Sizzling Phils complete sweep of Pirates

Ten days ago, their charming and boisterous ballpark didn't seem like a comforting place for the Phillies to inhabit after they returned from an ugly road trip (3-6) that followed a horrible homestand (1-8).

They had lost 14 of 18 games overall, fallen back into a mediocre pack in the grim NL East Division, and their home record was mystifyingly bad (13-22).

The raging debate back then, when the Phillies had dropped into a first-place tie with Florida and had encouraged the Mets and Braves because of their wayward play, was over what was worst - the pitching staff, Jimmy Rollins' disappearing act, or their record at Citizens Bank Park.

"Everybody was kind of in an uproar about our home record," Ryan Howard said today, after the Phillies easily put away Pittsburgh, 5-2, to enter the all-star break 10 games over .500 for the first time since 2003, when they were 52-40. "But nobody in here panicked. We don't panic."

There are no more nagging questions about why the Phillies can't win at home. By completing a three-game sweep of the listless Pirates, the Phillies concluded the homestand at 9-1. They outscored their opponents, 66-27.

The pitching staff, meanwhile, had a 2.70 earned run average during the homestand, and Rollins batted .405 while raising his batting average from .203 to .229 and his on-base percentage from .253 to .287.

If the Phillies go on to win their division, this likely will be viewed as the homestand that set them on the straight and narrow.

Manager Charlie Manuel made it clear what stood out during the homestand - pitching.

"It allowed us to stay in games and our starters went deep into games," he said. "Our pitching was a big help and it gave us a chance."

The Phillies scored all five of their runs in the first inning, four on a grand slam by Pedro Feliz, the major-league-leading seventh of the season for the Phils.

If that big first inning wasn't a morale-killer for the Pirates after the Phillies' remarkable come-from-behind win Saturday night, then it must have been another aggressive performance by starter J.A. Happ that put the Bucs to sleep.

"I tried to get a good pitch to hit," said Feliz, who hit the slam on an 0-2 pitch from starter Virgil Vasquez. "He threw a high one, which was good for me to hit."

Happ is now 6-0, the longest winning streak by a National League rookie. He has pitched seven or more innings in his last four starts, during which he has allowed six earned runs. Happ's name has been floated among those for a possible deal with Toronto for Roy Halladay, and the 26-year-old lefthander said criticism of the starting rotation has given the staff an extra jolt of motivation.

"I mean, there's enough being said about it, not that you try to take stuff too personal anyway, but there's a little motivation that goes into it and I think the guys are throwing really well," said Happ, who allowed one run and was in most danger when a line drive by Andrew McCutchen in the sixth inning almost took his head off.

"We're finally kind of putting it together at home and putting a string together," Happ said. "We're in a good position now and we need to stay there. I'm fortunate to be where I'm at right now and I'm feeling more comfortable each time out."

Manuel stopped short of saying he believes this team can repeat its World Series championship if the rotation remains as it is, but he reminded everyone that the pitching was in similar shape at this point last season.

"We had a lot of trouble with our pitching last year, all the way up until the middle of August, the end of August," he said. "It took us a while, and once we did , that was the best I've ever seen our pitching for five, six weeks. And it's going to take that again if we're going to be real good and win a World Series. But the first step is to win our division.

"I mean, we'll play with what we've got. That's fine. But any time we can strengthen our team, we should. Any team feels that way."

Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743

or rparrillo@phillynews.com.