This past weekend, the Phillies did exactly what I said they couldn't afford to do: they came out flat after the break and dropped 3 out of 4 to the Cubs. Heading into this weekend, the Phils were just 4.5 games out of first, but after a poor effort in Chicago, the Phils now find themselves 5.5 games behind the Braves. The 4 game set started with a sense of hope and optimism for the Phils. They were coming off a wild 4 game sweep of a very good Reds team, and it just seemed like the Phils were finally ready to really start playing. On Thursday, in the first game of the series, the offense was not the problem, it was the pitching. Moyer pitched only 3 and gave up 6 runs in his 3rd consecutive loss. You have to think that at this point in the season maybe he is getting fatigued. I mean after all he is 47. You have to figure that he is going to get a few more starts but if he continues like this he may find himself in the bullpen come August and September. On Thursday the bullpen was not much better. Reliever Jose Contreras pitched 2 thirds of an inning and managed to give up 5. The offense produced behind 2 homeruns from Ryan Howard, but in the end could not score enough runs and the Phils lost by a final of 11-6. On Friday, Joe Blanton pitched a solid game going 7 and giving up 3. Unfortunately the offense, led by Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard who both homered were not able to produce enough. Ryan Madson gave up a run late in the game and the Phils dropped the second game of the series by a score of 4-3. On Saturday Hamels pitched his 4th consecutive solid outing going 7 and giving up only 1. In his last 4 outings, Hamels has been outstanding but only has 1 win to show for it because of the poor run support. The Phils headed into the top of the ninth down by 1. Brian Schneider worked a walk and so did Ross Gload, and with 2 runners on and 2 outs, Placido Polanco stepped to the plate. He fisted a hit into left and Schneider somehow scored on a wild play at the plate. The inning only got crazier from there. Ross Gload scored on a wild pitch, and Rollins worked a walk. The Cubs intentionally walked Ryan Howard and the bases were loaded for Werth. He too worked a walk and the Phils at this point led 3-1. Next up was Ibanez who hit a sharp ground ball to the first baseman Derek Lee who fielded it cleanly but had nobody to throw to at first and the Phils scored another crazy run. When the inning was finally over, the Phils had a comfortable 3 run lead for Lidge who came in and got the save. The Phils won 4-1 and looked to earn a split on Sunday. Unfortunately, Halladay got roughed up, and although the offense scored 6 runs, the Phils lost by a final of 11-6. Sunday night was a game that the Phillies really needed Roy Halladay to be the ace that he is. Taking a split in a 4 game series is a lot better then only taking 1 out of 4. The Phils could not get it done in Chicago, oh well. There is no time to sit around and be sad as the Phils next head to St. Louis in yet another imporant 4 game series. The Phils will send Kyle Kendrick to the mound tonight, and this Phillies team will look to start getting back on track. I know that it's still July, but 5.5 games can quickly become 10 games if the Phils continue to play like this.
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