It's a wonderful Worley world

All the focus has been on John Mayberry, Jr. driving in nine runs over his past two games, but was anyone happy to see the whole Philly offense sticking it to R.A. Dickey?

Coming into Friday's game, Dickey had a career ERA of 2.25 against the Phillies, his best ERA against any NL team with at least 20 innings pitched. He and his fancy knuckleball shut out Philly twice last year.

It was good to see the Phillies get to him early and go on to beat the Mets convincingly. The Braves are going to keep the pressure on through the entire second half, so every win is huge. Winning this series over New York would also be an important statement to make, as the coaching staff is saving Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee for the Cubs.

And how about that Vance Worley? (I suddenly realized I just uttered a phrase abused far too much by Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy, so I vow never to use it again)

I'm still not sure if Worley's stuff really is that exceptional, or if he simply hasn't yet caught up to the law of averages (Randy Wolf's 1999 season, anyone?). The four walks he allowed in 5 1/3 innings on Friday tell me it's the latter, but reliever Chris Perez came in and shut the door, and Ryan Madson - fresh off the DL - aided the bullpen train that followed in a non-closing role to help tie down another win for Worley. He's now 5-1 this season with an ERA of 2.15.

Worley's high susceptibility to the free pass (3.98 walks per 9 innings) will eventually get him into trouble, but he's done exactly the job the Phillies needed him to do in the absence of Roy Oswalt.

Now if Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco can recover quickly from their ailments, the offense should do its part over the next two-and-a-half months. We can't rely on Mayberry every night.

note: Since 2005, the Phillies have posted a winning percentage of .589 or better in the second half. Last year, they went 50-25 (.667) after the All-Star Break.

Lee makes it three

There’s been a lot of World Series talk over the last few days, and Cliff Lee’s presence on the Phillies has been a big reason for those conversations.

Lee entered Tuesday’s series opener against the Boston Red Sox riding back-to-back shutouts and a 23-inning scoreless streak. He proved just how in the zone he is right now, as the most dangerous offense in baseball couldn’t break through.

Lee didn’t allow a hit through the first five innings, and he threw his third consecutive shutout – something a Phillies pitcher hasn’t done in 61 years. He also continued his impressive showing at the plate, driving in one of Philadelphia’s runs in its 5-0 victory.

It’s hard to imagine any pitcher enjoying a better month. Lee went 5-0 in June, allowing just one run in 42 innings. Like Charlie Manuel always boasts about the Phillies’ offense, Lee seems to be catching fire with the warmer weather. July is an ever hotter month, so Lee could carry on this brilliant run for a while.

If the left-hander records another four outs without allowing a run in his next start, he’ll move into second place on the Phillies’ all-time scoreless innings list behind Grover Cleveland Alexander, who set the bar quite high at 41 2/3 innings 100 years ago.

It’s incredible to think of just how remarkable this run for Lee is. All it takes is a single with a runner at second or a solo home run to break the streak, and he hasn’t allowed hitters to get that far. The best pitchers in the game will often allow a solo shot in an otherwise stellar outing, but over Lee’s last three outings, not a single batter has made solid enough contact.

At this point, it’s perfectly fine if the scoreless streak ends during his next start, which he’ll likely make on Sunday against the Blue Jays. It’s possible Jose Bautista could yank a mistake into the seats (hopefully with no one on base) like he has all season long. It still would not take away from what Lee has done over the past month. He’s a big part of the Phillies’ winning machine that continues to run smoothly, despite a shaky offense and depleted bullpen.

For the second time this season, Roy Halladay and Lee have tossed back-to-back complete games, and they (as well as an off-day) could not have come at a better time. Ryan Madson was just placed on the DL, the third Phillies closer to be shut down this year. The aces in the starting rotation keep on showing why such a hit won’t affect Philadelphia as much as other teams.

And with the Phillies reaching 50 wins before anyone else and before the halfway point of the season, the starters may even help them get to 100 – the World Series included in that figure, of course.

Paying the ransom

Holy Howard, they did it again!

This team is certainly capable of the comeback they pulled off tonight, but who would have expected to see it? The way this season has gone, it's completely unlike the Phillies to suddenly figure out a pitcher who had been dominating them for eight innings.

And while it was Ryan Howard's blast that won it against the Reds in the 10th inning, the thanks really goes to Cody Ransom, who entered the game with just six at-bats this season and seven big league homers in his career. He hadn't gone yard in nearly two years, but he made sure he didn't miss Francisco Cordero's fastball that caught too much of the plate. His blast followed Greg Dobbs' three-run shot that breathed some life into a down-but-not-out offense. Give it up for the bench guys! Praise for them has not been a common occurrence this year.

Though the Phils couldn't finish it in the ninth, you could not have asked for a bigger momentum shift. It was the perfect time for Ryan Madson to make up for his rocky return from the DL on Thursday, and push that ERA back down. The deflated Reds were retired in order in the 10th - two by strikeout. It was a pleasant reminder of the '08 Madson.

It's all but a certainty that the Phillies will go into the break in third place, but these last two wins have to fill them with more confidence than they've felt in several weeks. I recall another team a few years back that won two straight games in walk-off fashion after some horrible defeats, and they went on to pull off the biggest postseason upset in baseball history before going on to win the World Series. This obviously isn't the same situation of the 2004 Red Sox, but this would not be bad time at all to turn the ship around.