San Francisco Giants

A couple of hours before Kyle Kendrick provided the Phillies with the kind of performance that is becoming standard for the underrated and underappreciated 28-year-old righthander, relief pitcher Chad Durbin recalled the running joke that used to be told about his teammate. "He's got two pitches: a sinker and a sinker," Durbin said. "It was half joke, but the reality was that his sinker was good enough that he could come up and get big-leaguers out with one pitch. He had some secondary pitches, but he didn't really need to go to them.

The Phillies will honor new Hall of Fame inductee Pat Gillick with a ceremony before Wednesday night's game. The ceremony begins at 6:45 before the 7:05 start against the San Francisco Giants. Gillick was the team's general manager from 2005 to 2008, including the 2008 World Series championship team. He remains with the team in an advisory role. Gillick, who was enshrined Sunday in Cooperstown, will be presented with several items by the Phillies. After the ceremony, he will take a victory lap around the field, greeting fans.

The Phillies released John Bowker on Tuesday to allow him to pursue an opportunity with a professional team in Japan. In a combined 31 games with the Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates last season, Bowker batted .133 with two RBIs. The 28-year-old outfielder spent most of the season at triple-A Indianapolis in the Pirates' system, hitting .306 with 15 home runs and 76 RBIs in 106 games. For his major-league career, Bowker has hit .232 with 17 homers and 73 RBIs in 240 games with the San Francisco Giants, Pirates, and Phillies.

Here is a year-by-year look at some of Kyle Kendrick's statistics. Kendrick, 3-1 with a 2.43 ERA in six starts this season, is 10-5 in his last 18 starts dating back to last season. He will pitch Tuesday night against the San Francisco Giants.                         Opp.        vs. Year       Record    ERA    avg. L.H. batters   SO per 9 IP 2007       10-4       3.87    .280       .321          3.6 2008       11-9       5.49    .304       .334          3.4 2009       3-1       3.42    .273       .267          5.1 2010       11-10       4.73    .283       .312          4.2 2011       8-6       3.22    .255       .234          4.6 2012       11-12       3.90    .254       .238          6.6 2013       3-1       2.43    .235       .233          6.4 - Bob Brookover SOURCE: BaseballReference.com

Pat Burrell will officially retire as a Phillie during the Boston Red Sox series at Citizens Bank Park in May, the team announced. Burrell, 35, will sign a one-day minor league contract with the Phillies. He will be honored before the Saturday, May 19 game by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Burrell retired in the offseason because of a chronic foot injury that limited him to 92 games with a .230 average last season with San Francisco. Burrell was with the Phillies for nine seasons and is fourth in team history in home runs (251)

All-star third baseman Evan Longoria agreed to a $136.6 million, 10-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday that adds six guaranteed seasons and $100 million to his current deal. The agreement with the 27-year-old slugger includes a team option for 2023 that could make the deal worth $144.6 million over 11 years. Series shares. A full postseason share for the World Series champion San Francisco Giants was worth $377,003, breaking the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals' record.

NEW YORK - Tim McCarver will make his 55th straight season of Major League Baseball his last. The two-time champion catcher will call the World Series this year and then retire from his analyst job at Fox. "I wanted to step down while I know I can still do the job and proud of the job I've done," McCarver, 71, said Wednesday. His health is good, McCarver said. So are his passion and energy for the game. It was just time. "It's not a tough call," he said. "It's not a sad thing for me. " McCarver had been thinking about moving on for a couple of years.

SAN FRANCISCO — In this ballpark by the bay about two years ago, Mick Billmeyer stopped Kyle Kendrick after a bullpen session. Kendrick was being shuttled between the bullpen and the rotation, and Billmeyer, then the bullpen coach, worried about his confidence. "Some guys," he told Kendrick, "are just late bloomers. " Kendrick remembered the message, and it is one repeated over and over as the 28-year-old Phillies pitcher achieves excellence. A 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night served as the latest validation for Kendrick.

SAN FRANCISCO - Carlos Ruiz took part in his daily pregame routine during batting practice at AT&T Park yesterday. He fielded ground balls at third base alongside Michael Young. But for the second time in the last five games, Ruiz did not start behind the plate when the Phillies took the field later in the night to take on the San Francisco Giants. Erik Kratz started at catcher in place of Ruiz, who is hitting .100 (2-for-20) since returning from his 25-game suspension. Over the weekend, Ruiz said he's still attempting to get into a comfort zone at the plate after his near monthlong absence.

NEW YORK - In his rookie season, Mike Trout is a major-league all-star. So, how did he celebrate? The centerfielder from Millville, N.J., hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning for the Los Angeles Angels in a 10-6 win Sunday at Toronto. Trout was among 66 players chosen by fans, managers, and big-leaguers for the July 10 All-Star Game in Kansas City. "It's awesome getting picked," the 20-year-old told Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. "I'm getting chills thinking about it right now. " Joining him as a reserve on the American League team, managed by Texas manager Ron Washington, will be Angels outfielder Mark Trumbo, and pitchers Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson.

