Although a 216-99 record might suggest the title, we got confirmation last night that Pedro is indeed a "rain maker." For the second time in his first four Phillies starting assignments, Martinez's night was cut short when the heavens broke open. And, once again, after a strong start by Pedro and the team possessing a lead, Jamie Moyer took over after the rain delay and earned the win.
On the offensive side, the Phillies other rain maker Ryan Howard continued his torrid pace. He drove a solo homer to left in the 1st, followed that with a 2-run homerun to center in the 4th and doubled in the 8th. Overall, he was 3-3 and has now hit 11 home runs with 29 RBI in the past 15 games. (To put that into perspective, Howard's current streak translates into a 119 homer, 313 RBI season over 162 games.)
Pedro threw two shutout innings before the rain arrived. After the delay, Charlie Manual took the safe route and brought in Moyer to take over for Martinez. Like the first time, Moyer did not disappoint. He proceeded to hold the Braves to 1 run over the next 4 1/3 innings and departed with the Phils leading 3-1.
Another noteworthy element of the game was the performance of Brad Lidge. Manual tapped him to come into start the 9th to protect a 4-2 lead. Lidge rebounded nicely from his difficult outing last Wednesday, quickly setting down the Braves 1-2-3, ending the game with a strikeout. Importantly, he appeared confident and in control.
Last night's win extended the Phillies' lead over the Braves and Marlins to 8 games. With red hot Cliff Lee taking the hill tonight, the Braves have a daunting task not to let their Eastern Division title hopes get away. Conversely, the Phillies have a great opportunity to take a commanding lead and give themselves a little wiggle room.
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