We won’t know right away if 2 walk off wins against the class of the National League Central will begin an ascent back to the top of the East for the Phillies, but it is a hell of a place to start.

The Phillies remain 5.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves, but there is cause for optimism even after a brutal outing by Kentucky Joe Blanton. Ryan Madson is back, Carlos Ruiz isn’t far behind – neither is Placido Polanco. Brad Lidge may have blown a save last night, but he’s also looked brilliant at times since returning from injury, something that pretty much never happened last year during his lost season.

With an impatient fireworks crowd booing everything that moved tonight, the Phils were able to find that magic that was part and parcel of their runs of the last 2 years. After the first few torrid weeks of winning this year, the Phils have not been the team you couldn’t give up on. They felt more like a team that had given up on themselves. Exhibit A? An uninspiring 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth in a 1 run game against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates on Roy Halladay bobblehead night. Impatient at-bats, unfocused pitch selection and disinterested swings seemed to be the hallmarks of the 2010 Phillies.

The fans have been noticing too, as the bloom began to fully disengage from the rose in the last couple of week, resulting in some of the more sensitive of Phillies like Shane Victorino to implore fans not to quit on the team. Since the Phillies hadn’t given up on 2010, neither should the fans, Shane told us.

And why should they give up on 2010? Why should we? The Phillies are 5.5 games out of the division lead. That lead is hardly insurmountable with half a season to go, and the wild card race is littered with lesser teams that the Phils should be able to run down if the Braves do run away with the division.

In the bottom of the 5th inning, Charlie Manuel made a bad move (not the first tactical error he’s made in ’10) by allowing Joe Blanton to bat for himself despite evidence that this was simply not his night. Joe B. had already surrendered 6 runs on 10 hits. I’m sure Charlie wanted to give the bullpen a blow after a couple of extra inning games this week, but allowing Joe to go out in the 6th was a bad idea. The burly righthander allowed the first 2 batters to reach base with singles, and while neither scored after he left, Joe was serenaded by the boobirds on his way to the dugout. He tipped his cap, which was interpreted by some as sarcasm and by others as sincerity directed at fans behind the dugout who were encouraging him. I am going with the former.

Charlie could have avoided that ugly little scene by recognizing that Joe was cooked and saving him the boos.

Up in Flushing, the 2 teams the Phillies are looking up at in the NL East standings are battling each other. It’s hard to root for either of these teams, but this weekend, root Mets. If the Phillies could find a way to take the last 2 games of this series, and the Mets could win 2 vs. the Braves, the Phillies could be 3.5 games out at the break and just 1.5 games behind the Mets. With Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels on the mound for the last 2 games of these series, the Phillies have a great chance to go into the All Star break on something they’ve found elusive all season long.

A roll.