"I wanted to go 7-0," manager Charlie Manuel said. "Why wouldn't I?"
Consider that question and you just might find the answer to the invincibility the Phillies are starting to project to the rest of the National League. No matter who is on the mound, no matter where the game is played, no matter how the decisive run is scored, they cannot rationalize losses like the one that occurred yesterday.
After a sixth inning in which solo home runs by Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard gave them a 2-1 lead, the Phillies were just nine outs away from a 95-48 record and back-to-back sweeps of the Braves and the Brewers. Rookie righthander Vance Worley, who had gone 14 straight starts without pitching in a loss, retired the first two batters he faced in the seventh before Milwaukee's vaunted lineup pounced.
First came back-to-back doubles by Corey Hart and Nyjer Morgan, the second of which tied the game at 2-2. Next came a close, 0-1 pitch to Ryan Braun that was called a ball, then a loud foul ball that sailed just to the right of the foul pole, then a close 1-2 pitch that both Worley and catcher Brian Schneider were convinced was a strike.
Finally, after 6 2/3 innings in which the Brewers went just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, Braun sent a single through the right side of the infield, sending Morgan scrambling home and scuttling the Phillies' hopes of a four-game sweep on the road.
"It happens," said Worley (11-2, 2.92), who allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings while taking his first loss since May 29. "All I can do is put it behind me and take the positives out of it and be ready for the next game."
