With a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend, the Phillies jumped back into the playoff chase after falling four games behind both the Brew Crew in the wild card race and the Mets in the division race.

Last Thursday, moments before Jamie Moyer took the hill on short rest in the first game of the crucial series with the Brewers, I was talking with several die-hard Phillies fans, and each one agreed that the team just didn’t look like it cared as much as last year’s team did.

And up until Jamie Moyer stepped on the mound, they were right.

Last year, at any moment in any game, you felt as though the Phillies were primed to have a big inning from the offense, and a couple scoreless frames tossed by the bullpen. This year, the Phillies looked dead in the water as Cole Hamels whined himself into a loss against the Mets in a game that would have put them in a tie for first place, and the Phillies bullpen blew leads late in games, while the big stars struck out in clutch situations.

Suddenly, that all has seemed to change. With four great outings from their starters and timely hitting from their stars, the Phillies have that “Fightins” aura around them, which we all hope will carry over through the next two weeks and push them into the playoffs.

Players always try to say that one game doesn’t affect the next game, but after seeing 45-year-old Moyer’s gusty performance in the Phillies 6-3 win over the Brewers, the rest of the team followed his lead and Hamels, Joe Blanton, and then Brett Myers, who also pitched on short rest, turned in dominant outings to bring the Phillies back from the dead.

However, the pitchers weren’t the only ones showing their “Fightins” pride, as the hitters broke out of their listless slumps to back the solid pitching performances. Ryan Howard, who for much of the season looked like strikeouts were the goal, and contact was a mistake, has put the offense on his back in September, hitting .396 with 8 homers and 22 RBIs in 14 games. His clutch hitting has even elevated him into the National League MVP discussion, despite his .249 batting average.

I know it is crazy to think that Albert Pujols wouldn’t win the MVP with his .360 batting average, but he once said that the MVP shouldn’t go to a team that isn’t in the playoffs, so if Howard can slug the Phillies into October, he could come home with his second MVP award in three years. And he certainly is trying! With an RBI triple in the seventh inning, and a game-winning two-run homer in the eighth inning against the Braves last night, Howard is coming through at the most clutch times.

In addition to Howard, Jimmy Rollins has finally found his swing, hitting .368 for the month, while Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth have combined to score 20 runs in 14 September games.

While wins are certainly important, the key factor in all this has been the Brewers dropping 12 of their last 15, and the Mets’ bullpen coughing up two leads against the Atlanta Braves over the weekend. Their struggles have allowed the Phillies to make up for their lackluster August and get back in the race.

Needless to say, last Thursday morning, when the Phillies were four games out of the playoffs, it was nearly football season in Philadelphia, but just like last year, the Phillies are making a run for glory and will keep us tuned in until the very end.

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Like the “On the Edge” column? Hear more of my opinions about Philadelphia sports every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on WBCB 1490 AM during the Coffee with Kahuna show, where, this week, we will talk about the Eagles/Steelers match up, and preview the Phillies’ series against the Marlins.