With Finish in Sights, The Muts Come Calling to Philadelphia....

My Fellow Phans, 

Technically, the Braves aren't going back to Atlanta just yet as they are heading for a series in Washington, but you get the point of my title. 

The much anticipated series with the Braves came and went, as some Philly supporters had predicted, as a crippling sweep of the Braves as Atlanta's chances in the NL East took a mega blow.

The Phillies’ Big-3, H2O as they have become to be known, shut down the Braves allowing just 4 runs in 22 innings. That’s a 1.63 ERA. The Phillies only had to use 5 pitchers total in this series; The Big 3 plus Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge held the Bravos to just those 4 runs in all 3 games for a grand total of a 1.33 era.

The sweep sent the Phillies to a Magic Number of 4. Their magic number to clinch home field advantage is also 4. The Phillies begin Operation win 4 Games tonight when the muts come to down. New York did us no help when they last faced the Braves, getting handily swept in 3 games. I say we thank them graciously for their efforts this series.

Don’t expect this series to be easy. We are facing a pair of pitchers who always seem to pitch well against us.  Having said this, here are the upcoming pitching matchups for this series in Philadelphia against the Muts:

Friday – 7:05 @ Citizens Bank Park

R.A. Dickey (11-7 2.92 overall; 2-1 2.00 vs. Phillies in 2010)

Vs.

Joe Blanton (7-6 5.04 overall; 0-1 5.11 vs. Muts in 2010)

Saturday – 7:05 @ Citizens Bank Park

Dillon Gee (1-1 1.80 overall – just 3^rd Major League Start)

Vs.

Kyle Kendrick (10-9 4.78 overall; 1-2 3.78 vs. Muts in 2010)

Sunday – 1:35 @ Citizens Bank Park

Mike Pelfrey (15-9 3.75 overall; 2-2 3.91 vs. Phillies in 2010)

Vs.

Cole Hamels (12-10 2.93 overall; 0-3 1.69 vs. Muts in 2010)

The Phillies have to make sure they don’t let their guard down against the muts this series. They will have some quality pitching to deal with along with a pitcher they haven’t seen before, something that seems to frequently dictate offensive struggles.

Overall, this series should be a lot like the Braves series; pitching domination and timely hitting will result in a team coming out victorious.  Don’t forget to do your daily dose of scoreboard watching as well while cheering for the Nationals (playing the Braves), Padres (facing Cincinnati), and the Rockies (battling San Fran). The Braves, Giants, and Reds all have the same record which makes our magic number against all of them to be 4.

In short, don’t fool around Phillies. Let’s get these 4 wins and get this clinched!

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!