Game Recap:
Cole Hamels pitched eight innings of one run baseball, and the offense scored two unearned runs in the fifth inning to put the Phillies four games up on the Braves with just 11 games to play.
What went right?
Shane Victorino was 1-4 with a run scored.
Chase Utley went 1-4 and scored a run.
Ryan Howard went 1-2 with two walks and a run scored.
Carlos Ruiz was 1-4 with an RBI.
Cole Hamels won his fifth start in a row, pitching eight innings of one run baseball. He gave up six hits and walked one while striking out six.
Brad Lidge worked a 1-2-3 inning for his 24th save of the season. He struck out two and only needed 11 pitches to finish the game.
What went wrong?
Wilson Valdez walked twice, but was 0-2.
The Phillies left nine men on base.
Game Analysis:
This is the series that is going to define the season for the Phillies. Two months ago, the Phils were down seven games to the Braves and didn't look like they had a prayer. Now, the Phillies are up four games with just 11 games left to play in the regular season. Cole Hamels was lights out again tonight, and the offense took advantage of mistakes by the Braves in the fifth inning to take the lead and win their eighth game in a row.
There really is nothing more left to say about Cole Hamels and how he's pitching this season. Let's just say that 2009 was a fluke, and move on from there, ok? Hamels has been lights out for most of this year, and since the All Star break, he's looked just as good as Roy Halladay. Tonight was his fifth straight win, and there's no sign of him slowing down. He didn't have his best fastball tonight, but he got three double plays to help him get out of trouble, and each time that he got into trouble, he was able to get out of it. That's exactly what the Phillies needed out of Hamels this season. He needed to be the best number two pitcher in the National League, and he's been that in the second half of the year. In his last five wins, Hamels has allowed just two earned runs in 28.2 innings. That's the sign of a pitcher that's back to where he needs to be. Hamels has his swagger back, and the rest of the National League has had to deal with it. It's a good thing.
To be fair, the offense didn't exactly set the world on fire tonight against the Braves and rookie Brandon Beachy, but they did enough. After leaving men on in three of the first four innings, the Phils were able to take advantage of mistakes by the Braves in the fifth inning. Shane Victorino started the inning with a triple that skipped off of the glove of Jason Heyward, and Placido Polanco and the rest of the heart of the Phillies offense did what they needed to do. Chase Utley made it to third on an error on a stolen base attempt, and Raul Ibanez drove him in to finish the scoring. In playoff type games like this, teams need to take advantage of anything that can happen, and the Phillies did that tonight. It wasn't pretty, thanks in large part to the Phillies having never seen Beachy before, but the bats did enough to drive in runs for Hamels and get the win.
Every win coming down the stretch doesn't have to be a 10-0 blowout. Sometimes, you have to buckle down and take what you can get. That's what the Phillies did tonight. Cole Hamels looked excellent once again, and Brad Lidge shut the Braves down in the ninth inning for his 24th save of the year. It was exactly what the Phillies needed to do in the first game of this series. They had to set the tone against the Braves, and they've done that now. Atlanta is now the team with their back against the wall, and the Phillies have Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt going in the next two games. Good luck.
Tomorrow night, the Phillies look for their ninth straight win and their second straight against the Braves. Roy Halladay (19-10, 2.49 ERA) goes against Mike Minor (3-1, 5.84 ERA).
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