Phillies Start Important Series On High Note
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Starting and relief pitching were awful - even for the Phillies. A consistently potent offense was stymied, averaging less than 4 runs/game (until the series finale against San Diego). The Phillies dropped to 4 games behind the Padres in the Wild Card chase and found LA, Atlanta, and Colorado close in the rear view mirror. Currently the Phillies are 5 games back in the East and 3 in the Wild Card.
The Phillies scored 9 runs last night as Jayson Werth stayed hot. He is batting a ridiculous .857 over the last 4 games, with 6 RBIs, 1 BB, 1 SB, 9 1Bs, and 3 2Bs. His season average has risen 50 points (.262 on 8/22 to .312 on 8/28). The Phillies outfield is hot right now. Burrell is playing well since the All-Star break (entering break average: .217, since .323, season average .270), Rowand is having hs best year in the league, Victorino's back, and Werth is smokin'.
While I do not believe the Phillies will catch the Mets in the East (even if they take 3+ games in this series), they can win the Wild Card. And October is a new season. Do I think the Phillies will win the East? No. Do I think they will take the Wild Card? Yes.
Do I think they will win their Divisional Series? Yes. Do I think they will win the NL Pennant? No. But for a team that has little pitching and few expectations entering the season (except J-Roll) this team has already performed well. Despite a laundry list of injuries. For them to still be in contention is amazing since only 1 of their opening day pitchers hasn't been on the DL at some point (Jamie Moyer).
I think the Phillies will take 3 of 4 from the Mets. They need to. That would bring them within 4 games of 1st in the East. Probably the closest they'll be the rest of the season. But the Wild Card is within reach.
