Break up the Phillies!

The Phils completed a sweep of San Diego on the Left Coast last night, fueled by another show of power from Ryan Howard and a gem from rookie hurler J.A. Happ.

With the Mets being rained out, the Phils now lead the NL East by three full games as they head up the coast to L.A., and a weekend set with the NL West-leading Dodgers. The Phils have now won six straight as they continue their amazing play on the road.

Now it’s time to get greedy. Is anyone else wondering about all those starts the Phils gave Chan Ho Park, who was declared the fifth starter after a training camp battle with Happ? How’s that decision look now?

All Happ did was last night was throw seven scoreless innings in dominating the Padres. The Phils got back-to-back strong efforts from two rookies, Happ and Antonio Bastardo. Their starting pitching, which has looked shaky much of the early going, is looking better by the day, even with Brett Myers headed toward surgery and the shelf for the rest of the season.

The Phils also welcomed back set-up man J.C. Romero from his 50-game suspension. He pitched an inning and a third, giving up two hits and one unearned run.

There is a touch of bad news. Hey, it wouldn’t be Philly without a dark lining would it?

Center-fielder Shane Victorino left the game in the sixth with a strained hip. He’ll have it examined today.

For now, it’s bring on L.A.