The Phillies continue to tug at our heartstrings by staying right in the thick of the playoff race despite repeatedly faltering when they are on the cusp of breaking through.

After winning two of their final three games against the Mets this season, they lost two out of three to the Marlins, a team they should have handled with ease. When it looked like they were just about out of things, the Fightins then swept the Milwaukee Brewers in a four game set. The Phillies are now tied with the struggling Brewers for the Wild Card race and are only one game back of the Mets for first place in the National League East.

The Phillies’ offense has started to come to life, scoring 45 runs in eight games, an average of 5.6 runs a game. Ryan Howard has started to make a serious case for himself for National League MVP. In the past week Howard has four homeruns and 12 RBIs. More impressive than his staggering power numbers is that he was batting .385 over that stretch. He only had five strikeouts during this week and went three straight games without a single K.

Over the past week Jimmy Rollins hit at a .462 mark with one homerun, five RBIs, and four stolen bases. Both Chase Utley and Shane Victorino hit .320 this week. Pedro Feliz hit .359. This team is not just hitting for power but is playing small ball as well. Last Thursday in the series opener with the Brewers Carlos Ruiz and Victorino performed one of the prettiest suicide squeezes I’ve ever seen. This weekend Utley made a sacrifice bunt, just the third of his career. The Phillies would go on to score four runs. Utley took it upon himself to lay down the sacrifice. This team is starting to finally get it; they are starting to finally play with some fire and do what is needed to win games, not just up their stats.

The Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys in the final Monday Night Football game at Texas Stadium. Look for highlights and game recaps following the game.

This is a big week for the Phils. They face the Atlanta Braves, a team they have pummeled this season, for three games and then head to Florida for the weekend. If they can continue to build on their momentum they can put some distance between themselves and the Brewers for the Wild Card and possible even jump back into first place in the division.