On The Edge Blog


Friday, October 3, 2008

Phillies head to Milwaukee...

After two wins over the Brewers at the Bank, the Phillies are doing infinitely better than last year's dismal playoff appearance against the Rockies, and everything seems to be going Philadelphia's way so far.

And that all starts with the pitching staff, which has been the most consistent part of the team since the Joe Blanton trade in July.

Through the first two games, the Phillies' two horses, Cole Hamels and Brett Myers, have allowed just one run over 15 brilliant innings of work. In total, the pitching staff has allowed just seven hits this series to a team that is known for its sluggers.

So far, Ryan Braun is the only Brewer with more than one hit this series, and Prince Fielder, Mike Cameron, Bill Hall, Rickie Weeks, and Jason Kendall are all hitless. As a team, the Brew Crew is hitting just .115 and has struck out 16 times in two games.

On the flip side, while Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell have just one hit for the Phillies, they have also drawn seven walks, which is more than the entire Brewers team after two games. Speaking of walks, how awesome was Brett Myers' walk against C.C. Sabathia in the 2nd inning of game 2? It's the second time that he has done those theatrics at the plate, and each time he has psyched out the opposing pitcher. Last time, against the Mets, he struck out, but it led to Chris Coste's game-winning hit, and this time it led to Shane Victorino's grand slam. Maybe he should pinch hit a few times in the playoffs because something good always follows.

Looking ahead to tomorrow night, Jamie Moyer will throw against Dave Bush, and that has to make Phillies fans feel good because Jamie has been brilliant at 45 years old, going 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA during the regular season, while Bush was under .500, going 9-10 for the Brewers. If the Phillies can't close it out on Saturday, their hitters will get a chance to tee off on Jeff Suppan, who went 10-10 with a 4.96 ERA, on Sunday, with Joe Blanton taking the hill for the Fightins.

After seeing how Hamels' change up mystified the Brewers, I can't imagine Moyer struggling tomorrow night, which means that the Phillies would have a few days off, and would be able to start the NLCS with the same starting rotation, meaning Hamels and Myers in games 1 and 2 in the next round.

Let's go Fightins!!!

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just curious ... when will you be posting an apology to Eli Manning?

October 5, 2008 3:25 PM  
Anonymous Scotty said...

Phils win! Phils win! And so do the Assjackers! hahahahaahaha!

October 5, 2008 10:35 PM  

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Name: Matthew Fleishman, Yardley News Editor
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