Phillies Look to Secure Win Despite Challenged Bullpen

I don't know what to make of the Phillies either. They're in St. Louis here tonight. And, I mean, help me out with this here. Painter, who is not a good pitcher, on any level, in any league, anywhere, Tom. But they had nobody available in the bullpen last night. Because they've used everybody over the last week. And I gotta, he gutted it out, the kid. I gotta give him credit, man. Because he was gonna be a sacrificial lamb out there. They were not, they weren't coming to go get him. So, it was one way or the other. Either you give up 20 runs, or you hang in there and get us out of there. And he actually, he hung in there. Phillies got the win. I don't know how. But if that thing would have went to extra innings, or would have went any further, we would have had position players pitching for Philadelphia. But they got the necessary rest. Now Sanchez on the mound for Philadelphia. But do we, Sanchez ain't exactly, he's not missing a lot of bats anymore either here. And if that bullpen is that taxed, what do we do here, Tom? Really interesting spot for Chris Sanchez. Because how dominant he was at the beginning portion of the season, where he goes most of the entire month of May without giving up a single earned run. I think there's still people holding on to that, that Chris Sanchez can be that good. And he is a very, very good pitcher. But if they need him out there, I'm not worried about the Cardinals lineup. And that's what it comes down to. I'm really not worried about the Cardinals. I don't think too highly of them. I've been pretty low on them all season. So, to see him have to go out there for six and seven innings, I think could work for Sanchez getting over that five and a half profit. That's what people are looking to bat tonight. Yeah, Palante, by the way, has been fantastic. His last three starts, I think, just three earned runs, 18 and two-thirds innings, pitched against the Cubs, the Reds, the Yankees. You know what he is? He's a ground ball pitcher, Tom, that keeps the ball in. He's perfect for Busch. I don't know that I'd be looking at the over. Is it seven and a half, I think, the total in this one here? It was nine last night, which you usually don't see at Busch Stadium because it's one of the more run-suppressing ballparks. But they got 11 last night. Eight is the total here. Should under? What are we thinking here? I would say under. Again, I just don't think highly of the Cardinals' offense at all. I'm high enough on Chris Sanchez that I think he can keep them in line to two, maybe three runs at most. I'm not saying that the Phillies' offense is going to pour in a ton of runs, but four-two final? Four-one final? Three-two final? Something like that? Nope. And I do not like, under any circumstances, the bullpen of the Cardinals either. No. I think that could be where some of the runs come from. But Palante's been very, very good, maybe even a first five under, maybe a bit of a pitcher's duel early on at Busch Stadium here tonight.