PHILLIES NEWS

The Phils continued their series with the Astros tonight, desperate for the win that would cut their magic number to 2. Thanks to a solid 5 and 2/3rd's innings out of J.A Happ, in which he allowed just 4 runs on 9 hits, and a grand slam by Pedro Feliz in the 4th inning, they were able to get the win they needed. Jayson Werth also chipped in with a 2 run shot in the 5th inning, to put the Phils ahead seemingly for good 7-2. From there Jamie Moyer finished the 5th inning and worked his way through a scoreless 6th inning, but unfortunately not before he apparently strained his groin on the final pitch of the inning. Hopefully he's all right because they would really like to have him out of the bullpen come playoff time. He's just been invaluable ever since they put him in there. Anyway, Ryan Madson took it from there toughing out a big time 2 inning save to give the Phils their 91st win of the season and reduce their magic number to 2. Later the Braves fell to the Marlins to drop the magic number to 1, which means the Phils have now clinched at least a share of the division, no matter what happens the rest of the way. This game was essentially just what the doctor ordered for the Phils, particularly the explosive offense, which ripped off 7 runs on 8 hits, and energized the crowd at the Bank and team. You actually feel like there is some momentum behind this team for the first time in a while and they're going to need to carry that momentum into the playoffs if they hope to repeat. I was impressed with the performance of Ryan Madson tonight. He got through the 8th inning only about 7 pitches and although he allowed the tying run to come to the plate in the 9th inning, he remained calm, cool, and collected, as he struck out the side. There's still no word on whether or not he'll be the guy to close games come playoff time, but I can't see why he wouldn't be at this point. Feliz's grand slam was the 11th of the season for the Phils and that's a new franchise record. Anyway so the Phils move to 91-66 overall and now 5 games up in the NL East with 5 to play. Man that feels good to say.