It certainly seems as if the Fightins have climbed out of their month-long malaise. They've won 4 of their last 5 at the expense of top-tier teams like the Red Sox, Yankees and Twins. Last night's 9-5 win over the Twins was powered by Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.
Howard, who began to show life Wednesday night with a homer in New York, had two home runs, a double and a triple against the Twins pitching staff while Utley, denying rumors of a knee injury did the talking with his bat and glove -- a single, a homer, and a fantastic diving play to his left in the field. Perhaps Davy Lopes should have played doctor a bit sooner?
With the resurgent Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay set to pitch over the weekend, the Phillies are set up to tack on a few more wins.
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A word about Scott Mathieson: Please, do not use the outcome of his 9th inning appearance last evening to cloud your judgement of his performance. He threw mid-to upper-90's fast balls for strikes. Unfortunately, two batters managed to get seeing-eye singles through the infield on a night when the Phillies defense was superb. Of the three hits Mathieson gave up, only one was struck well. I'm anxious to see how he does in his next appearances.
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Below is a photo gallery from the gorgeous evening spent in South Philly [hover mouse over photo for a description]:
