Another Series Win for the Phillies

The Phillies won their 5th series in a row, beating the San Francisco Giants at home, winning 2 out of 3 games. They had a chance for the sweep yesterday, but to be honest, were due for a letdown game, and really did not play well.

The Phillies won game 1 behind a strong performance from Roy Oswalt. The game was not going well, as Oswalt allowed two 1st innings runs, and the Phillies offense got off to a sluggish start against Giants starter Barry Zito. That was until the 5th inning. The Phillies put a 2 spot in both the 5th and 6th innings to take a 4-2 lead. After the Giants got one back in the 7th, the game was tight, and went into the 8th inning seeing the Phillies clinging to a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the 8th, the Phillies loaded the bases, and arguably the team MVP, Carlos Ruiz, came to the plate. Ruiz ripped a double off the wall, the Phillies would go on to score 5 in the inning to win the game 9-3.

The 2nd game of the series started out much the same. Joe Blanton was on the bump in this game, and has to have the worst 1st inning ERA in the history of baseball. Not surprisingly, Andres Torres led off the game with a mammoth home run into the 2nd deck in right field. Blanton did calm down however, and would only give up 1 more run on a solo home run by Pat Burrell, his 2nd in as many games in the series. The Phillies offense, led by Jimmy Rollins, once again put up numbers. They got to Matt Cain, Jimmy Rollins ended up a double short of the cycle, and Dominic Brown hit a huge home run. The Phillies smashed the ball all game, and ended up with 2 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 home runs, and won the game 8-2.

The Phillies went for the sweep yesterday with Cole Hamels on the mound. The Phillies have not scored for Hamels all season, and that trend would continue. Hamels is usually able to keep the Phillies in games even when they are not scoring for them; unfortunately, this was not one of those nights. Hamels gave up 3 1st inning runs, and Jonathan Sanchez shut down the Phillies, as the Giants avoided the sweep and won the game 5-2. The Phillies 2 runs weren't scored until the 9th inning.

The Phillies have won 5 straight series, and that is really all you can ask for. If the Phillies keep taking 2 of 3 every series, they will be in good shape. Unfortunately, the Braves are playing way over their heads, and currently lead the Phillies by 2.5 games in the NL East. The Phillies do lead the wild card however now by 1 game over the Giants, and 2 games of the Cardinals.

The Phillies sit at 2-1 on this current 10 game homestand, and I really think you need to go 7-3 on this homestand. This means they need to go 5-2 against the Nationals and Astros; this is something they should be able to do against 2 bad teams. The Nationals come to town for a 3 game series starting tonight. Roy Halladay takes the mound tonight for the Phillies.

Phillies Take Series Against Dodgers

The Phillies won an amazing game yesterday when it looked like they were about to drop 2 of 3 at home to the Dodgers. Because the Braves won 2 of 3 from the Astros, the Phillies once again remain 2 games back in the NL East, and 1 game back of the Giants in the wild card.

The Phillies lost the first game of the series with Kyle Kendrick getting lit up, and the bullpen doing horribly. Kendrick pitched poorly from the start, which isn't surprising since even though Kendrick has pitched well, he gets lit up a lot. After Kendrick left the game, Antonio Bastardo let up a run, Herndon let up 4, Baez let up 2, and Romero let up 2. Even though Ex-Phillie Vicente Padilla didn't pitch well, he got the win. The Dodgers won the game 15-9. The Phillies couldn't pull out an amazing comeback. More on that topic later.

Game 2 of the series, the Phillies bounced back and got the 2-0 victory behind Roy Oswalt, who picked up his first win as a member of the Phillies. This was exactly how you draw it up from a managing standpoint. Oswalt pitched 7 scoreless innings, followed by Ryan Madson pitching a scoreless 8th, followed by Brad Lidge with a 1-2-3 9th inning to get the save. It didn't matter that the Phillies offense didn't give them much this day, as the pitching was phenomenal.

Game 3 of the series, the Phillies, behind more bad pitching would find themselves down 9-2 going into the bottom of the 8th inning. Blanton continued his first inning struggles by allowing 3 earned runs in the first inning, which always puts the Phillies in a tough hole to get out of. The bullpen was again bad. Chad Durbin this time allowed 2 runs, J.C. Romero allowed 2, but both were unearned, and Jose Contreras allowed 1 run.

