After getting swept by the Braves, the Phillies currently sit tied atop the NL East with the Florida Marlins. The Mets are in second place, one game back, and the Braves are in third place, only two games back. The Phillies missed out on a golden opportunity to expand their lead in the division the past few weeks and turn their rivals into sellars at the trade deadline. By losing 14 out of their last 18 games, the Phillies have let the Marlins, Mets, and Braves back into the race, and it may stay a four team race the rest of the season now.
The Phils begin a ten game homestand tonight leading up to the All-Star Break, and they’ll faceoff against the Mets, Reds, and Pirates. They start a big three game series with the Mets tonight. One that could determine who is in first place by the end of the weekend. As dead as this team has looked lately, you know a series with the hated mets at Citizen’s Bank Park with the hometown fans might be just the right medicine to get this team out of their funk.
One of their team leaders, Jimmy Rollins, has been in a season long slump. Rollins did get a couple of hits in last nights game, and he also thrives on playing against the Mets and usually does play well against them, so that is good news for Phillies fans as well. Both the Phillies and Mets are a little banged up, meaning not all the “regulars” are playing, so it should make for an interesting series. Here are the pitching matchups:
PHL NYM
Rodrigo Lopez Livan Hernandez
Jamie Moyer Fernando Nieve
Joe Blanton Johan Santana
This is a series that the phillies have to take at least two out of three, if not sweep, to keep their status atop the NL East. Also, the Phillies have not been playing well at home, so it is important to get off to a good start with a ten game homestand on the horizon. If nothing else, this series should be entertaining to watch.
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Late on a Saturday night, taking two from the New Yawkahs, feelin good. Can they beat Santana? It’s all about confidence in baseball and it looks like the Phillies got some back the last couple of games. First place on July 4 and All Star game momentum won’t mean anything without good solid starting pitching and it looks as if the Phillies may have enough IN HOUSE to repeat. Do they? Will GM Amaro stand pat? TBD!