Today in Houston, the Phillies put the caper on a weekend sweep of misery at the hands of the going nowhere Astros. Today's mess was a 4-3 defeat where Bud Norris defied his season-long 6.05 ERA to outduel Cole Hamels, who took a step back from last start's dominance of the Giants. The 'Stros also got three innings of middling relief, punctuated by Jose Valverde, to seal the deal.Each defeat in the series was different. Friday's was a classic meh moment for Cliff Lee, who broke half a dozen bats to see any number of balls falling in for hits, then had the game broken open when Wanday Rodriguez fouled off a half dozen pitches before a two-run double down the line. Saturday was (yet another) Brad Lidge meltdown, with Kaz Matsui getting the walk-off. Today's was a grinder with any number of missed chances, with only Pedro Feliz going hitless.Luckily for the Fightin's, neither the Braves nor the Marlins, the second and third place teams in the East, are making a...
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