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There have been some low moments in Phillies history, but yesterday marks one of the high ones. With a 6-4 win over the Reds, the Phils completed a four-game sweep and moved to 41 games above .500, which ties them for the best mark in the history of the organization.

For the only time in the series, the Phillies didn’t get outstanding starting pitching in yesterday’s game. Worley pitched well early, but gave up a three-run homer in the seventh before leaving charged with four runs. The bullpen was very good, though, throwing three shutout frames after he left in which they held the Reds to just one walk and struck out five. The pitching overall held the Reds to six runs in the four-game set, three of which came on one swing — a pinch-hit three-run homer by Chris Heisey off of Worley yesterday.

The Phils outscored the Reds 21-6 in the four game series. Howard and Martinez both homered yesterday. The Phils hit eight long balls in the series — three for Howard and two for Pence with Ibanez, Martinez and Victorino all hitting one.

The Phillies are 87-46 after beating the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 yesterday afternoon. With the win the Phils complete a sweep of the four-game series. They are in first place in the NL East, 7 1/2 games of the second-place Braves. The Phils were also 41 games over .500 in August of 1976.

Worley got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk. Four of the hits went for extra-bases, three doubles and a homer. He struck out seven. Worley allowed two home runs in 62 1/3 innings to start the season. Since then he has allowed five in 42 innings.

Brandon Phillips singled to right to start the bottom of the first. Worley got Edgar Renteria and Joey Votto on a pair of fly balls before Jay Bruce flew to center to leave Phillips at first.

Worley started the second with a 3-0 lead. He walked Juan Francisco on four pitches and Yonder Alonso moved Francisco up to second with a single into center. Worley got out of it, though, striking Drew Stubbs out looking 0-2 for the first out, Ryan Hanigan looking 2-2 and getting the pitcher Mike Leake on a ground ball to third to leave both runners stranded.

Phillips doubled to start the third. Renteria was next and hit a ball to short, which Valdez made a fantastic diving play on, fielding and throwing to first for the first out with Phillips moving up to third. Votto followed with a fly ball to center, deep enough for Phillips to tag and score, cutting the lead to 3-1. Bruce singled to right before Worley struck Francisco out looking to end the inning.

First run allowed by a Phillies’s starting pitcher in the series.

Worley set the Reds down in order in the fourth.

First 1-2-3 inning for Worley and the first time that the leadoff hitter had not reached based. He had thrown 53 pitches through four innings.

Worley got Leake and Phillips to start the fifth before Renteria hit a ball that Ibanez may have misread. It landed for a double. Worley got ahead of Votto 2-0 and struck him out looking 2-2 to end the inning with Renteria at second.

Up 4-1, Worley set the Reds down in order in the sixth.

He started the seventh with a 6-1 lead. Stubbs led off and doubled over Victorino’s head in center. Hanigan moved Stubbs to third with a single. Righty Chris Heisey hit for the pitcher Jeremy Horst and Heisey lined an 0-1 pitch out to right for a three-run homer that made it 6-4. Lidge took over for Worley and struck Phillips out for the first out before walking Renteria. Bastardo took over to face the lefty Votto and got Votto to hit into an inning-ending double-play.

Heisey makes it a game again with the pinch-hit three-run homer. Lidge continues to walk way too many hitters, walking one of the two guys he faces. He has a 1.74 ERA for the year, but has walked ten in 10 1/3 innings.

Bastardo was back for the eighth and struck out the side, getting Bruce , Francisco and Alonso all swinging.

Golly. Bastardo dropped his ERA on the year to 1.38 with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He has struck out 65 in 52 1/3 innings. This says that the .112 average opponents have hit against him is the best in history for any pitcher who has thrown more than 50 innings.

Madson pitched the ninth. He got Stubbs swinging 1-2 for the first out and Hanigan on a ground ball to third for the second. Righty Ramon Hernandez hit for the pitcher Francisco Cordero and Madson got him on a ground ball to short to end the game.

Madson has thrown two days in a row and threw 14 pitches in the game. Bastardo 18 and Lidge nine.

The Phillies lineup against righty Mike Leake went (1) Victorino (2) Martinez (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Pence (6) Ibanez (7) Schneider (8) Valdez. Schneider catches the day game after a night game. Valdez plays short with Rollins on the DL. Martinez plays third with Polanco on the bench. Ibanez in left against the righty with Mayberry on the bench. Martinez doesn’t really belong hitting second, no matter how many games you’ve won or who is hurt. I assume Manuel does it that way to keep the other players hitting in the same spot in the order, but I think I’d just go with something other than the who can’t hit hitting second.

The Phillies went in order in the first.

Pence doubled to left with one out in the second and Ibanez walked behind him. Schneider was next and he singled to left, scoring Pence to put the Phils up 1-0 with one out and men on first and second. Valdez reached on an infield single to load the bases before Worley singled into center. Ibanez scored from third (2-0) and Schneider tried to score from second but was thrown out by Stubbs for the second out. With men on first and second, Victorino singled into left, scoring Valdez (3-0) and pushing Worley to second. Martinez flew to right to leave both runners stranded.

RBI-single for Worley after Halladay knocked in three runs with a double in game two.

Utley, Howard and Pence went in order in the third.

With the lead cut to 3-1, the Phillies went in order in the fourth.

Victorino singled to right with one out in the fifth. Martinez was next and hit the ball hard, but Votto took the line drive and stepped on first to double-off Victorino and set the Phillies down.

Martinez hit that ball well, just into bad luck.

