The Phillies came into Friday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals one game ahead of the second place New York Mets in the National League East standings. The Phillies currently stand two and a half games up on the now second place Florida Marlins, and three up on the now third place Mets after taking two of three from the Cardinals. The Marlins lost two games against the Colorado Rockies and the Mets were swept in Houston, extending their losing streak to four.

Game 1 Cardinals 6 Phillies 3

In a surprising twist, Phillies’ ace Cole Hamels struggled for the second start in a row, giving up five runs on eight hits in six innings. He gave up four runs in the third inning. Outfielder Skip Schumaker singled to start the third and Cesar Izturis walked ahead of Joe Mather, who hit his fifth homer.

“Now that I think about it,” Hamels said. “The big innings that I have given up (this year), the changeup has been up. I haven’t really been able to locate it down in the zone.”

Hamels was barely outmatched by former Phillie Kyle Lohse, who went five innings and gave up three runs. Lohse failed to get an out in the sixth inning, and has gone seven innings only eight times this season in 24 starts.

Coming into Friday, the Cardinals as a team have 25 blown saves this season and current beleaguered closer Jason Isringhausen has eight blown saves of his own and has already lost his job once this season. Nevertheless, he got the final four outs to close out the game for St. Louis on Friday, including two walks and two strikeouts.

Game 2 Phillies 2 Cardinals 1

Friday’s loss ended a five game Phillies’ winning streak and the next day the Fightins did exactly what good teams do: they started a new winning streak. They rebounded nicely for Joe Blanton’s first win as a Phillie, giving up just one run on four hits in seven innings. Blanton struck out five, all on called third strikes. Ryan Howard and Greg Dobbs provided Blanton with all the offense necessary on two solo home runs. Blanton took care of the rest, giving up a solo home run to Ryan Ludwick, his third home run in two games.

“He kept us off balance, moved the ball around the strike zone and just off the strike zone,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “He did a good job of mixing things up.”

Blanton’s opponent, former Mets’ reliever Braden Looper, is 2-6 with a 5.53 ERA lifetime against the Phillies. Two of those loses have come this season.

Game 3 Phillies 5 Cardinals 4

Phillies’ closer Brad Lidge got his 28th save in 28 chances Sunday, but came very close to blowing his first save of the season. With the Phillies leading 5-3 coming into the ninth inning, Troy Glaus led off the inning with a solo home run, just the second home run given up by Lidge this season. The Cardinals then proceeded to load the bases with two outs and the situation was looking dire indeed. Then Lidge reminded us all why he is the best reliever in the National League. Instead of getting overwhelmed and cracking under the pressure, Lidge came back and struck out the next two batters to close out the game.

Despite not getting the win, Brett Myers put together his second quality outing in as many chances. It appears that his three week stint in AAA helped him workout his demons and get him back on track. Myers allowed just two runs over six innings and continues to build the confidence he needs to lead the Phillies down the stretch.

Down 3-1, the Phillies put together a four run eighth inning capped off by Shane Victorino’s three run home run to put them ahead for good.

“You kind of have an idea of what he has by watching video, and I was just trying to hit a ball I could drive,” Victorino said. “It was a fastball. That’s what I think it was.”

Pat Burrell continues to be the most consistent and timely hitter on the Phillies, getting a two-out RBI single off Cardinals’ reliever Russ Springer immediately preceding Victorino.

Coming into Sunday, the trio of Howard (31), Chase Utley and Burrell (27) combined for more homers than eight of the 30 major league teams. The Phillies are off Monday and look to extend their current two-game winning streak Tuesday in Philadelphia against the Marlins.