Hot Streak

When I wrote my last posting, there was no way that I could have predicted that the Phils would go on to win their next 5 games and get to only 3.5 games out of first place in the N.L. East. I always try to keep a positive attitude when writing about the Phillies, and try to look on the bright side, but last week there really was no bright side. The Phils had just finished a road trip with a record of 2-6 and found themselves 7 games behind the Braves. After a 4 game sweep of the Rockies and taking a wild one last night from the Diamondbacks, the Phils are now back in the hunt and look more dangerous than ever. The series began on Friday night with a strong outing from Roy Halladay. He pitched 8 innings and gave up 0 runs. The Phillies offense was led by Raul Ibanez, and they managed to put up 6 runs and secure the win by a final of 6-0. Ross Gload also contributed with a 2 run homer. On Saturday, the offense continued it's hot hitting by rocking Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez pitched just 2 innings and gave up 6 runs. It was the shortest outing of his career. Kyle Kendrick pitched well with all the run support. He pitched 7 innings and gave up just 1 run. The Phils won by a final of 10-2. On Sunday, the game was a lot more interesting. J.A. Happ pitched 5 innings and gave up 3 runs in his first game back. The Phils trailed 3-2 in the 7th, but scored 2 runs and took the lead 4-3. The bullpen held the Rockies scoreless and in the 9th, Brad Lidge was called upon to make the save. Brad, with 2 outs and the bases loaded, worked his way out of the jam by getting a called 3rd strike to end the game. The Phils had extended their win streak to 4, and their home win streak to 7 games. On Monday in the final game of the 4 game series against the Rockies there was more Lidge drama. Joe Blanton had another solid outing, and the Phils offense scored runs when they needed to. When it came to the top of the 9th, the Phils were leading 5-2, and Brad Lidge had a 3 run lead to work with. After giving up a 2 run home run, the score was 5-4. Shortly after that, Brad managed to load the bases. Ryan Spilborghs hit a weak groundball just to the right of the mound and Brad picked it up and fired to first to end the game. The Phils had 4 game swept the Rockies and had brought themselves to just 4.5 games out of first place. The Phillies looked to continue their hot streak as the last place Diamondbacks came into town. The Phils got an OK performance from Hamels last night, and fought from behind many times before getting the win by a final of 9-5. The Phils got key homeruns from Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth. Right now, this team is really hitting the ball hard. Guys like Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and possibly even Jayson Werth are finally waking up. If they continue to play like this, I expect them to be back in first place very soon. Everything is clicking right now for the Phils, and it is important to keep winning every series as we head into August.