Phillies Win 4th Series in a Row

The Phillies won a series 2-1 against the Mets for the 2nd time in a little over a week. It was good to bounce back from the first game of the series when Mets knuckle baller R.A. Dickey dominated the Phillies.

There isn't much to say about the first game of the series as R.A. Dickey threw a complete game shutout, outdueling Cole Hamels. Hamels continues his strong play this season, by also throwing a complete game, and only allowing 1 run. The problem was the Phillies offense; it was bad, and the Phillies couldn't even muster a run against Dickey. The Phillies lost the game 1-0.

The 2nd game of the series, and needing a win, Halladay took the mound. All he did was his usual work; threw 8 scoreless innings, and the Phillies won the game 4-0. Again the Phillies offense wasn't great, but was good enough to win... especially with Halladay on the mound.

The rubber match was the ESPN Sunday night game last night, and then Phillies really needed to win this series, and did just that. The Phillies got a quality start from Kyle Kendrick, who only allowed 1 run, and the Phillies played some small ball to take the game 3-1. The Phillies took the series 2-1.

There are some offensive concerns coming out of this series. The Phillies only scored 7 runs in the 3 games. They are just lucky that the Mets have an even worse offense right now. There is some good news, as Chase Utley will probably make his return from the disabled list tomorrow as the Phillies are back home against the Giants this week for a 3 game series. The Phillies are currently tied with the Giants for the wild card lead. The Phillies remain 2 games back of the Braves for first place in the NL East. Ryan Howard is also due off the disabled list tomorrow, but it looks like he will sit out at least another week.

The Phillies definitely need to step up the offensive game. The Phillies are winning games, but it isn't going to last very long if they continue to struggle offensively. The Phillies have not hit a home run in a week. Hopefully the return of Utley, and the soon return of Howard will fix the home run drought.