How sweep it is: Phillies take control of NL East

That will just about do it for the National League East.

Everything worked exactly as the Phillies planned when they set up their rotation so that Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt would face the Braves in a pivotal 3 game series this week. After Hamels and Halladay won their starts, it was up to Oswalt to complete the sweep, and he more than rose to the occasion, giving up just one hit in 7 innings while striking out 8 batters. Since the Phillies didn't score until Raul Ibanez doubled in Jayson Werth in the 8th inning, Oswalt didn't get credit for a win but he certainly gets credit for pitching a gem.

The win over the Braves pushes the Phillies division lead to 6 games with just 9 games left to play. While there is another series with the Braves looming at the end of the season, it's safe to say that the division is basically wrapped up at this point. Given that the Phillies have won 10 straight games and are playing better baseball than anyone else in the league, it should only be a matter of days before they clinch their 4th straight NL East title.