With one out in the sixth, Howard hit a 1-0 pitch out to right-center, putting the Phils up 4-1. Pence flew to center for the second out before Ibanez hit a ball to first that went under the glove of Votto for a two-base error. Schneider struck out swinging 3-2 to leave Ibanez at second.

Valdez singled off of righty Jared Burton to start the seventh. Worley bunted him to second with the first out. Victorino grounded to second with Valdez moving up to third. Martinez was next and he hit a 3-2 pitch out to right for a two-run homer, putting the Phils up 6-1. Utley and Howard singled back-to-back before Pence grounded to short to leave them on the bases.

Again Martinez hits the ball hard, this time out of the yard.

The Phils went in order in the eighth. With lefty Bill Bray on the mound for the Reds, Ruiz hit for Schneider and flew to left for the second out.

With righty Francisco Cordero pitching for Cincy, Gload hit for Bastardo and singled to left to start the ninth. Mayberry ran for Gload at first, but Victorino, Martinez and Utley all grounded out to keep the Phils off the board.

With Bowker available on the bench, Manuel gives the at-bat to Gload. Gload still being run for on the bases with his hip problem. Gload starts September with a hit after going 1-for-15 in August and coming into the game 3-for-his-last-29.

Victorino 2-for-5 with an RBI. 4-for-16 with three walks, a double and a home run in the four-game series. He’s hitting 307/382/538 for the year.

Martinez 1-for-5 with a two-run homer. He’s 8-for-his-last-52 (154/170/250) and hitting 212/249/312 for the season.

Utley 1-for-5 in the game and 3-for-18 with three singles and a walk in the series. 241/309/330 over his last 123 plate appearances. 272/355/444 for the season.

Howard was 2-for-4 with a home run yesterday and 4-for-18 with three home runs and five RBI in the series. 250/337/490.

Pence 1-for-4 with a double. 5-for-16 with a walk, a double and two home runs in the set. He’s hitting 312/366/492 for the year and 327/398/570 in 123 plate appearances with the Phils.

Ibanez 0-for-3 with a walk. 3-for-8 with a walk and a home run in the series. 240/280/416 for the year. Mayberry pinch ran yesterday and was 1-for-7 with a walk in the series to drop his line on the year to 264/329/514.

Schneider 1-for-3 with an RBI in his only action of the series. He’s hitting 176/248/275 for the year.

Valdez 2-for-4 in the game and 5-for-15 in the series. He’s hitting 247/292/335 for the year. 293/333/483 in 63 plate appearances since the beginning of August.

Oswalt (6-8, 3.77) faces lefty Brad Hand (1-4, 4.08) tonight in Florida. Hand had good numbers for the season before his most recent start, August 8 against the Braves, in which he allowed seven runs in five innings. He was sent back to the minors after that and returns to the Marlins for tonight’s start. He’s walked too many this year, giving up 25 walks in 39 2/3 innings. He’s especially walked a ton of right-handed batters — righties are hitting .211 against him for the year but on-basing .351 (he’s walked 24 of the 136 righties he has faced). Oswalt didn’t look good in his most recent start, which came against Florida a week ago today. He allowed six runs on 12 hits and a walk over 5 2/3 innings. John Buck hit a grand slam off of him in the sixth.

Mariners, apparently.

The Phils dropped two of three to the Mariners in Seattle this weekend. After splitting the first two games, Jason Vargas flummoxed the Phils yesterday, holding them to three singles and a pair of walks while throwing a complete game shutout.

The offense has clearly slowed for the Phils over the past four games. They’ve gone 2-2 in those games, but scored just ten runs. Polanco didn’t start yesterday’s game and is hitting 233/279/285 since the end of April. Francisco and Ibanez were the corner outfielders for the Phils on Opening Day — Ibanez leads that duo with a .402 slugging percentage and there aren’t a whole lot of signs yet that Domonic Brown is going to bail the Phillies out in right. After going 1-for-8 in the series and 5-for-his-last-41, Brown is hitting 220/294/418 for the year in 102 plate appearances.

The Phillies lost the series opener 4-2, ending their win streak at seven. Michael Pineda took a no-hitter and a 3-0 lead into the sixth. Victorino broke up the no-hitter with a two-out single that sent Rollins, who had walked, to third. Utley followed that with another single, which scored Rollins and cut the lead to 3-1. The Mariners extended the lead to 4-1 with a double and a single off of the Phils’ starter Oswalt in the seventh. Victorino homered in the eighth to make it 4-2, but that’s as close as the Phillies would get.

On Saturday the Phils got good pitching and a huge day from Shane Victorino to win 5-1. Worley started the game for the Phils and allowed just one run over five innings. He was backed by Stutes, Bastardo and Madson, who combined to throw four scoreless innings in relief. Felix Hernandez started the seventh with a 1-0 lead, but the Phils scored a pair of runs on a two-run double by Victorino to take the lead. Victorino added a two-run homer off of Jamey Wright in the ninth to make it 4-1, capping a day where he went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple a home run, a walk and four RBI.

Seattle won yesterday’s game 2-0 behind a great start by Vargas.

The Phillies are 45-28 on the year after losing 2-0 to the Seattle Mariners yesterday afternoon. Seattle take the three-game set two games to one. The Phils remain in first place in the NL East. They lead the second place Braves by five games.

Hamels got the start for the Phillies and went 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a triple. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.

Hamels allowed just two base-runners in the first five innings of the game. Justin Smoak singled to left with two outs in the first, but was left at first when Miguel Olivo followed and grounded to Utley. Franklin Gutierrez singled to left with two outs in the second, but Hamels struck Mike Carp out behind him to leave him at first.

