Halfway There, Livin on a Prayer

The Phillies have reached the halfway point of the season and find themselves in the thick of the playoff race. Did anyone really see this coming before the season? Come on, show your hands and be honest.

The Phils are now 44-37 and trail the division-leading Atlanta Braves by 3 games. Right now, they're a Wild Card playoff team. And as a barometer of how far this team has come since last year, they didn't win their 44th game until Aug. 19. Yeah, they're a little ahead of schedule.

Last night's win over the Nationals guaranteed them at least a .500 record in this 10-game stretch against the Nats and Yankees, 2 teams considered by many to be World Series favorites. The Phils started the month 1-7, but rebounded and finished with a 13-14 record. And one my favorite parts of the month is realizing that the Mets are behind the Marlins in last place in the division.

And in case you missed it, Phillies starter Vince Velasquez made one of the best plays of the season last night. Nats outfielder Adam Eaton was the batter and smoked a 96 mph line drive off Velasquez's right arm, which happens to be his pitching arm. VV recovered, picked up the ball and fired it LEFTHANDED to get Eaton at first. Velasquez then crumpled to the turf in a heap of pain and left the game. The injury is being called a right forearm contusion for now. We won't know if VV will be able to make his next start or not. But holy moly, what a play.