The Phillies were able to overcome this however, as they put up a 4 spot in both the 8th and 9th innings. The Phillies made it a 9-6 game going into the 9th inning, but still had a lot of work to do. After Polanco was hit by a pitch, Sweeney and Werth walked to load the bases with no outs. Ben Francisco hit a grounder right to 3rd baseman Casey Blake, who let the ball go right through his legs. The Phillies scored 2, and then had runners on 1st and 2nd, with beast Carlos Ruiz coming to the plate. Ruiz ripped a drive deep to left center scoring 2 runs, and winning an unbelievable comeback for the Fightins. It was the biggest comeback victory in Citizens Bank Park history, and allowed the Phillies to keep pace in the National League.

Even though the Phillies won an amazing game, it masks the fact that the bullpen was very bad this series. Almost every member of the bullpen allowed a run in this 3 game series. This cannot continue to happen coming towards the end of the season if the Phillies want to make the playoffs, and go deep in the playoffs.

On the other hand, the offense played well overall, despite the injuries, and Carlos Ruiz continues to be an absolute beast. He is very close to Ryan Howard for the offensive MVP of this team right now. Ruiz seems to come up with every clutch hit that is needed lately for the Phillies. Shane Victorino joined the team last night, and the Phillies sent back down Antonio Bastardo to the minors. Victorino did not start last night, but probably will tonight.

The Phillies travel to New York to play the Mets this weekend in a 3 game series. They just have to keep taking care of business and winning ball games, no matter what the Braves, and other wild card teams are doing.

Phillies Take 2 of 3 From Mets

The Phillies won earlier today, capping off the series win at home against the New York Mets, and winning the series. The Phillies held off the Mets and won the game today 6-5.

Friday night saw a solid start from Joe Blanton, but an offense that struggled, until the 8th inning. The Phillies went into the 8th inning losing 2-1 in the game, but put up a 6 spot in the inning, and held off a late Mets change to win the game 7-5. It is a good sign to see Joe Blanton pitch well, since he is basically the 4th starter on this team, and will need to pitch well late in the season for the Phillies to have success. New Phillie Mike Sweeney got 2 hits in the game, both coming in the 8th inning.

On Saturday, the Phillies lackluster offense continued, only this time it continued throughout the whole game. Again, the Phillies got great starting pitching, this time from Cole Hamels, who should have a much better record than he does. Hamels only allowed 1 run in the game, the only run the Mets would get; too bad it was 1 more than the Phillies would score on this day. The Phillies almost busted the game open again for a 2nd straight game in the 8th inning. They loaded the bases in the 8th inning against K-Rod, only to see Ross Gload ground out.

The Phillies were able to bounce back today behind Roy Halladay and the long ball. The Phillies once again had 1 big inning, scoring 5 runs in the 3rd inning, and knocking R.A. Dickey out of the game early. Halladay went 7 innings and struck out 10, but did allow 5 earned runs. This raised his ERA to 2.34; not too bad. Raul Ibanez hit a 3 run homer for the Phillies, and Jayson Werth also homered and went 3-4 at the plate. Werth's average is now back over .300. Brad Lidge pitched a scoreless 9th, getting the save. It was a good sign, as Lidge gave up a leadoff single, and this is when Lidge usually struggles a lot, with runners on base.

Lidge pitched well this weekend when he came in, however J.C. Romero has been struggling. I am a Romero fan, and still am, but he needs to turn it around and have a good end of the season. I still feel as if the Phillies need a 2nd lefty in the bullpen, and would be in favor of calling up Antonio Bastardo to the bullpen to give the Phillies that 2nd lefty, even if he comes in just to get 1 guy out.

On offense, I would really like to see Jimmy Rollins step his game up, and have a great last 2 months. We have seen what this team is capable of when J-Roll gets hot, and this team is scary good. If Rollins can get on a roll late in the season, and get Utley and Howard back, there is no reason this team shouldn't be as good as the team that went to the World Series the past 2 seasons.

