It's been a wonderful last couple weeks for the Philadelphia Phillies, the team has a three game lead in the division. The Phillies have gone 19-4 since being swept by the Houston Astros last month and the offense and pitching staff look the best they've been this season.
The talk has been nothing but positive around the Phillies which is strange for a team that sat seven games back a couple of months ago and looked dead in the water suffering from a multitude of injuries, but what a difference healthy players and a trade deadline deal can make.
Tonight, the Phillies begin a series against the Atlanta Braves as the regular season gets closer to its climax.
Sitting at 89-61 on the season, the Phils have streaked going 41-15 since July 21st and sit in a position of power with their three best pitchers going to the mound in this critical three game series. The Phillies are 28 games over .500 for the first time since 1993.
And right now I'm going to take a look at the Big 3 in order of how they're pitching in this series and what makes them so exciting and why the Phillies are so confident right now.
The talk has been nothing but positive around the Phillies which is strange for a team that sat seven games back a couple of months ago and looked dead in the water suffering from a multitude of injuries, but what a difference healthy players and a trade deadline deal can make.
Tonight, the Phillies begin a series against the Atlanta Braves as the regular season gets closer to its climax.
Sitting at 89-61 on the season, the Phils have streaked going 41-15 since July 21st and sit in a position of power with their three best pitchers going to the mound in this critical three game series. The Phillies are 28 games over .500 for the first time since 1993.
And right now I'm going to take a look at the Big 3 in order of how they're pitching in this series and what makes them so exciting and why the Phillies are so confident right now.
Hamels has been lights out in his last four starts, all games that he has won as he looks for a career-high fifth consecutive win tonight which is huge for the left hander after the struggles he endured earlier this season because of his offense not scoring for him.Cole is finally being rewarded for the hard work he's put in on the mound and now he's really close to putting together a season with a sub 2.00 ERA which would be another accomplishment for the 26-year-old.
The 2008 World Series MVP had a 25 inning scoreless streak going into his last start against the Marlins and in the second half of the season has held his opponents to a sub .200 batting average.
He has allowed just one run in his last 31 1/3 innings, and is 5-3 with a 1.79 ERA in his last 13 starts.
Hamels had a season high 13 strikeouts in the win against the Marlins and has 201 strikeouts on the season which is a career high with 12 games left to play. The most Hamels had before this season was 196 in 2008.
Cole is in the Top 5 in the National League in strikeouts and falls inside the top 15 in innings pitched and ERA.
He's gone at least six innings in eight of his last nine starts and has giving up more than three earned runs only twice in those nine starts.
And Cole has been dominant in September so far with a 3-0 with an ERA of 0.44 and two of those games were in Philadelphia where he has an ERA under 3.00 on the season.
Roy Halladay (19-10, 2.49 ERA)
Halladay has been everything the Phillies hoped he would be when the team traded for him in the offseason and has consistently been amongst the best pitchers in baseball again in a new league.
His 19 wins are the most any Phillies pitcher has had since Curt Schilling and he might just be the first 20 game winner since Steve Carlton in 1982.
Roy has struggled in his last couple of starts however, he has an ERA of 4.41 in his last five starts, but is picking up an extra day of rest before his start before which could help make a big difference as he's approaching a career high in innings pitched.
The funny thing about Roy Halladay in his last three starts is that even though he has an ERA near 5.00, he's also 3-0 in those games which is helping to make up for the games he lost earlier in the season when the team was averaging two runs per Halladay start.
It's amazing when you look at how reliable Halladay has been when it comes to going deep in games, he's been a work horse as indicated by his inning pitched numbers, he's pitched into the sixth inning or later in his last 21 starts, yes I said his last 21 starts.
And even though Halladay has struggled, he's still been better than most, he's only given up more than three earned runs three times in his last eleven starts.
Roy Oswalt (7-1 as a Phillie, 1.94 ERA)
Here's the newcomer to the mix and he's helped to balance out the top of the rotation in such a way that many people are viewing the Phillies as the favorite, which wasn't happening to much earlier in the season.
Oswalt has pitched into the sixth inning in all of his starts as a Phillie and has only given up more than three earned runs twice in his stint as a Phil.
So far in the month of September, Oswalt is as hot as the team with a 4-0 record and a ERA of 1.59. And since Oswalt joined the team on July 30, the big three is a combined 18-5 with a 2.39 ERA
Oswalt has matched and surpassed his win total of six that he had with the Astros in his two month run with the Phillies.
You take those three guys and add a newly energized offense and you may have yourself another World Series appearance from the Philadelphia Phillies.
His 19 wins are the most any Phillies pitcher has had since Curt Schilling and he might just be the first 20 game winner since Steve Carlton in 1982.
Roy has struggled in his last couple of starts however, he has an ERA of 4.41 in his last five starts, but is picking up an extra day of rest before his start before which could help make a big difference as he's approaching a career high in innings pitched.
The funny thing about Roy Halladay in his last three starts is that even though he has an ERA near 5.00, he's also 3-0 in those games which is helping to make up for the games he lost earlier in the season when the team was averaging two runs per Halladay start.
It's amazing when you look at how reliable Halladay has been when it comes to going deep in games, he's been a work horse as indicated by his inning pitched numbers, he's pitched into the sixth inning or later in his last 21 starts, yes I said his last 21 starts.
And even though Halladay has struggled, he's still been better than most, he's only given up more than three earned runs three times in his last eleven starts.
Roy Oswalt (7-1 as a Phillie, 1.94 ERA)
Here's the newcomer to the mix and he's helped to balance out the top of the rotation in such a way that many people are viewing the Phillies as the favorite, which wasn't happening to much earlier in the season.Oswalt has pitched into the sixth inning in all of his starts as a Phillie and has only given up more than three earned runs twice in his stint as a Phil.
So far in the month of September, Oswalt is as hot as the team with a 4-0 record and a ERA of 1.59. And since Oswalt joined the team on July 30, the big three is a combined 18-5 with a 2.39 ERA
Oswalt has matched and surpassed his win total of six that he had with the Astros in his two month run with the Phillies.
You take those three guys and add a newly energized offense and you may have yourself another World Series appearance from the Philadelphia Phillies.
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