Their pitching makes the Phillies the team to beat in this postseason tournament. It is their bats, though, that make the Phillies a team to be feared.
Especially the bat swung by Ryan Howard.
It took one Howard swing to transform this National League division series. Citizens Bank Park was one place before Howard made contact, a completely different place when the ball landed in the right-field seats. The game, the series, and maybe all of October were changed just as dramatically.
That would be an overreaction with some teams. In baseball, momentum carries only until you're facing a new pitcher, and Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter will pitch Game 2 on Sunday. But it is not an overreaction with these streaky Phillies.
We've seen this offense enough to recognize the danger signs. When the Phillies go cold, things can get frosty. Their deep-freeze funks can last long enough to lose a playoff series. Ask the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, who took advantage of such slumps on their way to the last two World Series titles.
Ah, but when these same hitters get hot - well, that's when this pitching-rich team becomes truly dominating.
For three grueling innings, the sellout crowd at the Bank watched the Phillies make former teammate Kyle Lohse look unhittable. The place was a morgue, especially when the Cardinals hung a three-run lead on Roy Halladay before everyone had found their seats.
The Phillies had scratched out a run in the fourth inning, taking advantage of an extra out afforded them by a Cardinals error. Shane Victorino drove in Chase Utley, who had broken Lohse's spell with a double off the fence in right.
It wasn't until the sixth, though, that everything changed. Jimmy Rollins and Hunter Pence hit ground balls up the middle, bringing Howard to the plate with one out. The Cardinals had already indicated their approach to the big guy by pitching around him with first base empty in the fourth inning. But now there were runners on first and second and a walk would load the bases.
"I knew that he was going to be very careful in that situation with Shane coming up behind me," Howard said. "He didn't want to make a mistake."
Still, Lohse didn't give Howard much to hit. The count went to 3-2, then Howard fouled off two pitches that almost certainly would have been ball four. He was looking for a pitch to drive, and he seemed determined to stand in that chalk box until Lohse threw one. It was a battle of wills, and Lohse lost by hanging a change-up.