Phillies Lose 2 of 3 to Nationals

The Phillies closed out their series at Washington, and even though they snapped their 8 game winning streak with Roy Oswalt on the mound, they did salvage 1 game yesterday of the 3 game series.

Roy Oswalt made his Phillies debut on Friday to try to extend the Phillies winning streak to 9 games, but didn't fare too well in his debut. The offense didn't do anything either, and the Phillies lost the game by a large margin.

On Saturday, the Phillies didn't get off to a good start, and Ryan Howard got the night off after slumping the past few days. Joe Blanton continued his usual 1st inning performance and allowed 3 runs in the first inning. A Carlos Ruiz solo home run, and a Raul Ibanez 2 run home run made the game tied at 4 going into the 9th inning. Carlos Ruiz then had a 2 out, RBI single, which gave the Phillies the lead going into the bottom of the 9th. On came Brad Lidge. A single, out, walk, and Ryan Zimmerman bomb ended the game, and another blown save for Lidge.

Yesterday, the Phillies were able to salvage a game in the series, and won the game in the 11th inning. Brad Lidge worked a scoreless 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th this time, including putting out Ryan Zimmerman. This game also saw Ryan Howard go down awkwardly, as he rolled his ankle trying to slide back into 2nd base. It doesn't seem to be as bad as it looked, but he might miss a few games with a sprained ankle.

After the series, the Phillies sat exactly where they were before; 2.5 games back of the first place Atlanta Braves. Even though the Phillies lost 2 of 3, they have still won 9 of 11 overall, and travel to Miami for a 3 game series against the Marlins, which will start off with Roy Halladay on the bump.

Unfortunately, Brad Lidge cannot be trusted anymore. He has absolutely no command of any pitch he throws. He can't throw his fastball by anyone anymore, and has to rely on his slider. When Ruiz sets up outside, the pitch may come inside, when he sets up high, the pitch may come low; the point is, Lidge has no command, and his pitches really could go anywhere at this point.

The problem is there really isn't any other option. Ruben Amaro was too busy patting himself on the back and doing any interview possible talking about how amazing he has been to acquire Lee, Halladay, and Oswalt in about a year's time to address the bullpen issue that the Phillies currently have, and have had all season long.

Ryan Madson has not pitched very well this year, and even when he does pitch well, he has struggled in save situations when given the chance. I still think his still is better than Lidge's though. Jose Contreras has been good this season, and seems to have really good stuff, but not sure if he would be able to be the closer. J.C. Romero has also been very good, and while he can go up against righties, he is more in there to get lefties out, and has never closed before. David Herndon and Danys Baez have no business still being on this roster.

Another option to close is the Phillies triple A closer, Scott Mathieson. Mathieson has played with the big club before, but the Phillies seem retisant to bring him up for a long period of time for some reason. Mathieson has closer stuff, and an overpowering fastball, and could be the closer of the future for the Phillies.

For more bullpen help, the Yankees just designated Chan Ho Park for assignment, and I don't think there is any reason the Phillies should not go after him, because he would obviously be more welcome on the roster than Baez. Also, along with Mathieson, the Phillies have 2 other triple A bullpen pitchers currently that I think would be much better on the roster than Baez or Herndon. Antonio Bastardo would be that 2nd lefty in the bullpen, and was actually on the playoff roster last season, and I think would be very good as a guy who can get lefties out in big situations. Vance Worley is another guy who I feel like should be in the Phillies bullpen currently, as he can get the job done.

The Phillies will probably wait to waivers to address the bullpen situation, but they will need to not only add a body to the bullpen, but also possibly figure out what they want to do in the 9th inning with a 1 run lead; or there will be more and more heart attacks in the Philadelphia area the more Brad Lidge comes running out of the bullpen.

CHOOOOOOOCH

The Phillies got a much needed win last night to avoid dropping the first two games of an important 4 game home series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Carlos Ruiz hit a walk off HR in the bottom of the 10th to give the Phillies the 2-1 victory.

