PHILLIES NEWS

The Phils returned to the Bank tonight to begin a long homestand, starting with a weekend series against the NY Mets. Out of the majors since 2007 thanks to injuries, Rodrigo Lopez, recently called up from AAA to replace Antonio Bastardo who is apparently on the DL now, got the start for the Phils tonight. Lopez put forth an inspiring performance, to say the least, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits in 6 and 1/3rd innings. Meanwhile, the Phils beat up on old nemesis, Livan Hernandez, for 7 runs on 10 hits in just 3 innings. So the Phils enjoyed a rare night in which they took an overwhelming advantage early the in game and could simply sit on it, perfect for a Met game. While the Mets were struggling to figure out Lopez, the Phils jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead. Jimmy Rollins got the Phils going right of the bat, leading off the 1st inning with a double and scoring on a single by Chase Utley. Then after Ryan Howard walked to load the bases, Greg Dobbs singled a couple batters laters for 2 more runs and 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 2nd, Utley sac flied in a run for a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd, Jayson Werth slugged a solo homer and JRoll slapped a 2 out 2 run double for a 7-0 lead. The Mets finally got on the board in the 7th inning scoring a couple runs on back to back doubles by Nick Evans and Brian Schneider, but they were too little too late and did little but cut the final score to 7-2. What a pleasant surprise Lopez was. I really thought he was going to get lit up but he surprised me big time. If he can keep pitching like that he could be a long term option to replace Brett Myers in the rotation for the rest of the season. Ryan Madson actually had a 1-2-3 9th inning tonight and considering how he'd been kinda struggling lately, it was great to see. Also great to see was JRoll hitting and getting on base. The Phils really need him to keep that up if they want to start a winning streak on this homestand instead of another losing streak. So anyway the Phils move to 40-37 overall and now back to a game up over the Marlins in the and 2 over the Mets in the NL East.