Armed with a season-high nine-game winning streak and trying for their first-ever four-game sweep in San Francisco, the Philadelphia Phillies have been shutting down their opponents thanks to great pitching.
They'll get back one of their big arms when Roy Oswalt comes off the disabled list just in time to start Sunday's series finale.
Oswalt returns from a six-week stint on the DL due to lower back inflammation. He was shelved after winning just one of his previous six decisions. The right-hander has lost his previous four road decisions, last winning away from Philadelphia on April 21 at San Diego. He's 6-8 with a 3.61 ERA in 17 lifetime games vs. the Giants.
With a victory today, the Phillies would complete their first four-game sweep in San Francisco and first against the Giants since May 13-16, 1982 at Veterans Stadium. The last away four-game sweep by the Phils vs. the Giants came August 6-8, 1943 at the Polo Grounds in New York.
The Phillies have taken it to the defending World Series champions this weekend, outscoring them 14-3 over the first three games. Cole Hamels got his turn Saturday by going the distance in a 2-1 final.
Hamels (13-6) provided the Phillies with yet another great mound effort, as the lefty came within one out of his first shutout of the season. That was prevented by Pablo Sandoval's home run. Orlando Cabrera grounded the next pitch to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who fired to Ryan Howard to end the game.
Hunter Pence, who has at least one hit in all eight games since being acquired from Houston, had an RBI single.
Oswalt has been out since late June dealing with lower back issues. Initially unsure of the injury’s severity, Oswalt didn’t know when he would be able to return for the Phillies. But after it was discovered that he was dealing with a mild bulging disk instead of a herniated one, a timeframe was set up that would have the lefty returning sometime in August.
The 33 year old was able to stick to the plan and begin a rehab assignment two weeks ago. He now returns and hopes to strengthen what’s been one of the league’s best pitching staffs.
Oswalt was able to maintain an ERA and WHIP of 3.79 and 1.33 over 13 starts before being sidelined. While these numbers are respectable, they are considered subpar for a pitcher the caliber of Oswalt and can be attributed to the lower back pain he was dealing with for much of the year.
In his absence, Vance Worley has stepped up to fill in and has done so in grand fashion. On the year Worley is 8-1 with a 2.35 ERA for the Phils. Since Oswalt left the rotation, Worley has started 8 games for Philadelphia, holding an earned run average of 1.80 while logging 7 or more innings in 5 of those appearances.
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