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The Phils swept a double-header with the Fish yesterday, winning the afternoon game in an 8-1 blowout and getting a walkoff single from Ruiz in the bottom of the tenth to win 5-4 last night.

The Phils now won six games in a row for the first time this season. In the six games they have outscored their opponents 40-15. You need a lot of guys contributing the score 6.7 runs a game, but the most welcome sight in the offensive display has been the emergence of Chase Utley. Utley has gone 9-for-23 with seven extra-base hits in the last six games, posting a 391/489/913 line in 27 plate appearances.

The Phillies are 43-26 on the year after winning both games of a double-header with the Florida Marlins yesterday. They have won six in a row and are 17 games above .500 for the first time on the year. They have the best record in baseball and lead the second-place Braves by five games in the NL East.

Last night the Phils won the second game 5-4 on a walkoff single by Ruiz in the bottom of the tenth.

Halladay got the start for the Phils and went seven innings, allowing four runs on six hits. Four of the hits went for extra-bases, three doubles and a solo home run. He struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter.

He had a rough first inning, allowing a pair of runs that gave Florida an early 2-0 lead. Hanley Ramirez led off the game with a double and came around to score on a pair of ground outs. Gaby Sanchez homered to right-center with the bases empty for the second run.

The Phils scored a run in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 2-1. Halladay kept Florida off the board in the second and the third, hitting Greg Dobbs with a pitch in the third and allowing a one-out single to Chris Coghlan in the third.

Florida scored two more in the fourth. Dobbs and Jose Lopez doubled back-to-back with one out, putting men on second and third for John Buck. Buck went down to get a 2-2 pitch and dumped it into center, scoring both runners to extend the Fish lead to 4-1.

Halladay didn’t allow a base-runner in the fifth, sixth or seventh. In the seventh he struck out the side, getting Buck and pitcher Anibal Sanchez looking and Ramirez swinging.

The Phils had added another run in the fifth, so Bastardo started the eighth with the Phillies down 4-2. He got the first two batters he faced and Stutes came in to get the righty Sanchez to ground to short for the third out.

Bastardo lowered his ERA on the year to 1.05 with the outing. In his last ten appearances he’s thrown 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and four walks. Opponents are hitting .129 against him for the season.

Stutes pitched the ninth with the Phils still down 4-2. He walked Mike Stanton to start the inning, but got Dobbs on a fly ball to left behind him. He hit Lopez with a pitch, putting men on first and second for Buck. Stutes got Buck on a popup to Utley for the second out and pinch-hitter Omar Infante on a ground ball to short.

Stutes has thrown 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his last four appearances.

Madson pitched the ninth. He allowed a leadoff walk to Ramirez, who was bunted to second. Logan Morrison lined to second for the second out. Madson walked Sanchez intentionally and struck Stanton out to leave both runners stranded.

Three shutout innings from the bullpen in the game in which the relievers don’t allow a hit but walk three. Stutes threw 24 pitches in the game, Madson 22 and Bastardo ten.

Nobody in the pen has thrown more than one day in a row.

The Phillies lineup against righty Anibal Sanchez went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Polanco (6) Ibanez (7) Brown (8) Ruiz. Ruiz catches the night game after Sardinha started the day game. Polance, an unusual choice to hit fifth, came into the game having hit 243/293/294 over his last 151 plate appearances.

The Phils trailed 2-0 when they hit in the first. Rollins led off with a walk and, with one out, Utley sliced a double into the left field corner. Rollins rounded third and slid in safe safe ahead of Buck’s tag on a close play, cutting the lead to 2-1. Utley went to third on the play at the plate, but the Phils couldn’t bring him home to tie the game. Howard grounded to first with Utley holding and Polanco grounded to second.

No RBI for Howard with one out and a man on third.

Ruiz walked with two outs in the second, but Halladay struck out swinging behind him.

The Phils went in order in the third.

They trailed 4-1 when they hit in the fourth. Howard led off with a single and Polanco walked behind him. Ibanez struck out swinging for the first out and Brown grounded to second for the second. It put men on first and third for Ruiz, who was walked intentionally to get to Halladay. Halladay again struck out, leaving the bases loaded.

They did score in the fifth. Victorino singled with one out and stole second before Utley hammered a triple to the gap in right-center. Victorino scored to make it 4-2. Again the Phillies couldn’t bring the runner home from third with one out. Howard struck out swinging and Polanco flew to right.

Again no RBI for Howard with one out and a man on third.

The Phils didn’t have a runner in the sixth or seventh.

Polanco doubled to center with two outs in the eighth, but Ibanez struck out behind him.

They started the ninth down 4-2 with righty Leo Nunez on the mound for the Marlins. Ruiz singled with one out and Gload hit for Stutes and singled as well, putting men on first and second with one out for Rollins. Martinez ran for Gload at first. Rollins hit a ball hard off of Nunez’s foot, but Nunez took it and went to first for the second out with the runners moving up to second and third. Victorino hit a 2-1 pitch just out of the reach of a diving Lopez and into center field. Ruiz and Martinez both scored and the game was tied at 4-4. Victorino stole second and took third when Buck’s throw to second wasn’t handled, but Utley flew to left to leave him there.

Howard was hit by a pitch to start the tenth, but Polanco and Ibanez went down behind him. Brown drew a two-out walk, though, moving Howard up to second. Ruiz was next and he hit a 1-0 pitch into center for a single. Emilio Bonifacio charged and didn’t field the ball cleanly. Howard scored to give the Phils a 5-4 win.

Rollins was 0-for-4 with a walk in the game. He’s 4-for-14 in the series so far with two home runs and six RBI.

Victorino 2-for-5 with two RBI. 6-for-his-last-15 with two doubles.

Utley 2-for-5 with a double, a triple and two RBI. He’s 8-for-his-last-19 with four doubles, a triple and two home runs. He was hitting 195/298/293 after going 1-for-5 against the Pirates on June 4. After last night’s game he’s hitting 275/383/500 for the year in 94 plate appearances.

Howard was 1-for-4 last night and 2-for-7 with a walk and a double in the double-header. Twice in last night’s game he couldn’t bring the runner in from third with less than two outs.

Polanco 1-for-4 with a double and a walk. He’s 2-for-his-last-12.

