The Philadelphia Phillies won a game, and it came in front of their home crowd at Citizens Bank Park. Typically this is not headlining news, but the way things have been going for the Phils, it’s certainly worth noting.
The Phillies went 3-6 on their latest road trip and ended the swing by being swept in a three-game series at the hands of the Atlanta Braves. In that series, they lost the lead late in game one, got blown out in game two with ace Cole Hamels on the mound, and game three witnessed Ryan Madson self-destructing again.
There aren’t too many “must-win” games in the month of July, but Friday night’s contest against division rival New York Mets certainly was a “must-win.” The Phillies staggered into last night’s game with a 39-37 record and were in a tie for first place with the Florida Marlins. The third place injury-plagued Mets limped into last night’s game with a 39-39 record. If there was any time for the Phillies to take advantage of another team’s misfortunes, it was in last night’s game.
And that is what they did. The Phillies won the game 7-2 behind newest starting rotation fill-in Rodrigo Lopez, who went 6.1 innings and only gave up two earned runs. The offense also came to life and scored seven runs due in part to Jimmy Rollins going 2-for-5 with two RBI’s and Jayson Werth’s 16th home run of the season.
The Phillies hope to continue their winning ways today behind Jamie Moyer in game two of this three-game series versus the Mets, who are sending out Fernando Nieve. If the Phils can piece together a few victories against a team that is more decimated with key injuries than they are, maybe this can be what catapults them back to looking like a defending world champion.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
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July is a little too soon to get newvous. But I agree with you, the Phillies myust turn things around.
ReplyDeleteThe Phils certainly did turn some things around. There's nothing quite like beating up on your division rival to cure a huge slump.
ReplyDeleteThe main reason for this weekend's turnaround has to be the same reasons for earlier failures: starting pitching, bullpen, and Jimmy Rollins.
That last point McDowell said... Jimmy Rollins. I believe that is one of the most important failures that is beginning to look like it's improving. Sure, no team can win without a strong bullpen and starting pitching, but Jimmy Rollins (I know CLICHE) is the catalyst, and sorry, but the Phils will have no chance if Rollins continues his .220's stunt for the rest of the year. They absolutely need him to be fresh and hot at the top of that lineup.
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