On the last day of September in 2007, the Phillies were one win, and a New York Mets loss, away from reaching the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. As the Mets proceeded to lose the game in the top of the first inning, the Phils turned to Jamie Moyer, the veteran, soft-tossing lefty to push the season back a few more days. Moyer, despite having a less-than-great season, turned in a solid performance – 5.1 IP, 1 R (0 ER), with 6 Ks. The offense took care of the rest, leading the charge to a 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals en route to the N.L. East title.

In 2008, it seemed history was destined to repeat itself. One day after the Phils took a two game lead in the division, they were staring straight into the eyes of their second straight postseason berth, needing only a win or a Mets loss to claim the N.L. East in 2008.

Once again they turned to Jamie Moyer, the team leader in wins, to carry the torch down the final stretch. He cruised in his start, going six strong innings while allowing just one run. He exited the game with a 3-1 lead, looking to get this 16th victory of the season.

The offense started off slow and didn’t put anything on the board until the 4th, where a pair of sacrifice flies from Pat Burrell and Carlos Ruiz gave the Phils a 2-0 lead. Although Moyer would give a run back in the top of the 5th, Jayson Werth would return fire with a line drive shot to right field in the bottom half of the inning.

Chad Durbin worked a scoreless 7th, turning it over to Ryan Madson, who was quickly becoming one of the most dominant setup men in the game. The Mad Dog struggled in the 8th by putting baserunners on second and third with no outs. But due to a great defensive play by Jimmy Rollins, he was able to escape with the lead intact, as the Nats were only able to plate one run in the frame.

After adding a huge insurance run in the bottom of the 8th to take a 2-run lead, the Phillies turned to Brad Lidge, who was a perfect 40-for-40 in save opportunities thus far in the season. After striking out the leadoff hitter, Lidge started to struggle, allowing a base hit and a walk to put runners on first and second. Following two straight base hits, the Nats had inched within one run, with the bases loaded an only one man out. With his perfect season and the Phillies’ playoff hopes riding on the line, Brad Lidge delivered one more pitch…

Then this happened.

Player of the Game: Jimmy Rollins – who made two great plays in the late innings to preserve the lead. His over-the-shoulder grab in the 8th, followed by his diving double play starter in the ninth saved the game for the Fightins.

But why was this game key to 2008? I’ll let you figure that one out.

When Brett Myers was named the opening day starter in 2008, no one could have predicted the roller coaster ride that would be his season. After a tumultuous first half, when he went 3-9 with a 5.84 ERA, Myers was sent down to the minor leagues to figure out what went wrong, and after making a series of starts with Lehigh Valley, Reading and Clearwater, Myers returned to action against the New York Mets on July 23. Although the Phillies went on to lose the game, Myers did show an improvement over his first-half counterpart.

But more importantly, and for the rest of the season, Brett Myers was among the best pitchers in the majors. He would pitch himself to a 7-4 record with a 3.06 ERA down the stretch, including two complete games and a shutout.

Myers would be on the hill in what was likely his most important start of the season to date, when the Phillies squared off against the Milwaukee Brewers for a four game set in the middle of September. The Brew-Crew was ahead of the Phillies by four games in the Wild Card, and with only two weeks left in the season, every win was important.

The Phils handled Ben Sheets in game one, and were met with little competition from Manny Parra in game two. A come-from-behind win was needed to get the win in game three, the first game in the day-night double header.

The all-important four game sweep and a tie atop the Wild Card was a mere 27 outs away from The Fightins, and Myers was on the hill, trying to keep his impressive late-season surge alive against Milwaukee’s Jeff Suppan.

The Phils struck early against the Brewers by taking a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI groundout from Chase Utley. They added to the lead in the second, when a clutch two-out single from Myers (more foreshadowing) started a three-run inning. A Ryan Howard homer in the 4^th, followed by a bases loaded walk in the same inning gave the Phillies a commanding 6-0 lead, which was more than enough for Myers.

