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Yup. Still. They’re kinda tough to forget.

You may recall that the Phils were pretty good during the regular season and not so good in the playoffs over the past two years. Here’s what the post-season teams did in the playoffs in terms of scoring and preventing runs and how those numbers compared to what the teams did during the regular season. Here are the numbers for the playoff teams in the NL for 2011:

Overall, the NL teams scored 5.00 runs per game in the post-season, which is about 121% of the runs NL teams scored during the regular season. Of course, a lot of the NL teams that can’t hit didn’t even make the playoffs in 2011. The Cards, Brewers, Snakes and Phils combined to score 2,927 runs in 648 regular season games, which is about 4.52 runs per game (it’s about 4.57 runs per game if you weight it to account for the number of games played by each of the four teams, since the Cards had the best offense in the league and played the most playoff games).

Every NL team that made the post-season in 2011 except the Phils scored more runs per game in their post-season games than they had in their regular season games. The Cards scored about 118% of their regular season runs per game, the Diamondbacks about 111% and the Brewers about 102%. The Phillies scored 4.20 runs per game, which was about 95% of the 4.40 they averaged during the regular season.

Each of the four NL playoff teams also allowed more runs per game in the post-season than the regular season. The Cardinals came the closest to their regular season numbers, allowing just 4.28 runs per game, which is just a tick over the 4.27 they averaged for the regular season. Again, they were pitching against better teams than they faced during the regular season. Based on the regular season numbers against all NL teams, the Cards would have allowed about 48.7 runs in the 11 games they played against NL playoff teams (five against the Phils and six against the Brewers) — they actually allowed 47.

The Phillies allowed about 116% of the runs per game they allowed during the regular season in the ’11 post-season, which is the second-highest leap of the four NL playoff teams after the Brewers. Milwaukee has some ugly numbers thanks to allowing 43 runs to the Cardinals in the six-game NLCS. Not to be forgotten, of course, is that the Phils were facing the best-hitting team in the NL in the ’11 post-season. St Louis played the Phillies nine times during the regular season, going 6-3 and scoring 34 runs. That’s 3.77 runs per game, very similar to what they scored against the Phils during the post-season.

And here are the numbers for the NL teams in 2010:

In 2010, all four of the NL teams that played in the post-season scored fewer runs per game than they scored during the regular season. That’s a flip from 2011, when three of the four teams (everyone but the Phillies) scored more. In 2010, the Braves and Reds each scored less than half of the runs per game in the post-season that they had scored during the regular season. The Giants were a little off their regular season pace, scoring 91.4% of their regular season runs per game overall but only about 69.8% before they got to the World Series. In the World Series, they plated 29 runs in just five games or 5.8 runs per game — way more than the 4.30 runs per game they scored during the 2010 regular season.

The Phils, meanwhile, didn’t have the huge dropoff in runs scored per game that the Braves and Reds did, but still scored significantly fewer runs per game in the post-season than they had during the regular season. They scored 3.67 runs per game in their nine playoff games in 2010, about 77% of the runs per game they scored during the regular season.

Three of the four teams allowed fewer runs per game in the post-season than they had during the regular season. The only team that didn’t was the Reds, who were outscored 13-4 by the Phils as the Phils swept them in three games in the opening round.

Of the four NL teams in the post-season in 2010, the Phillies were the team whose runs allowed per game was the lowest compared to the runs they allowed during the regular season. The Reds allowed more runs per game than they had during the regular season, the Phils allowed about 64.8%, the Braves about 70.9% and the Giants about 75.8%. In their games against the NL teams, the Giants allowed about 80.6% of the runs per game they had allowed during the regular season. A lot of that success for the Phils in 2010 relative to the rest of that group has to do with what happened in their opening series with the Reds — as you may remember, the Phils got shutouts from Halladay and Hamels in games one and three of the set.

The Phillies signed right-handed reliever Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year deal worth just over $50 million. We’ll have to wait see how that works out for the Phils in 2012, but between Papelbon and Thome the Phils are in good shape if the powers-that-be decide to replay 2006 instead.

Vance Worley finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Freddie Freeman and winner Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel got all 32 of the first place votes.