Ibanez 0-for-5 and struck out three times. 1-for-his-last-13.

Brown was 0-for-4 with a walk. 0-for-7 with two walks in the double-header. 3-for-his-last-29 with three homers.

Ruiz 2-for-3 with two walks and a game-winning RBI. 3-for-7 with two walks in the series.

The Phils won the opener 8-1 behind a strong performance by Kendrick and a six-run third inning that featured a three-rule triple by Valdez and a three-run homer by Rollins.

Kendrick got the start for the Phils and went seven innings, allowing a run on five hits and a walk. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a solo home run. He struck out five and dropped his ERA to 3.12 for the year.

Kendrick allowed a solo home run to Morrison in the top of the first as well as a walk and a single, but held the Marlins to a single run.

He gave up a single in the second, but threw a 1-2-3 third and started the fourth up 8-1.

Dobbs reached on an error by Brown in the fourth, but that was the only base-runner for the Marlins in the fourth, fifth or sixth.

In the seventh, the allowed back-to-back single with one out. It put men on first and second with one out, but Kendrick struck out Brett Hayes for the second out and got Wes Helms to ground to Rollins to keep the Marlins off the board.

Romero threw a 1-2-3 eighth.

Baez pitched the ninth with a seven-run lead. He allowed a two-out single to Dobbs, but got Omar Infante on a ground ball to second to end the game.

The Phillies lineup against righty Elih Villanueva went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Brown (6) Francisco (7) Valdez (8) Sardinha. Francisco plays left with Ibanez on the bench. Sardinha catches with Ruiz on the bench. Valdez at third with Polanco on the bench.

Down 1-0 when they hit in the bottom of the first, the Phils tied the game at 1-1 on doubles by Victorino and Howard.

Francisco and Kendrick both walked in the second and Rollins delivered a two-out single, scoring Francisco to put the Phils up 2-1. Victorino struck out swinging to leave the runners stranded at first and second.

The Phillies scored six times in the third. Valdez hit a three-run triple after Utley was hit by a pitch, Howard walked and Francisco was walked. That put the Phils up 5-1 with Valdez on third and one out. Sardinha walked behind Valdez, putting men on first and third. Kendrick struck out trying to bunt Sardinha to second, but Rollins was next and hit a three-run homer. 8-1.

The Phils didn’t score any more runs in the game. Brown walked in the fourth, Valdez had singles in the fifth and the seventh and Martinez singled in the seventh.

Rollins was 2-for-5 in the game with a home run and three RBI.

Victorino 1-for-5 with a double.

Utley 0-for-3 with a strikeout and was hit by a pitch.

Howard 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI.

Brown 0-for-3 with a walk.

Francisco 0-for-2 with two walks.

Valdez 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBI.

Sardinha 0-for-3 with a walk.

Cliff Lee (6-5, 3.41) faces righty Javier Vazquez (3-6, 7.09) this afternoon. Vazquez has allowed 13 runs in 7 2/3 innings over his last two starts. Lee has allowed one run in 15 innings over his last two starts.

The bats roared to life over the past three games as the Phils plated 18 runs against the Cubs and won all three. Utley had a fantastic series for the Phils, going 4-for-8 with two doubles and a home run in the last two games, and Howard was huge with the bat yesterday, going 3-for-3 and driving in three of the four runs scored by the Phils.

Friday the Phils won 7-5. After a two-run homer by Brown in the second and a seventh-inning grand slam by Polanco helped give the Phils a 7-0 lead, the Phils managed to hold off Contreras and the Cubs in the last two innings. Chicago scored four times in the top of the eighth, with four runs charged to Contreras, who got just one out in the game. Bastardo struck Carlos Pena out as the tying run to end the game and earn his second save of the season.

Lee held the Cubs to a run over eight innings on Saturday as the Phils won 7-1. Utley had a monster day, going 2-for-5 with a double, a two-run homer and four RBI. Victorino chipped in with three hits of his own, including a double.

Yesterday the Phils won 4-3 behind Oswalt, who pitched great after a miserable first inning, and Howard’s big day with the bat.

The Phillies are 40-26 on the year after beating the Chicago Cubs 4-3 yesterday afternoon. The Phils take the four-game set three games to one. The remain in first place in the NL East and lead the second-place Braves by two games. The third-place Marlins have fallen seven games behind the Phils.

Oswalt got the start for the Phillies and went seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, a double and a home run. He struck out five. After allowing three runs in the first inning on four hits, he allowed a single, two walks and no runs over the next six innings.

He struck Kosuke Fukudome out to start the game, but Darwin Barney followed that with a single to right. Starlin Castro was next and hit a ball that landed just fair down the left field line for a double. Barney scored and Chicago led 1-0. Carlos Pena popped to Rollins for the second out, but Aramis Ramirez hit a 1-0 pitch out left. 3-0. Blake DeWitt singled into center and was left there when Tyler Colvin popped to short.

It was 3-1 when Oswalt set the Cubs down in order in the second. He got Koyie Hill on a ground ball to first, pitcher Doug Davis on a grounder to short and Fukudome on a fly ball to center.

Pena singled to right with two outs in the third, but Oswalt got Ramirez on a fly ball to right for the third out.

DeWitt started the fourth with the lead cut to 3-2 and hit a ball to Rollins that Rollins didn’t handle for an error. Colvin flew to center for the first out before Hill walked on a 3-2 pitch. Davis tried to bunt the runners along, but Oswalt handled it and threw to third to force the lead runner DeWitt for the second out. With two outs and men on first and second, Fukudome flew to right, leaving both runners stranded.

Oswalt walked Pena with two outs in the fifth, but got Ramirez on a pop to Utley for the third out.

He set the Cubs down in order in the sixth and again in the seventh.

Up 4-3, Stutes pitched the eighth. He struck out Pena and Ramirez while setting Chicago down in order.

Stutes lowered his ERA on the year to 2.41 after 21 appearances.

Madson started the ninth and got the first two before Hill singled to right. It brought pitcher John Grabow to the plate as the tying run. Righty Geovany Soto, who tied game one of the series with a ninth-inning home run off of Madson, hit for Grabow. DJ LeMahieu ran for Hill at first. Soto popped a 2-2 pitch into shallow right field. Brown didn’t have a chance to get there, but Utley made a great running catch to snare it and end the game.