Despite giving up a solo homer to Prince Fielder in the 7^th, Myers was in complete control, never allowing any other Brewer to get farther than first base. Myers wrapped up the complete game on just 95 pitches, giving the Phils the sweep and a share atop the Wild Card.

Player of the Game: Brett Myers, who shut the Brewers down, allowing three base runners the entire game while striking out four. He also knocked in the second run of the game and sparked a three-run second inning.

But why was this game key to 2008? This win brought the Phillies even with the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card race, and propelled the Phillies on yet another late September run, culminating with the N.L. East title.

When the New York Mets came into town for two games on August 26th, the Phillies were a half-game behind them in the standings, and with Johan Santana going for the Mets in the second game of the two game set, the Phils were needing to get a W in game one.

Taking the mound for the Phillies was Jamie Moyer, who was riding a streak of 14 straight starts in which he allowed less than three earned runs. During that streak, he faced the Mets twice, earning a no decision both times to the tune of a 2.63 ERA in 13.2 innings.

The ageless veteran wouldn’t be so lucky against the Metros during this go-round, as he get hit early and often, allowing 6 earned runs in three innings pitched, putting the Phils in an early hole.

Long-reliever Clay Condrey took the hill in the 4^th, and despite giving up a run in his first inning of work, he would hold the Mets at bay over 2.1 innings. But Condrey contributed off the mound in the fifth inning: With the Phillies trailing 7-1, Condrey led off the bottom half of the frame with a broken-bat double, thus setting into motion the first big rally of the game. Jimmy Rollins, put one in the right-field bleachers, cutting the score to 7-3. Two batters later, Ryan Howard took a two-run shot to left, cutting the lead to two runs.

Both bullpens would hold the bats at bay until the 8^th, when Jimmy Rollins singled home Carlos Ruiz to cut the lead to 7-6. The score would remain that way until the 9^th, when the Phillies had two outs facing de facto closer Luis Ayala. With the bases empty, Jayson Werth singled to center, setting the stage for pinch hitter Eric Bruntlett.

Bruntlett, who took more grief than deserved over the course of the season, split the gap in right-center, scoring Werth from first base to bring the game to a 7-all tie at the end of regulation.

A whole lot of nothing until Shane Victorino led off the bottom of the 13^th with a triple down the first base line. After intentionally loading the bases with no outs, the Phillies were forced to send Brett Myers to the plate to hit for Rudy Seanez. In a sign of obvious foreshadowing, Myers would work a full count against Scot Schoenewies (without swinging the bat) before striking out looking.

Next up was Chris Coste, who entered the game in the 8^th inning and was 3-for-3 off the bench. Coste hit the longest single of his career, landing just shy of the warning track, plating Victorino for the 8-7 win.

Player of the Game: In a game like this, there is no clear-cut favorite for POTG. Surely Christ Coste (4-4) deserves some of the credit, but so does Eric Bruntlett and the Phillies bullpen (10 IP, 1 ER). But the star of the game is Charlie Manuel, who successfully negotiated his bullpen and bench to get the win in 13 innings. The biggest move of the night from Chuck was in the top of the ninth inning. With only Eric Bruntlett left on the bench, and with both Pedro Feliz and Greg Dobbs out of the game, Manuel put Carlos Ruiz at third base, saving Bruntlett for the ninth in case a PH was needed. Manuel’s gut feeling paid off, as Bruntlett tied the game in the 9^th inning after having pinch hit for Brad Lidge.

But why was this game key to 2008? If there is one thing that the Phillies were known for in 2008, it was their tenacity and their mantra of 27 outs. They were in every single game as long as they had an out left, and this game proved that to a tee.

On September 20^th, the Phillies took the field for the second game of a three game set against the upstart Florida Marlins, who were still alive in the hunt for the National League Wild Card. After a 14-8 loss against the fish on the previous night, and with the division leading Mets having lost earlier in the day, the Phils were needing a win to take control of the N.L. East.