THIS TIME, Bryce Harper made the catch. And yeah, it was a relief. Harper made a game-saving grab in rightfield and had a couple of big hits at the plate to help the visiting Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-1, in 10 innings yesterday. San Francisco had runners on first and second with one out in the eighth when Harper had to dive to grab Hunter Pence's sinking liner in the gap, keeping it tied at 1. He banged up his left knee on the play, but managed to stay in the game.

WITH ALL THE ups and downs in recent seasons, including his demotion to the bullpen for the playoffs, Tim Lincecum can appreciate the strong starts when most everything goes right - reminding himself, from his own experiences, how quickly things change. Backed by solo home runs from Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Belt and Marco Scutaro, Lincecum looked in his best form in 2013 as the San Francisco Giants beat the visiting Atlanta Braves, 5-1, yesterday to wrap up an impressive homestand.

SAN FRANCISCO — In this ballpark by the bay about two years ago, Mick Billmeyer stopped Kyle Kendrick after a bullpen session. Kendrick was being shuttled between the bullpen and the rotation, and Billmeyer, then the bullpen coach, worried about his confidence. "Some guys," he told Kendrick, "are just late bloomers. " Kendrick remembered the message, and it is one repeated over and over as the 28-year-old Phillies pitcher achieves excellence. A 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night served as the latest validation for Kendrick.

SAN FRANCISCO – Ruben Amaro Jr. walked into the visiting dugout at AT&T Park and found a seat. After Phillies manager Charlie Manuel's daily, pregame meeting with the press, it was the general manager's turn. Amaro made himself available to talk about placing two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay on the disabled list earlier in the day. But then the obvious, unavoidable questions followed. Are you surprised your team is 14-18 after 32 games? "I'm a little disappointed at the slow start," Amaro said.

SAN FRANCISCO - Carlos Ruiz took part in his daily pregame routine during batting practice at AT&T Park yesterday. He fielded ground balls at third base alongside Michael Young. But for the second time in the last five games, Ruiz did not start behind the plate when the Phillies took the field later in the night to take on the San Francisco Giants. Erik Kratz started at catcher in place of Ruiz, who is hitting .100 (2-for-20) since returning from his 25-game suspension. Over the weekend, Ruiz said he's still attempting to get into a comfort zone at the plate after his near monthlong absence.

A couple of hours before Kyle Kendrick provided the Phillies with the kind of performance that is becoming standard for the underrated and underappreciated 28-year-old righthander, relief pitcher Chad Durbin recalled the running joke that used to be told about his teammate. "He's got two pitches: a sinker and a sinker," Durbin said. "It was half joke, but the reality was that his sinker was good enough that he could come up and get big-leaguers out with one pitch. He had some secondary pitches, but he didn't really need to go to them.

Here is a year-by-year look at some of Kyle Kendrick's statistics. Kendrick, 3-1 with a 2.43 ERA in six starts this season, is 10-5 in his last 18 starts dating back to last season. He will pitch Tuesday night against the San Francisco Giants.                         Opp.        vs. Year       Record    ERA    avg. L.H. batters   SO per 9 IP 2007       10-4       3.87    .280       .321          3.6 2008       11-9       5.49    .304       .334          3.4 2009       3-1       3.42    .273       .267          5.1 2010       11-10       4.73    .283       .312          4.2 2011       8-6       3.22    .255       .234          4.6 2012       11-12       3.90    .254       .238          6.6 2013       3-1       2.43    .235       .233          6.4 - Bob Brookover SOURCE: BaseballReference.com

FORGET ABOUT last year. This season, the Atlanta Braves are looking very much like the team to beat in the NL East. Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons homered, and the visiting Braves cruised to their ninth straight victory Sunday, beating Washington, 9-0, to complete a three-game sweep of the defending division champion Nationals. Chris Johnson had four hits and two RBI for the Braves, who received a sparkling pitching performance from Paul Maholm. After forging two-run victories on Friday and Saturday, Atlanta took a 7-0 lead in the third inning against Gio Gonzalez (1-1)

Stephen Strasburg is ready for his first big-league season without restrictions. Ready to go from season's start to finish. Ready to throw as many pitches as it takes and to stay on the mound as long as possible, including into the eighth and ninth inning, something he's never done in the majors. All-star ace Strasburg will start the season opener for the defending NL East champion Washington Nationals on Monday against a visiting Miami Marlins club that traded away most of its best players, cut its payroll by more than half, starts with seven players on the disabled list and has a rookie manager in Mike Redmond.

To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Yankees are different from every other team in baseball. How rich are the Yanks? The New York Yankees are so rich, they could hire the entire Houston Astros roster to play third base in place of Alex Rodriguez and still have almost $2 million left over. According to a study of big-league contracts by the Associated Press, the Yankees have set a record for baseball's highest-ever opening-day payroll at $230.4 million, almost nine times what the Astros, their new American League poor cousins, are paying their players.