Phils Sweep Padres This Weekend

The Phillies swept the San Diego Padres this weekend at Citizens Bank Park. The weekend got off to a great start on Friday night when Chase Utley, struggling through an 0-for-5 evening, stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the eleventh inning and made everyone forget about his previous at-bats by slamming a game-winning homerun towards the bullpens in right-center field. The win came after another strong Vicente Padilla start.

Utley didn't stop there, however. He was involved with both Phillies runs in Saturday's 2 - 0 win over the Padres. The first run - and as it turns out, the only one that the Phils needed - came from a solo Utley homer. The second came on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Howard that scored Utley from third. Robinson Tejeda, who was shakely lately, pitched six strong shutout innings for the win on Saturday.

While Utley struggled on Sunday, his teammates did not. Brett Myers, like Tejeda and Padilla, pitched six strong innings for the win. He also hit an RBI double that propelled the Phillies to a four-run fourth inning. The runs in that inning would be enough for the Phils, who won the game 5 - 1.

The Phillies are in Houston tonight to play the Astros, a team they're competing with for the coveted National League Wild Card spot. After losses last night by the Braves and Nationals, the Phillies find themselves three games out of the division lead and the wild card spot. The Phillies will be managed tonight and tomorrow by bench coach Gary Varsho. Charlie Manuel will be out of town attending his sister's funeral. Meanwhile, Geoff Geary has returned to the Phillies after an eye injury suffered two weeks ago.