fifth before he was yanked in favor of Luis Avilan.

The non-Utley highlight of the night for the Phillies was a gritty 11-pitch at-bat from Ben Revere that included five foul balls and resulted in a walk despite Revere initially falling behind 1 and 2.  It was the type of at-bat Phillies fans have longed for from their leadoff man since the days of Lenny Dykstra.  To be fair, in his two years as a starter in Minnesota, Revere actually saw less pitches-per-plate-appearance than Jimmy Rollins normally does.  But at only 24-years-old, last night was certainly a good debut in red pinstripes for the speedy centerfielder.

Say what you will about the Phillies, they are more likely to draw walks this year, I guess.