In this article, Charlie Manuel includes third base when listing the positions that free agent Michael Cuddyer can play. I’m not convinced. When the Phillies don’t get Cuddyer, how disappointed we should all be will depend on whether or not he can play third. I’m guessing he can’t.

This article suggests that Cuddyer is not the high priority in Philadelphia being portrayed by the media and is more of a “middle priority” for the Phils.

Looking at the four teams from yesterday’s post, here’s how those potential playoff teams in the NL have pitched against the Phils this season:

St Louis was one of two teams in baseball with a winning record against the Phils going into last night’s game, winning six of the nine games the teams played (including three of four in the series that ended on Monday). Seattle was the other team and they went 2-1. Washington is 9-8 against the Phils after beating them last night.

The 2.96 ERA that St Louis pitchers threw to against the Phils is the best mark for any NL team. The Cards took three of four from the Phils in the recent series and the Phils won two of three against the Cards in St Louis in mid-June. May 16 and 17 the Phils played a two-game set in St Louis and lost both games as St Louis starters Jamie Garcia and Jake Westbrook held the Phils to two runs (one unearned) over 15 innings.

The Diamondbacks notable whiffed the Phils at a high rate, striking out 52 Phillie hitters in 52 innings. Ian Kennedy (14 strikeouts in 12 innings against the Phils over two starts) did a lot of the damage there. Joe Saunders struck out 11 Phillies in 11 2/3 innings in his two starts, despite allowing 11 runs in those 11 2/3 frames. Josh Collmenter struck out nine in 7 2/3 innings over two appearances and Daniel Hudson fanned six in six frames in his one start.

Last night the Phils lost 7-5 to the Washington Nationals to fall to 98-57 on the year. They have lost five in a row and six of seven.

It’s the first time this season the Phillies have lost five games in a row.

Worley gave up a two-run homer to Wil Ramos in the top of the second to put Washington up 2-0. They Phils came back in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs on five singles to tie the game at 2-2. In the bottom of the third, Mayberry singled with two outs, stole second and took third on a throwing error by Ramos before scoring on single by Ibanez to put the Phils up 3-2. Danny Espinosa hit a two-run shot off of Worley in the sixth to put Washington back up at 4-3. Justin De Fratus started the eighth for the Phillies and hit the first batter he faced and walked the next one before Bastardo took over. Bastardo made a throwing error and allowed two singles before getting out of the frame. Washington plated three runs to extend their lead to 7-3. Mayberry followed a leadoff walk by Utley with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to make it 7-5.

Not a good start for Worley, who allowed four runs over six innings. He has thrown to a 4.23 ERA over his last eight starts. Like Hamels, Worley’s home run rate has skyrocketed late in the season. Over his first 12 appearances for the year, Worley threw 62 1/3 innings and allowed just two home runs (0.29 HR per nine). Over his last 11 appearances, he’s thrown 66 2/3 innings and allowed eight (1.08 per nine).

Blanton threw a scoreless inning in the game. In three relief appearances since returning he has allowed a run on three hits and no walks over three innings while striking out four.

Schwimer threw a scoreless inning as well, dropping his ERA on the year to 6.35.

Bastardo faced six hitters. One reached on an error, two singled and he got three outs. Over his last six appearances, he’s thrown 3 1/3 innings and allowed six runs on six hits and five walks (16.20 ERA with a 3.30 ratio and opponents have hit 400/524/667 against him).

Mayberry was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the game. He’s hitting 307/350/614 since the All-Star break. 302/366/543 at home for the season compared to 248/308/512 on the road.

Francisco was 3-for-4 with three singles. He has started seven games in September and hit 400/400/400 (10-for-25 with ten singles and no walks).

Ibanez had two singles, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. He came into the game 2-for-his-last-22.

At the top of the order, Rollins, Victorino, Polanco and Utley combined to go 0-for-16 with two walks.

Roy Oswalt (8-9, 3.66) faces righty Brad Peacock (1-0, 1.42) tonight.

The Phils completed their series with the Brewers this weekend, taking two of the final three games to take three of four in the series. The series concludes a stretch of seven games against two of the National League’s best teams in which the Phils went 6-1.