Neither Madson nor Stutes have pitched more than one day in a row. Both should be fine for Tuesday with the off-day today. Madson threw 17 pitches and Stutes ten.

The Phillies lineup against lefty Doug Davis went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Francisco (6) Ibanez (7) Ruiz (8) Valdez. Francisco in right with Brown on the bench. Polanco gets the day off with Valdez at third and Victorino hitting second. Ibanez stays in the lineup against the lefty.

Down 3-0, Rollins singled to center to start the bottom of the first and was forced at second for the first out when Victorino followed with a ground ball to short. Utley moved Victorino to third with a single before Howard blasted a double off of the wall in straight away center. Victorino scored to cut the lead to 3-1 with Utley held at third. Francisco walked to load the bases, but Ibanez struck out swinging 1-2 for the second out and Ruiz lined to third.

No more runs for the Phils after loading the bases with one out. Ibanez can’t put the ball in play and the Phils can’t bring the runner in from third with less than two outs.

Howard still doesn’t have a home run against lefties on the year. He came close there. He’s hitting 259/315/365 against them for the year. He’s on pace to hit about 32 home runs against righties this year and none against lefties.

The Phils went in order in the second.

Utley walked with one out in the third and moved to third on a single by Howard. Francisco followed that with his second walk of the game, loading the bases for Ibanez. Ibanez singled into right and everyone moved up a base with Utley scoring. 3-2. Ruiz struck out swinging for the second out. Valdez grounded to second for the third.

Second time in three innings the Phils leave the bases loaded. Second time in three innings they strike out with one out and a man on third.

Before walking twice in the first three innings, Francisco came in the game having walked in 11.9% of his plate appearances for the year. That’s the best mark of his career and way better than his career mark of 8.3%. If only he could get a hit.

Victorino walked with two outs in the fourth, but Utley flew to left behind him.

Howard walked to start the fifth and moved to second on a ground out by Francisco, but Ibanez and Ruiz both struck out to leave him at second.

The Phils went in order in the sixth. Manuel was ejected for arguing balls and strikes as Oswalt struck out looking.

Victorino was hit by a pitch to start the seventh and went to third when Utley followed and ripped a double. Howard dribbled a single to the right of second and into center, scoring both runners and putting the Phils up 4-3. With lefty Sean Marshall pitching, Polanco hit for Francisco and popped to Pena for the first out. Ibanez grounded to second with Howard forced at second for the second out. Ruiz struck out to leave Ibanez at first.

The Phils went in order in the eighth. Brown, who took over for Francisco in right after Polanco hit for Francisco in the seventh, grounded to second for the second out.

Rollins was 1-for-5 in the game and 2-for-18 with four walks in the four-game set. He’s hitting 256/331/356 on the season.

Victorino 0-for-2 with a walk yesterday. 6-for-15 with a double and two walks in the series. 280/353/472 for the season.

Utley 2-for-3 with a walk and a double. 6-for-17 with two doubles and a home run in the series. He also walked three times and drove in four runs. He came into the series with three extra-base hits for the season and doubled that in the four-game set. 261/370/420 on the year in 81 plate appearances.

Howard was 3-for-3 with a double and drove in three of the four runs the Phillies scored in the game. 4-for-13 with a double and five RBI in the series. He also walked five times. He came in to last night’s game 2-for-his-last-18. 247/336/474 for the year.

Francisco 0-for-1 with two walks. 0-for-3 with two walks in the series. 220/338/372 for the year. 172/304/310 against lefties for the season. Brown 0-for-1 yesterday and 1-for-11 with two walks and a homer in the series. He’s 1-for-his-last-18 and hitting 235/312/397 in 77 plate appearances for the season.

Ibanez 1-for-4 with an RBI. 6-for-16 with a walk and two doubles in the series. 250/300/419 for the year. 302/331/537 since the end of April.

Ruiz was 0-for-4, struck out three times and left eight men on base. He lined to third with the bases loaded in the first (3), struck out with the bases loaded in the third (6), struck out with Howard on second in the fifth (7) and struck out with Ibanez on first in the seventh (8). 3-for-12 with two walks in the series. He’s hitting 243/360/340 for the year.

Valdez 0-for-4 yesterday in his only action in the series. He’s hitting 240/279/295 for the year. Polanco was 0-for-1 yesterday and 3-for-14 with a walk and a grand slam in the series.

No game today. Marlins tomorrow for the first of four. Then the Mariners (of course).

After dropping two of three to the Pirates this weekend, the Phils have now lost consecutive series to the Pittsburgh and the Washington Nationals. They managed seven runs yesterday, but came into the game having plated just seven in their previous four games and losing all four.

The good news is pretty good. The Phils have the best record in baseball. The bad news is that with Brown up and Victorino back, there’s no more reinforcements on the way and the Phils are still struggling to get offense. Rollins smashed a foul ball off his knee on Saturday, missed some time against the Pirates and will likely miss some more, but there’s nobody else coming and they are eighth in the NL in runs scored for the season. That’s going to be enough to get them a whole lot of wins in the regular season, but getting a whole lot of wins in the regular season isn’t the goal for this team.

The Pirates took the opening game of the series 2-1. Singles by Hamels, Rollins and Utley helped the Phils to a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth, but the Pirates tied the game up in the sixth on a walk, a bunt a wild pitch and a sac fly. Hamels was fantastic in the game, allowing just one run on one hit and three walks in eight innings, but the Phils didn’t score after the sixth. Baez gave a two-out single to Xavier Paul in the twelfth. Paul stole second and came in to score the game-winning run on a single by Tabata.

The Phils lost game two 6-3. Rollins led off the first with a double after fouling a ball hard off of his knee and came around to eventually score on a ground ball by Howard, putting the Phils up 1-0. Rollins would be out of the game in the third, replace at short by Valdez. The Pirates grabbed the lead with two runs in the bottom of the first off of Kendrick, getting a doubles from Paul and Jose Tabata around a single by Andrew McCutchen. Victorino and Ibanez started the fourth with singles by Victorino and Ibanez. Victorino came in to score on a ground out by Brown and the game was tied at 2-2. Brandon Wood hit a two-run homer off of Kendrick in the fourth, putting the Pirates up 4-2. Romero allowed a run on two walks and a double in the seventh and Baez another in the eighth on a walk, a couple of ground outs and a wild pitch. Down 6-2, the Phils loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth. Polanco delivered a single to right, cutting the lead to 6-3, but Utley flew to left behind him to end the game.

