Phillies activate Victorino, demote Mayberry

With the activation of Shane Victorino, for the first time this year, the Phillies lineup will be fully intact. Victorino, who was has been out since May 18th with a strained hamstring, will return to the Phillies lineup on Friday to face the Pirates. To make room for Victorino, the Phillies demoted John Mayberry to the minors.

The return of Victorino means the Phillies offense is going to feature its complete lineup for the first time this season. With Jimmy Rollins likely to continue leading off, Victorino will probably slip into 6th or 7th spot in the lineup and help to solidify the bottom of the order. As long as everyone stays healthy, no longer will the likes of Wilson Valdez and Michael Martinez pollute the Phillies starting lineup.

Speaking of Martinez, I was surprised that he wasn't removed from the roster to make room for Victorino. Mayberry has proven useful as a solid bat and excellent outfielder while Martinez hasn't proven much at all as a pinch runner and utility guy. The only thing that is keeping Martinez on the roster is his Rule 5 status, but is he really worth holding onto for the entire season if he brings very little value to the team?

Late rally helps Phillies salvage Opening Day win

Well, that was a fun way to start the season. After it slept through the first 6 innings, the Phillies offense woke up just in time for some late heroics, knocking off the Astros, 5-4, on a John Mayberry walk-off single.

Brett Myers shut down his former team for most of the game, only allowing three hits and one earned run in the 7th inning. The Phillies offense looked as bad as many feared it would be early on, failing to work the count and barely threatening to score. Once the Astros turned to their closer Brandon Lyon, though, the offense ignited with a string of singles, culminating with Mayberry's game winning single to center.

Roy Halladay was his usual dominant self early in the game, mowing down Astros hitters with relative ease. He hit a few bumps here and there but only gave up 1 run in 6 innings of work.

Phillies fans who spent the last few weeks worrying about the offense likely cringed through the early innings in this one but were rewarded with a thrilling late victory. While it wasn't pretty, the Phils are certainly happy to start the season with a win. Oh, and some guy named Cliff Lee will look to make it two in a row tomorrow.
(AP PHOTO)