It's been a pretty good week so far for baseball's World Champions (feel free to knock on wood, Phillies fans). And that's pretty good, considering the team suffered a rough blow last week with the loss of its No. 2 starter, Brett Myers.
1. Entering Friday's game, the Phillies had won seven games in a row and built a four-game lead over the hobbled New York Mets in the National League East.
2. The Phillies have an astonishing 20-6 record in road games, far and away the best record in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers are second at 17-12.
3. Raul Ibanez and Ryan Howard are both in the NL's top five in home runs and RBIs.
4. Antonio Bastardo, a 23-year-old pitcher from the Dominican Republic who is taking Myers' spot in the rotation for now, won his major-league debut on Tuesday, pitching six innings and allowing just one run in a win over the San Diego Padres.
5. J.C. Romero returned from his 50-game suspension to further bolster a strong bullpen.
6. World Series MVP Cole Hamels tossed a 97-pitch shutout in Thursday's 3-0 win over the host Dodgers. Hamels is rounding into form after a slow start. He is 4-0 with a 2.84 ERA over his last seven starts.
7. Former first-round draft pick Kyle Drabek made a strong first start for the Reading Phillies after being promoted to Double-A. He went seven innings, allowing three hits and no runs in Wednesday's win against the Akron Aeros. Drabek might not be too far from seriously challenging for a spot in the Phillies' rotation.
Leave a comment