BOX SCORE
PHOENIXWas this the start of something for the Phillies or just a mirage in the desert?Well find outand soon enough.The Phils headed home from their longest road trip of the season Wednesday night with a 7-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in their satchels and a good feeling in their souls (see Salisbury's Instant Replay). The win gave them a 5-5 trip, not great, but not bad considering the challenges they met on the trip, everything from putrid offense to placing two pitchers (Cliff Lee and Mike Stutes) on the disabled list.We came to the park today 4-5 and we could have gone home 4-6, manager Charlie Manuel said after Cole Hamels delivered a gem that included his retiring 18 in a row at one point. Theres an old saying, If you play .500 ball on the road and win at home, you have a good chance to go to the playoffs. I dont know if I buy it, but thats what they say.The Phillies get their chance to put to work the home half of that bromide when they return to Citizens Bank Park on Friday night to begin a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs, who hold down last place in the National League Central. Yes, its still early, but the Phillies are beginning an important stretch of the season, one that could help or hurt them in early NL East maneuverings. After the four games against Chicago, they go back on the road for three against Atlanta and three against Washington, two NL East rivals that are off to good starts and looking to end the Phillies run of titles in the division.The Phils came into the series in Arizona having scored just two runs over the weekend in a pair of losses in San Diego. The drought exacerbated some early panic about the team and it did not dissipate when the Phils were shut out for eight innings in the series opener. The Phils lost that game, 9-5, Monday, but they rallied for five runs in the ninth inning. Meaningless on Monday, that burst of runs seemed to carry over to Tuesday and Wednesday as the Phils won two straight. They scored 20 runs in the final 19 innings of the series leading Manuel to dismiss the Chicken Littles prone to knee-jerk reactions.But Manuel knows his team must sustain some offense to support its excellent pitching staff.You have to have a potent lineup if you want to go all the way, Manuel said. Weve got a lot of mileage yet to go.The Phils had two runnersHunter Pence and Carlos Ruiz -- cut down at home plate Wednesday. At times in this season of inconsistent offense, that would have come back to haunt the Phils, but they produced enough offense to play over those outs and, of course, Hamels was brilliant. The lefthander, now 3-1 with a 2.73 ERA and 30 strikeouts and just three walks in four starts, also chipped in with a two-run single.Perhaps the brightest spot in the offense was No. 2 hitter Placido Polanco, who entered the game hitting .196. Three hits (and an RBI) later he was up to .237 and moving in the right direction. Carlos Ruiz also had three hits and an RBI and Pence drove in two as well.The Phils did some of their damage in the series against struggling pitchers such as Joe Paterson (sent to the minors after Mondays game) and Josh Collmenter (9.82 ERA). But Wednesday, they got to Trevor Cahill, who entered with a 2.84 ERA and had given up just one run in two of his three previous starts.Hamels, as mentioned, was terrific. He allowed a double to open the bottom of the first and not another base-runner until the seventh. He got out of whack in the seventh and allowed three singles, a walk and two runs, but roared back with a vengeance in the eighth and struck out the side. Hamels admitted the seventh inning ticked him off a little and he came out with some extra fire in the eighth.Those were my best pitches all day, he said.And before that?The defense really helped me, he said. I kept the ball down and when I got it up they either took bad swings or Hunter rightfielder Pence or Shane centerfielder Victorino ran it down.Left unsaid was that Hamels was thrilled to have the run support. Its not always easy to come by on this club.Awesome, he said. Things are starting to click. We have really good hitters. It was just a matter of time.But was it the start of something real and sustained? Or was it a mirage in the desert?Well find out soon as the Phils embark on an interesting slice of schedule.E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com.