This was a bad week for the Phillies, who won only one game and were swept over the weekend by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The flailing Fightins scored 21 runs all of last week, with 8 of those coming in the first game of the week against the Boston Red Sox. That’s 13 runs in the remaining five games.

In 15 at bats last week, struggling second baseman Chase Utley had one hit, a double on the weekend series finale against the Los Angeles Angels. Overpaid one-dimensional first baseman Ryan Howard had three hits in 19 at bats, with an astounding two RBIs. Streaky outfielder Pat Burrell is running neck and neck with Utley for the title of Most Struggling Phillie after going one for 19. Shane Victorino managed to get four stolen bases last week while only getting two hits.

The point is that the Phils have hit an offensive wall. They are just not scoring runs. Many people have pointed out that this week was interleague play, so naturally the Phillies, who play in the National League, are going to struggle against the vastly superior American League. Their self-righteous indignation notwithstanding, the Phillies were struggling before they started playing the AL. After sweeping the Atlanta Braves the first weekend in June, the Phils have gone on to lose each of the next four series.

That being said, like I said last week, the Phillies need to just get over it and move on. Monday was a day off, a day of rest. Today they start a three game set in Oakland against their former city mates, the Athletics. Then they head south to face off with the Texas Rangers. These are two entirely winnable series.

Oakland is currently five games behind AL West leading Los Angeles and fails to boast a single player batting over .300. Tonight Jamie Moyer faces off against A’s pitcher Joe Blanton, who is 3-10 on the year with an 4.81 ERA. In the past month, Blanton has an ERA of over 7.50. Oakland ace Rich Harden will be a formidable foe for sure, but Dana Eveland (who the Phillies face Thursday) is not lights out by any means. He is 5-5 on the season with a 3.51 ERA, but in the last month has only one win and a 4.88 ERA.

The Rangers’ pitching is equally as unimpressive, if not more so. The Phils will face off with Kason Gabbard in the series opener in Arlington on Friday. Gabbard has two wins on the season and an ERA of 4.96. Saturday, the Phillies face off with their former teammate Vicente Padilla, who is an impressive 10-3 on the season. That being said, Phillies fans know from experience that Padilla is not immune to extreme lapses in decent pitching, and the Phils should look to capitalize on the fact that Padilla is playing way above his head. They finish the series again Eric Hurley, a recent call up with only two games under his belt so far this season. In two games, Hurley is 0-0 with an ERA of 4.91.

These are all winnable games. The only upcoming pitcher that scares me is Harden, and if the Phils could go 5-1 on the week, that would obviously be a serious turnaround from a couple tough weeks. The talent is there, it’s just a matter of turning it around.

Continue to keep posted to HS Philly as we will have constant updates as the Phillies try to right their ship, as well as all other breaking Philly sports news.