Broom Please

The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now. Tonight they finished off a three game sweep of the division leading Washington Nationals, and have now won seven of their last nine games.

They have also won three consecutive series, two of which against teams vying for a spot in the postseason. One might call the 2014 season a lost cause for the Fightin’ Phils, but they’ve showed a lot of resiliency of late and given the fans something to cheer about at the ballpark.

Kyle Kendrick started tonight’s game, and allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings of work. He departed with his team down 4-2, but the Phillies’ offense would bail him out.

Dom Brown doubled home Marlon Byrd to cut the deficit to 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth. After catcher Wil Nieves grounded into a fielder’s choice, Grady Sizemore was sent up to pinch hit for Kendrick. Sizemore pulled one out over the right field wall for a two run shot, giving the Phils a 5-4 lead.

The Phils tacked on more runs in the seventh when Ryan Howard led off with a single. Byrd stepped to the dish next, and hit the first pitch he saw out to right field, making it 7-4 Phillies. The Phils would score one more in the eighth, eventually winning the game 8-4.

Though his offense got him the win, Kendrick’s season earned run average rose to 4.97. His first inning struggles continued, as he gave up two runs in the top of the first tonight.

The Phils’ bullpen was steady as usual, allowing no runs and two hits in three innings of work. Though it was not a save situation, flamethrower Ken Giles was sent in to pitch the ninth inning with a four run lead. Giles allowed 2 hits and struck out one before shutting the door on the Nats.

The Phillies have an off day tomorrow before traveling to New York for a weekend series with the Mets starting on Friday night. David Buchanan gets the call for the Phils against Jacob deGrom for the Mets. First pitch 7:10.

Stats Courtesy of TheScore.com

Photo Courtesy of RumBunter.com