On Friday the Phils won game two of the series 5-3. Howard hit a three-run homer in the top of the first to put the Phils up 3-0, which is how it stayed until the seventh. In the seventh, RBI-singles by Ibanez and Ruiz extended the lead to 5-0. Howard didn’t allow a run until the bottom of the seventh, when a leadoff double by Casey McGehee led to a run on a sac fly by Yuniesky Betancourt, cutting the lead to 5-1. Bastardo started the ninth and allowed the only two batters he faced to reach on single and a walk. Both came in to score after Madson took over for Bastardo, but the Phils held on for the win.

Over his last three appearances, Bastardo has now faced eight batters. Six of them have reached base on two hits and four walks.

Saturday the Phils won 3-2 in ten innings. Pence put the Phils up 1-0 with a home run in the top of the first, but the Brewers tied it up in the bottom of the second on an RBI-single by Betancourt. Lee gave up a second run in the fourth when Ryan Braun led off with a single, Prince Fielder followed with a double and Braun came in on a ground out by Casey McGehee to put the Brewers up 2-1. Polanco tied things up at 2-2 with a two-out homer to center in the fifth. Ibanez led off the tenth with a double and Ruiz tried to bunt him to third, but LaTroy Hawkins threw the ball away and Ibanez scored to put the Phils up to stay at 3-2. Lidge, Stutes and Madson combined to throw three scoreless innings in the game after Lee held the Brewers to two runs over seven innings.

The Phils lost yesterday’s game 3-2, dropping a game started by Worley for the first time in 15 outings.

The Phillies are 94-49 on the year after falling to the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 yesterday afternoon. The Phils take two of the last three games in the series and three of four in the set overall. After a win on Saturday the Phillies were 46 games over .500 for the first time in the history of the organization. They are in first place in the NL East, 12 games ahead of the second-place Braves.

Worley got the start for the Phillies and went 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk. Four of the hits went for extra-bases, all doubles. He struck out seven.

Corey Hart led off the bottom of the first with a single and Nyjer Morgan bunted him to second with the first out. Braun grounded to second for the second out with Hart moving up to third. Worley struck Fielder out looking 3-2 to leave Hart at third.

Worley walked Rickie Weeks to start the second, but struck Taylor Green out behind him for the first out. Betancourt moved Weeks to second with a single to left and a wild pitch by Worley allowed the runners to take second and third. Jonathan Lucroy grounded to second, with Orr going to Howard for the second out as Weeks scored (1-0) and Betancourt moved up to third. The pitcher Yovani Gallardo grounded to short to end the inning.

Morgan doubled to right with one out in the third and moved up to third on a ground out by Braun. Fielder popped to Martinez at short for the third out.

Worley hit Weeks with his first pitch in the bottom of the fourth, but got Green, Betancourt and Lucroy in order behind Weeks.

Gallardo doubled to right on a ball that Pence either didn’t see well or didn’t play well. Worley struck out Hart before Gallardo took third on a balk. Morgan flew to right with Gallardo holding for the second out and Braun flew to Pence deep in right for the third out.

Worley started the sixth up 2-1. He allowed a leadoff single to Fielder, but got the next three hitters in order.

Hart doubled to left with two outs in the seventh. Morgan followed that with a double to right, plating Hart and tying the game at 2-2. Braun was next and singled into right. Morgan scored and Milwaukee led 3-2. Schwimer took over for Worley and struck Fielder out swinging 2-2 to leave Braun at first.

Just the second of five appearances for Schwimer on the year in which he isn’t charged with at least one run.

Herndon pitched the eighth. He walked Craig Counsell with one out, but got the next two hitters behind him.

First appearance for Herndon since his 69-pitch outing on September 4.

Herndon threw 19 pitches and Schwimer five. Nobody in the pen has pitched more than one day in a row.

The Phillies lineup against righty Yovani Gallardo went (1) Victorino (2) Polanco (3) Pence (4) Howard (5) Ibanez (6) Orr (7) Schneider (8) Martinez. Orr at second and Martinez at short with Rollins active but on the bench and Valdez sidelined after hurting his left hamstring stealing a base on Saturday. Schneider catches the day game with Ruiz on the bench.

The Phils went in order in the first.

Howard led off the second with a single, but Ibanez, Orr and Schneider all struck out behind him.

