Game Recap:
Roy Halladay didn't have his best stuff on the mound, but the offense did more than enough as the Phillies finished their three game sweep over the Marlins and moved to three games up in the National League East.
What went right?
Shane Victorino went 2-6 with a run scored and an RBI.
Placido Polanco only had one hit in six at bats, but it drove in a run.
Chase Utley was 1-4 with a walk, two runs scored and a home run.
Ryan Howard didn't pick up a hit, but he did walk three times and scored twice.
Jayson Werth was 1-4 with an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.
Raul Ibanez went 3-5, driving in two and scoring twice.
Carlos Ruiz was 2-4 with a run scored.
Wilson freaking Valdez went 3-5 with two RBI.
Roy Halladay picked up his 19th win of the season, the most since John Denny won 19 back in 1983. He allowed three runs on ten hits in six innings of work. He didn't walk a batter and struck out nine.
What went wrong?
Brad Lidge came in to pitch the ninth inning, and turned it into a save situation. He walked in a run and gave up a single hit. He only recorded one out before being lifted from the game for Jose Contreras.
Game Analysis:
Coming into this series with the Marlins, the Phillies had to take at least two of three and hope that the Washington Nationals would try their hardest to play spoiler against the Atlanta Braves. Well, three days later, and the Phillies swept the Marlins and got some help from the Nationals, who took two of three from the Braves to put the Phils up three games in the National League East with just two weeks to play.
Last night, it was the offense that once again jumped on Florida pitching. The Marlins shut Josh Johnson down for the season before this series, so instead of Roy Halladay pitching against him for the third time this year, it turned out that the Phils would get to face the Florida bullpen for nine innings. That went well...for the Phillies. Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez drove in three runs in the first inning, and by the time the fourth inning was over, it was 8-1, and the Phillies were cruising. The bats looked great last night after taking Tuesday off. Even with that two run showing in the middle game of this series, the Phillies put up 23 runs in their three games against the Marlins, showing that the offense, no matter how much they've struggled this year, can still hit with the best of them.
Shane Victorino in particular has started to look very comfortable in the leadoff position. Ever since Jimmy Rollins injured his hamstring again, Victorino has picked up the slack and looked very good as the top batter in this lineup. Earlier in the year, he struggled with the pressure of being a leadoff hitter, but now, it's starting to come much more naturally to him, or at least that's what it looks like. He's getting on base more, and Placido Polanco and the rest of the top of the Phillie lineup is doing what they have to do to drive him in. In these past three games, the Phillies scored in the first or second inning in all three. When you can get this pitching staff an early lead, then you should be confident about getting another win.
I'm starting to get a little concerned about Roy Halladay, though. Despite picking up his National League leading 19th win of the season last night, he labored at times, throwing over 100 pitches in just six innings. While part of that has to do with the same patience that Cole Hamels saw with the Marlins batters on Tuesday night, part of it might also have to do with the fact that Halladay has pitched the most innings in baseball this season. The Phillies are going to want to try and get this division clinched as quickly as possible. If they can get Halladay a start off to let him rest up for the playoffs, that would be for the best. He's already pitched 234.2 innings this year, and with at least two more starts to go, that number is going to climb. Plus, you have to throw in the potential playoff starts as well, and if the Phillies go far, Halladay's looking at possibly reaching 300 innings of work this season. That's a lot for a man that's never pitched that much, even Roy Halladay. The Phils have got to hope to get this race over with sooner, rather than later.
That being said, this last road trip could not have gone much better. The Phils took two of three from the Mets and swept the Marlins to put themselves not only in first place, but three games up on the Atlanta Braves, who somehow dropped two of three to the Washington Nationals. The Phillies have an off day today, and then they start up their last homestand of the season.
That homestand will start with a three game series against the Washington Nationals. Roy Oswalt (12-13, 2.94 ERA) pitches for the Phillies, and Jason Marquis (2-8, 6.60 ERA) goes for Washington.
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