The Phillies are now kind of at the bottom of the first tier of Wild Card contenders. The Reds sit atop the pack and the Padres and Diamondbacks are two games back. Just half a game back of them are the Phillies. This has been the story for the Phillies the last few years though, which is falling just short of the playoffs.
Bret Myers was knocked around early on Friday. He was gone before the fourth inning ended and he gave up six runs, which was all the Nationals would need. Mike Lieberthal homered and drove in three runs in the 6-4 loss. Aaron Rowand had two hits and a run.
Ryan Howard hit a three run homerun to cap off an eight run second inning yesterday. It was homerun number 43 and he joins Chuck Klein in fourth place for the franchise single season leaders. Scott Victorino had three hits, three RBIs and two runs. Cole Hamels evened up his record with a strong outing. He gave up two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts over six innings.
The Phillies locked up the series today but it wasn’t without some drama. The Phillies jumped out to a 10-1 lead only to see it evaporate in a hurry. The final was 12-10 but the Nationals were knocking on the door in the eighth inning. Abrahem Nunez homered and drove in four runs and Mike Lieberthal homered as well. Aaron Rowand had four hits and three runs in the win. No pitching highlights in this one.
Next up is four against the Cubs. The Cubs haven’t been good this year, so hopefully the Phillies can take care of business.