Down 1-0, Worley walked with one out in the third. Victorino was next and he grounded to second with Worley forced at second for the second out. Victorino stole second before Polanco grounded to short to set the Phils down.

Howard and Ibanez struck out as the Phils went in order in the fourth.

Orr struck out swinging on a wild pitch to start the fifth and made it safely to first. Orr stole second as Schneider struck out again for the first out. Martinez moved Orr to third with a ground out, but Worley struck out to leave Orr at third.

Phils waste the leadoff strikeout by Orr.

Victorino led off the sixth and homered to right center to tie the game at 1-1. Polanco and Pence went down behind him before Howard hit a 3-2 pitch out to right-center to put the Phils up 2-1. Ibanez struck out for the third out.

The Phillies went in order in the seventh.

Down 3-2 and with righty Francisco Rodriguez pitching for Milwaukee, Gload hit for Schwimer to start the inning and singled to right. Mayberry ran for Gload at first and Victorino flew to right for the first out. Polanco grounded to third with Mayberry forced at second for the second out. Pence moved Polanco to third with a single, but Howard grounded to second to end the frame.

Gload still has to be replaced by a pinch-runner with his hip after reaching base to start the inning. That costs the Phils a bench player and a good one in this case in Mayberry. The Phils used two pinch-hitters in the ninth and they went 0-for-2. If Rollins can hit they surely would have used him, but I’m not sure they wouldn’t have used Mayberry even against the righty Axford instead of Bowker if Mayberry had been available. He wasn’t.

Righty John Axford started the ninth for Milwaukee with a one-run lead. He struck Ibanez out for the first out before Orr singled to center. Rollins hit for Schneider and struck out swinging for the second out. Martinez was next and drew a walk, pushing Orr to second as the tying run. Bowker hit for Herndon and popped to third to end the game.

Victorino was 1-for-4 with a home run in the game. 3-for-19 in the four-game set with a double and a home run. He’s hitting 295/371/516 for the year but just 204/278/327 so far in September.

Polanco 0-for-4 yesterday. 5-for-18 with a home run in the series. 278/332/343 for the year. His home run in Saturday’s game was his first since June 10.

Pence 1-for-4 with a strikeout yesterday. 7-for-17 in the series with two walks, a double, a triple and a home run. 320/393/551 in 147 at-bats with the Phillies.

Howard 2-for-4 with his 33rd home run of the year. 3-for-8 with two walks and two home runs in the series. 254/348/501 for the year. He has hit seven home runs in his last 59 plate appearances.

Ibanez 0-for-4 and struck out four times. 3-for-11 with a double in the series. 247/293/425 for the year. He’s hitting 201/250/312 away from home this season.

Orr was 1-for-4 and struck out three times. 4-for-9 with a walk in the series. 253/317/293 in 75 at-bats with the Phils for the year.

Schneider was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his only action in the series. He’s hitting 167/235/259 in 108 plate appearances for the season.

Martinez 0-for-3 with a walk. 2-for-9 with two walks in the series. 209/264/304 on the year.

Oswalt (7-8, 3.72) faces righty Brett Myers (4-13, 4.66) tonight in Houston. Myers saw his ERA shoot up to 4.95 after allowing seven runs to the Rockies in five innings on August 22, but has made three appearances since in which he has allowed just three runs in 16 2/3 innings (one of the appearances was a two-inning relief outing). He has allowed 31 home runs in 189 1/3 innings for the year. Oswalt faced his former team in his first start of the season, holding the Astros to two runs over six innings on April 3. In keeping with the guys-playing-on-the-wrong-team theme, Pence homered off of Oswalt in that game. It’s like an Esher drawing.

The Phils topped the Braves last night, winning 6-3 behind another solid effort from Vance Worley. The Phils are 14-0 in the last 14 games that Worley has started.

After sitting against a righty in game one of the series, Ibanez was back in the lineup and hammering the ball in game two. He went 3-for-4 with a double and drove in three of the six Phillie runs.

The Phillies are 90-48 on the year after beating the Atlanta Braves 6-3 last night. With the win the Phils extend their lead over Atlanta in the division to 9 1/2 games.

