Phillies momentarily shake Interleague woes
For one night the Phillies were shaken loose from their Interleague woes. Monday's 4-1 win over the Seattle Mariners at Citizens Bank Park was the Phillies 300th Interleague game. They are just 132-168 in those contests.
This year the Phillies are just 5-10 (.333) in Interleague games. Only Houston (4-13, .235) has a worse Interleague mark.
And remember, the Phillies swept Houston in a three-game series or their, one of their bright Interleague showings.
The Phillies have five more Interleague games remaining – two in this series with Seattle and three at Oakland Sept. 19-21.
Newly acquired righthander Jerome Williams stopped a long Interleague drought with the win.
It was his first win against an Interleague opponent since June 13, 2004 at Baltimore, a span of 3,718 days (10 years, two months, five days). Williams, now 32, was pitching for the San Francisco Giants at the time.
According to the Phillies, that is the longest stretch between Interleague wins in Major League history. Rndy Choate held the previous record with 3,724 days (eight years, 11 months, 9 days) before Interleague wins.
Before the win over Seattle, Williams had been 0-6 with a 7.17 ERA over his last 13 games (eight starts) since his last Interleague win.
More than that, Williams talked about a renewed confidence he has gained since teaming up with catcher Carlos Ruiz.
And it's possible that a pitcher who was signed as a stop-gap measure, could figure into the Phillies future plans.
It's only been two games, but with the Phillies desperate need for pitching, Williams will get every chance to show whether he's worth pursuing past this season.