Phillies Offensive Party

I think it's safe to say the offense came alive today. After Saturday's disappointing 1 run game in which the Phils mustered just 6 hits, today the Phils absolutely exploded for 14 runs and 20 hits.

The 1-4 of Rollins, Martinez, Utley and Howard dominated the game combining to go 11-19 with 2 RBI's. In the 5 hole, Raul Ibanez exploded for 6 RBI's capped off by a 3 run blast in the bottom of the 8th. Johny Mayberry went 3-5 with 3 doubles and 4 RBI's. Domonic Brown also had a 3 hit game and Michael Martinez went 4-5 in the 2 hole.

On the mound Cole was able to earn his 11th win of the year by keeping the Braves hitters off balance all day. After giving up a run in the second due to an error by Ryan Howard, Cole really settled down and finished with a line of 8 innings and 1 earned run. Cole improved to 11-4 on the year and dropped his ERA to 2.32. Braves starter Derek Lowe suffered the loss even though he tossed a pretty solid game. Lowe went 6 and gave up 4 while the bullpen of Cory Gearrin and Scott Proctor managed to allow 10 runs in just 2 innings of work.

While a series sweep would have been ideal, putting a 14-1 hurting on the Braves in the series finale is always fun. Now the Braves will be forced to contemplate this series defeat and embarrassing finale while the Phils can kick back and enjoy their 3.5 game lead over the break.

It was huge for the Phillies to buckle down this weekend and finish the first half of the season strong. The Braves were red hot coming into this series, and the Phillies did an awesome job of showing them who's boss in the NL East. While I'm extremely pumped by the Phils position of first place in all of baseball, I'm even more excited by their ability to beat other high caliber teams. They beat Boston, St. Louis and now they have beaten the Braves.

While people continue complain about the offense and try to campaign for another bat the Phils remain the best team in baseball. And the Phils were able to win a crucial series this weekend without Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco two members of their everyday lineup who were out with injuries. Guys are stepping up and the Phillies are coming together as a true team. Stay updated to the blog for a complete summary and analysis on the first half of the season.