Worley got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and three walks. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, a double and a home run. He struck out six.

He walked Martin Prado with one out in the first and Prado moved up to second when Brian McCann followed with a single to left. Worley stuck Dan Uggla out swinging and Chipper Jones out looking to leave both runners stranded.

Up 2-0, Worley threw a 1-2-3 second.

Michael Bourn bunted for a single with one out in the third. Prado was next and grounded to second with Bourn forced at second for the second out. Worley struck McCann out looking to set Atlanta down.

Uggla led off the fourth and hit a 2-1 pitch out to right center, cutting the lead to 2-1. Chipper and Freddie Freeman followed that with back-to-back singles, putting men on first and second with nobody out. Worley escaped further damage, though, striking out Alex Gonzalez and Jose Constanza before getting the pitcher Tim Hudson on a ground ball to first.

Six strikeouts for Worley through four innings — he wouldn’t get any more in his last two innings. Over his last seven starts he has struck out 43 hitters in 39 innings. In his first 13 appearances on the year he struck out 53 in 73 1/3 innings.

Bourn started the fifth with a single into center, but Worley got Prado to hit into a double-play behind him. McCann flew to center for the third out.

He walked Uggla to start the sixth and Chipper followed with a double that moved Uggla up to third. Freeman walked on a 3-2 pitch and the bases were loaded. Gonzalez flew to left for the first out, deep enough for Uggla to tag, score and tie the game at 2-2. Constanza was next and he flew to left with the runners holding first and second. Hudson hit for himself and flew to center.

Worley comes up big against the bottom of the order after walking two to help the Braves load the bases.

Stutes started the seventh with a 4-2 lead. Bourn led off with a double to right. Prado was next and flew to left for the first out before Stutes walked McCann. Bourn stole third and the runners were at the corners for Uggla. Uggla hit a ground ball to third with Bourn scoring (4-3) as Polanco went to second to force McCann for the second out. Chipper flew to right to leave Uggla at first.

Stutes has a 5.18 ERA over his last 19 appearances and has given up five home runs in 24 1/3 innings in those outings.

Lidge started the eighth with a 6-3 lead. Gonzalez singled to left with one out, but Lidge struck Constanza out behind him for the second out. Lefty Eric Hinske hit for the pitcher Cristhian Martinez. Lidge struck him out swinging at a wild 2-2 pitch with Hinske taking first. Bourn struck out swinging 1-2 to leave the runners at first and second.

Lidge strikes out three in the frame and doesn’t walk a batter. In 12 1/3 innings he has now struck out 17 and walked ten.

Madson pitched the ninth up 6-3. He allowed a leadoff single to Prado, but got McCann to hit into a double-play behind him. He struck Uggla out swinging 2-2 to end the game.

Madson hasn’t been charged with a run in his last seven appearances since he was charged with six runs in two-thirds of an inning against the Nats on August 19. Over his last seven appearances he has allowed four hits and no walks over 6 1/3 innings while striking out six.

Lee threw a complete game in the series opener, so nobody in the pen has pitched more than one day in a row. Stutes threw 21 pitches, Lidge 20 and Madson 16.

The Phillies lineup against righty Tim Hudson went (1) Victorino (2) Polanco (3) Utley (4) Howard (5) Pence (6) Ibanez (7) Schneider (8) Martinez. Martinez at short with Rollins still on the DL and Valdez on the bench. Ibanez back in left after Mayberry started against the righty Lowe in game one. Schneider catches with Ruiz on the bench.

With two outs in the first, Utley hit a 2-2 pitch out to right center, putting the Phils up 1-0. Howard and Pence followed that with back-to-back singles, which put men on first and second for Ibanez. Ibanez dumped a single in front of a diving Bourn. Howard scored to put the Phils up 2-0 and Pence moved up to third. Schneider grounded to second for the third out.

Victorino walked with two outs in the second, but Polanco grounded to short behind him.

Howard and Pence struck out as the Phils went in order in the third.

Martinez walked with two outs in the fourth and the lead cut to 2-1. Worley was next and smashed a ball to third, but Chipper handled it and threw to second to force Martinez and end the inning.

The Phils went in order in the fifth.

