In the preview article for the Mets-Phillies Series, I said that the Phils had to take at least two out of three from the Mets, if not sweep them, at home to stay in first place in the division. Well, the Phils were able to sweep, almost with ease. Granted, the Mets were playing with a weakened team, due to injury, but the Phillies have injuries of their own, and they have not been playing good baseball lately. They were 1-8 on their last homestand, and even though they’ve been playing great on the road this year, they had just come off a 3-6 road trip.
The Phillies got the job done with great starting pitching throughout the series, as Rodrigo Lopez, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Blanton all came away with victories on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively, and their offense gave them enough to win each game. The Phils won 7-2, 4-1, and 2-0 over the weekend against the Mets. In game three of the series, Blanton bested Johan Santana, arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball, to come away with the victory. The Phillies had one of the worst home records coming into this homestand, so it was very important for them to sweep the NL East division rival Mets and start off their 10 game homestand right, to gain some momentum leading up to the All-Star Break.
It appears that sweeping the Mets was a good omen, because the Phillies beat the Reds in a “laugher” tonight, winning 22-1. Another good pitching performance by a Phils Starter, as Cole Hamels went seven innings, only giving up the one run, no walks, and three hits, helped the Phils to their fourth straight victory. It didn’t hurt that Hamels was staked to an early 10-0 lead after just the first inning, in which the Phillies tied a franchise mark for most runs in the first inning of a ballgame. Victorino, (6), Dobbs, (5), Utley, (19), and Werth, (17), all homered in the game to boost the Phils offense. Heck, even pitcher Cole Hamels got in on the fun with a single and a double and two RBI in the game. Can the Phils keep up their good play at home? Check back tomorrow night to find out.
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The Mets series sweep was sweet! An omen of things to come in September? Or, will it be the Marlins or Braves as this race is tight?