Phils hold on for sweep

The Phillies managed to hang to a six run lead last night before Billy Wagner finally closed the door on the Rangers in the 9th. New acquisition Ugueth Urbina managed to turn a 104 lead into a 10-8 lead in his rather ominous debut. This marks the second Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday sweep in as many weeks for the Phils, who -- since May 15 -- have the best record in baseball at 16-6. The recent surge has propelled them to second place in the NL East -- a game-and-a-half behind Washington, itself 14-9 in the same span -- and to the top of the NL Wildcard standings, with a half-game lead over the Chicago Cubs. While resisting the urge to write an I-told-you-so piece in light of last night's "effort" by Urbina, I shall instead employ a wait-and-see approach and also point you to a post on Balls, Sticks, and Stuff that has some interesting information about Urbina's recent travels. (A must-read is the comments section for some insight from a Tigers blogger.) The Phils welcome the Milwaukee Brewers to CBP this weekend -- I'll be at Saturday's game -- while the Nationals play host to the Seattle Mariners.