The Phillies struck first in the third inning on an RBI single from Chase Utley to take a 1-0 lead, but Phillies starter Joe Blanton gave up two runs on a double by John Baker in the bottom half of the frame.

The Phils would bounce right back on the strength of a solo homer by Shane Victorino, bringing the game to a 2-all tie in the 4^th.

It wouldn’t be until the 6^th inning that the Phils would take the lead, when a two-out bloop single from Greg Dobbs scored Ryan Howard from second base to go ahead 3-2.

Chad Durbin breezed through the 6^th inning, and after allowing a 1-out baserunner in the 7^th, he was relieved by J.C. Romero, who then walked Jeremy Hermida to put runners on first and second with one out. Romero steered out of trouble by striking out Cameron Maybin and Baker to end the inning with the lead intact.

Ryan Madson took the hill in the bottom half of the 8th, and would find himself into trouble immediately, after allowing a leadoff single to Jorge Cantu and a double to Mike Jacobs, putting runners on second and third with no outs for Dan Uggla. Madson got Uggla to ground weakly to third base, and Greg Dobbs, not normally known for his glove, cut down Cantu at home on a bang-bang play. After Josh Johnson grounded out to short, Mad Dog struck out Cody Ross to end the inning.

Brad Lidge came on in the ninth inning, and despite letting the speedy Alfredo Amezega get to second base with no outs, Lidge struck out the next three batters for his 39^th save of the season.

Player of the Game: The Phillies bullpen, who went four innings, while striking out seven and steering out of some big jams.

But why was this game key to 2008? With the New York Mets losing earlier in the day, the Phils took a half-game lead in the N.L. East after the win in Miami – A lead which they would not relinquish for the rest of the season.

On September 5th 2008, the Phillies were a manageable three games behind the New York Mets for the division lead, and what a coincidence, the boys from South Philly were heading to Queens for a three-game set to close the season series with the Mets.

While the Phillies didn’t have the same level of success against the Mets last season as they did in 2007, they nonetheless had a handful of memorable games against the division rivals, and the last meeting of the two teams would produce at least one more.

With a resurgent Brett Myers on the hill, the Phils were looking to move one game closer to the Mets before the night was over. They jumped out to an early lead against Mike Pelfrey and his mouthpiece, when a Chase Utley groundout plated Shane Victorino to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

While Myers wasn’t as sharp as he had been during his previous starts, he still worked around a 2-on, 1-out situation in the first when he induced a double play from Carlos Delgado. He would similarly work around a leadoff double from Carlos Beltran in the second, after which he K’ed Ryan Church Luis Castillo and Mike Pelfrey. After that, Myers was in cruise control. He retired 18 of the next 19 hitters, while walking none and striking out seven in that span.

All the while, the Phillies were busy adding to their lead on the strength of a two-run homer from Greg Dobbs, taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the 7th.

After striking out Jose Reyes to end the bottom of the 8th, Myers handed the game over to Brad Lidge, who would close things out in the bottom of the ninth (of course, not without putting two base runners on), for his 34th save of the year.

Player of the Game: Brett Myers, who went a strong 8 innings, striking out 10 while allowing three hits.

But why was this game key to 2008: Despite finishing the season series to the Mets with a dreary 7-11 record, this game set the tone for the final meeting of the season. The Phils took two of three, closing to within two games of the Mets with just under a month to go. We all know how that ended.

When Pedro Feliz arrived via free agency before the 2008 season, most Philly fans breathed a sigh of relief, as Feliz’s arrival marked the end of a seven year drought of third baseman who were, how can I put this delicately? AWFUL.

After Scott Rolen cried his way out of the city, the hot corner has been manned with nothing more than stop-gaps until the team could find someone who could hit and play defense. First there was David Bell, who needed PEDs to hit 20 homers. Then there was Abe Nunez, who might well as been using a Wiffle Ball bat during games. And then there was Wes Helms…I don’t even have a joke for that one.