Yesterday the Phils won game three 7-3 behind an impressive 14-hit attack and seven strong innings from Halladay.

The Phillies are 35-24 on the year after beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3 yesterday afternoon. They have lost four of five, but remain in first place in the NL East, three games ahead of the second-place Marlins.

Halladay got the start for the Phillies and went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a two-run homer. He struck out six.

Xavier Paul led off the bottom of the first with a single to right and Josh Harrison bunted him to second with the first out. Andrew McCutchen was next and he grounded to short, moving Paul to third with two outs. It brought Neil Walker to the plate and Halladay got ahead of him and looked like he had him struck out, but didn’t get the call on a close 0-2 pitch. Walker hit a 1-2 pitch out to center, putting the Pirates on top 2-0. Halladay screamed a curse and a heated discussion between Halladay and home plate umpire Angel Hernandez ensued in which Polanco had to help usher Halladay away from the ump. Halladay struck Lyle Overbay out swinging for the third out.

Garrett Jones started the second with a single to left. Brandon Wood was next and he popped a ball into shallow left. Valdez chased it down and caught it near the foul line. Jones was way off of first base, thinking the ball would drop, and Valdez made a long throw to double him off of first. Dusty Brown grounded to third for the third out.

Pitcher Jason McDonald singled to left to start the third and Paul bunted him to second with the first out. Harrison grounded out and McCutchen struck out looking to leave him stranded.

Third time in three innings that the Pirates got their leadoff man aboard against Halladay.

With the lead cut to 2-1, Halladay set the Pirates down in order in the fourth.

He started the fifth up 3-2. He struck out wood and Brown while setting Pittsburgh down in order.

The Phils were up 4-2 when Halladay pitched the sixth. He got the first two batters before walking McCutchen, but then struck Walker out looking to leave McCutchen stranded.

Halladay got the first two to start the seventh before Wood singled into center. Righty Matt Diaz hit for the pitcher hit for Dusty Brown and hit a ball down the third base line. Polanco made a nice play to backhand the ball, but his throw to first was offline on the home plate side and Howard couldn’t handle it. Diaz had a single and Polanco was charged with an error that allowed Wood to move up to third. The pitcher Daniel Moskos was due next and righty Jose Tabata hit for him. Tabata smoked a line drive that looked ticketed for right field, but Utley made a fantastic diving play to snare the line drive and end the inning with the runners stranded.

Huge play by Utley saves a run for the Phils.

Contreras started the eighth with the Phillies up 5-2. He got Paul on a ball handled by Howard for the first out, but Harrison followed that with a double and came around to score when McCutchen followed with a single. 5-3. Bastardo came in to pitch to the switch-hitter Walker and got him on a fly ball to center for the second out before Overbay moved McCutchen to second with a single. Bastardo struck Jones out swinging to leave both runners stranded.

Madson started the ninth with the Phils up 7-3. Wood led off with a single that was deflected by Polanco and went in to left, but Madson set down the next three Pirates behind him.

Madson threw 21 pitches in the game, Bastardo 13 and Contreras ten.

The Phillies lineup against righty Jason McDonald went (1) Victorino (2) Polanco (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Ibanez (6) Ruiz (7) Brown (8) Valdez. Rollins on the bench after fouling a ball off his knee in Saturday’s game, so Victorino leads off and Valdez plays short. Ruiz hits sixth, breaking up the lefties Ibanez and Brown, which is too high for him.

Utley singled to right with two outs in the first, but Howard struck out swinging to leave him stranded.

Down 2-0, the Phils went in order in the second.

Victorino singled with two outs in the third and took second on a wild pitch, but Polanco grounded to third to leave him at second.

Utley walked to start the fourth and went to second on a wild pitch before Howard walked. With Ibanez at the plate, a passed ball by Brown allowed the runners to move up to second and third. Ibanez hit a fly ball to deep center for the first out, allowing Utley to tag and score, cutting the lead to 2-1, and moving Howard up to third. Ruiz was hit by a curve ball he didn’t try real hard to get out of the way of, putting men on first and third with one out for Brown. Brown smashed a ball back up the middle that hit the umpire. Brown had a single, but the runners had to hold and the bases were loaded for Valdez. Valdez hit into a double-play to end the frame.

Hugely unfortunate for the Phils, who can use all the help they can get scoring runs.

McDonald walked Halladay, Victorino and Polanco on a total of 13 pitches to load the bases to start the fifth. Righty Chris Resop came in to pitch to Utley and Utley hithttp://www.philliesflow.com/wp-admin/post-new.php a ground ball to first that Overbay fielded deep. He was still able to throw home to force Halladay for the first out of the inning. It brought Howard to the plate for a long at-bat, which ended on the 13th pitch when Howard hammered a ball deep to center. McCutchen tracked it down at the wall for the second out, though, and everyone moved up a base with Victorino scoring to tie the game at 2-2. Ruiz was next and was hit on a pitch up and in, loading the bases again. Brown grounded to first to leave them loaded.

Halladay singled with one out in the sixth and moved to second on a ground out by Victorino. Polanco singled into left, scoring Halladay to put the Phils up 4-2. Utley moved Polanco to third with a single and stole second, but lefty Daniel Moskos came in to the game and struck Howard out swinging to leave both runners stranded.

Brown doubled with two outs in the seventh and Valdez walked intentionally behind him. Halladay stayed in the game and struck out looking to leave both men stranded.

I wouldn’t walk Valdez intentionally that often. And by that I mean ever.

Polanco and Utley singled back-to-back with one out in the eighth, putting men on first and second for Howard. Howard lined a single into center, scoring Polanco to make it 5-2 and moving Utley to second. Ibanez was next and hit a ball to first that went off the glove of Overbay for an error, loading the bases for Ruiz. Ruiz fouled out to the catcher and Brown struck out swinging to end the frame.

No more runs for the Phils after loading the bases with one out. Ruiz can’t bring the runner in from third with one out.

