Halladay picked up his NL leading 17th win of the season, although he is tied with two others for the mark.Now armed with a true ace, the caliber of Halladay and two other front line pitchers like Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt and four off days in September many see the Phillies going on another September which they have so far, winning the four games they've played this month.
Philadelphia has .628 winning percentage in the month of September since 2007 and have been a really good second half team since 2004. And if you look at their September records since '04, they've won 15 or more games is each passing September.
Their best mark in the month since '04 was in that year when they went 19-8. Their combined September record since '04 is 107-52.
After this series against the Brewers, the Phillies will only be playing divisional games the rest of the season and unless the Mets return from the dead, that means the only games the Phillies have left vs. competition over .500 is the Atlanta Braves, a team they play six times over the last two weeks of the season.
The NL East is almost a close as it gets right now with the Phils trailing the Braves by a game, but they lead the Wild Card race by three games.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has discussed the possibility of adjusting his starting rotation so that his three aces will pitch in the first series in Philadelphia, which would provide a huge spark for the Phils.
And you could argue that the top three of Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt would trump a top three of Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson and Derek Lowe.
Now that it's September, time is starting to dwindle and every game possesses its own importance and those six games against the Braves will determine the season for both teams and I'm sure many baseball fans wouldn't have it any other way.
Photo Courtesy Jim McIsaac Getty Images
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