Hot Homestand

So far this homestand, we have seen everything from a 17 year old running onto the field and getting tased, to a 47 year old pitching a complete game shutout. We have seen Cole Hamels pitch 8 scoreless innings, Carlos Ruiz hit a walk-off home run, Jayson Werth tear the cover off the ball, and this entire offense awaken before our eyes. There has been a lot of action so far this home stand and it may seem a little overwhelming, so let me break it all down for you. Let's go all the way back to last Friday night when the Mets came into town with a half game lead over the Phils.

METS SERIES

The home stand did not start well for the Phils as Kyle Kendrick got rocked and the Phils offense once again was non-existent. The Phillies lost 9-1 and it seemed that their struggles from the road trip were going to carry into the home stand. On Saturday, that all changed. Roy Halladay took to the mound and was dominant and for the first time in a long time the Phillies offense finally came alive. The Phillies put a 6 spot on Mike Pelfrey in the 4th, and then added 4 more 2 in the 5th and 2 in the 7th to win it by a final score of 10-0. Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, and Jayson Werth led the offensive attack, and the Phillies piled on the runs showing no mercy. Roy Halladay was his ususual dominant self as he pitched a complete game shut-out, his 3rd complete game of the season. The Phillies used Saturday's offensive explosion to spring board them into Sunday night's game against the Mets in a very important rubber match. More than anything, Sunday night was a statement game for the Phils, and they needed to use the opportunity to show the Mets that they are still the best team in the N.L. East. The Mets sent their ace Johan Santana to the mound and the Phillies countered with old reliable Jamie Moyer. After Jamie Moyer allowed a David Wright home run in the top of the first the Mets were leading 3-0. The Phillies responded nicely in the bottom of the first by hitting 2 home runs one from Placido Polanco and the other from Ryan Howard. The game continued pretty quietly from that point on until the 4th. Jamie gave up 2 more runs and the score was 5-2 in favor of the Mets; not for long. The PhillieS offense exploded in the bottom of the 4th and put a 9 spot on Johan Santana, one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. The inning could have been avoided entirely if Johan had been able to get Jamie Moyer out. With the bases loaded and 2 outs, Jamie Moyer stepped to the plate and was able to work a walk which scored a run but more importantly brought Shane Victorino to the plate. Shane Victorino hit a grand slam, Chase Utley hit a 2 run shot, and the Phillies added one more to cap off a 9 run inning. The final score of the game was 11-5 and the Phillies won the series and showed the Mets who is boss.

CARDINALS SERIES

Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals came into town next and they took the first game of the 4 game series. Joe Blanton in his first game back pitched well, but the bullpen ultimatley gave up the lead and the Phillies could not fight back and lost by a final of 6-3. The game was not completely dull, a 17 year old teenager ran onto the field late in the game and evaded police and security until he was eventually tased and face planted in the outfield. There was a lot of contreversy over this issue and my opinion is a taser was completely unneccesary in this situation. Just tackle the kid and rough him up a little. A baseball stadium is not a venue to be using a taser. If he was putting any of the players at risk, that is a completely different story, but he wasn't putting causing harm to anyone. He was waving a towel and running around like an idiot. So just tackle the kid and get him off the field so we can play baseball. On Tuesday night, Cole Hamels finally looked like the Cole Hamels of 2008. He pitched 8 scoreless innings and he made hitters look foolish all night. He had his change up, his curveball, and fastball all working for him. Cole even attempted the complete game shutout and went into the 9th with a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately for Cole, some knuckle head decided to jump onto the field right before the first pitch of the inning. He wasn't tased, but he definitely had an affect on Cole who lost his rhythm and gave up the tying run. Fortunately, Brad Lidge was able to come in and preserve the tie and the Phillies eventually won it on a walk-off home run from Chooooooooooooooooch. On Wednesday, the Phillies got a strong pitching performance from Kyle Kendrick and scored 4 runs as they blanked the Cardinals 4-0. On Thursday the Phillies looked to take 3 out of 4 from the Cardinals and they did just that as they got a strong pitching performance from Roy Halladay who picked up his 6th win of the season. Jayson Werth hit a 3 run bomb in the bottom of the first, and the Phillies eventually won the game by a final of 7-2. The Phillies took 3 out of 4 from the Cardinals, and just as they did in their series vs the Mets made a statement to the Cardinals that they are the elite team in the N.L. The Phillies won their 4th straight game last night vs Atlanta. The offense got to Derrick Lowe and provided a lot of run support for Jamie Moyer. He didn't need it. Jamie Moyer pitched a complete game shutout and in doing so became the oldest player to pitch a complete game shutout. The Phillies are really clicking right now on all cylinders. They are pitching well and tearing the cover off the ball at the same time. It is important for the Phils to finish this home stand strong, and keep the Braves in the basement of the N.L. East race.