Seattle didn’t put a runner on base in the third, fourth or fifth.

In the fourth inning, Hamels struck Olivo out swinging 0-2 for the 1,000th strikeout of his career.

The game was still scoreless when Hamels started the sixth. He got Chone Figgins on a ground ball to short for the first out. Ichiro was next and hit a ball to first that Howard deflected on a bad hop, but didn’t handle. Ichiro was safe with a single and moved to second when Brendan Ryan followed and grounded to short for the second out. It brought Smoak to the plate and he hit a 1-0 pitch to left, which dropped between Martinez and Rollins for a single. Ichiro scored and Seattle led 1-0. Olivo moved Smoak to second with a single, but Hamels got Greg Halman on a ground ball to third for the third out.

Dustin Ackley started the seventh with a triple to right. Gutierrez grounded to short with Ackley holding for the first out, but lefty Adam Kennedy hit for the lefty Carp and blooped a single to left. Ackley scored and Seattle led 2-0. Contreras took over for Hamels and got Figgins to hit into a double-play to end the inning.

Herndon pitched the eighth. He gave up a leadoff single to Ichiro and Ryan bunted him to second with the first out. Herndon walked the switch-hitter Smoak intentionally and got Olivo to hit into a double-play behind him.

Neither Herndon or Contreras has pitched more than one day in a row. Herndon threw 16 pitches, Contreras five.

The Phillies lineup against left Jason Vargas went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Francisco (6) Ruiz (7) Ibanez (8) Valdez (9) Martinez. Francisco in right with Brown on the bench. Ibanez is the DH. Valdez plays third with Polanco on the bench. Martinez in left with Ibanez DHing. Martinez should never, ever start a game in left unless a whole bunch of people are hurt. Interleague play DH games don’t do much for the case of having Martinez on the team.

Utley struck out with two outs on the first, but reached base when strike three wasn’t handled. Howard moved him to second with a single to left and they both moved up on a wild pitch, putting men on second and third for Francisco. Francisco hit a ball into shallow left-center, but Halman made a sliding catch to leave both runners stranded.

Valdez walked with two outs in the second, but Martinez struck out behind him

The Phils went in order in the third.

Francisco singled to left with one out in the fourth and moved to second when Ruiz followed with a walk. Ibanez was next and hit a soft liner to third for the second out. Ruiz was oddly way off first and doubled-off to end the frame.

Vargas set the Phils down in order in the fifth and again in the sixth.

The Phils were down 1-0 when he set Francisco, Ruiz and Ibanez down in order in the seventh.

They were down 2-0 when he set Valdez, Martinez and Rollins down in order in the eighth.

Howard singled to center with two outs in the ninth. It brought Francisco to the plate as the tying run, but he flew to center to end the game.

Rollins was 0-for-4 in the game. 3-for-11 with two walks in the series. 258/332/373 on the season.

Victorino 0-for-4 with a strikeout. 5-for-12 with a double, a triple, two home runs and five RBI in the series. 299/364/513 on the year. 408/463/694 over his last 55 plate appearances.

Utley 0-for-4 with a strikeout. 1-for-11 in the set. 253/364/451 for the year.

Howard 2-for-4 with a strikeout. 4-for-11 with a double and a walk in the series. 256/348/493 on the year.

Francisco 1-for-4 and left three men on base. 2-for-7 with a walk in the set. 218/341/362 on the year. Brown didn’t play yesterday but was 1-for-8 with a double in the series. He’s hitting 220/294/418 for the year.

Ruiz 0-for-2 with a walk. 1-for-9 with a walk in the series. 238/354/323 on the year.

Ibanez 0-for-3 with a strikeout. 3-for-11 with three singles in the series. 243/292/402 for the year.

Valdez 0-for-2 with a walk in his only action of the series. 250/292/316 on the year. Polanco was 0-for-8 with three strikeouts in the series. 233/279/285 since the end of April. 2-for-his-last-20 and hitting 295/342/375 for the year.

Martinez 0-for-3 and struck out twice. He’s hitting 195/214/242 on the year. Of the 218 NL players with 50 plate appearances, his .457 OPS is 213th and his .215 on-base percentage is 214th.

No game today. At St Louis tomorrow.

Brian Schneider has gone 4-for-10 in three rehab games at Reading. He is hoping to be active for Friday’s game.

There wasn’t much about yesterday’s game that was pretty except that the Phillies found a way to win. The Phils are suddenly hot. They came into their four-game set with the Rockies having lost six of eight and come out having won five in a row.

Joe Blanton pitched pretty well yesterday and got a welcome early hook. The Phils scratched out five runs in the game, scoring three times in a second inning that saw the Rockies make two errors and misplay a ball hit in the gap in left-center in a three-batter span. The game was most memorable, though, for the scare Brad Lidge gave us all in the ninth. He entered with a 5-2 lead and allowed a two-run homer that had the Rockies within a run. The next three Colorado hitters all reached to load the bases before he got Ryan Spilborghs on a ground ball back to the mound to end the game.

Lidge was pitching for the second straight day after throwing 30 pitches the day before. It’s been a rough stretch for him, though. Opponents are on-basing .471 against him over his last seven appearances, which is going to make it tough to be successful.

The Phils are 53-46 on the season after being the Colorado Rockies 5-4 yesterday afternoon, completing a sweep of a four-game series. The Phillies have won five in a row.

Blanton got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks. All six of the hits were singles and he struck out two. His ERA is at 5.85 — under six for the first time since the end of May.

