Atlanta in Flames: Phillies sweep season series in Atlanta

by WholeCamels on Sep 18, 2008 10:03 PM EDT

His second save of the series much less dramatic than his first, Brad Lidge closed out a 4-3 victory for the Philadelphia Phillies with a three up, three down 9th on Thursday night. Pat Burrell came up really big with a 2 run 6th inning home run.

Cole Hamels battled but didn't look sharp. His pitches were elevated all night and he gave up a lot of baserunners, at least for him. Hopefully it was just an off night, and not the Verducci Effect taking hold.

The playoff picture, as it currently stands:

The Milwaukee Brewers suffered a heartbreaking defeat today, blowing a four run lead in the 9th with two outs, giving up four runs to allow the Chicago Cubs to tie a game they went on to win 7-6 in 13 innings. If the Brewers weren't our direct playoff competition, I'd kind of feel sorry for them. As it is, I say w00t!!! The Brewers now sit two games behind the Phillies in the standings, and 1 1/2 games behind the Wild Card leading Mets.

As I type this, the New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals 7-2 behind Johan Santana. The Phillies remain a half game ahead of the Mets.

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Comments

maybe its just me, but doesn’t it seem like ryan howard has been going nuts on defense this month?

by char6587 on Sep 19, 2008 12:08 AM EDT reply actions

Going nuts in a good way, or in a bad way?

by taco pal on Sep 19, 2008 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions

little bit of both… he surprises you every now and again with a gold glove play, but then the next one rolls through the wickets… when they hit a ball his way, you might as well just flp a coin.

by foos05 on Sep 19, 2008 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions

Mentioned on the Braves broadcast: this is the first time the Braves got swept at home, I think in a multiple-series sequence (as in, it doesn’t count if the Rockies play one series there and and win all three games), since 1909 when the Cubs went 11-0 in Boston against the Braves.

It would be difficult to overstate how much satisfaction this gives me.

by dajafi on Sep 19, 2008 12:10 AM EDT reply actions