Phillies back atop the NL East

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Rumors of a Chase Utley injury are greatly exaggerated. Utley hit a homer for the second day in a row and the Phillies got a strong outing from Jamie Moyer to lead them to a 8-5 victory over the Nationals. It was their fourth straight win, and with the Marlins beating the Mets today, it moves the Phillies back into first place in the NL East by a half game.

Utley hit a two run homer in the 5th inning as part of a 5 run inning that lead the Phillies to the win. Shane Victorino also had a great game, getting 3 hits, scoring 3 times and even driving in 3 runs. Brad Lidge also got his 26th save in as many chances this year. I am stating the obvious here, but Lidge has been awesome this year. It's nice to have someone that reliable in the back of the bullpen. He did have that rough outing last week against the Braves, and at some point he will probably blow a save, but that doesn't take away from the amazing stability he has provided to the back of the pen.

The Phillies will finish up their series with the crappy Nationals tomorrow and then they will play the Cardinals this weekend, a much tougher opponent. More importantly, the trade deadline is tomorrow, and with the Marlins rumored to be pulling off a huge deal for Manny Ramirez, the Phillies better do more than simply getting a left handed reliever if they want to stay on top of the division.