Phillies Still Going, Can't Be Stopped by Mets
By: Mike Reisman
It seems like the Phillies are unstoppable right now. Even with Joe Blanton and his 5.04 ERA (though he has been good lately) the Phillies could not be stopped by their division rivals. Once again the organization gave out white rally towels to a sold out crowd on psychiatric rehab awareness night. Of course that was not the main focus as the Phillies looked to win their 11th straight game.
The Phillies would get down to business very early. After retiring the Mets in the 1st, Shane Victorino would take advantage of the second pitch of his at-bat, putting the Phillies on top 1-0. Victorino would strike again in the 2nd on a double that scored Wilson Valdez.
Joe Blanton would roll through the Mets with no trouble. His one mistake would come in the 4th inning on an Angel Pagan home run that also scored Ike Davis. Other than that, Blanton struck out six, walked one batter and allowed only six hits on a mere 74 pitches. He also picked off a runner on first and had an incredible diving play in the field. All-in-all a good night for the righty.
The Phillies would add the go-ahead run on a Carlos Ruiz single in the 4th, scoring Raul Ibanez. The Phillies and Mets would both fail to find their bats for the rest of the game. That is of course, until our favorite Brad Lidge came in to close it out. Lidge would get an out before allowing an Ike Davis double to put the go-ahead run at the plate. After Davis was moved to third on a sac fly, Josh Thole would be walked to put runners on the corners. The game ending ground out seemed to be hit by pinch hitter Jesus Feliciano, however, the play was ended for an unknown reason. I was at the game, and I still do not have a full understanding of what happened, but I think that the Mets called for a pinch-runner before the pitch. That would delay the game ending by a few pitches but the game would still end on Feliciano striking out.
With the Phillies winning and the Braves losing, the Phillies magic number is now two, meaning if the Phillies win and the Braves lose, a fourth NL East title will officially belong to the Phillies. However, that combo looks unlikely for tomorrow, as the Braves send Derek Lowe to the mound against the Nationals. Phillies fans should not worry though, because whether it be tomorrow or next week, a 4th NL East crown looks to be in the cards for the Phillies.