Looking back, it’s easy to dismiss Feliz’s arrival as nothing more than a cheap signing to placate the fans and Monday-morning GMs. But Feliz was much more than a (relatively) inexpensive addition to the team: He brought a solid stick and a great glove to a team that was in need of a full-time third baseman.

In his time with the San Francisco Giants, Feliz had four straight 20-HR years, which was sure to translate to success in the not-so-spacious Citizen’s Bank Park.

While Feliz didn’t knock the cover off the ball in a Phillies uniform, he nonetheless played a crucial role in 2008 by having a handful of big hits to supplement his pristine defense.

One of his biggest nights came on August 24th, during the third game of a four-game set against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, who only a week earlier swept a four-game series in L.A.

Although Joe Blanton got himself into some trouble early on, he was able to hold the Dodgers to one run over six innings, and left the game with a 1-1 tie. L.A. would tack on a run against the Phillies’ bullpen in the top of the 7th, setting the stage for another comeback from the Fightins.

The Dodgers were able to hold the Phillies at bay in the 7th and 8th inning, but closer Jonathan Broxton would not be so successful in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Feliz singled home Shane Victorino with two outs, sending the game to extra innings.

Chad Durbin, fresh from the ‘pen, would get himself into trouble by loading the bases without recoding an out, but he managed to steer out of trouble after a Feliz fielded a hot-shot grounder, stepped on third and fired home to get complete the double play, which effectively ended the L.A. rally in the 10th.

Not much happened from either team over the next inning and a half, until Shane Victorino led off the bottom of the 11th with a double, which was followed by a walk to Chris Coste. Jayson Werth grounded out to second and pinch hitter Cole Hamels popped out, leaving the game in the hands of Feliz, yet again.

And on the very first pitch he saw from pitcher Jason Johnson, Pedro Feliz deposited the baseball into deep center, giving the Phillies the win and a shot at a sweep the next time.

Player of the Game: Pedro Feliz, who was 2-3 off the bench after being activated from the DL. He tied the game with two outs in the ninth, and he won it with two outs in the 11th. Sounds like a good day at the office, to me.

But why was this game key to 2008? After the sweep at the hands of the Dodgers earlier in the season, the Phils were in need of revenge and a winning streak. They would sweep the Dodgers the next night, propelling them down the stretch to take the N.L. East.

Since Jimmy Rollins made his infamous “Team to Beat” comment at the beginning of the 2007 season, the Phillies and Mets have been blossoming into one of the best rivalries in the game.

2007 changed things, however, after Rollins proved to be accurate in his prediction when the Phillies overcame a seemingly unsurpassable deficit to overtake the Mets on the last day of the season. That season was ripe with memorable moments, including sweeps (three, to be exact), walk-off bombs (Howard vs. Mota), 12-foot base hits that tie the game (Thank you, Aaron Rowand), and of course, blown saves (Hiya Billy!).

When the Mets went out and got Johan Santana before the 2008 season was underway, it again spawned a war of words between the teams. Rollins predicted 100 wins, while the normally soft-spoken Carlos Beltran stole Jimmy’s catchphrase from 2007.

Although the 2008 race wasn’t nearly as memorable as 2007, these two teams still had a handful of games that were bound to be instant classics.

Among them was the matchup on July 22 that saw new Phillie Joe Blanton facing off against Johan Santana at Shea Stadium.

Although the Phillies got off to a good start against Johan by plating a run in the first inning, their offense would be stagnant against the southpaw for most of the night, with the exception of a solo homer from Shane Victorino in the seventh.

Blanton wouldn’t be able to match Santana, as he allowed 5 ER in six innings of work. The bullpen would hold the Mets at bay in the 7th and 8th inning, but the offense would need to get something going if they were going to win this game.

