Tom Gordon had said that his Opening Day appearance against the Nationals haunted him for a while.

He allowed five runs in 1/3 inning in an 11-6 loss to the Nationals on March 31. It gave him a 135.00 ERA. It gave him an earful from Phillies fans. But it seems he has exorcised the demons. Since that disastrous appearance, Gordon is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA. In those 11 appearances, he has allowed five hits and five walks in 10 innings. He has struck out 12. Opponents have hit just .139 against him.

He has helped make the back end of the Phillies' bullpen one of the most formidable in baseball.

He came up huge in last night's 7-4 victory over the Padres at Citizens Bank Park.

Gordon entered with the bases loaded and one out and the Phillies holding a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning. He got two groundball outs to end the inning to maintain a 3-2 lead.

It was a great job.

It was the game.

*

Last night's victory assured the Phillies will enter May with their first winning record since 2003.

So no more slow start talk? What will we do with ourselves?

*

In the Phillies Notebook, Charlie Manuel is uncertain how he will use Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino, Charlie Manuel thinks Brett Myers needs to condition himself better, Jimmy Rollins' ankle continues to improve, Tadahito Iguchi returns to Citizens Bank Park after helping the Phillies make the playoffs last year and more.

The Phillies are desperate for infield help, so today they claimed Oscar Robles off waivers from the San Diego Padres.

He is headed to triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Robles has hit .260 with five homers and 36 RBIs in parts of three seasons with the Dodgers and Padres. He hit .216 with one homer and 10 RBIs in 13 games this season for triple-A Portland. Robles can play second, third and shortstop, which the Phillies need.

Fact: April typically is a bad month for the Phillies.

Fact: Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino have been on the DL for some time.

Fact: Ryan Howard has been in a terrible slump since the season started.

Fact: Pedro Feliz, Carlos Ruiz and Geoff Jenkins haven't hit much better.

Fact: The Phillies have three starting pitchers (Brett Myers, Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton) with a 5.00 ERA or higher.

So how in the world are the Phillies 14-12 entering tonight's series opener against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park? If I told you those things before the March 31 season opener you'd probably say this team would be 10-16 or 11-15.

"What about Jayson Werth?" manager Charlie Manuel said. "What about some of the plays [Eric] Bruntlett has made? What about [Chris] Coste the other day having a big game? Different people have played different roles in it. That's what it's all about. We had injuries last year and we picked it up.

"I don't even want to talk about last year, but when somebody gets hurt - what happened to Wally Pipp? He got hurt, didn't he? The game didn't stop. Hey, I used to tell my pitchers in the minor leagues, when I'd go out to get them, I'd look at them and say, 'What the hell is going on? Why should you be scared? Babe Ruth died. Mickey Mantle had bad legs. Tony Oliva had bad knees. And Charlie Manuel went to Japan. Why should you be scared?' The game goes on."

The game goes on, despite injuries to Rollins and Victorino and struggles for Howard, Myers and others. But Chase Utley and Pat Burrell have been two of the best hitters in baseball this month. That's certainly helped. Werth has earned more playing time. Coste has earned more playing time. But it's the bullpen that's really held things together. The back end of the bullpen - Brad Lidge (0-0, 0.00 ERA and six saves in 11 appearances), J.C. Romero (1-0, 0.00 ERA in 12 appearances), and Tom Gordon (2-1, 1.93 ERA and one save since opening day) - has been unhittable. The bullpen as a whole has the best ERA in the National League (2.60) and the second best in the majors behind Tampa Bay (2.26).

You get good pitching you always have a chance, even if you only have three or four hitters swinging the bats well like the Phillies.

That seems to be what's happening here.

*

Pitching match ups for this week's series against the Padres.

Mike Lieberthal spent 13 of his 14 seasons in the major leagues with the Phillies.

He announced his retirement after the 2007 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he officially will retire as a member of the Phillies on June 1, meaning he will sign a one-day contract with the team. Doug Glanville did the same thing in 2005.

Lieberthal holds the franchise record for most games caught at 1,139.

He's one of the all-time good guys, too.

“Philadelphia has always been a second home to me, so I’m really looking forward to this,” Lieberthal said in a statement. “I spent half my life there and still follow the team closely on television.”

In his 13 seasons with the Phillies (1994-2006), Lieberthal hit .275 with 150 home runs and 609 RBIs in 1,174 games.

*

Phillies broadcasters Harry Kalas, Scott Franzke, Larry Andersen, Gary Matthews, Chris Wheeler and Tom McCarthy will be signing autographs, taking photos and accepting donations to help PAWS save the lives of Philadelphia's homeless, abandoned, and unwanted animals from 12:30 to 2 p.m. on May 3 at the PAWS Adoption Center, 100 N. 2nd Street.

Just bring an item on PAWS' wish list or donate badly needed funds for a chance to win great Phillies prizes, including a pair of tickets to the Phillies vs. Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park [tbd], and autographed memorabilia. Raffle tickets may also be purchased for $5 each.

PAWS' wish list: towels, blankets, fleece blankets, paper towels, bleach, laundry detergent (including He), KMR brand kitten formula, Kong brand dog toys, canned kitten food, cat and kitten toys, new/used dog crates (all sizes), new/used carriers (all sizes).

Brett Myers is lost.

He can't seem to break 89 mph with his fastball, which is a shock for somebody who always has been able to throw much harder. So he has abandoned his fastball early in games and has tried to fool hitters with his cutter and other offspeed pitches. It hasn't worked. He is 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA after six starts this season.

Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee are concerned.

Dubee sounds even more frustrated.

"I think it's as simple as him throwing more fastballs and him getting out there and playing some more long toss," Dubee said. "He's not a real big believer in long toss, and I am. I think that's one way you develop arm strength. It gives you some elasticity in your arm, and I think it's something he has to buy into a little more. He doesn't do much at all. Game day, he throws five balls at a long distance and that's it."

Myers said he doesn't throw his fastball because the separation in speeds between the fastball (88 mph) and his cutter (84 mph) isn't enough. So he has thrown the cutter, hoping the extra movement on the ball might fool hitters.

"He wasn't going to throw the cutter today," Dubee said. "See how long that lasted? We were going to throw more curveballs. He threw them to the first couple hitters, and then he put it in his back pocket for whatever reason. We talked about getting away from the cutter and throwing more fastballs and throwing more curveballs because of the separation between the speeds. But he got away from that game plan for whatever reason."

Myers said he is open to doing anything that might pump up the mph on his fastball, and that means more long tossing in between starts.

We'll see what happens.

But it's obvious this is a very real concern. The Phillies expected Myers and Cole Hamels to be their 1-2 punch atop their rotation. If that doesn't happen, it's going to be very tough to hang in the National League East all season.

*

In the Phillies Notebook, the Phillies gave Paul Maholm credit, but they weren't amazed by his two-hitter yesterday in a 5-1 loss to the Pirates.

*

The Phillies today released triple-A Lehigh Valley outfielder Valentino Pascucci.

You might have heard that the Phillies are slow starters. Here's their record after the last five Aprils:

2007: 11-14.
2006: 10-14.
2005: 10-14.
2004: 10-11.
2003: 16-12.

Yep, they haven't had a winning record entering May since 2003. But the Phillies, who are 14-11, at least have guaranteed they won't have a losing record entering May this year. With three games to play this month, they can finish no worse than 14-14. How have they done it without Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino in the lineup? Chase Utley and Pat Burrell have been on fire, and the Phillies have been pitching very well, especially the bullpen. Good pitching wins.

*

Ryan Howard and Charlie Manuel are optimistic that last night's homer in an 8-4 victory over the Pirates can get him going.

*

In the Phillies Notebook, Jayson Werth is the most patient hitter in baseball and injury updates for Jimmy Rollins, Chris Snelling, Scott Mathieson, Shane Victorino and Kris Benson. Pat Gillick spoke with reporters before today's game. Rollins will be back in Philadelphia tonight and will be revaluated by athletic trainer Scott Sheridan tomorrow. Expect Rollins to begin a rehab assignment in a few days. Victorino should be activated before Tuesday's game, replacing T.J. Bohn. Gillick also said he likes the way his bullpen has pitched, but is looking for another lefthander.

*

In Jim Salisbury's Sunday baseball column, he takes a look back at Lee Elia's infamous tirade against Chicago Cubs fans. Check out Extra Bases, too.

*

You know it's bad when US Airways calls you at noon to tell you that you're 8:20 p.m. flight from Pittsburgh to Philly has been delayed 75 minutes for "operational issues."

Ryan Howard hit a two-run home run to center field in the top of the first inning tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

It's the first homer of his career against the Pirates, the only team he had played against but hadn't homered against. Charlie Manuel had benched Howard the last two games, although Howard went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts in pinch-hit and substitution situations.

Righthander Kris Benson had to cut his start in extended spring training short today in Clearwater, Fla., after he apparently strained his right groin.

More information will be available tomorrow.

Charlie Manuel had a few hunches yesterday at PNC Park.

He had a hunch Chris Coste would do the job in the five hole. He had a hunch that it would a good time to give Brad Harman his first big-league start. So what happened? Coste went 3 for 5 with a double and three RBIs, and Harman went 1 for 3 with a double and one RBI in a 6-5 victory over the Pirates. But that wasn't Manuel's only two hunches. He had a quick hook for Adam Eaton in the fourth inning, when Eaton allowed four extra-base hits, three runs, a walk and a wild pitch. When Eaton fell behind 3-0 to Brian Bixler, Manuel made his way to the steps in the visitor's dugout. When Eaton walked him on four pitches, Manuel walked onto the field to pull Eaton -- even with pitcher Zach Duke coming to the plate.

"He didn't have a whole lot when he started the game, I felt like," Manuel said. "But I felt like, through three innings, he did make a pitch when he had to every now and then. Then, in the fourth inning, they were hitting the ball hard. He was starting to struggle. I thought they were catching up with him. And if you want to know the truth, I didn't think he was going to hold them. So I took him out."

The bullpen allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings to preserve the win.

Tom Gordon threw a scoreless seventh to pick up the win. Gordon is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 10 appearances since Opening Day. Opponents are hitting just .147 against him in that stretch. J.C. Romero threw a scoreless eighth. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 12 appearances. He has struck out 10 in 11 1/3 innings and opponents are hitting .214 against him. Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth to pick up his sixth save. He is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 11 appearances. He has struck out 12 in 11 innings and oppenents are hitting just .128 against him.

That's a pretty good 1-2-3 combo.

*

In the Phillies Notebook, more on Manuel's decisions to play Harman, move up Coste in the lineup and bench Ryan Howard. Kind of.

*

Jim Salisbury attended John Marzano's funeral yesterday.