Pitchers Dominate Series

The bats of the Phillies came alive at very precise moments to provide a very low-scoring series win. In fact, the Phillies won the series 2-1 despite being outscored 5-3 by the Giants. It was a quick series too as the games lasted 2:20, 2:36, and 2:08 respectively.

Tuesday - Phillies won 1-0: The Phillies got all the offense it needed from Ryan Howard's RBI double in the 4th as Cole Hamels pitched a complete game shut out. In nine innings, Hamels struck out nine, allowing only two hits and a walk.

Wednesday - Giants won 4-0: JA Happ got whacked around a bit and the Phillies offense made Brad Penny look like an ace. Happ gave up all four runs on eight hits and a walk, striking out seven in six innings. Penny threw eight shut out innings, surrendering five hits and a walk.

Thursday - Phillies won 2-1: Pedro Martinez looked ten years younger as he threw seven innings of one-run ball after giving up a first pitch homer to start the game. He struck out nine batters and only threw 87 pitches. He got support from Jayson Werth's monster blast in the second and then from Howard's RBI double in the sixth.

Series MVP's:

Cole Hamels: CG, 0 R/ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 9 K

Ryan Howard: 4-11, 3 doubles, 2 RBI's, 2 GW hits

Pedro Martinez: 7 IP, 1 R/ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 9 K

Next Series: Philadelphia Phillies (77-54, 41-23 on road) @ Houston Astros (63-70, 35-30 at home)

Pitching Probables:

Friday: PHI: Lee, Cl (12-10, 2.83), HOU: Rodriguez, W (12-9, 2.93)

Saturday: PHI: Blanton (9-6, 3.77), HOU: Oswalt (8-5, 3.80)

Sunday: PHI: Hamels (8-8, 4.26), HOU: Norris (3-3, 6.61)

Monday: PHI: Happ (10-4, 2.77), HOU: Moehler (8-10, 5.11)

Key Game:

The Phillies need to establish their dominance in this series early. Friday's game is key because it is Cliff Lee's first start since getting burned against the Braves. He will look to feast on a weak Astros offense.

This is the first match ups between the two teams. It will be a four-game series which is actually good for the Phillies since they are road warriors. The Astros are pretty much out of this season so the Phillies can easily kick this team while they are down.

The Astros are a poor team all around. Offensively they are 5th in average and 12th in scoring in the NL while the Phillies are 11th and 2nd. The drop from 1st to 2nd is due to the Phillies lack of scoring their past 7 games. Pitching has really stepped up for the Phillies as they are 7th in ERA while Houston is 12th.

This should be a series win for the Phillies as they see their magic number drop fast. They have their four best pitchers going versus Houston as they get set for a good September heading into the playoffs. Phillies take three and score big in atleast two games.