He walked Jonathan Herrera with one out in the first and Carlos Gonzalez moved Herrera to second with a single. Jason Giambi was next and he lined a single into center. Herrera scored to make it 1-0 with one down and men on first and second. Ryan Spilborghs followed that with a single to left. Gonzalez scored from second (2-0) and Giambi went to second. Blanton got Ian Stewart to ground into a double-play to end the frame.

Miguel Olivo singled to start the second for Colorado, but Blanton got the next three hitters behind him.

Blanton started the third with a 3-2 lead. Gonzalez singled with one out and stole second. Giambi followed that with a walk, putting men on first and second with one down. Spilborghs was next and hit a ground ball to short. Rollins handled that, going to second to force Giambi for the second out. Stewart lined to short to leave the runners stranded on first and third.

Blanton threw a 1-2-3 fourth, getting a nice play by Polanco on a ball hit hard by Clint Barmes for the second out.

He got two ground balls and struck out pitcher Jason Hammel in a 1-2-3 fifth.

Blanton walked Giambi on four pitches to start the sixth. Spilborghs followed that with a single into center and the Rocks had men on first and second with nobody out. Stewart was next and Blanton got him to hit into a double-play again before Olivo flew to center to set Colorado down.

Second time in the game that Blanton had gotten Stewart to hit into a rally-thwarting double-play.

Durbin started the seventh with the Phils up 5-2 and Werth in right. He got the first two before Seth Smith doubled to left. Durbin got Herrera to fly to left to leave him stranded.

Romero pitched the eighth with Valdez at second and Polanco moved to third. He walked Spilborghs with two outs. Stewart grounded to second for the third out.

And then came Lidge, pitching on back-to-back days. Miguel Olivo led off with a double to right. Righty Melvin Mora hit for righty Clint Barmes. Mora grounded to third for the first out with Olivo holding first. Lefty Brad Hawpe hit for the pitcher and fouled out to Polanco for the second out. Sure looked like the game was over, but the lefty Smith hit an 0-1 pitch out to right, cutting the lead to 5-4. Lidge walked Herrera and Gonzalez moved him to second with another single. With the lefty Giambi at the plate, a wild pitch moved the runners up to second and third. Lidge put Giambi on intentionally to pitch to the righty Spilborghs with the bases loaded. Spilborghs hit a 1-1 pitch to the left of the mound. Lidge fielded and made a strong throw to first to end the game.

Lidge, Durbin and Romero were all pitching for the second straight day. Lidge threw 34 pitches after throwing 30 in game three, Durbin 21 and Romero 13.

The Phillies lineup against righty Jason Hammel went (1) Rollins (2) Polanco (3) Ibanez (4) Howard (5) Gload (6) Victorino (7) Dobbs (8) Schneider. Gload in right with Werth on the bench. Gload was 3-for-3 with a double, a homer and a walk in the first three games of the series. Polanco plays second for the third straight game with Dobbs getting his turn at third against the righty and Ransom on the bench. Schneider catches. Great to see Polanco at second base with Dobbs and Ransom at third rather than Valdez at second.

The Phillies were down 2-0 when they hit in the bottom of the first. Ibanez walked with two outs, but Howard struck out swinging behind him.

Gload singled to right to start the second. Victorino struck out behind him, but Dobbs sent him to third with a double. Schneider was next and he hit a ball to left center. Gonzalez and Smith went all Keystone Cops on it — Gonzalez tried to backhand the ball after it dropped but missed and ran into Smith, falling down and allowing Schneider to go to third with a two-run triple that tied the game at 2-2. Blanton was next and hit a ball that was fielded by the pitcher Hammel, but Giambi didn’t handle the throw from Hammel and Blanton was safe with Schneider holding third. Rollins was next and hit a ball to Giambi and Giambi threw it away trying to get Blanton at second for his second error in two plays. Schneider scored to make it 3-2 with men on first and second with one out. Polanco popped to the shortstop for the second out and Ibanez struck out to leave the runners stranded.

Rollins fouled a ball off the top of his foot in his at-bat, but stayed in the game.

Not that impressive an inning defensively for the Rockies.

Victorino singled to center with two outs in the third. He stole second before Dobbs struck out swinging to end the inning.

Blanton and Rollins struck out as the Phils went in order in the fourth.

Polanco started the fifth with a single. Ibanez flew to left for the first out before Polanco took second on a wild pitch. Howard went on to walk, putting men on first and second, before Gload struck out looking 0-2. Victorino flew to left for the third out.

Dobbs singled to start the sixth and Schneider walked behind him. With the righty Hammel still pitching for Colorado, Ransom hit for Blanton and bunted the runners to second and third with the first out. Rollins popped out to Barmes for the second out, by Polanco picked him up with a single to right. Dobbs scored (4-2) and Schneider took third. Lefty Randy Flores came in to pitch to Ibanez, but Ibanez singled to left and Schneider came in to make it 5-2. Howard struck out for the third out.

Different approach with Blanton this time, pulled for a pinch-hitter after throwing six innings and 85 pitches. Dobbs and Schneider get the rally started at the bottom of the order. Big no-RBI for Rollins, but Polanco and Ibanez pick him up with two-out hits. Ransom comes through in a chance off the bench against a righty.

The Phils went in order in the seventh.

With righty Taylor Buchholz on the mound for Colorado and one out in the eighth, Francisco hit for Romero and walked. Rollins and Polanco went down behind him.

Rollins was 0-for-5 with an RBI in the game. 7-for-18 with a double, a triple and a walk in the series. He’s hitting 244/335/393 for the season.