Ruiz usually does most of his damage come playoff time, but decided to carry the Phillies to this regular season victory. Ruiz had 2 of the 5 Phillies hits, and had both RBI’s. The first RBI came in the 7th inning of a scoreless game, with a deep sac fly that scored Ibanez. Then in the 10th inning, Ruiz had a great at bat, and blasted a walk off solo home run that sent everyone home happy.

Cole Hamels pitched well, which is obviously a very good sign going forward. Hamels faced a strong right handed lineup of Ludwick, Pujols, and Holliday and did well against them. Hamels did run into some trouble in the 9th inning, but overall you have to be pleased with his performance. This is a good much needed sign, as Hamels has to become that solid #2 guy in the rotation. This is due to the fact that Ruben Amaro made one of the worst trades in team history by giving away Cliff Lee. This is probably the worst trade in Philadelphia sports history in the last 30 years.

But anyways, Hamels pitched well, and Blanton pitched pretty well on Monday night, even though he ran into some trouble in the 7th inning. You still have to be pleased, as Blanton’s stuff looked good, and in his first start back, he got through 6 innings with only 1 earned, and then did run into some trouble in the 7th.

The offense, which has been struggling, came alive in the last 2 games of the Mets series, including smashing around Johan Santana. The first 2 games of this Cardinals series however, have not been great offensively. They haven’t gotten many hits, and have not put runs on the board. I think the offense will come with time, and only get stronger as the season goes on.

Unfortunately, offense can come and go, and will go stretches where they will struggle, which is why it is always important to have a solid pitching staff, and also why in the playoffs, pitching tends to be more important than hitting.

The bullpen needs to get better, and Ryan Madson is not being reported out at least 2 months. I believe the Phillies need to bring up Scott Mathieson from Triple A, and see what he can do as a major league reliever. Mathieson’s stuff is very good, and he might be able to get in there and play well.

Latest on Halladay Trade

Roy Halladay was in Philadelphia today, but as of now, a deal for the Toronto Blue Jays ace is still not yet completed. It appears to be very close however.

It also appears as if the Phillies will not just be getting Halladay and giving up Lee in the deal. It looks as if the Phillies will be giving up some prospects, and getting some prospects in return. I have heard different reports throwing out the names of Phils prospects Michael Taylor, Dominic Brown, and Kyle Drabek. The name Kyle Drabek is familiar because he is the Phillies top pitching prospect, and the man who supposedly the Phillies would not trade at the trade deadline this past season. Dominic Brown is probably the Phillies top position prospect at this point, and possibly their #2 overall prospect behind Drabek. Both Brown and Taylor are top outfield prospects, but Brown is said to be a much higher prospect than than Taylor.

Also, it is interesting to note that Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ, along with Dominic Brown were in Philadelphia today to take physicals. This could mean they could be part of the Halladay trade, they could be part of possibly another trade, or they could just be taking an offseason physical for the Phillies. It would be hard to imagine the Phillies would get rid of Lee, Blanton, and Happ, or even 2 of the 3, which would seriously deplete the starting rotation. As it is right now, we really don't have a good #5 starter.

Reports say that this deal could take days to finalize with no possible announcement coming until Wednesday. We will stay tuned to find out the latest.

A Right to Be Left

As a lefty myself, its nice to see the Phillies adhering to the idea of “lefties do everything right.” The Phils defied common baseball logic by stacking three left handed hitters in a row in the middle of the line-up. But Utley, Howard and Ibanez have combined for 46 home runs and 130 RBI in the first 50 games. That is some pretty impressive production. Charlie Manuel deserves credit for never trying to force Jayson Werth or Shane Victorino in there to break them. Instead, he left the heart of the order as it should be—with the three best hitters right in the middle. Good hitters can hit anybody. Both Ibanez (.333) and Utley (.311) have excelled against south paws. In fact, Utley has a better average versus lefties than he does against righties.

So with lefty success in the line-up, the Phillies didn’t hesitate to add another lefty to their rotation. Bastardo joined fellow lefties Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer and JA Happ to go along with lone right-hander Joe Blanton. Just as many cursed the idea of three lefties in a line-up, many also called 4 lefties in a rotation blasphemy saying “teams will just stack their line-ups with righties.”

