Game Recap:
Cole Hamels was dominant, striking out ten Nationals in eight innings as the Phillies swept Washington and moved their magic number to just ten games.
What went right?
Jimmy Rollins was 2-4 with an RBI.
Chase Utley was 1-3 and scored a run.
Jayson Werth went 1-3 and scored a run.
Carlos Ruiz was 0-3, but had an RBI on a bases loaded walk.
Cole Hamels allowed one run on five hits in eight innings. He walked one and struck out ten, while also going 1-3 at the plate with an RBI single.
What went wrong?
The Phillies left seven men on base and struck out seven times.
Game Analysis:
What else can be said about the starting pitching for the Phillies lately? It seems like it doesn't matter who is out on the mound, because they're going to pitch well. Cole Hamels continued that trend last night, and continued to turn his season around with an eight inning, one run, ten strikeout performance. After a horrid start to the year, Cole's got his ERA just above 4.00 now, which is impressive, considering how this year started for the World Series MVP. He's pitching like his old self again, too, going 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA in the month of September. That's what counts for the Phillies right now...their pitching is stepping up when it matters the most.
The offense didn't have the best night last night, but with the pitching doing as well as it has, it doesn't really matter. Right now, the Phillies are 25 games over .500 for the first time since the 1993 season, and are looking like a team that could go a long, long way in the postseason. The Cardinals are slumping right now, and the Dodgers have come back to Earth, too. With the starting pitching doing as well as it is for the Phils, they have a real chance to get homefield throughout the National League playoffs if they keep up with this hot streak.
Now, none of that matters right now, because the Phillies have a huge six game stretch starting tonight. They head to Atlanta for three, then down to Miami for three games against the Marlins. These six games could easily bury everyone else in the National League East, or it could leave the door open for a potential collapse. Don't laugh about that. With 17 games to play, the Phillies are 7.5 games up on Atlanta. We've seen it happen before, so I wouldn't discount anything at this point. One game at a time boys, one game at a time.
Tonight, J.A. Happ (10-4, 2.77 ERA) returns to the mound to take on Tim Hudson (1-0, 3.63 ERA). A win tonight, coupled with a Florida loss in Cincinnati, takes the magic number down to eight.
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