Phillies Defeat Rockies Despite a Poor Outing From Roy Halladay
By: Mike Reisman
It's no surprise that the reason the Phillies have been winning games is their superb pitching staff, consisting of three of the best starters in baseball. Their rotation is the only in the MLB who can say that their ERA is below three (2.99), and the next closest team has an ERA of 3.32. Needless to say, any team with a rotation like that could easily be playoff contenders, no matter how bad the rest of their team was. Of course, baseball is an unpredictable sport, so it's no surprise that even with the reigning Cy Young winner having a day to forget, the Phillies middle-of-the-road offense was able to produce eight runs on the way to another victory.
Though the Philies offense had not been playing great baseball this year, it hasn't hurt them that recently some of their key players have started to heat up. Ryan Howard continued his hot streak, taking advantage of the thin Denver air and hitting another home run, his 24th of the year. Howard went 2-4 with four RBIs, boosting his average to .255 and putting him in first place in the NL RBI race. Howard got some help from the rest of the top half of the lineup, with everyone except Chase Utley (who still went 2-3 with two runs) driving in a run.
The Phillies bats would choose a nice day to put up eight runs, as Roy Halladay would struggle, allowing four runs in seven innings of work. He would strike out seven batters and get his 14th win, but Halladay didn't seem like his usual, dominant self. In fact, with the exception of the game against the Pirates, Halladay's ERA was 3.21, which is still good, but it's not the absolute domination that you would expect from a two-time Cy Young winner, and arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Though there is a good chance he may be trying to save himself for the rest of the season, Halladay's performance is certainly something to keep an eye on.
The 8-6 win for the Phillies caps off their second sweep in a row, and their sixth straight win. This all coming after they lost their first series in months against the San Francisco Giants, reigning world champs, and the team that defeated the Phillies in the playoffs last year. The Phillies will get another chance at them starting tomorrow during a three game series in San Francisco.
Although this will be just another four games, these games are going to be important for the Phillies. Of course, at the end of the series they will probably have the best record in baseball, but this holds more significance. The past nine times the Phillies have faced the Giants, they are a mere 3-6, a poor record for a team that has steamrolled almost all of their other opponents. This is the one of the few teams the Phillies haven't beaten in a series, and right now they seem to be the only threat in the NL, and the Phillies need to prove to themselves mentally that this is simply another team that they can beat.