The Philadelphia Phillies finished the first half with a 57-34 record which has them in first place in the N.L. East, 3.5 games ahead of the Braves. The Phillies have been winning with pitching as they have a team ERA of 3.02 with a 1.16 WHIP. The Phillies had a lot of injuries in the first half of the season but they will be opertating at almost full speed in the field when they return to action after the All-Star break. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact for the Phillies in the first half:

Team MVP: 31-year old lefty swinging 1B Ryan Howard put up huge numbers in the first half of the season without much help in the batting order. Howard has played in 90 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 87 for 339 (.257 avg, .828 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 18 homers, 72 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Wait until you see the numbers Howard is going to put up in the second half with almost everyone healthy.

Biggest Surprise: 23-year old righty starter Vance Worley and 25-year old lefty reliever tied for this award. Vance Worley has stepped in at the back end of the rotation with Roy Oswalt and Joe Blanton a tad gimpy. Worley has pitched in 10 games (8 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 4-1 with a 2.20 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Antonio Bastardo ended the first half of the season as the Phillies’ closer due to injuries to Brad Lidge, Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson. Bastardo has pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 3-0 with 5 saves, a 0.82 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP. He has only given up 11 hits in 33 innings this year with 38 whiffs and those are eye popping numbers.

Biggest Disappointment: The Phillies were depending on 30-year old righty starting pitcher Joe Blanton as the #5 starter. But he has been ineffective and now he’s injured. Blanton has started 6 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 5.50 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He might have a hard time getting his job back when he gets healthy due to the pitching of both Vance Worley and Kyle Kendrick.

The Phillies dominated the poor Astros over the weekend as they swept them. The Phillies outscored the Astros 21-11 in the three games over the weekend. The Phillies hit a combined .349 with a .878 OPS as they beat up on the Astros’ pitching staff. The Big Three also did their part as Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt all pitched well over the weekend. The Phillies appear to be just as good as advertised even without Chase Utley and Domonic Brown. Wait until those two guys get healthy.

The Phillies have been ransacked by injury this season which is one of the reasons that they are in third place in the N.L. East. The Phillies are 47-40 on the season which has them 4.5 games behind the Braves. Here is a close look at the surprises and disappointments for the Phillies so far this year:

Surprises: 47-year old lefty starting pitcher Jamie Moyer has really been solid for the Phillies so far this year. Moyer has started 17 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 9-8 with a 4.51 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. The Phillies need him to keep up the good work in the second half. 26-year old lefty Cole Hamels is looking like his old self again this year. He has started 18 games for the Phillies this year and he is 7-7 with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. 38-year old righty reliever Jose Contreras has been really effective as a full time reliever for the first time in his career. Contreras has pitched in 35 games (0 starts) for the Phillies this year and he is 4-3 with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. 32-year old righty swinging infielder Wilson Valdez has done a solid job filling in for Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins this year. He has played in 55 games for the Phillies this year and he is 42 of 168 (.250 avg, .665 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

Disappointments: 38-year old LF Raul Ibanez is really starting to look his age this season. He has played in 85 games for the Phillies this year and he is 71 of 292 (.243 avg, .724 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 7 homers, 39 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. 29-year old righty starting pitcher Joe Blanton has really been awful this season for the Phillies. Blanton has started 13 games for the Phillies this year and he is 3-5 with a 6.41 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He has given up 103 hits (15 homers) in only 80 innings pitched this year. 29-year old righty reliever Ryan Madson has really been awful for the Phillies this year. He has pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Phillies this year and he is 2-0 with 4 saves, a 6.55 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Madson has missed most of the season because he hurt himself throwing a temper tantrum after a loss early on.

The Phillies are 5-1 on the season as they are outscoring their opponents 43-18! They are in first place in the N.L. East, 1 game ahead of the Marlins. The Phillies play three games at home against the Nationals this week starting today and then the Marlins come in for a visit this weekend for 3 games. The Phillies would love to get some distance between them and both the Marlins and the Braves this week.

The Phillies are now 3-1 on the season as they have outscored their opponents 32-11 so far. The Phillies knew the offense was going to be good and they are averaging 8.0 runs per game. But the reason for the ease of victory has been the pitching staff which has been outstanding as the Phillies are sporting a 2.57 ERA so far this season. The bullpen really has the Phillies smiling so far as it’s a rag tag bunch. The pen is 0-1 with a 1.29 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP so far this season and the Phillies have to be pleased with that. The Phillies are clicking on all cylinders right now so there is no reason to think they won’t keep beating teams up.