Braves Series

Game 1: Braves 9, Phillies 3
Memorial Day - 1:05 EST start time; W - Hanson (5-3) - 6 2/3 IP, 1 ER; L - Blanton (1-4) - 6 IP, 4 ER; Braves scored 3 runs each in the 1st, 3rd, and 7th innings; Phillies scored 3 runs in 7th inning; Brad Lidge threw a scoreless 8th inning in his 1st appearance since returning from the DL.


Game 2: Braves 7, Phillies 3
7:05 EST start time; W - Hudson (6-1) - 6 IP, 2 ER; L - Hamels (5-4) - 2/3 IP, 3 ER; SV - Wagner (8); Braves score 3 runs in 1st inning again; Phillies scored a run in the 9th to cut it to 7-3, left the bases loaded, ended the game with the tying run at the plate; Game was delayed in bottom of 1st inning, which forced Hamels to an early exit; Jose Contreras lowered his ERA to 0.56 with 2/3 scoreless innings.



Game 3: Braves 2, Phillies 1
1:05 EST start time; W - Lowe (8-4) - 8 IP, 1 ER; L - Contreras (2-2) - 2/3 IP, 1 ER; S - Wagner (9); Game was tied, 1-1, entering bottom of 8th inning; Kendrick threw 6 consecutive scoreless innings after allowing a 1st inning run; Braves took lead on Omar Infante single in 8th inning; Jayson Werth went 1 for 3 hitting from the leadoff spot.



Final Analysis: The last time the Phillies scored more than 3 runs in a game: May 21. The last time the Phillies scored more than 5 runs in a game: May 17. This team cannot continue to waste good pitching performances. From the start of the season, I have been very uncomfortable with the pitching staff. I believed that the Phillies' chances of winning the World Series lied only with the pitching staff, because I assumed that the offense would be producing consistently. For the last 2 weeks, it has been the opposite. The pitching staff has been producing consistently, while the offense has looked helpless. I still believe that the pitching staff is shaky, and if the offense doesn't turn it around soon, they will have wasted one of the few stretches throughout the year in which the pitching staff has been consistently good. As they continue to fall further behind the Braves in the standings, the Phillies must look to turn it around as they return home after finishing that road trip 2-7. Who better to turn it around than Roy Halladay though, right?