The game was tied at 2-2 when Howard walked to start the sixth. Pence doubled to center, putting men on second and third. With Ibanez at the plate, a wild pitch brought Howard home (3-2) and moved Pence to third. Ibanez doubled high off the wall in right center, scoring Pence to extend the lead to 4-2. Schneider fouled out to third for the first out before Martinez walked, putting men on first and second. With the righty Hudson still pitching for Atlanta, Mayberry hit for Worley and grounded into a double-play to end the inning.

No more runs for the Phils after putting Ibanez on second with nobody out. Martinez walks twice in a game for his second time in three starts. Manuel calls on Mayberry to hit against the righty. It’s too early for Gload, but it’s an interesting choice of Mayberry over the lefty Bowker.

It was 4-3 when Victorino led off the seventh with a single to right. Polanco was hit by a pitch behind him, putting men on first and second. Utley grounded to second with Polanco forced at second for the first out and Victorino moving to third. Howard grounded to second with Victorino scoring (5-3) and Utley moving up to second with two outs. Pence followed with a walk, putting men on first and second for Ibanez. Ibanez singled to right, scoring Utley to make it 6-3 with Pence moving up to second. With righty Cristhian Martinez pitching for the Braves, Ruiz hit for Schneider and walked to load the bases. Martinez struck Martinez out swinging 0-2 to leave the bases loaded.

With righty Anthony Varvaro pitching for Atlanta, Gload hit for Lidge and flew to right for the first out of the eighth. Victorino grounded to short for the second out before Polanco singled to right. Utley flew to center to leave Polanco at first.

Victorino was 1-for-4 with a walk in the game. He’s 3-for-his-last-18.

Polanco 1-for-4. He has two extra-base hits, both doubles, in his last 159 plate appearances.

Utley 1-for-5 with his tenth home run. He’s 5-for-30 to start September.

Howard 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. 6-for-his-last-12 with a double, a home run and seven walks. 284/411/581 over his last 90 plate appearances.

Pence 2-for-3 with a walk a double. 317/393/540 with the Phils in 145 plate appearances.

Ibanez 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. He’s 13-for-his-last-34 with four doubles and a home run (382/417/588).

Schneider was 0-for-3 in the game and is 1-for-his-last-13.

Martinez 0-for-2 with two walks and two strikeouts.

Oswalt (7-8, 3.80) faces righty Brandon Beachy (7-2, 3.37) tonight. Righties are on-basing just .283 against Beachy for the year, but the Phils have hit him well in his three starts against them. In three outings against the Phillies, Beachy is 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA and has allowed 21 hits in 14 innings. Oswalt has thrown to a 4.70 ERA in his ten starts since the end of May, allowing 78 hits in 59 1/3 innings as opponents have hit .324 against him. He has made one start against Atlanta this year, allowing two runs (only one of which was earned) over six innings on April 9.

Chuck LaMar resigned.

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.

A day after hammering the Mets 10-0 in the series opener, the Phils were right back at it last night. They scored nine runs in the first five innings, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in support of Worley. Stutes floundered a bit in the late innings, allowing three runs over two innings, but the Phils held on for a 9-4 win.

Mayberry continues to pound the ball for the Phils. Starting at first for a sidelined Howard, Mayberry went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer early in the game. He has hit seven home runs in his last 47 plate appearances.

Vance Worley is pretty impressive hisownself. Worley threw seven strong innings, striking out nine and holding the Mets to a single run. The Phillies are 14-2 in the games he’s started this season.

The Phillies are 83-44 on the year after beating the New York Mets 9-4 last night. They are 39 games above .500 for the first time this year.

Worley got the start for the Phillies and went seven innings, allowing a run on five hits and a walk. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, both doubles. He struck out a career high nine and dropped his ERA on the year to 2.65.

He allowed back-to-back singles to Angel Pagan and Ruben Tejada to start the game, putting men on first and third with nobody out for David Wright. Wright hit a ball to third with Polanco fielding and throwing home where Pagan was tagged out for the first out. With men on first and second, Worley struck Lucas Duda out looking 2-2 for the second out. Jason Bay was next and walked on five pitches to load the bases, but Worley got Nick Evans looking to leave the runners stranded.

Two big strikeouts for Worley helps keep New York off the board after the first two batters reach base.

