Roy Oswalt put on a strong showing in his first home game as a Phillie, going seven innings and giving up none. The Phillies scored one in the 4th, on a Dom Brown fielder's choice with the bases loaded. They scored again in the 6th, when Raul Ibanez drove in Mike Sweeney with an RBI double--and extended his hitting streak to 18. Sweeney was pinch-running for Ross Gload who had doubled but pulled up lame at second with a groin injury. What a bummer--and what else is new? Another day, another injury. Gload had been doing a good job filling in for the injured Ryan Howard. Ryan Madson pitched around a lead-off double in the 8th and Brad Lidge came in for a 1-2-3 final inning. After last night's debacle, it was an all-round good game, with the Phillies besting Chad Billingsly and the Dodgers 2-0, but it was really all about the pitching. Asked after the game about having his old mate Lidge save another game for him, Oswalt replied, "He saved about 60 for me in Houston...Hopefully he can save another 50 or 60 here."
Shane Victorino, meanwhile, was on the second day of his rehab assignment with Lehigh Valley. Tuesday night he played five innings and went 1-2. Last night he played seven. He tripled in his first at-bat, homered in his second, and finished off the night with a two-RIB single in 5-1 win for the IronPigs. Victorino has given the listless 'Pigs a much-needed jolt of his high energy approach to the game and to everything.
