Phillies Struggles Continue In St. Louis

After taking a beating in Chicago, the Phils took their poor play to St. Louis where they lost 3 out of 4. The series started on Monday with a pathetic performance from Kyle Kendrick. Even after the Phils gave him a 3 run lead before he took the mound, Kyle responded by pitching 5 innings and giving up 7 runs. The Phils eventually lost 8-4. After the game, the front office sent Kendrick to triple A lehigh and called up Andrew Carpenter. On Tuesday night, Carpenter was called on to pitch because Jamie Moyer left the game after the first with a sprained elbow. Carpenter pitched the next 3 innings and gave up 3. The Cardinals Chris Carpenter kept the Phils offene silent all night. He pitched 8 innings and gave up just 1 run. The Phils lost by a final of 7-1, their 3rd straight loss. Meanwhile the Braves kept winning and the Phils were falling further and further out of first place. On Wednesday, Joe Blanton pitched a solid game, but the Phils bats were silent once again. In their defense they were facing another great pitcher in Jamie Garcia. He pitched 8 strong innings and only gave up 1 run. The Phils lost their 4th straight game by a final of 5-1. On Thursday in the final game of the 4 game series, the Phils salvaged a victory by winning by a final of 2-0 in extra innings. Cole Hamels was spectacular once again. He pitched 8 innings, gave up 0 runs, and only allowed 1 hit. Although he himself didn't get the win, the Phils did and hurried home after a disastrous road trip in which they went 2-6. After another series in which the offense was unproductive, the Phils responded by firing hitting coach Milt Thompson. As much as I don't think that the Phils struggles are Thompson's fault, I still like the move because it will be a wake up call to the guys on this team and it could provide a spark. The Phils replaced Thompson with Greg Gross, and the Phils responded. In his first game as hitting coach, the Phils offense produced behind Roy Halladay and won by a final of 5-0 against the Rockies. The Phils have won 2 straight and I am going to try to put a positive spin on these last 9 games. The way they played in Chicago is inexcusable but as for the series in St. Louis, the Phils faced their top 3 pitchers in Carpenter, Garcia, and Wainwright. I know that a lot of people are starting to push the panic button, but take a step back and analyze the situation. As of right now, the Phils are 6 games out of first place in the N.L. East, and 3 games out of the Wild Card. And remember, it's July 23rd, not August 23rd so there is still tons of time left, over 2 months in fact. And here is something really positive for all you doubters, the Phils have 66 games left, 38 of those are at home. The Phils have won their last 5 at CBP, so there is hope, you just gotta believe.