Ravaged by Pirates, Halladay Begins Assault on Braves

Written by Mike Mariano | 06 July 2010

I'd like to find some silver linings from losing 3 out of 4 to the Pirates, but I can't bring myself to do it.  Anytime you squander a chance to rise up the division ladder against perennially one of the worst teams around, you're doing something wrong.  The Pirates aren't as hapless as they've been in recent years, however they're hardly a team that's a near sweep better than the Phillies.

It may take some getting used to, but the Phillies are likely to be in this dog fight for the rest of the summer.  Not only that, they're likely to be fighting an uphill battle for most of it as well.  We all know the Mets will fade when the going gets tough because they're a team full of sissies.  The Braves on the other hand are too consistent on the mound for the Phillies to handle right now.  The Phillies are unquestionably the better team when firing on all cylinders, but how many times this season can you say that's happened?  That's the kind of stuff that'll cost you a shot at the playoffs.

In happy news, Roy Halladay did exactly what he's expected to do last night -- got the win, complete game, only 93 pitches, only 5 hits allowed.  3-1 Phillies win and moved to within 4 games of the divisional lead.  Greg Dobbs got off the snide with a nice 2 run home run and the whole middle of the order knocked some hits.  Winning this series against Braves would do wonders for a team that's aimlessly floating around right now like the Phils.  Cole Hamels needs to be big tonight, I'd really hate to have to complain about him tomorrow.