Josh Thole started the second with a single to left and moved to third when Justin Turner followed with a double. Again Worley came up with strikeouts to work out of the jam. He struck pitcher Jon Niese out looking on three pitches. Pagan struck out looking 1-2 for the second out. Tejada struck out looking 3-2 to set New York down with two more runners stranded.

Five strikeouts for Worley through two innings. All five of them looking.

He struck Bay out swinging in a 1-2-3 third.

Up 4-0, he set New York down in order in the fourth.

Up 5-0, he threw a 1-2-3 fifth, striking Niese out looking for the first out.

He had a 9-0 lead when the threw a 1-2-3 sixth.

Evans doubled to center to start the seventh and moved to third when Thole grounded to second for the first out. Turner was next and hit a ball slowly to second where Martinez made a nice play, fielding and making a glove-hand flip to first to get the second out as Evans scored to make it 9-1. Righty Scott Hairston hit for the pitcher Pedro Beato and Worley struck him out swinging for the third out.

Stutes started the eighth. He got the first two before Willie Harris singled to right. Duda was next and he hit a 2-1 pitch way out to right, cutting the lead to 9-3. Mike Baxter popped to short for the third out.

Stutes was back for the ninth. Evans led off and tripled to center. Thole was next and hit a ground ball to third. Polanco fielded and threw to first for the first out. Evans scored to make it 9-4. Turner followed that with a double to right, but Stutes got Jason Pridie, pinch-hitting for pitcher Bobby Parnell, on a fly ball to center that moved Turner to third for the second out and Pagan on a fly ball to left to end the game.

Not a good day for Stutes, who allowed three runs on four hits over two innings. Three of the hits went for extra-bases. Over his last 14 appearances he’s thrown to a 5.79 ERA and opponents have hit five home runs against him in 18 2/3 innings.

He threw 32 pitches in the game, which seems like a lot for a guy who enters with a 9-1 lead.

The Phillies lineup against lefty Jon Niese went (1) Victorino (2) Polanco (3) Utley (4) Pence (5) Mayberry (6) Francisco (7) Valdez (8) Schneider. Ibanez on the bench with a groin problem, Francisco in left. Howard on the bench with bursitis in his left foot, Mayberry at first. Valdez at short with Rollins on the DL. Victorino leads off with Rollins out of the lineup with Polanco moved up to second. Pence moves up to fourth with Howard out of the lineup. Four righties for the Phils 4-5-6-7. Schneider catches with Ruiz on the bench. The Phils have a day game today, but against a righty so they could have started Schneider today and Ruiz last night against the left-handed starter. After last night’s game, Schneider is 1-for-20 with an 050/174/050 line on the year against lefties. Not clear to why Manuel would do it the way he did unless Ruiz is banged up or he thought he needed Schneider’s left-handed bat in the lineup with lefties Howard and Ibanez sidelined. If he did it to get Schneider’s left-handed bat in the lineup I’m not sure it was a great idea.

Polanco and Utley struck out as the Phils went in order in the first.

Francisco singled to left with two outs in the second and moved to third when Valdez followed with a double. Schneider struck out swinging 2-2 to leave both runners stranded.

Worley struck out looking to start the third, but Victorino was next and homered down the left field line to put the Phils up 1-0. Polanco followed that with a single to center and Utley was hit by a pitch, putting men on first and second for Pence. Pence struck out swinging 2-2 for the second out. Mayberry was next, though, and blasted a 1-1 pitch out to left for a three-run homer, putting the Phils up 4-0. Francisco followed with a single to left, but Valdez struck out swinging to leave him at first.

Second huge home run for Mayberry in two days. He’s hitting 359/405/872 in August with six home runs in 39 at-bats. Big strikeout for Pence ahead of Mayberry. It was Pence’s tenth start of the year hitting in the cleanup spot and the results haven’t been good. Between the Phils and the Astros he’s hitting 200/263/257 for the year out of the four-hole in 38 plate appearances. 226/273/333 for his career in 99 plate appearances as a four-hitter. So maybe we’ve finally found something he can’t do?

