Phils Finish Unlikely Sweep

RyHo: Love him or hate him?

On Wednesday, the Phillies completed a 3-game sweep in Atlanta in resounding fashion, pummeling the Braves 10-5.  The Phils jumped out to a 2-0 1st inning lead, only to fall behind in the 2nd half of the inning 4-2 behind a weak Roberto Hernandez, whose 1.73 May ERA has been erased by a staggering 0-3, 6.00 ERA June.

Still, the Phils hit back and kept hitting to the tune of  a season-high 18 hits.  Ryan Howard had 3 hits, giving him 5 in the series, including 2 HR and 6 RBI, plus 4 BB.  Marlon Byrd, Dom Brown, Wil Nieves and Cesar Hernandez also collected 3 hits.  If you didn't scratch your head and ask, 'Who is that?!' about at least one of those players (and at this point Brown is as good a one to pick as any), then you're either lying or Phaithful beyond belief.  If you said, "Wil Nieves," he got hurt, so get ready for Catcher Koyie Hill, who's set to replace him in St. Louis, the next leg of this road trip.

The Braves began the season 17-7 and have gone 19-28 since, slipping to 3rd place in the division after the Phils kicked the wind out of them this week.

Surprisingly, if not confusingly, the Phillies, who fell to 25-36 on June 8th are 7-2 in the last 9 days.  If they're on a roll, they will have ample opportunity to keep rolling, as their next break won't be until June 30th, the last day of the month.  Until then, they will continue this 21 day string of unbroken game days with 4 games against St. Louis and Miami, then 4 more vs. Atlanta. 

After 1 day rest, they play Miami and Pittsburgh, followed by Milwaukee and Washington, 2 of the NL's best teams, before heading into the All-Star Break.  These are the times that try men's souls.  For the Phillies and its front office, these games are the pivotal crossroads of the season.  Win decisively and prove that this ship still has legs, that the assembled personnel can compete as a team.  However, lose... and go elsewhere or be doomed to a rebuilding ship.  If the Phils belly-flop now, then it's time to "blow things up," as Jimmy Rollins said when asked if he was willing to be traded now that he had passed Schmidt for the all-time hit mark in Phillies history.  

Rookie Giles clocked at 101 m.p.h.

So, when the Phils took 3 games in Atlanta it meant a lot more than nothing.  It meant they were now just 5 games out of first place and 5 1/2 behind in the Wild Card Race.  As hard to believe as it is, they are truly still competing for a playoff spot.  Cliff Lee has begun throwing again in practice sessions and is eyeing a July return, Cole Hamels has put together a surreal June and Marlon Byrd and Ryan Howard are on a pace to hit approximately 30 HR and drive in 100 runs a-piece.  Even the bullpen has improved.  On Monday, Jonathan Papelbon blew a save (just his 2nd of the year and first since 4/2). 

However, the rest of the bullpen went 5 scoreless innings.  The 5 relievers in all left with ERA of: 1.65, 2.12, 2.55, 2.94 and 4.68.  On Tuesday, reliever Jacob Diekman S.O. 2 of the 3 batters he faced in the 8th inning, then Papelbon recorded a rare 1-2-3 9th for his 16th save (#7 in NL).  His 1.59 ERA this season is the 2nd lowest of his career.  On Wednesday, Antonio Bastardo S.O. 2 of the 3 batters he faced, lowering his ERA to 2.86 and 23 year-old reliever Ken Giles S.O. 3 more batters in 2 innings, continuing to impress after being clocked at 101 m.p.h. on Sunday, when he threw 9-of-11 pitches for strikes.

"It was really good; I was really comfortable out there," Giles said. "All I did was just attack hitters and be aggressive."

The fans love him already.  Of course, these are Philly fans, so it's bound to balance out into tough love momentarily.

"It gets me pretty pumped," he said. "As long as fans are getting pumped up anyway to help us get back in the game, I think it will help us."



Hamels' rare and unfortunate facial hair causes camera flare.

Cole Hamels is doing his part to get himself and the Phils "back in the game."  In June, he has allowed just 1 earned run in 30 innings of work.  That's a 0.30 ERA.  He dropped his season ERA from 7.02 on May 11th to 2.78 on June 16th (10th in the NL). 

He has a 23 2/3 inning scoreless streak, the 2nd best of his career (25 in '10) and looks every bit the competitor the Phils hung their long-term contract hopes on 2 years ago next month.
 

The Phillies are currently estimated to have a 9.6% chance of reaching the playoffs.  Ouch.  Still, the team we have seen the last week and a half has upside potential-- especially if they are delivered a healthy Cliff Lee for the Second Half.

After throwing 20 fastballs this week, Lee sounded hopeful (of being traded to a contender-- just kidding...?):

“It feels real good.  I was letting it go pretty hard, pretty much max effort.”

Lee, 35, went on the disabled list on May 20 with a strained flexor-pronator tendon. He did not throw a ball for three weeks after that.  “I can tell there’s something there, but there’s nothing painful or uncomfortable,” he said.  Lee is 4-4 with a 3.18 ERA this year.  He earns $25 million this and next season and is likely to be traded if the Phils don't show significant life by the All Star Break.  Lee has a 2.83 ERA in 4 seasons as a Phillies starting pitcher.  After missing an entire month of professional baseball, Lee still leads the Phillies in wins.  Unfortunately, Lee's record projects to 9-9, which means the Phils are on pace to have no 10-game winners.  When was the last time the Phils finished a MLB season without a single 10-game winner?  Write me back with the answer.

NEXT UP:

Phillies @ St. Louis, Thursday, 6/19 through Sunday, 6/22.  St. Louis is 21-15 at home, so if the Phils sweep there, sky's the limit.  The Cardinals have won 8-of-10.

"Next series is key, too," Marlon Byrd said. "We've still got to fight to .500. We've got a long ways to go, especially with four in St. Louis. We have to make sure we go there and win that series."


          Phillies at St. Louis                            starting pitchers      

Thu, Jun 19    8:15pm EST				Buchanan (2-3)	@ Miller (7-5)
Fri, Jun 20      8:15pm EST				Burnett (4-6)       @	Garcia (3-0)
Sat, Jun 21     4:10 PM EST				Hamels (2-3)	@ Wainwright (9-3)
Sun, Jun 22    2:15 PM EST				Kendrick (3-6)	@ Wacha (5-5)