Pulling Away

If you look around at the standings throughout Major League Baseball, you will see some extremely tight races. Tampa has a 2 game lead over the Yanks in the A.L. East, Minnesota has a 2 game lead over the Tigers in the Central, and the Rangers also have a 2 game lead over the Athletics in the West. In the N.L., the division races are even tighter. The San Diego Padres have a 1.5 game lead over the Giants in the N.L. West, and in the N.L. Central the Reds have just a .5 game lead over the Cards. There is one division race in Major League Baseball that is not so exciting, and that is the division race in the National League East. The Phillies are currently in first place, and they have a comfortable 5 game lead over both the Marlins and Nationals. The Phils have been playing extremely well lately, and they are quickly beginning to run away with this division. The Phils ended their home stand successfully last weekend by taking 2 out of 3 from the Braves. The Phils then split with the Rockies and then made a huge statement this past weekend by sweeping the Brewers. The Phils went 4-1 on a quick yet successful road trip. The Phils returned home last night and smacked the Pirates around winning by a final of 12-2. Kendrick pitched 8 innings and gave up only 2 as he earned his second win of the season. The Phillies got offensive production from just about everyone including Ryan Howard. Ryan Howard hit a grand slam and finished with 6 rbis on the night. Jayson Werth also had a huge offensive night with a 3 run homer. Right now, the perfect storm is brewing in this division for the Phils. The Phillies are hot, and the other teams in the division are not. Right now is the time the Phillies really need to play hard and put some distance between themselves and the rest of the teams in the N.L. East.