Worley singled with one out in the fourth and moved to second when Victorino followed with a ground out to first. Polanco was next and he singled to left, scoring Worley to put the Phils up 5-0 with Polanco taking second on the throw home. Utley grounded to second for the third out.

Worley delivers a one-out hit and the Phils get a run out of it thanks to the two-out single by Polanco.

Pence and Mayberry singled back-to-back to start the fifth, putting men on first and second. Francisco walked and the bases were loaded. Righty Pedro Beato took over for Niese to pitch to Valdez. Valdez flew to right, deep enough for Pence to score (6-0) and Mayberry to move up to third. With men on first and third and one down, Schneider chopped a ball to first. Evans fielded and threw home, where a sliding Mayberry was tagged out for the second out. With men on first and second, Worley singled into center. Francisco scored to make it 7-0 with Schneider moving up to second. Victorino was next and lined a ball to center that Pagan misplayed and then hopped at as it went over his head. Victorino had a triple that cleared the bases with Francisco and Schneider scoring to make it 9-0. Polanco flew to right for the third out.

Second triple in two days gives Victorino a career-high 14 for the year. Jose Reyes is the only player in either league with more — Reyes has 16.

Utley led off the bottom of the sixth and was hit by a pitch. Martinez ran for him at first. Pence grounded into a double-play and Mayberry grounded to second to turn the Phils away.

Francisco doubled softly to right to start the seventh and moved to third on a hard-hit ground out by Valdez. Lefty Tim Byrdak came in to pitch to Schneider and struck him out swinging 0-2 for the second out. Pete Orr, just activated when Hamels went on the DL, hit for Worley and struck out swinging 1-2 to end the inning.

Again Schneider with the lefty as he can’t bring the runner home from third with one out. Orr has gotten three at-bats with the Phils since May 19. 271/331/406 at Triple-A this year in 251 at-bats.

The Phils went in order in the eighth.

Victorino was 2-for-5 with a triple, a home run and three RBI. He’s hitting 364/446/643 in 149 plate appearances since the start of July. He missed a little more than two weeks in July.

Polanco 2-for-5 with an RBI. He’s hitting 231/288/271 in 279 plate appearances since the end of April.

Utley 0-for-2 and hit by two pitches. He’s 2-for-his-last-18.

Pence 1-for-4 with a single and three men left on base. The Phillies are 17-5 since he joined the team.

Mayberry 2-for-3 with a three-run homer. 10-for-his-last-22 with three home runs and a 1.475 OPS.

Francisco 3-for-3 with a walk and a double. He had three hits since July 3 coming into the game. His numbers against lefties are still bad for the year. His numbers against rigthies are bad, too, but the numbers against lefties are more surprising. He’s hit 216/320/318 in 103 plate appearances against lefties for the season.

Valdez 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. He’s played seven days in a row now, starting six days, and gone 6-for-23 with three walks and four extra-base hits. 261/333/478 over those 27 plate appearances.

Schneider 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and five men left on base. Again, putting him the lineup last night cause Ruiz needs to sit makes sense to me, but putting him in the lineup against the lefty cause he’s left-handed and Ibanez and Howard are on the bench wouldn’t. He’s 1-for-his-last-10. In 2010, Schneider was hitting 206/302/343 for the year after going 0-for-1 against the Padres on August 28 — he went 9-for-his-last-23 with six walks to end his ’10 season with a 240/345/384 line.

Kendrick (7-5, 3.24) faces righty Mike Pelfrey (6-10, 4.61) this afternoon. Pelfrey has a 3.86 ERA over his last 15 appearances, 14 of which have been starts. He’s made four starts against the Phils this year, one (May 28) of which has been good and three that have been awful. Overall he’s 0-2 against the Phils for the year with a 7.58 ERA. Howard is 4-for-10 against him for the season with a pair of home runs. Kendrick was great his last time out, forced into the game after a rain delay forced Oswalt from the game after zero pitches and holding the Nats to two runs over six innings. He’s made four appearances against the Mets this year, one start and three relief appearances, and thrown to a 1.76 ERA over 15 1/3 innings. Pelfrey and Kendrick faced off against each other on July 17 in New York, a game the Phils won 8-5. Kendrick pitched very well that day, holding the Mets to a run over seven innings while Martinez hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs to pace the offense.