Phils Clean Sox's Clocks

GM Ruben Amaro Jr. smiled a mile wide as the Phillies completed a series win over the Boston Red Sox on National TV Wednesday night in Philadelphia. Billed as a preview of the World Series envisioned by the baseball world this preseason, the Phils commandingly showed that great pitching does beat great hitting. And they did it without ace of aces, Roy Halladay on the mound. He wasn't needed in the series to defeat what is widely regarded to be the Phillies greatest threat to a 2011 World Championship.

Instead, Wednesday, it was Vance Worley, a rookie and virtual unknown on a team of superstars and all-stars, marching his way through the awesome Red Sox lineup like he was Cliff Lee. Worley went 7 innings for the 1st time in his life and looked great, his only mistake an RBI double surrendered to opposing pitcher John Lackey. Raul Ibanez, riding a 1-22/5-44 slump, wishing every at-bat could be against Lackey, went 3-3 with the game winning HR, improving to .386 against him, lifetime.

On Tuesday, it was Cliff Lee, part man, part machine, like a summer blockbuster, dominating baseball's best hitters as he has for 2 straight postseasons. Lee's June (5-0, 0.21 ERA) is already legendary, history fresh from the oven. Concluding with 3 straight 9-inning shutouts, Lee drove in more runs at the plate (2) in June than he allowed (1 in 42 innings) from the mound.

Of course, none of these games were played at Fenway. Should these 2 teams meet in October, half the games will be. However, that can hardly dampen the success these Phillies just had over those Red Sox. The bragging rights, the confidence, the momentum is all ours now.

On Wednesday, when Cole Hamels (1.45 June ERA) took the mound for a broadly billed pitcher's duel with Jon Lester (10-4), it was more of the same hapless hurt put on the BoSox, who began scoreless.

Then, in the top of the 3rd inning, SS Marco Scutaro led off against Hamels and pounded the ball right back at him. Hamels reached out in self-defense and caught it for out #1. The replay showed Hamels breathing a big sigh of relief, having dodged a bullet and knowing it.

However, he was less lucky an inning later, when, with 1 out in the 4th, AL runaway MVP front-runner Adrian Gonzalez (.421 in June, but only 1-for-11 in the 3 games vs. Phils pitching) lined a ball right at Hamels, which struck him on the right hand for a contusion that sent him out of the game, but resulted in clean X-rays with Hamels expected to make his next start.

Boston couldn't have scripted it better. They were desperate, unable to muster anything against Phils' starting pitching. With Hamels' dramatic and sudden exit, they victimized an unsuspecting bullpen, whose cobwebs were beginning to form watching Lee and co. go 9 or nearly.

Hamels 4 shutout innings (yes, he even got them out to finish the inning with a swelling hand) were all that was needed to nail the coffin in the tomb of would-be contender, Boston, who capitalized on Hamels' departure by pummeling the injury-ravaged bullpen's last resorts David Herndon (the Phils worst pitcher) for 3 runs and Drew Carpenter (fresh from AAA) for 2 HRs.

Still, it was a series win for Philadelphia, whose 'question marks' remain:

Can they go indefinitely with closer by committee?
Can they really win a championship with this limp lineup?
What will become of ailing Roy Oswalt, the fallen Ace?
Can they win it all with only 1 reliable outfielder?
Will Polly (3B Placido Polanco: .231 since April) get his groove back?

There are 80 games left to play. With this series win against Boston, the Phils turned the corner of their season, brushed past the halfway point, began a long, slow descent-- or, they hope, ascent. This is baseball, a long haul, an epic. The Phils present 4 game lead on the NL can disappear in an instant. In '07 and '08, they were on the winning side of the late-season-surge equation. Still, Wednesday night, the swagger was all ours.

Boston came in 45-32, 1/2 game out of 1st, and left 46-34, 2 1/2 games out. They salvaged one today, but it was against the scrubs of the Phils' staff. Meanwhile, the Phils had held back Halladay, their best, while hammering Josh Beckett, Boston's brightest (and the league ERA leader coming in) for 5 runs in 6 innings, including 2 HRs.

That will hit home for every member of each club. Philly thumped Boston's best, but Boston couldn't touch even fill-in starter Vance Worley with Ace in the hole, Halladay, waiting in the wings, ready to fight another day.

The big, bad Red Sox, league leaders in runs, ave., HRs, etc., mustered merely 1 run in 20 innings against the Phillies elite starting pitching.

Ruben Amaro Jr. was smiling, as he should be.