This was a tough series. The Phillies got off to such a nice start, but the Marlins put together two wins in the final two games and ended up with a split. And in this anything goes race, the Giants of all teams have pushed themselves ahead, at least momentarily, of the pack in the Wild Card race. Right now, the Padres are beating the Giants and if that holds, the Padres will have a 2 1/2 game lead for the Wild Card with the Phillies, Marlins and Giants all tied for second place.
The Phillies ran up the score on Thursday. Ryan Howard hit homerun number 54 and Chris Coste, Chase Utley and Jeff Conine all went yard as well. Jon Lieber wasn’t fantastic but he got the support so he improved to 7-9 in the 14-8 win.
Friday was all Ryan Howard and Jamie Moyer. Ryan Howard hit homeruns number 55 and 56 and drove in all three Phillies’ runs. Jamie Moyer gave up a single run on five hits in eight innings of work. It’s nice to see Tom Gordon back and he picked up his 28th save of the season.
Yesterday, the Phillies luck ran out. Chase Utley did hit best Ryan Howard imitation and he went deep twice with a pair of solo shots. Jeff Conine singled home Scott Victorino in the ninth inning to tie the game up but in the tenth, Arthur Rhodes walked three guys and then Brian Sanches gave up a single that drove home the winning run. Ryan Howard was two for two with four walks.
Today, Dontrelle Willis blanked the Phillies. Ryan Howard had two of three Phillies’ hits and Cole Hamels threw a ton of pitches in four innings of work. He walked five guys and struck out three.
Next up is three against the Braves, who are also still in the mix. The Phillies can’t afford to lose a single series the rest of the way. Heck, it’s almost like they can’t afford to lose a single game because some other team will shoot ahead of them in the standings.
