In the 2nd game of the series, the Phillies shut out the Nationals by a score of 4-0. Cole Hamels was his usual self tonight; he pitched 7 1/3 innings without surrendering a run. After putting 2 men on base in the 8th inning though, Charlie Manuel pulled him and had JC Romero and then Chad Durbin come in to close out the inning, which they did without any damage. Brad Lidge came in for the 9th and shut the door. It was not a save situation, so that will tell you how badly Manuel wanted to win this game. And maybe, how leery he still is about using the bullpen. And who could blame him…the pen has blown 4 run leads in the recent past and we are all still popping the Tums anytime a reliever takes the mound.
The offense had a solid outing today, with almost every member of the line-up contributing with a hit. Jimmy Rollins went 2 for 3 and had 2 RBI; Pedro Feliz also had 2 hits and Chase Utley, with 1 hit, earned an RBI. 
Pat Burrell continues his slump, going 0 for 4 and Shane Victorino, who appears to be headed down that same road, went 0 for 4 as well. Actually, since August 27th, Victorino has had only 4 hits and is batting a .142. Burrell has 5 hits in the last 10 games and is batting .119. Here’s hoping they both snap out of it quickly!
As far as tonight’s game, excuse me if I am not doing cartwheels just yet. Yes, the offense looked solid and had a real team effort, but it was against the Nationals, 
a last place team. Not to mention, they have not put up consistent numbers in the last few months. It is like feast or famine with these guys. Which team will show up tomorrow? There’s just no telling at this point. With all the extreme highs and lows with these guys, you are tempted to think they are all suffering from Bi-Polar Disorder. Or maybe it’s just me J
I guess we will see tomorrow night which team decides to play. Joe Blanton gets the start at 7:05pm and I am sure he is hoping for the team that scores lots of runs! Me too J Go Phillies!
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