The first two games of this series have reminded me of Astros matchups from yesteryear, in which the Phillies always seemed to draw Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt, and almost always lost. Shawn Chacon and Oswalt combined to throw 15 innings of one-run baseball at them on Tuesday and Wednesday; the only point in either game at which the Phils have led was when Geoff Jenkins crossed the plate (or didn't...) to cap that four-run 9th in Tuesday's contest and secure the win.
Brandon Backe tries to match his teammates in Thursday's afternoon series finale. He'll be countered by Brett Myers, whom the Phillies hope turned it around last Friday in registering his first win as a starter since September 2006. The home club hasn't exactly gotten terrible pitching either, with Adam Eaton throwing six decent innings Tuesday and Kyle Kendrick turning in a very strong performance (7 IP, 2 ER) as a hard-luck loser Wednesday night. Fifteen games in, the Phillies' pitching has been way ahead of their offense, I think to everyone's surprise.