Phils: The old man may still have something

Interesting turn of events: a severe thunderstorm caused a one-hour rain delay in tonight's Phillies-Diamondbacks game. This caused Pedro Martinez to be removed from the game, rather than come back after the delay. Martinez had only thrown 38 pitches and allowed just one run, on a solo home run leading off the game.

In to pitch came Jamie Moyer. Moyer was replaced by Martinez in the rotation and, you may recall, wasn't happy about it. He ended up pitching the final 6 innings, allowing no runs or walks and just two hits, as the Phils went on to a 5-1 win. It's the Phils' 6th win in 7 games since being swept by Florida the weekend before last. Moyer took some flak after his comments last week, but heard no boos when he entered the game, and the cheers got louder as he continued to pitch -- and hit (Moyer singled in his first two at-bats).

According to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, the 46-year-old Moyer became the oldest non-knuckleballer to pitch in relief since someone Hod Lisenbee in 1945.

The Phils maintain their 4 1/2-game lead over Florida and extend the gap to 6 1/2 over Atlanta. They have two more home games against Arizona and then play four at BrokeBank Field against the Mets. With the Mets now 12 1/2 games back, that series has lost a little of its zest.