Was Last Night's Game Foreshadowing?

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I am confident that the Phillies will make the playoffs. With four games to play and the Fightins up in both the Division and the if-necessary Wild Card races, this team is playoff bound.

I also think they will still win the division. I fully expect a bounce-back victory tonight and a series win over the Nationals.Hell, let's call it a sweep.The Phillies will win the next four games and go into the playoffs having won an insane 14 of the final 16 games. There will not be a hotter team heading into October's battles.

But last night's loss is something we should not quickly forget. Here's why.

The Phillies are a streaky team, and two days ago we were all riding that streak to false bravado. Honestly, 26 hours ago I had convinced myself that the Phillies were good enough to get to the World Series.Then, who knows what can happen.

But last night opened my eyes. Didn't the game last night feel eerily similar to Cole Hamels' start in the playoffs last season against Colorado? We hoped he would shut the door last night. If there was ever a game I felt confident the Phillies would win it was Cole Hamels facing Mike Hampton.Hamels was solid. Just like last postseason, he was okay. His performance isn't why they lost the game. Solid, but not dominant.

The offense, that has been on fire lately, was shut down for most of the game. They just seemed snakebit last night.I mean, come on, Shane Victorino hit into a double play then got caught stealing. Pat Burrell ran to third on a ball that was hit right to the shortstop. It just wasn't the offense's night. They've been relying on clutch hitting and yesterday it just wasn't there. I fear that might be the case next week.

As the old saying goes, pitching wins in the playoffs. The Phillies' bats have started heating up at the right time, but it's been against the likes of Jair Jurrjens, James Parr and Joe Nelson. Not exactly Koufax and Drysdale.

And no, this year's Dodgers aren't Koufax and Drysdale either. But the Dodgers have a solid staff. The Brewers have a solid staff. The Cubs have the best starting rotation in baseball. It might be up to the pitching staff to win playoff games.

Solid is good. I'm just afraid we're going to need dominant.

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