Phillies pound Braves, enter All-Star break with best record in baseball

You couldn't have scripted a better way for the Phillies to enter the All-Star break. After two nail biters against the Braves, the Phillies demolished Atlanta, winning 14-1 to maintain their 3.5 game lead in the NL East.

It was an offensive explosion for the Phils, who knocked out 20 hits against Derek Lowe and the rest of the solid Braves pitching staff. It was a complete team effort as every starter had at least one hit and one run, with most scoring twice and picking up multiple hits. Raul Ibanez had a huge game, driving in 6 runs while hitting his 12th home run of the season. Michael Martinez and John Mayberry, both filling in for injured All-Stars, also were key contributors, combining for 7 hits, 4 RBI and 3 runs scored. When Martinez and Mayberry have games like that, you know things are going well.

Cole Hamels also put together one last dominant start before the All-Star game, giving up just 3 hits while striking out 6 in 8 innings of work. He picked up his 11th win, tying Roy Halladay for most wins on the team.

The Phillies now enter the All-Star break with the best record in baseball. After crushing the second best team in the NL, they have to feel pretty good about their season so far. They've positioned themselves in such a way that all they need to worry about is getting healthy for the playoffs. With their starting pitching, they are built for another deep playoff run as long as they get even league average offense. If they hit even close to how they did today, they might not lose another game.
(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

Cliff Lee strikes out 16, still takes loss for Phillies

Reason #540 why wins and losses mean very little for pitchers: Cliff Lee struck out 16 batters yet still took the loss in a 5-0 Braves victory over the Phillies. Yeah, that seems fair.

While Lee had a rough start to his outing, giving up 3 runs in the 3rd inning, he was nothing but dominant after that, striking out 11 batters in innings 4 through 7. In other words, of the 12 outs Lee needed to get in those 4 innings, he got strike outs for 11 of them. Lee's 16 strikeouts were not only the highest in the majors this season but they were also one short of the Phillies team record of 17, which is held by Art Mahaffey.

Lee was dominant but Derek Lowe was better for the Braves, no-hitting the Phillies for 6 innings before allowing a pair of hits that chased him out of the game. The Phillies offense then had their chance to make a comeback but failed, striking out three straight times with two runners in scoring position in the 7th.

This just in: Cliff Lee is good. The Phillies starting pitchers have so far held up their end of the bargain, giving the team quality innings and special outings on a regular basis. The fact that Lee has a record of 2-3 is much more indicative of an inconsistent Phillies offense than anything he is doing. I have a feeling the "great pitching but inconsistent hitting" theme could be an ongoing narrative to the Phillies season.
(AP PHOTO)

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.

Halladay wins his 20th as Phillies take 5 game lead

I think we can all agree that wins are an overrated stat for pitchers. That said, you still have to be a damn good pitcher to win 20 games, which Roy Halladay did on Tuesday night against the Braves. More importantly for the team, with the 5-3 win, the Phillies have taken a solid 5 game lead in the National League East and lowered their magic number to 6.

Halladay becomes the first pitcher since Steve Carlton (23 wins in 1982) to win 20 games for the Phillies. It's also the third time in his career that Halladay has won 20 games. While there is much more to pitching than just wins, it's pretty safe to say that Halladay will be the favorite to win the NL Cy Young award.

With two wins in the books, everything has gone right for the Phillies in their series against the Braves. They made an effort to line up their three aces in the series and both Cole Hamels and Halladay haven't disappointed. While it isn't a must-win, I would expect the third ace, Roy Oswalt, to have a strong showing tomorrow as the Phillies look to sweep the Braves out of town and out of the division race.

Hamels pitches Phillies to 4 game division lead

The second place Braves are in town. There is a bit of a chill in the air. The rally towels are out. Yep, we're getting close to another Phillies October.

Before the Phillies get to the postseason, however, there is the little matter of winning the division to take care of first. With a 3 game lead entering Monday and 6 games left to play against the Braves, it's still a bit early to be printing postseason tickets. After Cole Hamels' dominating, 8 inning, 6 strikeout, 1 earned run performance on Monday, though, the Phillies took yet another step closer.

For Hamels, it was just another solid outing, his 5th straight win and his 6th straight start of giving up 2 or fewer earned runs. On a team with three ace pitchers, Hamels has been the best down the stretch, picking up his game when it matters most, allowing only 2 runs in his last 36 and 2/3rds innings.

The win, their 8th straight, pushes the Phillies to 4 games up in the division. With Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt taking the mound the next two nights, it's hard to see the Phillies not at least holding that 4 game lead after the Braves leave town on Thursday. With 90 wins, a dominating pitching staff and a commanding lead over everyone else in the National League, everything seems pointed in the right direction for the Phillies. Can't wait for October!