Valdez started the ninth with a single. With righty Daniel McCutchen pitching for the Pirates, Francisco hit for Bastardo and singled to right, moving Valdez to third. Victorino was next and he singled into center, scoring Valdez (6-3) and moving Francisco up to second. Polanco and Utley both went down on fly balls before Howard singled to right, scoring Francisco to put the Phils up 7-3 and moving Victorino to third. Ibanez grounded to first to leave the runners on the corners.

Victorino was 2-for-5 with a walk in the game and 3-for-14 with a walk in the series. He’s hitting 278/337/479 on the season.

Polanco 2-for-5 with a walk in the game and 5-for-15 with a walk and two RBI in the series. 320/367/398 on the year. He’s 10-for-27 over the last six games.

Utley was 3-for-5 with a walk yesterday in his second multi-hit game of the year. Also 5-for-15 with a walk in the series. He’s hitting 239/340/326 with two extra-base hits in 53 plate appearances for the season.

Howard was 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBI yesterday. 2-for-12 with a walk and four RBI in the set. 248/332/482 on the season. 206/308/405 in his last 146 plate appearances.

Top four hitters in the lineup yesterday went 9-for-19 with four walks.

Ibanez was 0-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. 2-for-12 with a double and two walks in the series. 242/294/417 for the season.

Ruiz was 0-for-3 with an RBI. 0-for-7 with two walks in the series. 236/349/341.

Brown was 2-for-5 with a double, which was the only extra-base hit of the game for the Phillies. He also left six men on base. 3-for-12 with a double, walk and an RBI in the series. 304/353/478 in his first 51 plate appearances for the year.

Valdez was 1-for-4 with a walk. 2-for-7 with two walks in the series. 244/288/298 on the season. 275/341/325 over his last 46 plate appearances. Rollins was 3-for-7 with a double in the series and 268/340/364 for the year.

Cliff Lee (4-5, 3.94) faces lefty Ted Lilly (4-4, 4.22) and the Dodgers tonight. After throwing to a 6.00 ERA in his first three starts of the season, Lilly has thrown to a 3.74 ERA and a 1.14 ratio in his last nine starts. The Phils are 3-5 in the last eight games that Lee has started. He’s thrown to a 3.95 ERA in those games but a 1.34 ratio, allowing 57 hits and 16 walks in 54 2/3 innings.

This suggests that Rollins thinks he won’t need to go to the DL.

The Phils came into last night’s game having scored a total of one run in the last three games Cliff Lee had started, so there was reason for concern when they rolled into the seventh trailing 3-0. The offense did show up, though, as the Phils mounted a nifty rally, scoring five times after the sixth inning to get a 5-3 win and take the series two games to one.

Doubles by Ibanez and Orr and an error by the Fish helped the Phils get two runs in the seventh, Victorino tied the game at 3-3 with a home run in the seventh and J-Roll delivered a two-out single in the ninth that plated two runs and put the Phils ahead to stay.

The Phils aren’t exactly tearing the cover off the ball these days, they’ve gone 3-3 in their last six games and scored 17 runs, which is about 2.8 runs per game. The are fifth in the NL in runs scored per game and second in runs allowed behind the Braves.

The Phillies are 24-12 on the year after beating the Florida Marlins 5-3 last night. They have the best record in baseball and lead the second-place Marlins by three games in the NL East.

Lee got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a solo home run. He struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.

He got Chris Coghlan to ground to second for the first out in the bottom of the first. Emilio Bonifacio struck out looking for the second out, but Hanley Ramirez was next and he hit a 1-1 pitch out to left center, putting Florida up 1-0. Gaby Sanchez grounded to second for the third out.

John Buck flew to right for the first out of the second and Mike Stanton flew to center behind him. Wes Helms singled to right before Omar Infante flew to right to leave him at first.

Lee threw a 1-2-3 third, striking out pitcher Ricky Nolasco for the first out and getting Coghlan and Bonifacio on ground balls behind him.

He got Ramirez, Sanchez and Buck in a 1-2-3 fourth.

Stanton singled to start the fifth. Helms struck out swinging behind him for the first out before Infante grounded to third. Stanton was forced at second for the second out with Infante safe at first. Nolasco struck out swinging to leave Infante at first.

Coghlan grounded out to start the sixth, but Bonifacio reached on an infield single behind him and Ramirez followed that with a single into center on a ball that was deflected by Valdez. It put men on first and second for Sanchez and he singled to center, loading the bases for Buck. Buck lined a single into left, moving everyone up a base and extending the lead to 2-0. Stanton was next and he lined a ball to center for the second out, deep enough for Ramirez to tag and score. 3-0. Helms grounded to third and Buck was forced at second to end the inning.

The lead was cut to 3-2 when Romero started the seventh. Infante flew to right for the first out. Righty Osvaldo Martinez hit for the pitcher Ryan Webb and smoked a ball into right-center, but Francisco made a nice play, tracking the ball down on a run just in front of the track for the second out. Coghlan grounded to first for the third out.

Kendrick started the eighth with the score tied at 3-3 and walked Bonifacio on five pitches. Ramirez flew to right for the first out before Sanchez moved Bonifacio to second with a single. Buck grounded to third and the Phils turned the double-play to end the inning.

I confess to not having a lot of confidence in Kendrick there, especially after he walked Bonifacio on five pitches to get things started. Worked out well.

Madson started the ninth with a 5-3 lead. He struck Stanton out for the first out and lefty Brian Petersen, hitting for Helms, out for the second. Infante flew to left for the third out.

Three scoreless innings for the pen in which they allow a single and a walk. Madson threw 16 pitches in the game, Kendrick 12 and Romero eight. Nobody has thrown more than one day in a row and the pen will be well-rested for Friday thanks to the complete game by Halladay in game two of the set and today’s off-day.

The Phillies lineup against righty Ricky Nolasco went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Polanco (4) Howard (5) Ibanez (6) Francisco (7) Schneider (8) Valdez. Schneider catches against the righty with the righty Sardinha on the bench. Valdez starts against the righty with the lefty Orr on the bench.

The Phils went in order in the first.

Howard walked to start the second with the Phils down 1-0, but Ibanez hit into a double-play behind him. Francisco flew to center for the third out.

Lee walked with two outs in the third, but Rollins flew to center behind him.

Polanco doubled with one out on in the fourth on a ball deflected by Stanton. Howard and Ibanez both struck out to leave him stranded.

