Phils Hands Reds Worst Loss Ever

As big as the Phillies sweep of the Mets was in terms of the standings, fans hoped it would serve as an even bigger momentum builder. Well, they may have been right. The Phillies absolutely devastated the Cincinnati Reds last night, scoring 10 runs in the first inning on the way to a 22-1 win.

Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs, and Chase Utley all homered in the first, and Cole Hamels had an RBI double. Jimmy Rollins continued to show signs of breaking out of his season-long slump, going 3-for-4 with a double and 2 walks. In doing so, the Phillies knocked out Johnny Cueto with 2 outs in the first inning. Cueto's ERA jumped from 2.69 to 3.45, by virtue of allowing 9 earned runs in 0.2 innings.

The Reds did manage a run in the second, as Jonny Gomes hit a solo shot off Hamels, but the Phillies continued to pile it on, leading 16-1 after four innings. The game was so out of hand that Charle Manuel brought in pinch runners for Utley and Howard in the bottom of the fourth.

Cincinnati turned to backup shortstop Paul Janish to pitch the bottom of the eighth...and the Phillies noticed. They tacked on two more runs on hits from Victorino and Eric Bruntlett, and then Jayson Werth hit an opposite field grand slam, to make it 22-1. To Janish's credit, he did manage to strike out Pedro Feliz to end the inning.

Scott Eyre pitched a scoreless ninth to finish off the Reds and give them their most lopsided loss in franchise history. Eyre wasn't exactly dominant in his first appearance since returning from the 15-Day DL, putting runners on second and third with no outs. However, he managed to get out of it, on a shallow fly ball, and a pair of strike outs.

While it would be great if the Phillies could have saved a few of those runs for the rest of the series, a win like that is a major statement and should strike fear into the hearts of National League pitchers everywhere.