Reality Bites
The Phillies entered their weekend series with the Marlins looking for a perfect week, instead they found a cold dose of reality. On Saturday, the familiar woes of starting pitching – this time J.D. Durbin – spotted the Fish a six-run lead in the first (it would’ve been seven had Jimmy Rollins not lead off the game with a home run). Then Sunday sporting a five-run lead of their own, Phillies pitchers Adam Eaton and Kane Davis coughed up five homers as the Marlins held on to win 7-6. Florida also benefited from some spotty calls by home plate umpire Rob Drake in the ninth inning.
Meanwhile, the Mets swept the Braves and the euphoria of last week’s monumental sweep has subdued. The Mets may have gotten swept, but they know how to take care of business. Now Pedro is coming back and the Phils have the wounded Braves on their hand. Going into the final month of the season, the Phils are three games back in the Wild Card and four in the division – overcoming those deficits are certainly not impossible. But be careful what you wish for.
Our Phillies have a certain reputation the past few years. They suck you in with big wins, amazing finishes and individual performances worth watching, but in the end they ultimately disappoint. How many people jumped back on the bandwagon after the Mets series? We said last week that the Padres and Mets series would tell a lot about the Phillies. Maybe it told us something we already knew.
