Loss Caps a Bizarre Weekend for the Phils

Well, that was interesting. The Phillies won on Friday night when Joe Blanton started for the Phils, arguably the worst starter this year for Philadelphia and then lost games started by Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay, hmmm, that sounds about right.

Roy Halladay lost his third straight start in a row as the Phillies (35-32) lost another interleague series at home when they lost the rubber game to the Twins today by a score of 4-1. Justin Morneau and Denard Span both homered for the Twins who improved to 40-29 on the season.

Halladay now has a pedestrian record of 8-6 in his first season as a Phillie after starting the season 6-1 with an ERA of 1.45. Halladay gave up a season high in hits today with 11 while going 8 innings and striking out eight.

Philadelphia has suffered serious power outages in Halladay's losses on the season, as they have scored only nine runs in Halladay's six losses.

The high-powered Phillies offense which had come out of their shell in recent games regressed today as they were led offensively on the day by Wilson Valdez.

Valdez hit a home run in the fifth inning and got the Phils their first and only run of the day. It was Valdez's second home run in two days and was the only semblance of offense today as the Phils only mustered up four hits off Twins starter Carl Pavano.

Pavano (8-6) pitched a gem today as he threw a four-hit complete game on the day.

Good news is on the horizon for the Phils however as shortstop Jimmy Rollins should be activated this week and will be ready to be inserted back at the top of the order as the Phillies have needed him as they have gone 9-17 in his absence.

Up next is a much needed off day for the Phils and they will be back in action on Tuesday when they host the Cleveland Indians and I hope that when manager Charlie Manuel takes the field on Tuesday night, that Rollins is on his lineup card.