That's More Like It

The Phillies' one-two punch finally combine for a pair of strong starts

Brett Myers got his footing back Friday night, Cole Hamels continued his strong April last night, and, hey, the Phillies have taken two straight from the Cubs. Myers needs to man up and pitch like a No. 1; he had been nibbling far too much in his first two starts. If he can get his swagger back, it will go a long way toward mitigating Kyle Kendrick's early-season struggles. And Hamels just keeps getting better. This could be the last season he's not the Phils' Opening Day starter for a number of years.

The team has, thankfully, gained some equilibrium; we can only hope that it has shucked that dreaded awful-April trend for good. The Phillies are at .500 and have the look of a squad that's determined to make some noise, unlike in years past, when their look was one of expectation, as if they were waiting for the rest of the division to roll over on them before they finally realized in June that they had to start playing for real. S|C

Tags: Phillies, Brett Myers, Cole Hamels