Down but not out. The Phillies had a nice run last week, and now this weekend it was back to reality facing the very tough Mets. As it stands, the Phillies are 3 1/2 games back of the Reds for the Wild Card with three other teams ahead of them. They also have several teams knocking on their door so now is not the time to let up.
Chase Utley’s hitting streak came to an end on Friday, but the Phillies pulled out a win. Randy Wolf was roughed up in his four innings but the bullpen did a very nice job with four relievers combining for five shutout innings. Ryan Madson picked up the win and Tom Gordon saved his 27th. Ryan Howard hit homerun number 37 and David Dellucci also went yard.
Saturday’s game was probably the most disappointing. Ryan Howard hit a three run shot in the first inning but that’s all the Phillies would score the rest of the game. In the meantime, Jon Lieber was cruising until he gave up three runs and the lead in the sixth. All three of those runs in the sixth were unearned and Lieber went the distance in this one.
Last night’s game was ugly and it was the national scene. The Phillies didn’t score until the seventh when Mike Lieberthal hit a solo homerun. Scott Mathieson was knocked out in the third and by then the game was already a blowout.
Next up is three against the Braves. Man, it seems like whoever we’re playing, it has some sort of Wild Card implication. The Braves are way behind as far as the teams ahead of them, but they trail the Phillies by only two games so they’re hardly out of it.
