Philadelphia Phillies (40-33)
There was doubt in whether the offense was truly back for the Phils, but then the man who needed to return was finally back, Jimmy Rollins.
Rollins returned for the start of a three game set against the lowly Cleveland Indians, and this series was just what the doctor and Jamie Moyer ordered.In the first game of the series, Jamie Moyer had another phenomenal start for the Phillies as he went eight strong innings only giving up two hits on the night and one run on a home run. Rollins went 0-4 in his first game back, but he was just setting the stage for what was to come.
The next night provided the highlight for the week as Jimmy Rollins picked up his first hit in eight at-bats since returning and that hit was a walk-off home run to give the Phillies a 7-6 victory and the second in a row going into a series finale in which a much maligned pitcher continued his resurgence.
Joe Blanton pitched well for a second start in a row and picked up his second win in a row as he pitched seven and two-thirds while only giving up three earned runs on six hits as he struck out eight. Blanton's solid perfromance led into a "road" trip that started at home.
The Blue Jays were in town to play a series displaced from Toronto because of the G20 summit and the first game had former Blue Jays ace on the mound to face his former team for the first time in the regular season. Halladay got the win for the first time in three starts as he shut out the Jays through seven shutout innings and got his ninth win of the season.
Cole Hamels had a tough go in Saturday's Game 2, he gave up three home runs in only four innings of work as his ERA jumped above four as he gave up five total earned runs on the day as the Phillies lost 5-1.
Yesterday, the Phillies once again found some offense and put up 12 runs in a 12-2 win over the Blue Jays in the rubber match as Jamie Moyer picked up his ninth win of the season and the 267th in his career. Moyer went seven strong innings while giving up two earned runs and striking out seven as the week ended for the Phils.
Record: 5-2
Avg. Runs Per Game: 6.1
The Good: Jimmy Rollins- Even though he has only hit .250 in his return from the DL, he's been the energizer to the lineup that the team has needed. Not to mention his walk-off home run last Wednesday and Jimmy may be getting hot as he had three hits and two RBI in yesterday's win over the Blue Jays.
Jamie Moyer- The 47-year-old deserves all the credit in the world for the way he has performed this season, he's been the Phillies stopper and the third best starter this season as evidenced by the rotation as of this point. Moyer is conveniently placed behind Halladay and Moyer now. In the past week, Moyer had an ERA of 1.80 in two starts over 15 innings pitched while striking out twelve.
Outlook: The Phillies are looking at a tough one tonight against the Cincinnati Reds when they face a team that can hit just as well as they do. The NL Central leading Reds are leading the National League in runs and slugging percentage and they have had good pitching at the top in Cueto and Mike Leake. They're facing Cueto tonight and he's 7-2 on the season with an ERA of 3.97, and is coming off a strong outing against the Oakland A's where he went seven shut out innings and picked up the win.
The Phillies are countering with Kyle Kendrick who has been a huge question mark this season because he's been so inconsistent and it's becoming a problem for the Phillies as Kendrick has had to pitch in some big spots this season and has alternated great starts with short outings. In one start, Kendrick is four-hitting the Yankees and the next he's flaming out allowing five runs in four innings to the Indians. This is a pressure start for Kendrick and this start will say alot about how Kyle's gonna pitch in big spots the rest of the season.
Phillies/Reds tonight at 7:05, as the Phillies get back into National League play the rest of the season.
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