Phillies defeat Cardinals and clinch NL East

The night in late May when a despondent Roy Oswalt sat in the Phillies dugout as team physician Michael Ciccotti detailed options to help save the pitcher's career seemed like years ago as the righthander was attacking the St. Louis Cardinals with well-placed fastballs Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.

When Oswalt went on the disabled list with bulging disks in his back, it was reasonable to think he might have thrown his last pitch.

So there must be some sense of justice that it was the laconic 33-year-old - and not Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee or Cole Hamels - who did most of the heavy lifting as the Phillies beat the Cardinals, 9-2, and clinched their fifth consecutive NL East Division championship.

"I'm so happy for him because he was working real hard," catcher Carlos Ruiz said as champagne was sprayed through the clubhouse. "I mean, what a moment to have Roy Oswalt on the mound and doing a great job. He's a guy who likes to compete, and it's hard when you have injuries. But right now he's healthy, and that's good for them and good for us."

Oswalt pitched seven shutout innings and struck out seven without walking a batter. He gave up five hits, four of them singles. The Phillies needed him to be sharp because they didn't break open the game until the eighth inning.

When the game ended, the Phillies reacted as if they'd been there before, which, of course, they have. Ruiz ran out to hug Ryan Madson after the closer retired Rafael Furcal on a grounder to second baseman Chase Utley. Otherwise, there were the usual high-fives.

After all, a division title merely serves as an appetizer for a veteran team built for the sole purpose of winning the World Series.

"There's still work to be done," said Jimmy Rollins, who had four singles. "Ultimately, it's about winning the World Series. We still have work to do. We always look forward and never look back. This part is done, and we know what's ahead of us."

Manager Charlie Manuel went with his eight regulars for the first time in six weeks, and the Phillies finally lit it up on offense after eight consecutive games in which they failed to score more than three runs.

Shane Victorino had three RBIs, on his 17th homer, a single, and a bases-loaded walk. Rollins got his four hits after going 3 for 20 since he came off the disabled list. Hunter Pence, who got to savor his first title as a big-leaguer, got things going by doubling home a run in the first and later added another RBI. He was on base four times.

And Raul Ibanez spared the crowd any late-game angst by hitting the ninth grand slam of his career in the eighth to top off the scoring.

The Phillies clinched the division earlier than at any time in the club's 129-year history, after 150 games. Now they have to win four games to break the club mark of 101 in a season. Yet the constant refrain in the clubhouse was this: There's more work to do.

"This is just the first step," Ryan Howard said. "We've secured ourselves a playoff spot. We'll celebrate a little bit, but we know the true test begins in October, so we won't do the real celebration until we can achieve our goal."

When Oswalt's night was finished after he threw 107 pitches, the Cardinals got to rookie Mike Stutes for two runs in the eighth. Brad Lidge had to finish the inning for him, and he did it with one pitch.

When the Phillies took the field, they knew they had to win to clinch the division title, because Atlanta had defeated the Mets, 1-0. But Manuel's decision to start all his regulars for the first time since Aug. 6 had nothing to do with the Braves victory. He'd taped the lineup to the wall outside the clubhouse long before the Atlanta game began.

"There was not going to be such a thing as backing in," Rollins said. "You work hard to build a lead. You build that lead to have a cushion. But nobody wants to celebrate after a loss, so with them [Atlanta] winning, it made sure we had to go out and do our job, and we did."

Gene Mauch (1960-68) 646

Charlie Manuel (2005-11) 642

Harry Wright (1884-93) 636

Danny Ozark (1973-79) 594

Jim Fregosi (1991-96) 431

Source: Baseball-Reference.comEndText