Instead of following baseball’s unwritten rules of right-vs.-left, the Phillies instead added the pitcher that they believed gave them the best chance to win. Bastardo had been dominating the minors and earned a chance to pitch with the big club. Why should he be penalized just because he throws with his left arm? Answer: he shouldn’t. At this point in time, he was the best option for the Phillies. And they should keep this in mind when pursuing a possible trade. Don’t shy away from a guy like Erik Bedard just because he’s left handed. If he can help this team win then go get him.

It has been working for the line-up, so why can’t it work for the rotation?

Pitching in a Pitch

The Phillies have regained their spot perched atop the NL East thanks the multiple come from behind victories and always adhering to that never give up attitude. The Phillies—and the fans for that matter—never feel like they’re ever out of a game. They’ve proven that several times this year including a late rally walk-fest against Atlanta in the season’s opening series and a seven run fury against the Marlins weeks later. But relying too heavily on the comeback could be a recipe for disaster.

At its core, a come from behind win is exciting. Watching Ryan Howard or Shane Victorino hit a grand slam to win a game is the kind of thing that makes the Phils fun to watch. But it also means something else. It means that the team was losing. And that is directly attributed to the lackluster starting staff.

Sure the potent line-up—Jimmy Rollins excluded—has provided enough dramatics to keep us fans smiling. And scheduled off days and unscheduled rain outs have kept the bullpen fairly fresh. But over the course of a long summer, sub par pitching won’t hold up. It won’t win a World Series. It won’t win the National League. And it may not even win the Division.

Cole Hamels has an excuse. It may not be a good one, but its an excuse. You can’t blame Hamels for Prince Fielder’s line drive, although he should be able to field a bunt without having to miss a start. We’re now in May, and the rust better start coming off of Hamels fast.

Brett Myers has been nothing short of a disappointment out of the gate. The hefty righty is playing for a contract but you wouldn’t know that by glancing at his bloated ERA. After watching Myers yield long ball after long ball, I sometimes feel like I could take him yard.

Jaimie Moyer is what he is. He’ll give you six innings of 3 or 4 run ball, take it or leave it. Joe Blanton has been like Jekyl and Hyde. He’s has throw three quality starts (ironically the Phils only won one of those games) to go along with several horrendous outings. Heavy B needs to find some consistency and keep us in games.

And Chan Ho may have used up all his good stuff in spring training. He wanted to be a starter so fans back in Korea could watch him pitch. I’m betting he’s wishing they weren’t.

It’s hard to complain when a team is in first place. But if things don’t start coming together, the stay at the top could be short lived. Ibanez, Utley, Howard and Victorino have grabbed all the headlines so far this season. It would be nice to see Myers or Hamels take the spotlight.

Phillies Win Game 4

The Phillies won Game 4 of the World Series to come within one game of winning the World Series. The Phillies offense finally came alive, and allowed the Phillies to cruise to a 10-2 victory Sunday night. The Phillies are officially one win shy of a World Series championship, and bringing the first championship to Philadelphia since 1983.

Joe Blanton pitched another solid game as the Phillies starter in Game 4. Blanton ended up going 6 innings, and only allowing 2 earned runs, both on solo homers. Blanton did a good job keeping the Rays runners off base the whole game, and continued the trend of great pitching that the Phillies have brought to this World Series. The bullpen did their business as usual, with Durbin, Eyre, Madson, and Romero shutting down the Rays to close out the game.

The offense was the main story of this game, however. We have been saying it this whole series, just waiting for the Phillies bats to come alive, and win a game with a large run total. The Phillies did not disappoint tonight. Jimmy Rollins got the Phillies on track to start the game off for the 2nd straight game, with a double down the line. Rollins would end up scoring on a bases loaded walk by Pat Burrell. The Phillies were up 2-1 in the bottom of the 4th when Ryan Howard did what he does best.... he took what the pitcher gave him and went the other way and hit a 3-run home run. The Rays made it 5-2 in the 5th inning, however Joe Blanton would answer. Not on the mound as he was doing all night, but at the plate. Joe Blanton, who had two hits his entire career, hit a solo home run to left field. The Phillies still weren't done, and in the 8th inning, Werth and Howard both hit 2-run homers to get to the 10 run total.

