11-27-2011, 02:04 PM
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#5
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Rookie
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Re: Phillies Franchise
Phillies: Month in Review - EP 1
Well its the end of April in the Major League, with some teams hot and some teams not. In this edition of Phillies: Month in Review we'll be focusing on how our Phillies have begun the campaign.
It started with a 6 game home series for the Phillies, the first part of which was a 3 game. The Bank was packed for opening day, and the Phillies didn't disappoint the crowd, setting the tone for the series with a 7-2 win. They then went on to swee the helpless Astros, winning games 2 and 3 by scores of 3-2 and 5-3.
The Mets then visited Citizens Bank Park in a series against the enemy, in which the Phillies prevailed in a great offensive show in game 1, winning 11-2. The Mets however came back and tied up the series with a tight win by a score of 4-3. The Phillies would go on to win the series however, winning game 3 10-6 in another good offensive show. 5-1 on the homestand and a good start to the 2011 season.
The Phillies then began a six game road trip in Atlanta against the Braves. Things went exactly to plan as they silenced the home crowd at Turner Field and took the first 2 games Braves 5-3 and 10-5. The Braves avoided the sweep in game 3 though, winning a pitchers duel by a score of 1-0.
On to Washington for part 2 of the road trip and the Phillies excercised their demons in game 1, winning 3-2 thanks to some clutch hitting from Rollins and Howard. The Phillies executed the sweep by winning games 2 and 3 by a score of 4-1. 5-1 record on the road to kick off the season, 10-2 overall.
Back to the Bank to face the Florida Marlins who were enjoying a good start to the season, but the Phils took care f them in games 1 and 2 winning by scores of *6-3 and 7-5 in front of another sell-out at CB Park. The Phillies allowed the Marlins to avoid the sweep as Florida's offense exploded for 11 runs in an 11-5 victory.
Part two of the homestand at CB Park and this time the Brewers came to town. There were few firsts for the Phils in this series, the most notable beng the fact that for the first time in the 2011 series, the Phillies dropped game 1 of a series, 5-2. The Brewers weren't done there however and stormed on to take games 2 and 3, 2-1 and 7-6, meaning that it was not only the first series that the Phillies had lost, but als the first they had been swept in. A poor 2-4 homestand but the Phillies still stood atop the NL East.
The Phillies were understandably humiliated and distraught, and took out this anger in a 4 game sweep of the Padres at Petco Park. They took the opener *8-5 in front of a sell-out at Petco, but the home fans were quiet for most of the game as the Phillies took and maintained an early lead. Game 2 favoured the Phillies 2-1, as did games 3 and 4, 3-1 and 5-3. The savage Phillies devoured the Padres and made up for a mediocre homestand.
Could the Phillies ride this momentum away at the Dbacks? It looked as though they might do, as they took game 1 of the series 7-6 in a tight, exciting encounter at Chase Field. However they failed to take either of the next 2 games, losing 1-0 and 10-2, capping off a 5-2 road trip that will have boosted the confidence of the squad.
Another series against the enemy, the Mets coming the the Bank after a shocking start to the season. The Phillies showed no let up on the abysmal Mets, sweeping them 5-1, 7-6 and 5-3 in front of a satisfied capacity crowd at CB Park.*
So the Phillies finsished the month of April with a 20-8 record, sitting atop the NL East with the 2nd best record in baseball (behind the 21-7 Red Sox). Can't fault the start we have made, just need to be a little more consistent on offense and pitching, as I would rather win a series 4-1, 5-2 and 3-0 rather than 10-6, 8-7 and 2-1.
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