Phillies Bounce Back, Win Series With Mets
By: Mike Reisman
A teacher once told me that resilience was the ability to bounce back, to not give up. Today, that word was all I could think of to describe the Phillies today during their game against the Mets. In my latest post, I had said the biggest test for the Phillies would be how they would respond to a loss, whether they would come back with a win, or continue losing. With Roy Oswalt on the mound, the Phillies would take no time showing they were playoff ready, coming back to beat the Mets.
The Phillies would jump out to a lead early in the 1st. After getting Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco on base to start the game, Chase Utley would single, driving in Victorino to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Ryan Howard would add a run on a single in the 3rd making it 2-0 Phillies.
On the other side of the ball, Roy Oswalt would be everything the Phillies traded for. Though he would allow two hits in the 1st, he would only allow two more hits in the entire game, none of the four hits being more than singles. He would also strike out six batters and walk only one. The overall great effort would lower the mid-season acquisition's ERA to a dazzling 2.94. It also improves his record to 6-1 with the Phillies, his only loss coming his first game with the team.
Back to the game, the Phillies would tack on one more run in the 7th on a Raul Ibanez home run making the game 3-0, a score that would stay unchanged. The game was a key win for the Phillies, giving them their 5th straight series win. It also showed that the Phillies will be able to bounce back from losses, a key if they want to stay in the playoff hunt, and even more-so if they want to be a contender in the playoffs. Tomorrow, the Phillies start a series with the Marlins, and in a time when every game counts, the Phillies cannot afford to slip up and lose to the less-than-stellar team.