Polanco 2-for-5 with an RBI. 5-for-18 with a double and a walk. 317/348/435 on the year.

Ibanez was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. 6-for-13 in the series with two doubles, a home run and two walks. 257/340/410 on the season. He has hit 315/383/466 in July.

Howard was 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts. 3-for-14 with a triple, three walks and six strikeouts in the series. He’s at 300/361/538 on the year.

Gload 1-for-3 with a strikeout. 4-for-7 with a walk, a double and a home run in the series. 278/313/478 for the season. Werth was 0-for-1 in the game and 5-for-10 with two doubles and four walks in the series. 285/378/505.

Victorino 1-for-4 with a strikeout yesterday. 1-for-12 with a walk in the series. 248/309/438 on the year. He has walked twice in July and is hitting .234 and on-basing .250 for the month.

Dobbs 2-for-4 with a double. 3-for-7 with a double and a walk in the series. 216/278/362 for the year, but it’s better than it sounds. Dobbs came into July hitting 153/228/236 for the season and has posted a 318/362/568 line in 44 at-bats in July. Ransom was 0-for-3 in the series and is 5-for-28 with the Phils this year.

Schneider was 1-for-3 with a walk and a triple. 1-for-6 with two walks in the series. 235/330/400 for the season. Ruiz was 1-for-7 with a walk in the series and is hitting 267/384/364 for the year. He’s 15-for-70 (.214) since the end of May.

Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.40) faces righty Rodrigo Lopez (5-9, 4.58) tonight as the Phils play the first of three with Arizona in Philly. Hamels has allowed one run in his last three starts, allowing 15 hits and six walks in 22 1/3 innings (0.40 ERA and an 0.94 ratio). The former Phil Lopez has allowed 24 home runs in 129 2/3 innings this season. Lefties are hitting 284/333/498 against him.

Brian Schneider returned to the starting lineup with a bang last night. After going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his first four at-bats, one of which came with a man on third and nobody out, Schneider popped an 0-1 pitch from Jordan Smith out to right in the bottom of the twelfth to give the Phils a walkoff win.

Other than the late drama provided by Schneider, though, it wasn’t a great game for the Phils. Kendrick pitched very well and Contreras and Figueroa threw three shutdown innings at the end of the game. But the offensive continued to scuffle as Rollins, Howard, Ibanez and Werth combined to go 2-for-17.

The Phillies are 44-40 on the year after being the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 in twelve innings last night.

Kyle Kendrick got the start for the Phillies and allowed a run on three hits over 6 2/3 innings. All three of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and a home run. He struck out four and dropped his ERA on the year to 4.49.

Joey Votto homered to right center with two outs in the first, putting the Reds up 1-0.

The Phillies tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first. Kendrick set the Reds down in order in the second, third and fourth.

The Phils were up 2-1 when Cincinnati hit in the top of the fifth. Jay Bruce led off with a double to right. Laynce Nix was next and flew to center, with Bruce tagging and moving up to third. It brought Drew Stubbs to the plate and the Reds tried to pull off the squeeze, but Stubbs popped the bunt up. Kendrick caught it and Bruce was easily doubled-off of third to end the frame.

Corky Miller doubled to start the sixth and the pitcher Johnny Cueto bunted him to third. Brandon Phillips was next and he hit a ball to third that Dobbs handled. Dobbs looked the runner back and threw to first for the second out. Orlando Cabrera popped to Valdez to keep the Reds off the board.

Second time in two innings that Kendrick works out of a man no third with one out.

Kendrick got the first two in the seventh. With the Phils still up by just a run, Manuel brought in Romero to pitch to the lefty Bruce. Romero struck him out for the third out.

Kendrick had thrown 73 pitches in the game and allowed three hits and no walks.

Madson, activated for the game taking Zagurski’s spot in the pen, started the eighth. Stubbs and Miller singled back-to-back with one out. Righty Chris Heisey hit for the pitcher Cueto and struck out swinging for the second out. It brought Phillips to the plate. Madson got ahead of him and threw a 1-2 pitch in the dirt. Phillips swung and missed, but the ball bounced way away from Schneider. Schneider stood up and looked around wildly but couldn’t find the ball. Madson pointed and then ran after the ball, which bounced off the wall and back behind home plate. Schneider saw it then, too, and both of them took off after it while Stubbs raced around the bases. Schneider finally got to the ball, but there was nobody covering home and Stubbs scored to tie the game at 2-2. Orlando Cabrera grounded out to leave the runners stranded.

Lidge started the ninth with a 3-2 lead. Votto led off with a single and Scott Rolen walked behind him. It put men on first and second for Bruce, but Lidge got Bruce to ground into a double-play with Votto winding up at third with two down. Righty Miguel Cairo hit for the pitcher Arthur Rhodes and doubled to left, scoring Votto to tie the game again at 3-3. Stubbs flew to center for the third out.

Contreras, pitching for the third day in a row, threw a 1-2-3 tenth.

Figueroa, who had thrown 22 pitches the day before, struck out Cabrera and Votto in a 1-2-3 eleventh.

He was back for the twelfth and again set the Reds down in order. Jordan Smith smoked a ball to right in the frame, but Werth made a nice play to catch it up against the wall for the second out.

No runs charged to Contreras as he throws for the third straight day. He threw 19 pitches on July 4, didn’t pitch on the fifth and then threw three days in a row. Figueroa has made four appearances since rejoining the team on June 24 and has allowed a hit and a walk over 7 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out seven.

Baez needs to pitch if he’s on the team.

Figueroa threw 26 pitches, Madson 20, Lidge 15, Contreras 12, Romero five.

