Swagger

Placido Polanco just saved the Phillies season. Last night, as he laid out on the tarp and made an absolutely amazing catch to help pitcher Kyle Kendrick get out of a jam in the third, he saved this struggling ball club. When a player lays out like that, it can change everything. It can become a spring board for this team to rally around and use as momentum as they head into yet another inter-league series this weekend against the Minnesota Twins. Plays like that can get you out of slumps and and really change the whole dynamics of a season. Think of it this way, all throughout this past tough month, the media, the players, and the fans have all been talking about the offense and how they need their key guys to start hitting the ball. Hitting is extremely important but one thing nobody is suggesting this team do is play hard. Play hard like Chase Utley does night in and night out. Play hard like Aaron Rowand and run into walls if you have to. Good things happen when you play hard, and at this point in the season that is exactly what the Phillies need todo. Before this series started, I talked about the importance of this sereis and what it could mean for the Phils down the road. After dropping the first game behind a poor pitching performance from Roy Halladay, the Phillies rallied on Wednesday night behind Jamie Moyer to earn a 6-3 win. Shane Victorino led the offensive attack with a key bases clearing triple against Burnette. Howard and Werth followed later in the game with back to back homers. The man of the night for the Phillies however was Jamie Moyer who came back after he got absolutely slaughtered in Boston. For him to come back and pitch the way he did speaks volumes about his character, talent, and overall ability. Last night the Phils got a gem from Kyle Kendrick who pitched 7 innings only giving up 1. He had great defense behind him, and the offense supported him beautifully. Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard both had 2 RBI's on the night and everyone got a hit except for Chase Utley who continues to find his stroke. So what does this all mean for the Phils? Well first off it means that they just took 2 out of 3 from one of the best teams in baseball. The Yanks were red hot coming into this series and the Phils found a way to win. It also means that the Phils now have some confidence and a little pop in their step as they head into this weekend's series. If the Phillies can continue playing like this, they will find themselves back in first place in no time.