The Phillies completed a four game SWEEP of the the Brew Crew (by pounding Milwaukee pitcher, Jeff Suppan) on Sunday, the day rally towels returned to Philadelphia. Add to that some help from divisional rivals beating the Mets down, the Phillies have taken a lead in the playoff race. First, it was a tie for the Wild card lead, and after a win to start this week's series in Atlanta, the division lead.A glance at the key competition: The Brewers are now 3-12 in September, and have fired their manager, Ned Yost. The Metropolitans have lost 4 of their past 5 games. And after starting the month on fire, the Astros have scored just 2 runs in their past 3 games, including a no-hitter thrown on Sunday, by Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs.
Statement to ponder: Big time NL awards will be in the future for two Phillies this year.
The league most valuable player award could reside in Philadelphia for a third straight year, as Ryan Howard makes a huge late season push for this honor. Howard, is scorching hot right now, and is having his 2nd best statistical month of his career. So far, in 14 games this month, Ry-Ho has 8 homers, 22 RBI, 21 hits, a .396 avg, and a 1.448 OPS. Howard has raised his batting average 15 points this month. In the last 4 seasons, Howard leads the majors in homers hit in September, with 38. Clutch.
Could the Cy Young Award return to Philadelphia for the first time since a bearded man nicknamed "Bedrock" rocked the 9th inning for the Fightin's? Brad Lidge is worthy of consideration here. Lidge is a perfect 37-for-37 in save opportunities, with a 2-0 record and a 1.96 ERA. He also has 82 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings pitched. In Lidge's 37 save opportunities, his ERA is 0.97. Clutch also.
Enough credit can not be given to Brett Myers right now. This year's opening day starter is really pitching like he is worthy of such an assignment. Since he returned from a stint in the minors in July, Myers is 7-2 with a 1.80 ERA in 80 innings pitched with 2 complete games. Myers has a 2.77 ERA at home this season...1.35 ERA at home since he returned from his demotion.
Tune in next time for more Phoul Ballz in your area. Until then- go, Phillies!