You would have to guess the Contreras and Figueroa are unlikely to pitch tonight.

The Phillies lineup against righty Johnny Cueto went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Ibanez (4) Howard (5) Werth (6) Dobbs (7) Valdez (8) Schneider. Schneider returns to the lineup after missing time with his thumb. Dobbs at third against the righty. Valdez plays second.

The Phils were down 1-0 when they hit in the second. Victorino homered with one out to tie the game at 1-1. Ibanez and Howard went down behind him.

1-2-3 in the second.

Schneider and Kendrick both struck out to start the third before Rollins walked. Victorino followed that and hit a ball hard to first. Votto didn’t handle it and it rolled away from him. He got it and flipped to Cueto covering, but the ball and Victorino arrived at the same time and got away from Cueto. Votto fetched it and Victorino took a big turn around first and went back to the base. Votto threw to Cueto at first to try to get Victorino coming back to the bag, but Cueto didn’t handle the throw. Rollins stormed in from third and slid in safely, just ahead of the throw from Votto after he retrieved the ball yet again. Cueto then picked Victorino off of first to end the inning.

Wild play. Great hustle by Rollins to score from third when Cueto didn’t handle the throw from Votto for the second time.

Ibanez started the fourth with a single. He moved to second on a ground out by Howard and to third on another by Werth. Dobbs popped to Rolen at third to leave him stranded.

The Phils went 1-2-3 in the fifth.

Victorino walked with one out in the sixth, but Ibanez hit into a double-play behind him.

Werth singled with one out in the seventh. Dobbs was next and hit a soft liner towards second. Phillips let it drop intentionally and started a double-play to end the inning.

The game was tied at 2-2 when Valdez tripled to start the bottom of the eighth. Schneider struck out for the first out. With righty Nick Masset on the mound, Gload hit for Madson. Arthur Rhodes took over for Masset and Francisco hit for Gload. Francisco drew a walk and Rollins delivered a fly ball to left deep enough for Valdez to score and put the Phillies up 3-2. Francisco stole second before Victorino flew to center for the third out.

Stranding that runner at third after the leadoff triple would have been too much. Big sac fly for Rollins. Also a nice job by Francisco not to make an out and to get into scoring position with the stolen base.

The game was tied at 3-3 when the Phillies went in order in the ninth.

Castro started the tenth with a walk. Valdez tried to bunt him to second, but fouled off two pitches. Something went wrong after that, cause Valdez took a two strike pitch and Castro was thrown out stealing. Valdez blooped a single to right before Schneider flew to center for the second out. With righty Logan Ondrusek on the mound, righty Cody Ransom hit for Contreras and walked. Rollins grounded to second to leave both runners stranded.

Victorino reached on an infield single to start the eleventh. Ibanez grounded to second with Victorino forced at second for the first out. Howard followed that with a ground ball to short — he was thrown out at first with Ibanez moving to second. Werth was walked intentionally with Castro hitting behind him. Castro grounded to short to end the inning.

I would walk Werth a whole lot when Castro is hitting behind him.

Valdez grounded to third for the first out in the twelfth before Schneider hit an 0-1 pitch out to right to win the game for the Phils.

Rollins was 0-for-3 with a walk, but did well to score from first base on a grounder to first in the third inning.

Victorino was 3-for-4 with a walk and a home run. Two homers in two days for Victorino.

Ibanez 1-for-5.

Howard 0-for-5.

Werth 1-for-4 with a walk.

Ibanez, Howard and Werth combine to go 2-for-14 with a single and a walk in the game.

Dobbs 0-for-3.

Valdez 2-for-5 with a triple. He now is outslugging Ibanez for the season. He’s at .402 and Ibanez is .394. The list of players outslugging Ibanez also includes Schneider, Sardinha and Gload (and Nelson Figueroa, but he’s outslugging everyone else on the team as well with his 2-for-4 with a double on the season).

Schneider was 1-for-5 and won the game with his third homer.

Blanton (5-3, 6.27) faces righty Mike Leake (6-1, 3.38) tonight. Blanton had made three pretty good starts in a row before allowing five runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Pirates in his last start. He has allowed 14 home runs in 74 1/3 innings this season. Leake faced the Phils on June 29 and was charged with six runs in six innings. Valdez and Schneider both homered off of him in that game. Over his last five starts he’s allowed five or more runs three times and thrown to a 6.35 ERA with a 1.91 ratio.

The Phils hit the halfway mark of what has been a mostly disappointing season last night. Coming off an ugly series in which they lost three of four to the Pirates, the Phils relied on a two-run shot from Greg Dobbs and another fantastic start from Roy Halladay to get a 3-1 win over the first place Braves.

The Phillies are 43-38 on the year and in third place in the NL East, four games behind the Braves and two behind the Mets.

Halladay got the start for the Phillies and threw a complete game, allowing one run on five hits and a walk. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and a home run. He struck out seven and dropped his ERA on the year to 2.33.

He got the first two in the first before Chipper Jones homered to left center, putting Atlanta on top 1-0. Brian McCann followed that with a single before Eric Hinske popped to short for the third out.

Halladay threw a 1-2-3 second and a 1-2-3 third.

McCann doubled with one out in the fourth and moved to third when Hinske hit a ball that Victorino caught deep in center. Halladay struck out Melky Cabrera looking to leave McCann stranded at third.

He threw a 1-2-3 fifth.

Chipper doubled to right with two outs in the sixth, but Halladay struck McCann out looking 2-2 to end the frame.

