If there is a song that sums up the Phillies past week, and season to date it would have to be Crossroads by Bone Thugs.
After a rousing weekend full of extra inning wins the Phils are at .500. It’s a minor achievement given the state of the club and the rash of injuries they’ve battled through along the way, but they’re in no better shape after 96 games then they were on opening day.
“Young could be wearing a different jersey in a few weeks” Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Ruben surely won’t blow anything up over this quiet all-star week, but it’s also the perfect time for him to lay the ground work for potential deals. Ben Revere’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time, as he was hitting close to .400 over the last month. As bleak as the second half looks right now the team had a 5-2 week, and has been playing good baseball. Whether they can keep it up without reinforcements remains to be seen.
Game of the Week:
PHI 2 – CHW 1 F/13 7/13/13
Of the two thrilling late inning victories the Phillies had this weekend, the first on Saturday night was critical. They had just lost the first game of the double header in extras, and you never EVER want to get swept. The team made up for it’s lack of offense with stellar pitching from John Lannan and the bullpen. They gave up a collective 8 hits, and the bullpen pitched a shutout over 5 innings of work.
Enter the bottom of the 13th, Michael Young was at bat with J-Roll on second. After playing every inning of both games Young dug deep and lined a single to right, sending Rollins into a full sprint towards home.You have to send the runner at this point in the game, but the hit got on the right fielder so quickly even the speedy Rollins seemed dead to rights. J-Roll turned around third doing his best Usain Bolt impersonation with the throw coming in to home. Two bounces, a head first slide, a sweeping tag, and Rollins scores! Game over. Phillies win. Games like these make you forget all the woes of a season for a few precious moments.
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Player of the Week
Ben Revere
I’ll give the nod to Ben Revere, since he won’t be around for the next 6-8 weeks. Prior to breaking his foot on Saturday, Revere continued to tear it up at the plate. He hit .438 (10-23) with a couple steals and an RBI. Having Revere set the table at this pace has completely turned around this offense. No longer were we suffering 3-run and 2-run games hoping for a shutout from our starting pitching. Revere is young, and will hopefully heal fast, but John Mayberry Jr. won’t be able to replicate what Revere brings to the ballpark everyday.