Before a pitch was thrown at McAfee Coliseum last night, the Phillies had some good news.  The Marlins, Braves, and Mets all lost, meaning if the Phillies could beat the A’s and a struggling Joe Blanton, they’d increase their lead in the NL East.  Given the state of the Phillies, marred in the middle of a five-game losing streak, beating the A’s was no guarantee.

No guarantee was right as the Phillies struggles continue as they dropped their sixth game in a row, losing 5-2.  Like all the games during this slid, the Phils had the opportunity to win the game, but failed to execute.

I knew it was going to be a long night when the Phillies has two men on in the first inning and failed to bring a run home.  When a team is struggling they cannot waste any chances, and this Phillies squad has squandered many chances.

Thankfully Pat Burrell hit a home run in the 4th inning, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead.  Behind a strong outing by Jamie Moyer (1 hit and 9 strikeouts through the first six inning), the Phillies looked in control and poised to snap their losing streak.  They still would need insurance runs, if they had the opportunity.

That happend in the seventh.  After Burrell reached on a walk and Jayson Werth on an error, Pedro Feliz singled, loading the bases with one out.  The opportunity to strike was there.  That was until Carlos “the rally killer” Ruiz hit into an inning-ending double play.

It proved costly as with two men on, Emil Brown took Moyer deep giving the A’s a 3-1 lead.

The Phillies tried to rally, when Ryan Howard singled home Shane Victorino, but Burrell struck out, ending the inning with Howard standing on second base.

So the Phillies losing streak hits six games.  The longest since 2006.  All’s not terrible, the Phillies still hold a one game lead over the Marlins and four games over the Mets.  What’s frustrating is if the Phils were playing better baseball, they would have a hold on the division.

As frustrated as I am by the current state of the Phillies, I’m not entirely worried.  All teams go through slumps and breaks a team was getting, they’re no longer getting.  What concerns me more is how they plan to snap out of it.  This Phillies appear to be going through the motions a majority of the game, and wind up playing comeback in the late innings.  That’s a recipe for failure.

It’s early in the morning, and I’m frustrated, so I’m not sure what else to say…  The Phillies blew another opportunity.  Kyle Kendrick takes the mound tonight as the Phillies try to get back on the winning path.