PHILLIES NEWS

The Phils finished off their 4 game set with the Astros this afternoon, desperately needing a win to avoid losing the series. Fortunately, ace Cole Hamels with 19 inning scoreless streak still in toe, took the mound for the Phils. Sadly, the streak came to an abrupt end in the 1st, and things didn't look so good early on. Meanwhile, the Phils offense bailed out Hamels, pounding out 15 runs on 16 hits. Now onto the game. In the bottom of the 1st, Carlos Lee slammed a 3 run homer for a 3-0 Astros' lead. In the top of the 2nd, Geoff Jenkins slugged a 2 run homer to cut the lead to 3-2. In the top of the 3rd, Hamels singled and scored on a sac fly by Chase Utley to knot it at 3. In the bottom of the 3rd, Micheal Bourn walked and scored on a single by Lance Berkman, and Miguel Tejada reached base on a fielder's choice and then scored on another fielder's choice for a 5-3 Astros' lead. In the top of the 4th, Hamels helped himself again, singling in a run to cut the lead to 5-4. In the bottom of the 4th, Ty Wigginton doubled and scored on a fielder's choice for a 6-4 Astros' lead. In the top of the 6th, Pat "the Bat" Burrell slugged a solo homer, Carlos Ruiz singled in another run , Pedro Feliz scored on a fielder's choice, and the "Flyin Hawaiian" Shane Victorino doubled in a couple runs, for a 9-6 Phils lead. In the top of the 7th, the hits just kept on coming, as Feliz singled in a run, Greg Dobbs followed with a bases clearing triple for 2 more runs, Victorino scored Dobbs with a single, and Utley crushed a 2 run homer for a 15-6 Phils lead. From there, Ryan Madson and Clay Condrey combined to close it out, and the Phils had their series split. So the Phils improve to 28-24 overall and move back into 2nd in the NL East.