Since May 17th, the Phillies are 8-14. Since that time they have struggled greatly to produce runs and have failed miserably to find ways to win games. As of last night, the Phillies are currently tied for second place and 2.5 games behind the first place Braves. Last nights 2-0 loss to the Florida Marlins was a microcosm of the entire Phillies losing stretch. Last night the Phillies got an extremely strong pitching performance from Roy Halladay. Halladay pitched 8 innings and gave up only 1 earned run, but suffered the loss because the offense took the night off. This is exactly what has happened during their losing streak, they have gotten strong pitching and their offense has been non- existent. The Phillies have gotten strong pitching performances from their starters including Roy Halladay, Jamie Moyer and Cole Hamels. They have also gotten strong bullpen help from guys like Jose Contreras, and Brad Lidge. Their pitching has been extremely solid during the past couple of weeks but the Phillies have been unable to put together a strong pitching performance and a strong offensive outing. Right now the Phillies have to find a way to support their starters and give them plenty of run support, because right now the pitchers are the only guys out their playing hard. After a quick home stand in which the Phillies went 3-3, they now face a tough inter league schedule in the upcoming weeks. This weekend the Phils will take on the Red Sox in Boston and then head to New York to take on the Yankees. The next couple of weeks are going to be crucial for the Phils who want to finish up strong before the All-Star break. In addition to taking on the Yankees and Red Sox in inter league play the Phillies will also have to play the Twins, Blue Jays and Indians. The next few weeks will be a real test for this struggling Phillies team, and we will all see what this team is truly made of. The Phillies need to dig deep and find the answers to their offensive struggles. This team is too talented and too experienced to be playing like this, and they need to find a way to win ball games once again.
"Bats, they are sick. I cannot hit curveball. Straightball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats."
ReplyDeletehttp://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Slumping-Chase-Utley-resorts-to-the-power-of-voo?urn=mlb,249181