The Easter “Halladay” was celebrated with a Phillies’ four-game sweep against the San Diego Padres.
Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts in the April 24 win. Centerfielder Shane Victorino also recorded his first inside-the-park home run in the victory against the Padres on Sunday.
Through April 24, the Phillies are now 15-6 on the season.
With two sweeps already under their belt against the Padres and the home opener against the Astros, the Phillies are well on their way to another fantastic season.
The four ace pitchers, Hamels, Lee, Halladay and Oswalt, have owned up to all the Phillies hype so far this season.
Halladay leads the team with 39 strikeouts and Lee isn’t far behind with 27 strikeouts, Hamels has a close 26 strikeouts and Oswalt is at 21 strikeouts.
Although these four ace pitchers get all the attention, Joe Blanton, Ryan Madson and Kyle Kendrick have also helped the Phillies to their 15 victories.
Pitching has not been a problem for the Phillies in the past couple of post-season appearances, but the hitting was sub-par.
This year the Phillies have started off averaging over 4 runs per game. Power hitters for the Phillies have been first basemen Ryan Howard with 19 RBIs, third basemen Placido Polanco with 15 and right fielder Ben Francisco with 12.
With Utley on the DL and Werth being traded to the Nationals, Philadelphia was in a slight panic before the season started.
John Mayberry Jr., and Francisco have stepped up and really gave the Phillies hope for a promising season.
Mayberry has a .350 batting average which is the third highest batting average on the team. Francisco has a .263 batting average and three home runs.
The Phillies started off the year by playing the Astros, Mets, Braves, Nationals, Marlins, Brewers and Padres.
Until the series against the Brewers, the Phillies were one of few teams to not lose back-to-back games so far this season. That was short-lived when the Phillies lost two straight to the Brewers.
Recently, left-handed pitcher J.C Romero and right-handed pitcher Jose Contreras were placed on the 15-day disabled list. Romero has a strained right calf and Contreras has a strained right elbow.
Phillies fans aren’t letting that get in their way in their hopes for a successful 2011 season.
So far, the Phillies are on top of the National League East division. The Marlins are second in the division being two games behind the Phillies and are trailed by the Nationals and the Braves. The New York Mets are in last place with a 9-13 record.
The Phillies’ next home series is against the Mets this upcoming weekend, April 29-May 1. Then they kick off two three-game series against the Nationals and the Braves, all at home.
For more Phillies information, please visit www.phillies.com.
