Wow, what a road trip! In fact it's the Phils' best road trip of more than seven games ever. Yesterday's 9-8 come from behind victory capped it at 9-1.
The Phillies are 77-40, are running away with the NL East as the Braves trail by 8.5 games and seem to be well on their way to a franchise best regular season.
Vance Worley didn't have his best stuff yesterday, he lasted just four innings and allowed six runs, but you have to give him credit for battling after a brutal first inning in which he allowed five runs. Had Charlie Manuel needed to turn to the 'pen in the first, who knows how the game would have turned out. Worley even chipped in an RBI single in the fourth.
Worley's ERA is rising at a rapid pace. Just four starts ago, his 2.02 ERA thrust him into Rookie of the Year contention. It's now risen to 2.85, which is still spectacular. Hopefully Worley bounces back after the occasional rough outing, like he's done all year.
The Phillies are 12-1 with Hunter Pence, who hit a two-run shot to center yesterday for his third in a Phillies' uniform. They've scored 186 runs since the end of June, which leads the National League. A potent offense combined that their lethal rotation is obviously a tremendous combination. That's why we're being treated to history this year.
After a long flight home and a day off today, the Phils will host Jayson Werth and the Washington Nationals over the weekend. Who would you rather have right now, Werth or Pence?
This year: Werth .226, .332 OBP, .387 SLUG, .719 OPS, 14 HR, 44 RBI, 22 2B, 1 3B, 51 Runs, 14 SB, 118 K, 59 BB.
Pence: .313, .360 OBP, .484 SLUG, .844 OPS, 14 HR, 71 RBI, 29 2B, 3 3B, 55 Runs, 7 SB, 95 K, 34 BB.
Oh, did I mention that Pence is about $700 million cheaper?
Here's a look at the probables:
Friday: Livan Hernandez (6-11, 4.41) vs. Cole Hamels (13-6, 2.53)
Saturday: John Lannan (8-7, 3.56) vs. Roy Oswalt (4-7, 3.84)
Sunday: TBD vs. Roy Halladay (15-4, 2.51)
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