Nobody was concerned about the Phillies pitching and everybody was concerned about 
the Phillies hitting. If games were played on paper, nobody would have been shocked if the Phillies won 130 games on pitching alone, winning games 1-0. Without Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, the line-up would be even more anemic they said.
Well, as sad as it is, if these two games are any indication of things to come, the nay-sayers and skeptics may be right, as the Phillies have shown nothing but dominant pitching and dormant bats. In their first two games, a win and a loss, the Phillies have scored one run, giving up two runs, neither of which are surprising. Game two even took extra innings to complete, both teams only able to score one run in nine innings (whether it was because of the Phillies’ pitching brilliance or the Pirates’ hitting incompetence, the world may never know). Continue reading
John Mayberry Jr., were selected to represent the National League in this summer’s All-Star game. But with great power comes great responsibility and considering the challenges that the Phillies’ offense is likely to face, the outfielders are going to have to do most of the heavy lifting for this line-up. 
to rebound from being swept (one loss in one game, it counts) by the Florida Marlins by beating down on a Reds team that came into the game just one game over .500. They sent Cole Hamels to the mound for his first start since he collected his seventh loss back on August 12th. Hamels had been on the disabled list due to shoulder inflammation, something he showed no signs of tonight, dominating the Reds in the six innings that he pitched. 
that would put his record at .500 for the year. Oswalt looked to have his work cut out for him, facing a Marlins team with the seventh worst record in the majors, along with one of the worst offenses in the MLB. Pair the Marlins weaknesses with the Phillies recently improved offense, and it seemed like the Phillies fourth ace would have absolutely no trouble in assisting the Phillies to a major league best 84th win. Unfortunately for Oswalt and the rest of the club from Philadelphia, tonight’s game wouldn’t be as easy as they expected.