8th inning outburst pulls Phillies within one game of NL East lead

Some things never change: the sky is blue, the sun sets in the west and the Phillies own the Mets. On Friday night, the Phillies rode a spectacular 8th inning, one that saw them erase a 2-1 deficit by plating 6 runs, to beat the Mets 7-5 and notch their 13th win in their last 15 games. The win, coupled with the Giants win over the Braves in extra innings, pulls the Phillies to within one game of first place Atlanta.

The bottom of the 8th inning was a truly special thing to witness. In the inning, the Phillies sent 11 batters to the plate and slapped 7 singles, picked up a walk and one sacrifice fly in a 6 run outburst that saw them work through 3 different Mets pitchers. Newest Phillie Mike Sweeney was big in the inning, getting a pair of hits while picking up an RBI and scoring a run. While Sweeney won't be Ryan Howard, he is going to continue to get key hits when given the chance.

While the 9th inning was ugly thanks to Danys Baez and J.C. Romero allowing the Mets to make things closer than they should have been, it was a fairly solid victory for the Phillies as they continue to win games despite missing three key lineup pieces. Saturday's matchup with the Mets figures to be a good one, too, as Cole Hamels will take on Johan Santana in a clash of two solid lefty pitchers. Scratch that, make that one solid lefty as Santana has been lit up for 11 runs in his last two outings. Hopefully the Phils can capitalize on his slump and keep the 12 game home winning streak rolling.