Halladay had a 2-1 lead when he started the seventh. Hinske led off and walked on a 3-2 pitch, but Halladay got Cabrera to hit into a double-play behind him. Yunel Escobar flew to center for the third out.

Gregor Blanco started the eighth with a bunt single. Switch-hitter Brooks Conrad hit for the pitcher Derek Lowe and Sardinha made a very nice throw to nail Blanco trying to steal before Conrad struck out for the second out. Martin Prado struck out behind him for the third out.

Halladay set Atlanta down in order in the ninth. He threw 93 pitches in the game.

The Phillies lineup against righty Derek Lowe went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Ibanez (4) Howard (5) Werth (6) Dobbs (7) Valdez (8) Sardinha. Dobbs plays third against the righty with Ransom on the bench. Ibanez hits third with Rollins back leading off and Utley on the DL. Valdez plays second base. Sardinha catches with Ruiz on the DL. The five guys the Phillies need to hit right now go 1-2-3-4-5 in the order.

Ibanez singled with two outs in the first and the Phils down 1-0. Howard grounded to short for the third out.

Werth and Dobbs singled back-to-back to start the second. It put men on first and second with nobody for Valdez and Valdez hit a slow ground ball to third. Chipper fielded and threw Valdez out at first as the runners moved to second and third. Sardinha struck out swinging for the second out and Halladay struck out to leave both men stranded.

No RBI for Sardinha with one out and a man on third

The Phils went in order in the third.

Howard started the fourth with a single, but Werth lined to center behind him for the first out. Dobbs was next and hit a ground ball to second. Howard was forced at second for the second out with Dobbs safe at first. Valdez hit a ball to third. Chipper fielded and threw to second, but Prado didn’t handle the throw for an error. Sardinha walked to load the bases for Halladay, but Halladay struck out swinging 1-2 to end the inning.

Five runners stranded by Halladay in the first four innings.

The Phils went in order in the fifth.

They started the sixth still down a run. Werth singled with one out. Dobbs was next and he popped the first pitch he saw out to right center to put the Phils up 2-1. Valdez and Sardinha both struck out behind him.

The Phils went 1-2-3 in the seventh.

Ibanez and Howard singled back-to-back to start the eighth. Werth was next and hit a ball back to the pitcher. Howard was forced at second for the first out with the runners safe at first and third. With Castro at the plate the Phils tried to execute the squeeze, but Castro missed the bunt completely. Ibanez was tagged out after a brief rundown and Werth went to second with two outs. Werth was running when Castro chopped a ball to third, but Chipper had moved to cover the bag and ball dribbled through to left for an RBI-single. 3-1. Valdez flew to right for the third out.

Rollins was 0-for-4 in the game. He’s 0-for-his-last-8 and 4-for-19 in July. 10-for-49 (.204) since coming off the DL.

Victorino 0-for-4 in the game. He was 5-for-15 with a triple in the series with the Pirates, making him 5-for-his-last-19.

Ibanez 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. He’s 5-for-his-last-16. No walks in his last 29 at-bats.

Howard 2-for-4. After hitting 320/373/650 in June he’s started July by going 6-for-19 with six singles.

Werth 2-for-4 yesterday. He’s 3-for-16 with a double and seven strikeouts to start the month.

Dobbs 2-for-3 with a two-run homer. He’s 6-for-his-last-18.

Valdez 0-for-4 and 1-for-his-last-11.

Sardinha caught the full game for the fourth day in a row yesterday. He was 0-for-2 with a walk. He’s 4-for-14 with a walk, a double and a home run in those four games (286/333/571).

Cole Hamels (6-7, 4.07) faces righty Jair Jurrjens (1-3, 5.59) tonight. Hamels has allowed more than three earned runs in a start once in his last 11 outings. Jurrjens struggled to start the season and hit the DL with a hamstring issue. Since his return he’s made one start, which came on June 30 against the Nats. In that game he allowed a run on six hits and two walks over five innings. He had a terrible start against the Padres on April 12 in which he allowed eight earned runs in 3 1/3 innings — excluding that outing he has a 3.51 ERA and a 1.21 ratio for the season.

This suggests that Schneider could play today and that Madson could be back this week. It also says that Happ thinks he’s ready to return but may not be back till after the break.

Injuries to Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz have meant that some unexpected players have had a major impact on the Phillies this year. We might as well start expecting them, though, cause the recent trips to the DL by Chase Utley and Placido Polanco ensure we’ll be seeing a lot of those guys in the days to come.

Day one of the Utley/Polanco free era went pretty well. The Phils scored nine runs and won in ten innings. Brian Schneider and Wilson Valdez combined to go 5-for-8, hitting two home runs, executing a safety squeeze and driving in seven runs. Seven? Yup.

The game was also notable for another two-out blowup by Brad Lidge. The Phils took a 9-6 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Lidge set down the first two Reds without a peep before a walk and a single brought Joey Votto to the plate and Votto blasted a three-run homer to tie the game.

Lidge’s ERA puffed to 5.25 on the year with the outing. He has allowed seven runs on the season, six of which have scored with two outs. Opponents are hitting .154 against him with nobody out, .143 against him with one out and 381/458/762 with two outs.

I don’t know what it is with Lidge, but he has had big problems late in innings. My first guesses would be he’s getting tired or something is happening with his slider that makes it much less effective the more he throws it in a game. As I wrote last week, he hasn’t had the same kind of problems over his career with the two-out drop off he is having this season. Either way, it’s an issue whatever the cause and his results for the season aren’t looking so good anymore after last night’s outing.