The fans knew it, the coaches knew it, the players knew it. This Phillies team is too good offensively to struggle for an entire series. Game 4 was the game the Phillies broke out, putting up a double digit run total. The Phillies have been getting good pitching all series, and frankly, all playoffs, but the offense did their part tonight. We all know that hitting is contagious, and the offense needs to continue to hit well to win this series.

World Series Game 4 Preview

It seems like earlier this morning we were all celebrating a Phillies Game 3 victory. Ohh that's right, we were. The Phillies Game 3 victory did not end until 1:47 a.m., and they will have to come back 18 short hours later for Game 4.

Game 4 will feature a pitching matchup of Joe Blanton vs. Andy Sonnanstine. Sonnanstine, like the other Rays pitchers, has a good ERA and good record. Blanton never amazes with the stuff he had, but he just gets the job done, and still has 0 losses as a member of the Phillies. The Phillies have also won both of the games he has pitched in the postseason thus far. Blanton is the key to this game, as a good performance by him, and the Phillies could be looking at a chance to clinch the World Series on Monday. I can barely even type those words without getting excited for what could come.

First things first however, the Phillies need to come out strong Game 4, and put their emotional Game 3 victory behind them. The Phillies still didn't really hit with runners in scoring position, but they did generate a run, and finally saw some power from Ryan Howard. The Rays bats have been quiet this whole World Series. The Rays came into the World Series setting records for home runs in the ALCS. The Rays only have one home run thus far in the World Series, and it came in Game 1. You can't expect to keep shutting down the Rays the way we have so far, so the offense has to step it up. It is nice to win low scoring games, but at some point, the Phillies offense needs to take the pressure off of the pitching, and put up a large number.

Jimmy Rollins finally got the Phillies started in this game, and went 2-4 with a run scored. Utley and Howard hit homers. All of those things are good signs for the offense who needs to score some runs. The bottom of the lineup has done a good job most of the postseason, and continued to last night, mostly thanks to Carlos Ruiz, who had been great this World Series.

As fans, we need to do our parts again, and I think that the fans are a huge advantage in a close game, and there is no reason to suggest that every game this series will not be close.

Game time is 8:00 EDT, Blanton vs. Sonnanstine. Phillies lead the series 2-1.

PHILLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEES FEVER

The Phillies beat the Dodgers on a cold Los Angeles night Monday, to push the Dodgers to the brink of playoff elimination, and move us closer to the World Series.

Sorry MLB, and sorry Fox, our Phillies are not cooperating with your obvious hopes of the Dodgers getting to the World Series. When the Phillies tied the game and then took the lead in the 8th inning, Joe Buck, and Tim McCarver sounded like they were going to cry.

The Phillies and Dodgers had played 11 times so far this season, and the home team was 11-0….. and then came Game 12. The Phillies looked good coming out of the gates going up 2-0 in the 1st inning off of Derek Lowe, pitching on three days rest. The Dodgers eventually took a 3-2 lead, and then when the Phillies tied it at 3, the Dodgers took the lead again, this time at 5-3. Then came the 8th inning.

Ryan Howard led off with a single off of Dodgers reliever Kuo, who was throwing nasty stuff. This led to the Dodgers bringing in another relief pitcher, who faced Shane Victorino. Victorino hit a line drive to right field, which just cleared the fence into the Phillies bullpen to tie the game at 5. After an out, and a Carlos Ruiz single, 40-year old pinch hitter Matt Stairs came into the game to hit. The Dodgers made another pitching change and brought in their closer, Broxton. Broxton hadn’t allowed a home run in Dodger stadium since 2006. After working a 3-1 count, Matt Stairs destroyed the ball deep into the right field seats. This ball would have been in the upper deck at Citizens Bank Park. Brad “Lights Out” Lidge came in the game in the 8th inning, the first time he has done so this season, and recorded a 4 out save.

The Dodgers have spent more time this series complaining about balls and strikes, and inside pitches from the Phillies than they have worrying about actually winning the games. Led by Russell Martin, the biggest baby on the team, the Dodgers think the Phillies are throwing at them when they throw on the inside corner of the plate. Also, every single ball that is close and could go either way, if called a strike, the Dodgers seem to get very flustered by that, and worry about complaining about a pitch more than they worry about an at-bat.