Schneider doubled to center with one out in the fifth. Lee was next and hit a line drive that was deflected by Infante but made it in to center field. Schneider would have scored easily, but pulled a hamstring and had to hobble back to third. Sardinha ran for him at third, Rollins grounded to second to leave Lee and Sardinha both stranded.

Victorino, Polanco and Howard went in order in the sixth.

They started the seventh down 3-0 and Ibanez doubled to right. Francisco flew to left for the first out before Sardinha hit a ball to first that Sanchez didn’t handle for an error. It put men on first and third for Valdez and with the righty Nolasco still pitching for Florida, Orr hit for Valdez and lined a double to right. Ibanez scored to cut the lead to 3-1 and Sardinha went to third. Lee was eager to hit for himself, but Manuel called on Gload to replace him and righty Ryan Webb came in to pitch to Gload. Gload hit a ground ball to first that Sanchez took and tossed to Webb covering first for the second out, but Sardinha scored from third to make the score 3-2. Rollins grounded back to the pitcher to leave Orr at third.

Gload gets to hit against the righty Webb as the Fish choose Webb to face Gload and then bring Dunn in to pitch the eighth. If Manuel wanted Orr to hit against Nolasco instead of Valdez it seems a little odd he didn’t start him. The error by Sanchez helps the Phils score an unearned run at a time they need all the help they can get.

Victorino led off the eighth and homered to left on a 2-1 pitch to tie the game at 3-3. Polanco, Howard and Ibanez went in order behind him.

Sardinha singled to left with one out in the ninth and moved to third when Orr followed and ripped a double to right. With righty Leo Nunez on the mound for the Marlins, Mayberry hit for Kendrick and struck out swinging 2-2 for the second out. Rollins picked him up, though, lining a 1-0 pitch into right to score both runners and put the Phils up 5-3. Rollins took second as the throw came home to try to get Orr, but was left there when Victorino fouled out to third.

Again Manuel uses Gload early in the game and it means that Mayberry is forced to hit against a righty. Bad at-bat for Mayberry, striking out with one out and a huge runner on third.

Rollins was 1-for-5 in the game with a huge two-run single. He was 4-for-15 with a home run and three RBI in the game and is hitting 283/370/372 for the season.

Victorino 1-for-5 with his sixth home run. He’s on pace to hit 27. 3-for-14 with a walk, a triple and a home run in the series. 286/348/517 on the year. 300/364/600 over his last 67 plate appearances.

Polanco was 1-for-4 with a double. 2-for-12 with a double in the series. 350/390/455 for the season, but he’s hitting just 225/244/275 in May.

Howard was 0-for-3 with a walk and struck out three times. 3-for-11 with a double, a home run and two walks in the series. He’s 5-for-18 with three walks and two homers in his last five games. 268/342/514 for the year. He has struck out 13 times in his last 29 plate appearances, which is too many.

Ibanez 1-for-4 with a double in the game and 5-for-12 with two doubles in the series. 232/289/360 for the season. 441/441/765 over his last 34 plate appearances. 395/395/684 in May without a walk.

Francisco was 0-for-4 with a strikeout last night and 1-for-6 with a walk in the series. He’s 2-for-his-last-26 with two singles, eight walks and three hit by pitch. 229/343/373 on the season. Mayberry was 0-for-1 with a big strikeout last night and 1-for-2 with a walk in the series. 300/404/450 on the year.

Schneider was 1-for-2 in the game and could be headed to the DL. 1-for-6 with a double in the series and 173/218/327. Sardinha was miserable in game two of the series, but in the middle of things last night. He went 1-for-2 with a single and two runs scored last night. 1-for-4 with a walk in the series. 3-for-13 with three walks on the year.

Valdez 0-for-2 with a strikeout last night and 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the game. 238/273/286 on the season. 149/184/170 over his last 50 plate appearances. Orr had a huge night, going 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. 2-for-8 with a walk in the series. 265/333/327 on the year — he came into the game last night with one extra-base hit on the season.

The Phils don’t play today and will face Atlanta in Atlanta on Friday.

It’s the last scheduled off-day for the Phils in a while. Starting on Friday they will play 20 games in 20 days.

The Phillies don’t seem to be getting much offense from the second base or catching positions. Possible exception to that would be the two key doubles Orr hit last night to help them win the game, but, you know, in general.

Ruiz will catch Oswalt in Clearwater tonight with Utley expected to play as well.

PS — Comcast SportsNet wants you to know that they will air tonight’s Threshers game at 7 PM.

Round one of 2011 between Roy Halladay and Josh Johnson goes down as a draw between the pitchers but a win for the Marlins. Both Johnson and Halladay pitched well, but it was Johnson’s Fish who won the game, capitalizing on miscues by the Phillie defense in the eighth inning to score a run and break a 1-1 tie.

A Ryan Howard homer in the second put the Phils up 1-0, but a walk to the pitcher and a Chris Coghlan double helped the Marlins tie the game up at 1-1 in third. Omar Infante led off the bottom of the eighth and reached on an error by Rollins, moved to second on a wild pitch that should have been handled by Sardinha and scored on a bloop single.

The offense also frustrated for the Phils, most notably loading the bases in the second inning with nobody out and failing to score.

The Phillies are 23-12 on the year after losing to the Florida Marlins 2-1 last night. They are in first place in the NL East, two games ahead of Florida.

Halladay got the start for the Phillies and went eight innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks. One of the hits went for extra-bases, a double, and one of the runs was unearned. He struck out nine and lowered his ERA on the year to 2.05.

He struck out Chris Coghlan for the first out in the bottom of the first. Emilio Bonifacio singled into center and was caught stealing second as Hanley Ramirez struck out swinging to end the inning.

Up 1-0, he got Gaby Sanchez to pop to second for the first out of the second. Greg Dobbs was next and he singled into right. Halladay struck Mike Stanton out looking for the first out and got John Buck to pop to Orr to leave Dobbs stranded.

Omar Infante grounded to first to start the third. Halladay walked the pitcher Josh Johnson on six pitches and Coghlan followed that with double to right that moved Johnson to third. Bonifacio was next and he hit a fly ball to center deep enough for both of the runners to tag and move up a base. Johnson scored to tie the game at 1-1. Halladay walked Ramirez and then got Sanchez to pop to Howard to leave both men stranded.