Santana was his usual self, pitching eight strong innings while allowing 2 ER on 105 pitches. He was still sharp into the late innings, but Jerry Manuel pulled his ace, despite a leaky bullpen that was prone to giving up late leads.

Such was the case on this night, when relief pitcher Duaner Sanchez gave up three straight singles to Jayson Werth, Greg Dobbs and Shane Victorino to load the bases. Joe Smith was brought in to put out the fire, but a mental gaffe by Jose Reyes turned a double play into a costly mistake.

With the bases chucked, Carlos Ruiz hit a clean bouncer to the left side of the infield in what was sure to be a double-play. Instead of shoveling the ball to second base to start the 6-4-3, he opted to bare-hand the ball while simultaneously stepping on the bag before tossing to first. Of course, Reyes misjudged the distance to the bag, allowing Victorino to slide in safely. Werth scored on the play, and the bases were still loaded for pinch-hitter Geoff Jenkins.

The Mets brought in Pedro Feliciano to face Jenkins, but was pinch-hit for with the So “Oh-fer” Taguchi, who was hitless as a pinch-hitter to that point in the season. With the tying run 180-feet away, Taguchi took one the other way and dropped a double over the head of Endy Chavez, bringing the score to five-all.

Jimmy Rollins would double to right, giving the Phils a 7-5 lead, and he would later score on a Ryan Howard groundout, to put them ahead by a score of 8-5.

Brad Lidge came on to close things in the bottom of the ninth, and despite giving up a run, he would finish the job, securing the 8-6 win for the Phillies.

Player of the Game: So Taguchi, who went 1-1 with 2 RBIs in his first pinch hit of the season.
But why was this game key to 2008? For obvious reasons, it was en eff-you to the Mets, who couldn’t get out of their own way, despite a brilliant performance by Santana. Besides that, the Phillies showed, yet again, that they are one of the very few teams in the Bigs that plays 27 outs. The Mets made the mistake of letting the Phillies off the mat, and they made them pay.

Throughout the 2008 season, starting pitcher Cole Hamels was a rock. Although he was viewed by many as being too fragile to ever make it through an entire season, Hamels took a gigantic leap forward last season by throwing more innings than any other pitcher in baseball. And while, at this moment, Philly fans are left wondering the fate of their ace in the upcoming campaign, one thing is certain: Hamels could go toe-to-toe with any team, and that included the defending champs, the Boston Red Sox.

Coming into the June 16^th game against the Red Sox, both teams found themselves atop their respective divisions, with the Phils holding a three game lead over the Florida Marlins, while the Sox were two above the future A.L. Champs.

Squaring off against Hamels was Bartolo Colon, Boston’s own reclamation project for their starting rotation. While many thought that Colon had nothing left in the tank, he was nonetheless an effective starting pitcher (at least, until this game) for the Red Sox, entering the game with a 4-1 record and a 3.41 ERA.

Hamels was his usual self in the first inning, and despite giving up a double to Dustin Pedroia, he would get back-to-back strikeouts against J.D. Drew and Manny Ramirez to retire the side.

The Phillies would go to work against Colon immediately, with a leadoff homer from Rollins, followed by a double from Shane Victorino, who scored on a two-run blast from Ryan Howard two batters later. Howard would at a solo shot in the third inning, extending the lead to 4-0.

The Red Sox would strike in the fifth, when Pedroia and Drew went back-to-back off of the Ace, cutting the lead to two runs.

The Phillies fired back with a four-run sixth on the strength of a Rollins single, an RBI groundout by Chase Utley, and a deeeeeep triple from the Big Man, giving the Fightins an 8-2 lead that would go on to be the final score.

Player(s) of the Game: Cole Hamels, who tossed seven strong innings against a very potent Red Sox lineup, striking out five while giving up two earned runs.

Ryan Howard, whose 3-5 game and 4 RBIs would prove to be the only offense that the Phils needed.

