Phillies looking like best team in Bigs!
September 23rd 2010 10:53
from MLB.com
hillies first-base coach Davey Lopes offered Jayson Werth a simple reminder with two outs in the eighth inning Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park.Be ready to score on a double.
Werth later joked he never needed the reminder. He said even before Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez ripped a double into the left-field corner, he planned to score. So when the ball left Ibanez's bat, Werth raced home. He whipped around the bases and said the moment he saw the ball bounce off the wall, he knew he would score the game's only run in a 1-0 victory over the Braves.
The Phillies, who have won 10 in a row, swept the Braves in a critical three-game series to take a six-game lead in the National League East with just nine games to play.
The magic number to clinch their fourth consecutive NL East title is four.
"I don't think we necessarily had anything to prove, because we already believed we were the best team, but at the same time, it's nice to get out there and do it," closer Brad Lidge said.
The Phils could clinch the division as early as this weekend.
The earlier the better.
"It's important," Werth said. "We have some guys who need to play. It would be nice to get Jimmy [Rollins] back and get him in there and get him going a bit. But at the same time, there are some other things that we're playing for. They're important, too."
The Phillies would like to finish with the best record in baseball. They improved to 92-61, which is tied with the Yankees and Twins for the most wins in the Majors. The top NL team gets to choose between an eight-day or seven-day NL Division Series. An eight-day series would allow the Phils to pitch only Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, if they wanted.
Philadelphia shuffled its rotation last week to have Hamels, Halladay and Oswalt face Atlanta, and it worked out brilliantly. Hamels allowed just one run in eight innings in Monday's 3-1 victory over the Braves. Halladay allowed three runs in seven innings in Tuesday's 5-3 win.
Oswalt might have pitched the best of the three. He retired the first 11 batters he faced Wednesday until Martin Prado hit a two-out double to right-center field in the fourth. Oswalt retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced, allowing just one hit and one walk and striking out eight in seven innings.
"We knew what we were getting into coming in here," Braves catcher Brian McCann said. "We knew who they were pitching. We've all faced them before and they've all got great stuff. They executed every pitch, and when they got themselves in trouble, they got out of it. That's what No. 1s do, and all three of those guys are No. 1s."
Oswalt would not pick up his eighth win in 11 starts with the Phils, but he is 7-1 with a 1.76 ERA (15 earned runs in 76 2/3 innings).
He has been remarkable.
"It's fun for me after not being in contention," said Oswalt, who joined the Phillies on July 29 in a trade with the Astros. "This is what baseball is."
Ryan Madson pitched a perfect top of the eighth to keep the game scoreless entering the bottom of the inning.
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