PHILADELPHIA — Enough was written over the All-Star break about the Phillies' embarrassingly bad first half that when they began the second half by becoming baseball's hottest team and ripping off four wins in a row, it raised some eyebrows.
The Phillies couldn't stretch it to five in Aaron Nola's major league debut Tuesday night, but they returned Wednesday afternoon to Citizens Bank Park with a 5-4 win over the Rays in 10 innings.
How did a team that had lost 15 of 18 and was on pace for 110 losses a week ago, win five of its last six and almost sweep two three-game series in a row?