It's a two-race race again.
The Phillies and New York Mets both won last night, but the the San Diego Padres lost to Colorado to move the Phillies within 1 1/2 games of first place in the NL wild-card race. The Phillies remain 1 1/2 games behind the Mets in the NL East.
So the Phillies trail by two in the loss column in both races with eight games to play.
Could a 6-2 finish get them into the playoffs? It would mean the Mets or Padres would have to finish no better than 5-4 to force a one-game playoff.
The Mets finish the weekend against the Marlins, then head home for seven against the Nationals, Cardinals and Marlins. As bad as the Mets are playing, I'm not sure I can find four losses there. The Padres finish the weekend against the Rockies, then play seven on the road next week against San Francisco and Milwaukee. I can find four losses there, especially with the Brewers playing so well at home this season.
But the Phillies simply need to keep winning. They got a decent effort from Adam Eaton in last night's 6-3 victory over the Nationals at RFK Stadim, so it makes you think anything is possible.
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Bob Ford tells us how important the bullpen -- yes, that bullpen -- has been in this late season surge.
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Jimmy Rollins' third-inning single made baseball history.
It gave him 200 hits. And according to Elias Sports Bureau, it meant Rollins became the first player in baseball history to have 200 hits, 15 triples, 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season. Ten players have had 200 hits, 15 triples and 25 home runs in a season, but none of those players had more than 20 stolen bases.
Like I wrote in Tuesday's Phillies Report, that 200-15-25 list includes:
Dale Alexander in 1929.
Earl Averill in 1936.
Joe DiMaggio in 1936 and 1937.
Lou Gehrig in 1927, 1930 and 1931.
Hank Greenberg in 1935.
Chuck Klein in 1932.
Stan Musial in 1948.
Jim Rice in 1977 and 1978.
Jimmy Rollins in 2007.
Babe Ruth in 1921.
Al Simmons in 1930.
But like I said, none of those players had more than 20 stolen bases (Klein had 20 in 1932). All except Alexander and Rice are in the Hall of Fame. Five of those players also won MVP honors: Gehrig in 1927, Klein in 1932, Greenberg in 1935, Musial in 1948, and Rice in 1978. (There were no MVP awards in 1921 or 1930.)
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Phil Sheridan and Ford discuss Rollins' chance to be National League MVP.
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You might have noticed philly.com's new design. I felt a little like Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer when I turned on my computer this morning. But I'm sure I'll get used to it.
Comments (6)
Another nice win last night; even Eaton wasn't terrible - though I was lucky enough to miss the first inning. Manuel deserves another 2 years, either way.
PS: Maybe the Padres aren't bullet-proof, after all.
Posted by John in LA | September 22, 2007 10:43 AM
Posted on September 22, 2007 10:43
Gotta say, I really like writing "Really nice win" just about every day lately. This team is for real!
Posted by John in LA | September 22, 2007 11:16 AM
Posted on September 22, 2007 11:16
Here's my fearless prediction with a week to go:
Phils go 7-1 rest of the way,
Mets go 6-3,
Padres go 5-4.
End result Phils and Mets end up in tie for division and wild card and because of head to head record, Phils take NL East!
Now it's time to wake up and realize we are going to be sweating it out until 5:00 on Sep 30 while the Phils sit on the runway at the airport waiting to see if they are flying to the West Coast for a one game playoff.
It's going to be a nerve wrecking week, looking forward to all of the fun!
Posted by Ed S. | September 22, 2007 11:22 AM
Posted on September 22, 2007 11:22
Bottom of the first was agonizing. Seven batters came to the plate. The first pitch to each one was a ball. One of them was plunked. Yet some way, somehow, Eaton got out of it only giving up one run. Then he settled down - for the most part, anyway. Five innings, five hits, five walks. But only three runs - more than enough for the top four in the Phils' batting order, which produced everything - every run scored, every RBI. That's how good the offense is - guys like Werth and Rowand and Dobbs can have an off night, and yet enough runs for Adam Eaton can be produced.
Not enough can be said about the performance of Geoff Geary. After Eaton, how refreshing was it to see a guy throw 16 out of 20 pitches for strikes? Then the table was set for the Big Three - Romero, Gordon, Myers. The Phils were like a well-oiled machine last night. They came out and just took care of business. I thought it was one of the Phils' most promising performances of the season, all of the double plays aside.
P.S. New Yorkers are still touting David Wright as MVP. He's a great player - I have tons of respect for him - but it's driving me crazy. The numbers just aren't there in a league with Prince Fielder, Matt Holliday, Jimmy Rollins, and yes, Ryan Howard.
P.P.S. Someone send some sort of gift to Morales and Hawpe from the Rockies.
Posted by Louis | September 22, 2007 1:25 PM
Posted on September 22, 2007 13:25
The boys keep getting it done.
I really liked seeing Howard hit 2 singles and a double.
Mets should be due for a loss today or tomorrow. The Fish helped them out last night with 6 errors.
I also like Colorado's chances tonight. We need to take care of business too.
Go Phils!
Posted by Murph | September 22, 2007 2:07 PM
Posted on September 22, 2007 14:07
Reporting live from DC:
Hey ya'll, anybody else coming down for the night or tomorrow afternoon? In any case, let's go Phils. It's go time.
Posted by V | September 22, 2007 5:07 PM
Posted on September 22, 2007 17:07