The Phillies are 41-34 on the season after beating the Cincinnati Reds 9-6 in ten innings last night. They are in third place in the NL East, 2 1/2 games behind the Braves and one game behind the Mets.

Joe Blanton got the start for the Phils and went 7 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and a triple. He struck out two and dropped his ERA on the year to 6.19. It’s his third straight start in which he’s allowed three runs or fewer and just the second time this season he didn’t allow a home run in his outing.

Brandon Phillips led off the bottom of the first with a triple and came in to score when Orlando Cabrera followed with a ground out. 1-0. Joey Votto flew out to center for the second out before Johnny Gomes doubled and Jay Bruce followed that with a walk. Blanton hit Miguel Cairo with a pitch to load the bases, but got Chris Heisey on a ground ball to short to end the inning.

Blanton started the second up 3-1. Pitcher Mike Leake singled with one out, but Blanton got Phillips and Cabrera behind him to turn Cincinnati away.

Votto singled to start the third, but the Reds went in order behind him.

The Phils were up 6-1 when Blanton threw a 1-2-3 fourth and a 1-2-3 fifth.

Blanton got the first two in the sixth before Cairo singled and Heisey walked behind him. Ramon Hernandez was next and he delivered a bases clearing double to center, cutting the lead to 6-3. Blanton got the pitcher Leake on a fly ball to center to end the inning.

Phillips started the seventh with a single and Cabrera hit into a double-play behind him. Votto grounded to short for the third out.

Blanton got the first two outs in the eighth before Cairo singled into left. Contreras took over for him and got pinch-hitter Laynce Nix on a fly ball to left for the third out.

Lidge started the ninth with the Phils still up 6-3. He got Hernandez on a soft ground ball to short for the first out and struck out pinch-hitter Drew Stubbs for the second. Phillips was next and Lidge walked him on five pitches. Cabrera was next and moved Phillips to third with a single to left. It brought Votto to the plate and Votto hit a 1-1 pitch out to right center, tying the game at 6-6. Lidge got Gomes on a ball hit out in front of the plate and fielded by Schneider to send the game to extra-innings.

Romero pitched the bottom of the tenth with a 9-6 lead and set the Reds down in order for his third save of the year.

The Phillies lineup against righty Mike Leake went (1) Victorino (2) Dobbs (3) Rollins (4) Howard (5) Werth (6) Ibanez (7) Schneider (8) Valdez. Dobbs at third and Valdez at second. Rollins drops to third in the lineup with Utley on the DL. Dobbs hits second against the righty. Schneider catches with Ruiz sidelined.

The Phils went in order in the first.

Howard and Werth started the second with back-to-back walks with the Phillies down 3-1. Ibanez was next and flew to center. Howard tagged and went to third. Werth took second with the help of a dropped throw in from the outfield by Cabrera. Schneider was next and he hit the first pitch he saw from Leake out to right, putting the Phillies up 3-1. Valdez and Blanton went down behind him to set the Phillies down.

Rollins singled with two outs in the third, but Howard grounded out behind him.

Werth singled to start the fourth and moved to second on a one-out single by Schneider. Valdez was next and he also hit the first pitch from Leake out of the park, this one to left, putting the Phillies up 6-1. Blanton struck out swinging for the second out before Victorino singled. Dobbs popped to short for the third out.

The Phils went in order in the fifth.

The lead was cut to 6-3 when the Phils hit in the sixth. Schneider singled with one out, but Valdez hit into a double-play behind him.

Blanton hit for himself to start the seventh and struck out. Victorino followed with a walk. With lefty Daniel Herrera on the mound for Cincinnati, Castro hit for Dobbs and walked as well. Rollins flew to center for the first out with Victorino moving to third, but Howard struck out to leave both runners stranded.

The Phils went in order in the eighth.

Valdez started the ninth with a single off of righty Jordan Smith. Gload hit for Contreras and grounded to first with Valdez moving to second. Victorino walked to put men on first and second for Castro, but Castro struck out for the second out and Rollins struck out for the third.

The game was tied at 6-6 when the Phillies hit in the tenth. Lefty Arthur Rhodes, who had an 0.28 ERA in 35 appearances for the year, was on the mound for the Reds. Howard led off with a double and Werth walked. Charlie Manuel was ejected during Ibanez’s at-bat for arguing balls and strikes. Ibanez quickly got behind 0-2 before doubling to center, scoring Howard to put the Phils up 7-6 with men on second and third. Francisco hit for Schneider with the lefty still on the mound and singled into left on a ball deflected by the Cincinnati third baseman Cairo. Werth scored (8-6) and Ibanez went to third. Righty Nick Masset took over for Rhodes and Valdez executed the squeeze with Ibanez scoring to make it 9-6. With men on first and second and still nobody out, Sardinha hit for Lidge. He tried to bunt the runners along, but popped it up for the first out. Victorino flew to right and Castro grounded to second to end the frame.

Victorino was 1-for-4 and walked twice.

Dobbs 0-for-3 to drop his average on the year to .145.

Rollins was 1-for-5. He’s hitting 207/303/310 in 29 at-bats since coming off the DL.

Howard was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk.

Werth 1-for-3 and walked twice.

Ibanez 1-for-5 with a double.

Schneider 3-for-4 with a three-run homer.

Valdez 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.

Roy Halladay (9-6, 2.29) faces righty Aaron Harang (6-7, 5.07) this afternoon. Halladay threw seven shutout innings against the Blue Jays his last time out, coming off of a pair of starts in which he allowed a combined ten runs in 14 innings. Harang has allowed more than three runs in a start just once in his last six outings.