| Bill Meltzer. 5th June, 2005 - 5:30 am
 Baseball fortunes sure can change in a hurry. Just when the Philadelphia Phillies looked dead in the water – five games under .500, facing four successive series against first or second place teams – the club started to hit their stride.
The Phillies won two of three games in three of the series (Cardinals, Orioles, Braves) and, were in not for a bullpen implosion in the middle game of a three-game set with the Marlins, they’d have taken two of three in that one as well.
The momentum has carried over since the Phillies returned home from Atlanta. After sweeping the San Francisco Giants to reach the .500 mark, the club shrugged off a Friday night rain out to sweep a doubleheader against the scuffling Arizona Diamondbacks.
As of this writing, National League East now stands in a virtual dead heat among all five teams in the division.
The Phillies charge has been led by the scorching bats of right fielder Bobby Abreu, center fielder Kenny Lofton and second baseman Chase Utley.
Abreu, the National League’s Player of the Month for May was arguably the toughest out in the Major Leagues the entire month. Not only did he hit .396 with 11 homers and 30 RBIs, he also drew 30 walks and scored 22 runs. He’s stayed locked in so far in early June, capped off by a magnificent performance in the opening game of the twin bill. He went deep twice in the opener off Javier Vasquez to spark the Phils to a 10-6 win. Despite taking the collar in the second game, his average stands at a robust .335.
Lofton has come off the disabled list with a flourish and given the club a much-needed spark from the two-hole in the lineup. After the nightcap of the Arizona doubleheader, he’s hitting .379 (in 87 at bats). The 38-year-old veteran finally seems to have worked through the hamstring problems that kept him sidelined most of the first two months. He legged out a triple in the first inning of the doubleheader opener and later beat out a bunt. He scored two runs and drove in two runs during Philadelphia's six-run fourth. He added an RBI triple in the second game.
Meanwhile, Utley continues to make a strong case to play everyday at second base. Following on the heels of a dramatic pinch-hit grand slam in the 8th inning of the series finale against San Francisco, Utley went 3-for-4 in the opener against Arizona. The left handed hitter has 9 home runs and 25 RBI in just 139 ABs, to go along with his .309 average.
While those three players are drawing most of the attention, shortstop Jimmy Rollins has also begun to make things happen from the leadoff position. His average hovering at .230 on May 17, Rollins has returned to the use-all-fields approach that worked well for him last season. J-Roll is now hitting .279 and has only struck out three times in his last 85 at bats (spanning 19 games). His only bugaboo is his unwillingness to wait out more walks.
Left fielder Pat Burrell hasn’t been hitting many home runs of late (just 2 in his last 23 games), but he’s been driving in runs and has raised his average to .313.
The Phillies suddenly hot offense has helped overcome their still-shaky bullpen. Meanwhile, the starting pitching has tailed off slightly of late, but the starters continue to give the club a chance to win. After missing consecutive starts with back spasms, enigmatic right hander Vicente Padilla threw 5 solid innings to win the front end of the double header, while emerging ace Brett Myers – coming off a rocky outing in Atlanta – won the nightcap without his A-stuff.
Left hander Randy Wolf, who went 4-1 with a 3.08 ERA in May after a terrible April (1-3, 6.52 ERA) will look to help the Phils stay undefeated on their current homestand. He’ll be opposed by another left, Brad Halsey (4-2, 3.00 ERA). |
