In a matter of a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and stretching into last night, things took a decidedly turn for the better for the Phillies.
First, even while Chase Utley was pulling on his Lehigh Valley IronPigs uni, Phillies G.M. Ruben Amaro was offering a fairly positive update on slugger Ryan Howard.
The left-handed bopper who has been out of the Phils’ lineup all season after his Achilles tendon blew up on the final play of the playoffs last year, will be examined this week and if he gets the green light, he will head to Class A Lakewood for a 20-day rehab stint.
Lakewood is where Howard’s career started. And it is there where he will try to launch it once again after a devastating injury.
Utley did his part to add to the enthusiasm by looking very much like the player Phillies fans love in his one-night stand in Allentown. He had two hits for the IronPigs, including a solo homer, in leading them to a big win. Utley is now expected to make his way back down the Northeast Extension and be in the lineup vs. the Pirates tonight.
It will mark the first time the second baseman will be in the Phillies’ lineup this year.
And the Phils also got in on the act last night, taking their second straight from the Pirates, and in the process getting something they have been sorely lacking this year – relief from their bullpen.
After starter Vance Worley got in trouble in the seventh, Michael Schwimer managed to wriggle out of a second and third jam with no one out, preserving the Phils’ slim 5-4 lead.
Hey, it’s not even the All-Star break.
All those eyebrows being raised just might belong to those teams above the Phils in the standings, looking over their shoulders.
Has the beast (of the NL East) been awakened? Stay tuned.
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