Game Recap:
Roy Halladay pitched a complete game, two hit shutout to give the Phillies their fourth straight National League East championship.
What went right?
Placido Polanco went 3-4, scored twice and drove in a run.
Chase Utley was 1-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Jayson Werth was 3-5, drove in four, scored twice and hit a solo home run.
Raul Ibanez was 2-4.
Carlos Ruiz went 3-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
Roy Halladay was the man last night, pitching his ninth complete game of the season. He shut out the Nationals, allowing just two hits while striking out six.
What went wrong?
Last night, nothing went wrong. The Phillies not only clinched the National League East, but they also locked up the best record in the National League, and with it, they have home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Game Analysis:
This feeling never gets old, it really doesn't. For the fourth straight season, the Philadelphia Phillies have won the National League East. This year, it didn't take until the last or second to last game of the season to wrap everything up, but there was still a dramatic comeback and an incredible collapse that helped get the Phillies to this point.
Apparently, the rumors of Roy Halladay's demise were a little bit exaggerated. After struggling in his last few starts, Halladay came out last night in his biggest game as a Phillie and delivered from the word go. Two and a half hours and 97 pitches later, Halladay had his fourth shutout of the season, and he finished things off with a strikeout of Danny Espinosa to win his 21st game of the season. There's nothing else that can be said about Roy Halladay this year. He's been everything that the Phillies wanted him to be, and even he's had to pick himself up during this season. At one point, Halladay had a 10-8 record, but since then, the big right hander has gone 11-2. He's 5-0 in September and is one of the biggest reasons that the Phillies are back into the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
Even the offense came to play last night. Jayson Werth got things started in the second inning with a solo home run, and that would have been enough the way Halladay was pitching last night, but the Phils weren't done yet. Werth drove in two more in the sixth inning to chase John Lannan out of the game, and Carlos Ruiz hit his first double of the game two batters later to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead. Then came the ninth inning, where the Phils didn't mind the rain and added four more insurance runs to put the final nail in Washington's coffin and seal up the National League East crown.
The bats last night showed how this team has got to play during the playoffs. While Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt can shut down any opposing offense, the Phillies still have to score runs as well, and San Francisco and San Diego have two of the best pitching staffs in the National League. The offense has got to be able to score some runs if they have to play one of those teams, because there is a chance that any game in either of those series could end up with a 1-0 or a 2-1 score, and the Phillies don't want to be on the short end of that.
For now, at least, there's nothing left to do during the regular season but celebrate. The Phillies have clinched the National League East once again, and this year they've done it with one of the hottest stretches that anyone can remember. Back in July, most people had sworn off this team and were waiting for training camp to start. Now, everyone is back on board and ready to see another long trip into the playoffs. These next five games just have to be played out, but you shouldn't expect that much from the Phils. They have home field wrapped up, and the big three will just get a little more action in before the playoffs start. The Phillies have earned the right to pick when they'll play in the NLDS, and can line their rotation up perfectly. All that's left to do now in the regular season is for the team go down to Atlanta and retire Bobby Cox.
Four division titles in a row...no other Phillies team has ever been able to do that. It's a great feeling.
Tonight, Roy Oswalt (13-13, 2.80 ERA) goes for the Phils against Jason Marquis (2-9, 7.18 ERA).
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