Doc Halladay wins his 17th against Milwaukee, lowering his ERA to 2.44. Prior to Halladay and Hamels winning the last two straight games against Milwaukee in Milwaukee, the Brewers had been 50-19 at home.

Cole Hamels wins his 14th game against the Milwaukee Brewers tonight and lowers his ERA to 2.60.

They also won the game without Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins in the lineup-- all three out with minor injuries.

Add to that: The Phillies played the Brewers at home. Prior to the game, Milwaukee was 50-19 at home.

Lee, Halladay, and Hamels are now third, fourth, and fifth in ERA in the NL:

NL Earned Run Average
Rank Player ERA
1 J. Cueto, Cin 2.36
2 C. Kershaw, LAD 2.45
3 C. Lee, Phi 2.47
4 R. Halladay, Phi 2.49
5 C. Hamels, Phi 2.60

And this from the Elias Sports Bureau: "It was the Phillies' 17th complete game of the season, the most by any team since the Orioles recorded 17 CGs in 1999."

The Best Starting Pitching Staff Ever?

Tonight, the Phillies' fifth starter, a rookie, tonight won his eleventh game.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Vance Worley's record is now 11-1.

It was Worley's ninth straight win. The Phillies have now won Worley's 14 last consecutive starts. That is the most consecutive wins by a Phillies pitcher dating back to when the Phillies won 15 consecutive starts in 1972 when Steve Carlton was pitching. One also has go back almost four decades when a team won consistently with a rookie pitcher throwing. (Wayne Simpson won 14 straight starts for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s.)

The rookie showed some poise too: "The 23-year-old Worley was teetering on a high wire in the sixth inning, when the Braves loaded the bases with no outs. But after a sacrifice fly by Alex Gonzalez tied the game, 2-2, Worley prevented further damage."

The Best Starting Pitching Staff Ever?

From the Elias Sports Bureau:

"Cliff Lee threw his sixth shutout of the season on Monday, tying the highest total by any pitcher over the last 22 seasons; Randy Johnson had six in 1998 (two for Seattle, four for Houston). Lee has allowed two runs in 48 2/3 innings over his last six starts, a 0.37 ERA. Only two other Phillies pitchers, both cream-of-the-crop Hall of Famers, have had an ERA under 0.40 in a six-start span in one season: Steve Carlton in 1972 and Grover Alexander in 1915."


Also from Elias after tonight's game: "Cliff Lee is now 16-7 with a 2.47 ERA; Roy Halladay is 16-5 with a 2.49 ERA. The only other pair of teammates over the past 40 seasons to have at least 16 wins and an ERA under 2.50 on-or-before Labor Day was Pedro Martinez (17-4, 2.22 ERA) and Derek Lowe (18-6, 2.33 ERA) for Boston in 2002."