David Murphy: Phillies bullpen trending in right direction

ST. LOUIS - Seems only 2 weeks ago we were writing the obituary for this Phillies bullpen. Actually, it was only 2 weeks ago. But things have changed, good things, as a matter of fact, as Thursday night's 10-9 victory over the Cardinals continued to bear out.

It was May 9 when Ruben Amaro Jr. decided to make a line change and call up lefties Jake Diekman and Raul Valdes from Triple A Lehigh Valley after watching his bullpen's latest implosion. This time, it was Kyle Kendrick allowing five runs, Jose Contreras allowing two and Brian Sanches allowing one as a two-run seventh-inning lead became a 10-6 loss that capped a three-game sweep at the hands of the Mets. But at the time, the names did not matter. If the Phillies took a slim lead into the seventh or eighth inning, there was a good chance it wasn't coming out alive. In all three of their losses to New York, a Phillies reliever was charged with either a blown save or a loss. Changes were in order. In fact, there is a compelling argument to be made that changes were long overdue.

Fast forward 2 weeks, to a hot night in the Midwest, and a rematch between two teams who last saw each other passing on an October night, the Cardinals en route to the 11th world championship in the history of their franchise, and the Phillies en route to whatever you call the place they are now. In last year's NLDS loss to St. Louis, the performance of the Cardinals' bullpen was one of the dominant story lines, most notably in Game 2, when the Phillies knocked out Chris Carpenter after three innings but managed to put just two runners on base in the final six frames, ultimately blowing a four-run lead to lose 5-4.

So it is worth mentioning that Tony La Russa spent the early part of last season playing the same maddening game that has consumed Charlie Manuel for much of the first 7 weeks of 2012, using the bullpen phone like a roulette wheel until something finally hit.

It is too early to say if Manuel has himself a winner. The bullpen was not flawless Thursday night. But it was more than competent enough to restore some semblance of order to a contest that had played out like the 8 p.m. game in a sport and social league.

First up was Valdes, who took the hill with one out in the fifth inning and the score tied at 7-7. Joe Blanton had just finished frittering away the 6-0 lead the Phillies offense had spotted him in the second inning, the end of his night coming by way of a two-run homer by Yadier Molina that left the always-effervescent folks at Busch Stadium begging for a curtain call.

Valdes, a 34-year-old who spent a brief stint with the Cardinals last season before the Yankees claimed him off waivers, struck out rookie lefty Matt Adams and then ended the inning by way of a Tyler Greene line out to third base. Since joining the Phillies, Valdes has retired 16 of the 17 batters he has faced, seven of them via strikeout.

Status: Trending upward.

Then came Chad Qualls, who was charged with protecting the 9-7 lead the Phillies took in the top of the sixth inning. It is fair to say that the veteran righthander has had a tough go of it lately. Heading into Thursday, Qualls had allowed eight runs in nine innings while blowing four leads in the seventh inning or later since April 24. Of the 47 batters he faced during that stretch, 21 reached base, seven via double, triple or home run. Thursday night, he breezed through the sixth inning on 11 pitches, prompting Manuel to send him back for another inning, something he had not done all season.

Qualls retired the Cardinals' two most dangerous hitters, Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran, to start the seventh, but gave up a home run to David Freese and a single to Molina.

Enter Diekman, who retired the only batter he faced to send the game to the eighth, in which Antonio Bastardo allowed a run but still managed to preserve the lead he was handed, thanks to a run in the top of the eighth that had extended the Phillies' margin back to 10-8.

Since allowing four runs in two-thirds of an inning to the Cubs on May 17, Diekman has retired nine of 10 batters, seven via strikeout. In fact, if you eliminate that Chicago implosion, he has retired 13 of 14 batters with 10 strikeouts since his call-up.

Status: Trending upward.

Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 13th save, and when you consider the performances of Valdes, Bastardo and Diekman, you have to like the way this Phillies bullpen has stabilized itself since the danger days of mid-May.

It might take some time for Manuel to gain full trust in Diekman and start handing him the innings that he handed Qualls Thursday night, but such a transition seems imminent.

Not long ago, the manager couldn't trust his bullpen to hold a lead for one inning. Thursday night, it held one for four.

Status: Trending upward.