Vance Worley

At Citizens Bank Park. Monday at 7:05 p.m. Los Angeles LHP Clayton Kershaw (4-3, 2.42 ERA) vs. RHP Vance Worley (3-2, 3.07). Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Los Angeles RHP Chad Billingsley (2-4, 4.09) vs. LHP Cliff Lee (0-2, 3.00). Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Los Angeles LHP Chris Capuano (7-2, 2.50) vs. RHP Kyle Kendrick (2-4, 4.02). Thursday at 1:05 p.m. Los Angeles RHP Aaron Harang (4-3, 3.90) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (8-2, 2.81)

WHETHER OR NOT we realize it, one of the reasons for our fascination with professional sports is that they share so many variables with the lives that we live. You can wake up with a body feeling like a million bucks, a head uncluttered and free, and talent that is the envy of your fellow man, but you cannot control the strike that is called a ball, or the grounder that sneaks through the infield, or the blooper that finds the one patch of grass not guarded by a defender. Last year, Vance Worley experienced many of these moments, none more significant than the one that occurred on the morning of Dec. 6, when the continuous buzzing of his phone kept interrupting the closing stages of his elliptical workout at Citizens Bank Park.

Lou Marson scored from third base on a passed ball in the sixth inning last night as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs edged the Buffalo Bisons, 2-1, in the International League. Trenton 11, New Britain 0 NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Zach McAllister scattered four hits over seven innings for the Eastern League win. West Virginia 4, Lakewood 3 LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Marcus Davis tripled in the fourth and scored the winning run on a groundout in the Power's South Atlantic League win. Reading 5, Akron 0 AKRON, Ohio - Vance Worley limited the Aeros to three hits over seven innings in the Eastern League win. Lehigh Valley 010001000-240 Buffalo000000010-172 WP: Drew Carpenter (2-0)

Derrick Mitchell batted 3 for 4 to lead a 12-hit attack as the Lakewood BlueClaws beat the Delmarva Shorebirds, 6-1, last night in the South Atlantic League. Vance Worley pitched three-hit ball over five innings and struck out nine batters to get the win. Syracuse 5, Lehigh Valley 2 ALLENTOWN - Kevin Mench drove home two runs with a single in the top of the third against losing pitcher Adam Eaton to propel the Chiefs to a win over the IronPigs in the International League.

There is a moment, immediately before Vanimal hurls a baseball with his right hand, when Vance Worley surfaces. He separates his hands and reaches back until the ball is hidden behind him. His right arm rises, ready to unload as his body catapults toward home plate, and that's when it happens. Six years ago - before Vance was Vanimal, before he wrote angry messages to himself inside his hat, before he transformed from middling non-prospect to one of the best rookie starters in Phillies history - he was an unassuming freshman with a buzz cut. He asked Chris Aquino, then a junior catcher for Long Beach State University, if he would catch a bullpen session before the school year even started.

ALLENTOWN - Pitching carried the Lehigh Valley IronPigs to a doubleheader sweep of the Buffalo Bisons last night in the International League. Joe Savery tossed a five-hitter for a 4-1 victory in the opener, and Rodrigo Lopez also gave up five hits in a 7-2 win in the second game. Connecticut 12, Reading 6 NORWICH, Conn. - The Defenders torched Phillies starter Vance Worley for 11 hits and 10 runs in five innings in the Eastern League. New Britain 8, Trenton 7 NEW BRITAIN, Conn.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. - Andy Tracy's two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning last night gave the Lehigh Valley IronPigs a 4-3 victory over the Pawtucket PawSox in the International League. Trenton 5, Connecticut 4 NORWICH, Conn. - Eduardo Nunez scored from third base on a wild pitch in the top of the 10th to give the Thunder a win over the Defenders in the Eastern League. Lakewood 5, Hagerstown 4 HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Troy Hanzawa's score on a force-out in the top of the ninth was the deciding run for the BlueClaws in their win over the Suns in the South Atlantic League.