Two walks in the inning for Halladay, which doesn’t happen a whole lot. Walking the pitcher costs the Phils.

Halladay struck out Dobbs, Stanton and Buck in the fourth.

He set down nine straight in the fifth, sixth and seventh.

Infante led off the eighth and hit a ball hard to short. Rollins didn’t field the ball cleanly, but picked it up and made a strong throw to first that would have been in plenty of time to get Infante, but it pulled Howard off the bag and Infante was safe on Rollins’s error. Righty Osvaldo Martinez hit for the pitcher and Infante took second on a wild pitch. Martinez tried to bunt but couldn’t and with two strikes moved Infante to third with a ground out to second, bringing Coghlan to the plate with one out and a man on third. Coghlan dumped a single in front of Victorino in center, scoring Infante to put Florida up 2-1. Ramirez was next and he hit a ball slowly to third. Polanco fielded, shuffled his feet and then threw to first, but a hustling Ramirez beat it out for a single. Ramirez stole second, but was left there when Halladay struck Sanchez out looking 0-2.

Miserable defensive inning from the Phils and a nice job by Halladay to hold Florida to a run. Rollins with the error, Sardinha should have handled the pitch on which Halladay was charged with a wild pitch, and Polanco should have gotten Ramirez at first. Without the passed ball, Infante is still on first and the Phils likely turn two on the ball hit by Martinez.

The Phillies lineup against righty Josh Johnson went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Polanco (4) Howard (5) Ibanez (6) Francisco (7) Orr (8) Sardinha. Francisco back in right against the righty, hitting sixth behind Ibanez. The lefty Orr at second with Valdez on the bench, but righty Sardinha catches Halladay with Schneider out of the starting lineup.

The Phils went in order in the first.

Howard led off the second and hit a 3-1 pitch out to left, putting the Phils up 1-0. Ibanez was next and hit a ball hard to left for a double. Francisco was hit by a pitch behind him and Orr drew a walk, loading the bases for Sardinha with nobody out. Sardinha struck out swinging 1-2 for the first out. Halladay struck out looking 0-2. Rollins grounded to second to leave everyone stranded.

Sardinha the biggest culprit there, unable to put the ball in play with nobody out and the bases loaded.

Victorino led off the third with a single to center. Polanco and Howard went down behind him before Ibanez singled, sending Victorino to third. Francisco walked and the bases were loaded again, but this time Orr grounded to short to turn the Phils away.

The game was tied at 1-1 when the Phils went in order in the fourth.

Johnson set them down in order in the fifth, too.

Francisco singled softly to center with one out in the sixth and moved to second when Orr followed with a ground out to first. Johnson walked Sardinha intentionally to get to Halladay, who can’t hit even a tiny, little bit. Halladay struck out swinging at three pitches in a row to leave Francisco at second.

Rollins led off the seventh with a single to right. Victorino flew to left behind him for the first out. Polanco grounded to short with Rollins forced at second for the second out. Howard struck out looking to leave Polanco at first.

The Phils went in order in the eighth. With lefty Michael Dunn on the mound, Valdez hit for Orr and struck out for the third out.

Down 2-1, Gload hit for Sardinha against righty Leo Nunez and struck out for the first out of the ninth. Mayberry hit for Halladay and walked. He moved to second when Rollins followed with a ground out to first. It brought Victorino to the plate with two down and Mayberry on second. He hit a ball to first base that Sanchez fielded. Sanchez tossed to Nunez covering first in time to beat Victorino and end the game.

Victorino’s elbow may have been a little high as he and Nunez converged on first base. The Florida catcher Buck seemed to take exception and discussion ensued before Madson helped usher Victorino off the field.

Rollins was 1-for-5 and left four men on base. 328/434/469 over his last 76 plate appearances.

Victorino 1-for-5. 309/377/582 over his last 62 plate appearances.

Polanco was 0-for-4 with a strikeout. 222/244/250 so far in May after a monster April.

Howard was 1-for-4 with his eighth home run of the year. 5-or-his-last-26 with 11 strikeouts.

Ibanez was 2-for-4 with a double. 6-for-his-last-12 and 14-for-his-last-30 with six extra-base hits (467/467/800 over his last 30 plate appearances).

Francisco 1-for-2 with a walk. 2-for-his-last-22 with two singles and eight walks. Over those last 34 plate appearances he’s walked eight times and been hit by pitch three times, so he has a .394 on-base percentage over his last 34 plate appearances to go with an .091 average and an .091 slugging percentage.

Orr was 0-for-2 with a walk and four men left on base. He’s 3-for-his-last-22.

Sardinha had a rough day, going 0-for-2 with a walk, which was intentional. Struck out in the second with nobody out and the bases loaded and should have handled the wild pitch in the eighth. He’s 2-for-14 on the year.

Halladay was 0-for-3, struck out three times and left five men on base. He’s 1-for-19 on the year with a single and 11 strikeouts.

Cliff Lee (2-3, 3.69) faces righty Ricky Nolasco (3-0, 3.23) tonight. Nolasco is 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA over his last four starts. Lefties have done nothing against the righty, hitting 208/265/308 compared to 292/303/510 for righties. Lee struck out 16 in his last start, but took the loss anyway as Derek Lowe was a little better. He has 60 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings for the season.

This says that Blanton was sore after his start on Monday. That can’t be good.

The linked article also says that Ruiz and Oswalt will play for Clearwater Thursday and that Utley might.

Not yet, probably, but he sure is making it look like it will only be a matter of time.

Vance Worley gave the Phils his second good start in two tries last night as the Phils rolled to a 7-4 win over the Nats. The game wasn’t as close as the score as Washington hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth.

Worley allowed a run on four hits over six innings last night and struck out seven. He’s allowed a run on six hits and four walks over 12 innings in his two starts combined.

Worley wasn’t the only Phillie who shined as the Phils banged out 11 hits coming off a game where they managed 12. Raul Ibanez has broken out of his long slump in a big way. After going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles in the series opener, Ibanez went 3-for-4 last night and hit his first home run since April 7. Rollins shined again as well, going 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in his second straight day in the leadoff spot.

