Closing In On The Braves

Last night was a big night for the Phillies. Not only did they win, but the Braves and Giants lost as well. So with the 1-0 victory last night thanks in large part to the brilliant pitching of Cole Hamels, the Phils moved to within 1 game of the Braves in the divison race and increased their lead in the wild card to 3 games over the Giants. After taking 2 out of 3 from the Dodgers, and winning a wild one in Colorado, the Phillies have put together a 4 game winning streak, and have really put the pressure on the Braves and especially the Giants. The week begin in Los Angeles where the Phillies dropped the first game of the series. Halladay gave up some early runs and the Phillies got shutout and lost by a final of 3-0. The week would only get better. On Tuesday, the Phils bounced back behind the offense. Ryan Howard had a homerun and so did Brian Schneider. Chase Utley also came around with 2 hits of his own. In the end the Phils won by a final of 8-4 and set up a rubber match for Wednesday. Roy Oswalt got the start on Wednesday and he had a very strong outing. He pitched 6.1 innings and only gave up 0 runs and the Phils went on to win by a final of 5-1 behind 3 doubles from Chase Utley, and homeruns from Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins. The Phils took the series and then headed out to Colorado for a make up game. In Colorado, it looked the Phillies were tired and that they were just going to take the loss and head back to Philly. Joe Blanton got roughed up early, and the offense looked like they were asleep. They were trailing 7-3 heading into the top of the 7th when the offense exploded for 9 runs. Placido Polanco hit a double and Chase Utley hit him in with a single. Ryan Howard then hit a 2 run shot scoring him and Utley, and Jayson Werth followed with a homerun of his own. After Raul Ibanez flied out, Shane Victorino and Brian Schneider hit singles and Ben Francisco singled home Victorino. With 2 runners on Rollins singled and that loaded the bases for Polanco. After Polanco struck out, Chase Utley came to the plate with bases loaded and 2 outs and he took care of business and hit a grand slam. At the end of the inning the Phils finished with 9 runs, and Utley finished with 5 rbis. Although the Rockies scored 3 more runs, the Phils were able to hold on and win by a final of 12-11. On Friday, the Phils once again did not provide any run support for Cole Hamels. He pitched 7 innings and gave up 0 runs, and when he left the game the Phils clung to a 1-0 lead thanks to an rbi by Carlos Ruiz. Jose Contreras pitched a scoreless 8th, and Ryan Madson closed out the game for the Phils who won by a final of 1-0. Not pretty, but we'll take it. Aside form last night, the Phils are really clicking. They are getting great pitching from their starters and bullpen, and Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are finally coming around. Right now, the Phils know it's crunch time and they are doing everything they need todo to get to October.