But why was this game key to 2008? While the Phillies had a fairly easy time with the National League competition to that point in the season, this game showed the rest of the league that the 2008 Phillies were among the best in the league, while further solidifying Cole Hamels as one of the aces of the game.

On July 4th, the Phillies squared off against the New York Mets in the first game of a four-game set that would pit the National League East division rivals against each other with 4.5 games separating them in the standings.

On the mound for the Metros was Johan Santana, who posted a solid 3.01 ERA to go along with a so-so 7-7 record; the result of poor offense and too many blown saves courtesy of a bullpen that had more leaks than the Titanic.

Opposing Santana was J.A. Happ, the young lefty who had a rather bitter cup of coffee in 2007 when he gave up five earned runs in 4 IP against the Mets. He was once again called upon in 2008 to fill in a gap in the pitching rotation that was left by opening day starter Brett Myers, whose first-half performance warranted a trip to the minor leagues.

Happ was solid early on, but would get himself into trouble in the top of the fifth, when a ground-rule double off the bat of Ramon Castro put runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Happ would go on to give up two runs in the frame, before being pulled for Chad Durbin, who struck out Carlos Beltran to end the threat.

The Phillies would strike in the bottom of the 6th, when Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell’s back-to-back RBI singles even things up at two-apiece.

Both teams would be unable to muster much offense for the rest of the game until the bottom of the ninth, when Pedro Feliz doubled off Duaner Sanchez with two outs. Shane Victorino promptly singled to right, plating Pete Happy and giving the Phillies the 3-2 victory.

Player of the Game: The Phillies’ bullpen, who tossed a nearly flawless 4.1 innings by giving up one hit and zero earned runs, while striking out six.

But why was this game key to 2008? Even though the Phils would go on to lose the next three games against the Mets, this game gave Happ a chance to showcase his stuff in the big spots. He would start three more games in 2008, finishing 1-0 with a 2.28 ERA in his four starts.

In 2008, the Phillies finished the regular season with 92 wins and a division title. Some of the wins were walk-offs, some are blow outs, and others are just so nail-bitingly tense that you can’t bear to watch, nor can you look away.

The Phillies had their fair share of great games during The Perfect Season, and I did my best to try to narrow them down to the Top 11. Every one of these games has a reason to be on the list, and they all have had an impact on the 2008 season. They might not be the obvious choices, but they just might be the best.

On August 15th, the Phillies were nursing a 65-56 record and sitting one game behind the New York Mets for the division lead. After a disastrous four-game sweep at the hand of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phils were in need of a rebound against the 47-74 San Diego Padres. And they would need to get past Greg Maddux to do it.

Although Maddux wasn’t the same pitcher he was in the 90s, he was still the owner of a very respectable 4.12 ERA and one of the best repertoires in the game.

Opposing the Hall of Famer was the Jamie Moyer, who was teammates with Maddux back on their days with the Chicago Cubs. While Moyer hasn’t experienced as much success as Maddux over his career, he was nonetheless an experienced veteran who could make things tough for an opposing hitter.

While the game was mostly quiet for seven innings, the fans were treated to an old school pitching matchup between two veterans who use their smarts in lieu of a dominating fastball. And after six innings, both pitchers managed to keep any runs off the board.

That is, until Pat Burrell came to the plate in the top of the 7th.

With one out and no one on, Burrell sent a Greg Maddux offering into the left-field seats, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, which would be all they needed.

Moyer would pitch seven shutout innings, giving way to the duo of Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero, who worked a scoreless 8th inning, before handing it off to Brad Lidge to close the ninth for his 29th save of the season.

Player of the Game: Jamie Moyer, who got the win after throwing seven strong innings, giving up three hits and zero runs.

But why was this game key to 2008? While the Phillies are accustomed to slugging the crap out of the ball, this game was a sign of things to come for the Fightins, who wouldn’t have a blowout victory in September. They say pitching and timely hitting wins games, this game was a fine example of how the Phils took care of business on their way to the World Series.