The Phillies are 20-9 on the year after beating the Washington Nationals 7-4 last night. They are 11 games over .500 for the first time on the year.

Worley got the start for the Phils and went six innings, allowing a run on four hits. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, both doubles. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out seven.

He struck Danny Espinosa out looking for the first out of the game before Ian Desmond grounded to short for the second out. Jayson Werth struck out swinging 2-2 to end the frame.

Adam LaRoche struck out looking to start the second before Ramos doubled to right. Laynce Nix flew to center and Jerry Hairston popped up to Valdez to leave Ramos stranded.

Alex Cora led off the third and hit a ball that was deflected by Valdez but found center for a single. The pitcher Jason Marquis was next, tried to bunt, couldn’t and struck out for the first out. Espinosa flew to center for the second out and Worley struck Desmond out swinging 1-2 to leave Cora stranded.

Worley threw a 1-2-3 fourth. LaRoche struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch he thought was inside for the second out and argued. Jim Riggleman came out to argue and was ejected. The pitch in question was a strike.

Cora singled with two outs in the fifth, but Worley got Marquis on a ground ball to short behind him to turn Washington away.

Worley started the sixth with a 3-0 lead and hit the leadoff man Espinosa. Desmond followed with a ground out to short that moved Espinosa to second with one down. Werth struck out for the second out, but LaRoche followed and blasted a double off the wall in left. Espinosa scored to cut the lead to 3-1. Ramos was next and hit a ball down the third base line. Polanco made a very nice play on the line and the long throw to first to end the frame.

JC Romero, just off the DL, pitched the seventh with a 7-1 lead. He got the first two before Cora singled to center. Righty Brian Bixler hit for the pitcher Brian Broderick and grounded to first to set Washington down.

Stutes pitched the eighth. Werth singled with two outs and took second on defensive indifference. LaRoche walked behind him, putting two men on for Ramos, but Ramos fouled out to Schneider to leave both men stranded.

Baez started the ninth with the Phils still up by six runs. Nix lead off with a single, but Baez struck Hairston and Cora out behind him. Lefty Matt Stairs hit for the pitcher Todd Coffey and moved Nix to third with a single. Stairs took second without a throw before Espinosa hit a 2-1 pitch out to center for a three-run homer that cut the Phillie lead to 7-4. Baez got Desmond on a ground ball to short to end the game.

Three innings for the pen in which they allowed three runs on five hits and a walk. Baez threw 18 pitches, Stutes 16 and Romero 15.

The Phillies lineup against righty Jason Marquis went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Polanco (4) Howard (5) Francisco (6) Ibanez (7) Schneider (8) Valdez. Rollins stays in the leadoff spot for the second straight game. The lefty Schneider catches with Sardinha on the bench. The righty Valdez plays second with the lefty Orr on the bench.

Rollins led off the bottom of the first with a single, but Victorino popped to short and Polanco hit into a double-play behind him.

Howard and Francisco both struck out to start the second, but Ibanez was next and he singled to right. Schneider went down in a dribbler out in front of the plate to end the inning.

The Phils went in order in the third.

Polanco singled with one out in the fourth. Howard grounded to second with Polanco forced at second for the second out. Francisco grounded to third to leave Howard stranded.

Ibanez hit the first pitch from Marquis in the fifth out to right-center, putting the Phils up 1-0. Schneider followed with a single on a ball deflected by the first baseman LaRoche and Valdez followed with a ground ball to short with Schneider forced at second for the first out. Worley lined a single into left, moving Valdez to second, and Rollins walked to load the bases for Victorino. Victorino singled to left and everyone moved up a base. 2-0. Polanco was next and hit a fly ball to left for the second out, deep enough for Worley to tag and score, putting the Phils ahead 3-0. Howard lined to Espinosa to leave Rollins and Victorino stranded.

The lead was cut to 3-1 when Francisco started the sixth with a walk. He moved to second when Ibanez followed with a single to right. Schneider singled to right, too, and the bases were loaded for Valdez. Valdez delivered a single to left and everyone moved up a base. 4-1. Righty Brian Broderick took over for Marquis and Gload hit for Worley and struck out swinging 2-2 for the first out. Rollins followed with another single that moved everyone up again and made it 5-1. Victorino hit a ground ball to second. Espinosa tossed to second to force Rollins for the second out, but the relay to first from Desmond was wide of LaRoche for an error that allowed Victorino to take second. Schneider and Valdez both scored on the play to extend the lead to 7-1. Polanco lined to Desmond for the third out.

Victorino probably would have beaten the play at first even if Desmond hadn’t thrown the ball away. Manuel again uses Gload earlier in the game than he tended to last year. Gload has a bad at-bat, striking out with the bases loaded and nobody out, but Rollins picks him up and the Nats throw the ball away.

The Phils went in order in the seventh.

Schneider and Valdez went down to start the eighth. With righty Todd Coffey pitching for Washington, Martinez hit for Stutes and drew a walk. Rollins grounded to Coffey for the third out.

Third plate appearance for Martinez since April 24.

Rollins was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. He’s 4-for-8 with a triple and two walks hitting out of the leadoff spot in the last two games.

Victorino 1-for-4 with two RBI. He’s 10-for-his-last-30.

Polanco 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Howard 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

Francisco 0-for-3 with a walk. He’s 1-for-his-last-12.

Ibanez 3-for-4 with a home run, which was the only extra-base hit of the game for the Phils. 5-for-8 with two doubles and a home run in his last two games.

Schneider was 2-for-4 to raise his average on the year to .184.

Valdez 1-for-4 with an RBI. He’s 3-for-his-last-28 with three singles and a walk.

Halladay (4-1, 2.14) faces lefty John Lannan (2-3, 3.78) tonight. Lefties have hit 167/286/300 against Lannan so far this season, righties 313/382/434. He faced the Phils on April 13 and allowed three runs, two earned, over six innings. Halladay has made one start this year in which he allowed more than two runs in the game. He started the April 13 game against the Nats and threw a complete game, allowing two runs in the ninth long after any normal human being would have been taken out of the game. Not sure what Halladay is, but I’m sure it’s not a normal human being.

David Herndon was sent to Triple-A to make room for Romero. The Phils continue to carry 14 hitters, including three catchers. Ruiz hasn’t played since last Wednesday (April 27).