Phils drop series to Fish, set for LA, Kershaw

This is certainly the most frustrating Phillies team to watch since the dark days. It's hard to pinpoint their identity. Just when it seems they're coming together, they go into another slump.

The Phils wrapped up May with a nice road trip, taking three of four in St. Louis and two of three against the Mets. After a 6-4 victory against the Marlins upon returning home, they lost two extremely frustrating games.

Most would imagine a 3-0 lead for Cole Hamels on Saturday would have been enough to win, but Hanley Ramirez got the best of him with two home runs and the Phillies blew late opportunities to tie the game. They had runners at second and third with no outs in the eighth and managed only one run, and had a runner at second with one out in the ninth but failed to bring him home in a 5-4 loss.

Yesterday, Joe Blanton struggled again and Carlos Zambrano completely shut down the Phils' bats in a 5-1 loss. Miami moved into a first place tie with Washington in the division, while New York is a 1/2 game back, the slumping Braves are two games back and the Phils are 3 1/2 out.

Things won't get any easier tonight, with Clayton Kershaw on the mound for the Dodgers. Kershaw is coming off back-to-back losses, and is not having as dominant a season as he did during his Cy Young season last year. Still, he's one of the premier pitchers in the league and will be a tough challenge for the Phils. Kershaw is 0-4 with a 5.18 ERA in his career against the Phils, but that was before he developed into the pitcher he is now.

Worley returns from the disabled list to make his first start since May 11 against San Diego.

Los Angeles has the best league of all of MLB, and this could be a tough four-game set for the Phils. But, it's time to start stringing some wins together. When the calendar hits June, it's a little difficult to say, "it's still early."