Lee's Red Hot Bat

It's been a while since I've written a Phillies recap, but it's like riding a bike, let's get to it.

The Philadelphia Phillies (31-19) won the series finale today over the Cincinnati Reds by a score of 10-4 behind the bat of Cliff Lee. Yes, that Cliff Lee.

Lee got the win for the Phils today going eight innings, allowing four earned runs on ten hits while striking out eight to pick up his fourth win on the season. But the story was about Lee's day at the plate.

At the plate, Lee was one of the Phils' biggest contributors going 2-4 at the dish and driven in three runs, included a game breaking ground rule in the bottom of the sixth inning which broke a 4-4 tie.

Lee has always been enamored with the prospect of hitting in the National League and has said on many occasions that he enjoys the opportunity to get his hands a little dirty and he showed why today.

The Phils were able to take three out of four against the struggling Reds and have seemed to right the ship after losing five of six games in one stretch.

Philadelphia is also seeing a spark in run production after a nine game stretch where the Phillies couldn't score more than three runs in a game, the Phillies have scored three or more runs in their last four against Cincinnati, a team not starved for starting pitching.

The Phillies didn't look very tired at all after a 19 inning marathon on Wednesday night which saw the two teams playing past 1am.

It has also a great sign for the Phillies to see Raul Ibanez continue of his hot streak at the plate, as he hit a three-run home run today and has been hitting at a .340 clip since his 35 at-bat hit less streak.

Chase Utley also chipped in with his first home run of the season since returning to the team on Monday.

This is a team that badly needed a shot in the arm offensively have seemed to wake up, thanks in part to a guy that couldn't buy a hit a month ago and a second baseman who wasn't on the team for 95% of the season.

It's safe to say that things are looking up for the Phillies and sometimes we forget that this team has locked down the top spot in the NL East basically from the beginning until now even with the constant struggles and injuries.

The Phillies are now looking ahead to a weekend series up in New York against the self-imploding Mets. Roy Oswalt will take to the mound tomorrow night for the Phils and will be opposed by Chris Capuano. First pitch tomorrow night is set for 7:05pm.

Photo Courtesy US Presswire