Game 83: Phillies at Rangers (3/3)

Philadelphia Phillies: 44-38
Texas Rangers: 41-41

Jamie Moyer (7-5 4.09 ERA, 14-7 4.95 ERA)
Eric Hurley (0-1 4.24 ERA, 0-0 --- ERA)

Projected lineups

Rollins SS N/A
Victorino CF N/A
Utley 2B N/A
Howard 1B N/A
Burrell LF N/A
Feliz 3B N/A
Werth RF N/A
Jenkins DH N/A
Ruiz C N/A

Kinsler 2B 1/3, .333/.333/.667
Young SS 20/54, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .370/.424/.574
Hamilton RF 1/3, .333/.333/.333
Bradley DH 7/17, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .412/.444/.941
Byrd CF 2/5, 1 RBI, .400/.400/.800
Ramirez C N/A
Boggs LF N/A
Saltalamacchia 1B N/A
Duran 3B N/A

The offense has answered the bell this series, and now it's time for Jamie Moyer to do the same. The Phillies need this series win to break this losing streak, and he came close to winning his last start. He can't make any mistakes like the one he made to Emil Brown though. The Rangers can and will crush anything that hangs over the plate. They're a dangerous lineup, and Moyer has to have his A game.

The offense could be coming out of their slump at the right time. With Atlanta, New York and some other good teams coming up before the break, they'll need all the runs they can get. The Phillies could temporarily bury the non-Marlins competitors this week if they get hot. Once again, I'm not counting anyone out. However, putting them back in a 6, 7 game hole would be nice.

Game 82: Phillies at Rangers (2/3)

Philadelphia Phillies: 43-38
Texas Rangers: 41-40

Cole Hamels (7-5 3.27 ERA, 0-0 --- ERA)
Vicente Padilla (10-3 3.74 ERA, 0-0 --- ERA)

Projected lineups

Rollins SS N/A
Victorino CF N/A
Utley 2B N/A
Howard DH N/A
Burrell LF N/A
Dobbs 3B N/A
Coste C N/A
Jenkins RF 6/7, 1 RBI, .353/.389/.529
Bruntlett 1B N/A

Kinsler 2B N/A
Young SS N/A
Hamilton RF 0/2, .000/.333/.000
Bradley DH 0/3
Byrd CF 0/2
Boggs LF N/A
Ramirez 1B N/A
Saltalamaccia C 2/3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .667/.667/1.667
Vazquez 3B N/A

The Phillies face off against their old teammate for the first time tonight. Only two Phillies have ever faced him, but we'll see if the guys that played with Padilla know how to approach him. He's having a very good season, which comes as a surprise to almost all. He hasn't been this good since about 2003, and this is a huge bounce back from last season when his ERA was almost exactly two runs higher.

I truly believe it's possible that Myers made his last start for a while last night. He got a quick hook, and it might've been one of his worst outings of the year. The Phillies have to be getting fed up with what he's giving them, and they need to stop throwing away games every five days. I was in favor of just letting him work it out before, but I'm not sure how much longer they can wait.

Game 81: Phillies at Rangers (1/3)

Philadelphia Phillies: 43-37
Texas Rangers: 40-40

Brett Myers (3-9 5.51 ERA, 0-0 --- ERA)
Kason Gabbard (2-3 4.96 ERA, 0-0 --- ERA)

Projected lineups

Rollins SS
Victorino CF
Utley 2B
Howard DH
Burrell LF
Werth RF
Feliz 3B
Coste C
Bruntlett 1B

I don't know because Baseball-Reference isn't working.

This is it for the Phillies' offense. If they don't hit and absolutely smash Texas' pitching, I'm going to get worried. The Rangers can put up as many runs as they want on the board, but they're only at .500 because they can't pitch. Gabbard is hittable, and even the lefties should be able to knock in some runs off of him.

There's not much more to say. They still have a two game lead, but the division is gaining ground. The Phillies are better than this, and they just need to show it. Now is as good a time as any. This is their last interleague series, and they have to deal with two division rivals after leaving Texas.