All that talk about after Game 3, now the Phillies got the Dodgers fired up, and that’s not what we want. Give me a freakin break. The Dodgers are punks. How about you don’t want to make the Phillies and Shane Victorino mad. After Victorino’s homer, he should have rounded the bases with both middle fingers up in the air to the fair weather L.A. fans.

This really has all the makings of a team that is coming together at the right time, and has what it takes to win the whole thing. They are a fun team to watch, and they all really seem to care about each other and have each others backs. That starts with Charlie Manuel, who all the players greatly respect. A great team gets contributions from every player on their team at this time of the year, and every player on the Phillies has stepped up. It doesn’t matter if one of our all-stars gets the game winning hit, or the last player down on the bench. This Phillies team just keeps finding ways to win. The Phillies are 1 win away from the World Series, and can secure a berth in the World Series by beating the Dodgers in Game 5.

The Phillies need to show that fighter mentality in Game 5, by not allowing the Dodgers to even think that they are back in this series at all. It sets up well as we have our ace, Cole Hamels set to close out the series in Game 5.

Game 5 is Wendesday night, 8:22 EDT, Hamels vs. Billingsley. Phillies lead the series 3 games to 1.

Phillies Advance to NLCS

The Phillies beat the Brewers in Game 4 on Sunday to advance to the National League Championship Series. The Phillies got another solid pitching contribution, this time from mid-season acquisition Joe Blanton. Blanton got the win, going 6 innings, and allowing only 1 earned run.

The Phils offense also finally contributed, really for the first time this series. Jimmy Rollins led the game off with a home run, exactly what the Phillies needed to do, getting out to the early lead. The Phillies led the entire game. In the 3rd inning, the Phillies had a man aboard with 2 outs and Ryan Howard coming to the plate. The Brewers walked Howard to get to Pat Burrell. Burrell had been struggling all series....... until this at-bat, when he destroyed a 3-run home run over the left field fence. Jayson Werth followed with a home run of his own to deep center. Burrell also homered in the 8th inning. The Phillies won the game 6-2, and will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.

It was extremely exciting to watch this game, as the Phillies have not advanced this far in the playoffs since 1993. The celebration ensued after the game with the champagne flowing, however, every Phillies player who spoke said there was still a lot of work to be done. Joe Blanton was dealing all game long, and it is a great sign to see the Phillies pitching staff going 4 deep in the playoffs. On offense, Rollins and Burrell starred. Burrell ended the game 3-4 with two home runs, and four RBI's.

Brewers Stay Alive in Game 3

The Phillies lost Game 3 to the Brewers 4-1 on Saturday night. Trying to advance to the NLCS will have to wait one more day for the Phillies, who struggled again offensively, only scoring 1 run on 9 hits. They really have no threat for most of the game, until the 9th, when they loaded the bases with 0 outs, but couldn't even plate a run. Phillies starter Jaime Moyer struggled in the 1st inning, allowing 2 runs, but settled down, and went 4 innings total. Moyer was not getting the calls from the ump when he would hit the corners, and often struggles when there is an inconsistent umpire behind the plate.

Once again, the Phillies will need to put up a strong offensive game. Take pitches, get baserunners on, steal some bases, advance some runners, and hit the ball hard. The Phillies will face right-hander Jeff Suppan, who had almost a 5 ERA in the regular season. The Phillies mid-season acquisition Joe Blanton will oppose him, and Blanton needs to keep the Phillies in the game. If the Phillies get the lead, and are able to keep the lead for a couple innings, we should see the Brewers start to press to try to get some runs, which should work in the Phillies favor.

Bottom line, the Phillies are an offensive team, and need to bust out offensively, which they are more than capable of doing, especially against an average right-hander. The Phillies don't want to have to go to a game 5 where they would face off against C.C. Sabathia again, who probably won't have 2 bad starts in a row. All of that can be avoided in Game 4.

The Phillies have a 2-1 series lead, Game 4 is Sunday, 1:05 p.m. EDT.