1-0, 3 to go! and a concession...

It's a good night to be a Phils fan. The Phils pulled out a grind-it-out win tonight in signature style. Two home runs and another brilliant outing by Cole Hamels added up to a 3-2 win over the Dodgers. While the Phillies bats tried to figure out a solid (for five innings) Derek Lowe, Cole kept the game within striking distance. They took advantage of Dodger mistakes and, more importantly, made them pay dearly for them. It's one thing to steal a bag on a mistake, but to follow that up with a shot like Chase's, well that's what great teams do. For tonight, the Phillies phormula worked.

This brings me to my next point. I've been a staunch opponent of Pat Burrell since 2003. I've been of the opinion that his numbers are inflated, thanks to smacking long home runs in meaningless, blowout games, and that his defense rivaled that of an 86 year-old woman living in a geriatric facility. I think, more than his play, his astronomical salary and unwillingness to let the Phils cut the cord with him via trade made me like him less and less. However, in the last 2 games, he has played a huge role in meaningful wins. Wins that arguably (against the Brewers) and definitely (tonight) would not have been if not for Pat. So, Mr. Burrell, I apologize. While you still aren't even my fourth favorite Phillie, you will no longer be scoffed at from my direction every time I hear Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" start up at the Bank (Possibly my favorite at-bat music on the team, gotta admit). You see, it's not that I didn't want to like you, it's that I couldn't bring myself to do it when you were making the most money on the team but seemed more replaceable than our other stars. In any case, this is my olive branch petition. As long as no one is asking me to call you the best player on our roster, I won't say anything bad. Good game, broseph.

On to Friday afternoon's game. Brett Myers v. Chad Billingsley. Gametime temperatures should be in the mid to upper 60's. The Phils have had success against Billinglsey this year, getting a win and chasing him from the game in 6 long innings in which the Phils got 3 runs off of 7 hits and 5 walks. He seems to scatter hits but avoid huge mistakes that lead to huge innings, meaning he is not invincible, but he's not throwing marshmallows either. I would really like to see the Phillies get some runs in more than one inning, and I think tomorrow night is a good night to do just that. I think they'll get to Billingsley the second time through the order to get the scoring going. On the flip side, Myers is a pretty good big-game pitcher. As long as he is not too jacked up, and by too jacked up I mean arbitrarily punching blondes in the face, I think he'll put a clamp on the Dodgers bats for the second night in a row. I'm picking the Phils to win 7-4. MVP's Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino.