PHILLIES NEWS

The Phils completed their series with the Marlins this afternoon. J.A Happ got the start and was unfathomably good yet again, tossing 7 scoreless innings, while allowing just 5 hits. From there Ryan Madson, J.C Romero, Scott Eyre, and Brad Lidge ultimately combined to complete the Phils 2nd shutout of the Marlins in 3 games, pretty impressive if I may say so myself. Meanwhile, the Phils continued their theme in this series of scoring run in the first 3 innings or so and hoping they would stand up the rest of the night. This time of course, thanks to Happ they did stand up. It all got started in the top of the 2nd. With 2 out and nobody on in the inning, Happ himself beat out an infield single. Then Jimmy Rollins singled, the Flyin Hawaiian, Shane Victorino beat out another infield single, Chase Utley was hit by a pitch to force in a run and finally Raul Ibanez doubled for 2 more runs and a 3-0 lead. In the top of the 3rd JRoll collected his 2nd hit of the day, doubling in Carlos Ruiz for a 4-0 lead. Finally in the top of the 9th, Chase Utley scored on a wild pitch to cap off the 5-0 Phils win. It's interesting the way the Phils are using their bullpen right now. Essentially they're going by committee, and bringing in relievers to face a batter or two based on the matchup. That's very similar to what the Tampa Rays did with their pen last year and it worked for them. So far it's working for the Phils too, and with all the games they have to play for the rest of the season, it's a good way to limit the workload for their key relievers. There have been round rumors going around for weeks now that Phils are considering trading Happ and some prospects to the Toronto Blue Jays for all-star pitcher Roy "Doc" Halladay. At this point I don't see anyway they can possibly let Happ go. Anyway so the Phils are now 51-38 overall and 6.5 games up in the NL East.