Year In Review: September

It was a September to remember. Coming into the month a game behind the New York Mets, the Phillies hoped to become National League East Champions for the second year in a row. The race was tight, so it would be tougher for the Mets to collapse with just a one game lead. It would not be hard for the Phillies to pull out in front.

Ryan Howard had a torrid month of September getting himself mentioned in the National League Most Valuable Player talks. He batted .352 with 11 home runs. His 32 RBI set a Phillies franchise record for most runs batted in during a month. His OBP was .422 and his SLG was an unbelievable .852 in 25 games, totaling a 1.274 OPS.

The big games:

September 11-14: The Milwaukee Brewers led the NL Wild Card by 4 games prior to the series with the Phillies. On the other hand, the Phillies were trailing the Mets by 3.5 games in the division. The Phillies took the first two games easily. In game 3, the first half of a double header, the Phillies and Brewers found themselves tied at 3 in the 8th inning. Pat Burrell drove in Jayson Werth at a close play at the plate for the go ahead run. The Phillies put 4 runs on the board in that 8th inning, and beat the Brewers. The Phillies finished the night cap of the double header in another victory, sweeping the Brew Crew, tying themselves for the Wild Card, inching 1 game back from the division. After the series, the Brewers manager was fired.

September 16: In the 8th inning, the Phillies were down 7-6 in Atlanta against the Braves. That was before Ryan Howard drove a homerun giving the Phillies a go-ahead lead. First place of the division was now in the Phillies hands. In the series, the Phillies ended up sweeping the Braves, going a perfect 9-0 at Turner Field.

September 22: Tied at 2 a piece in the 8th inning with a runner on third base, Jimmy Rollins threw out Kelly Johnson at home to keep the game tied. In the bottom of the inning, Jayson Werth grounded to third base. Greg Golson beat the throw to the plate to score the go ahead run. The Phils put up 3 more runs in the inning to beat Braves.

Other highlights:

On September 2nd, and September 5th, Cole Hamels and Brett Myers each pitched shut out baseball to give the Phillies wins. Hamels lasted 7.1 innings, and Myers lasted 8 innings. On the 6th, Jamie Moyer pitched 7 shutout innings, and Greg Dobbs helped put away a Phillies win with a homerun.

September 24: The Phillies lost, but the benches cleared. Shane Victorino took a lead a little to far off third base, and Braves pitcher Julian Taverez ran him back to third. Victorino said something to Taverez, and the benches cleared. Warnings were issued, but nothing serious broke out.

On the 26th of September, the Phillies had a 2 game lead over the New York Mets. All the Phillies need was one more win, and they would be crowned 2008 National League East Champions for the second straight year.