The team began a road trip against two division rivals: the Mets and the Nationals. In the first game of the Mets series, the Phillies lost 7–1 against Bartolo Colón; although Colón and A. J. Burnett (the Phillies' starter) were trade candidates, neither was traded. The next day Utley hit a grand slam and Hamels continued his dominance as the Phillies shut out the Mets 6–0, but the Mets routed the Phillies 11–2 in the series finale. The last game of the month opened a four-game series with the Nationals; the Phillies won 10–4 but Lee re-injured his elbow, probably ending his season. The Phillies batted .248 in July (11th in the National League), hit 24 home runs (fourth in the NL) and scored 111 runs (third in the league). For the season to date they had a .243 batting average (10th in NL), 89 home runs (eighth in the league) and 426 runs (also eighth). Of those who played the entire month, Ben Revere led the team with a .359 batting average and seven stolen bases and his July success raised his season batting average to .301. Rollins' seven home runs in July led the team, as did Utley's 19 RBIs. Sizemore was a team leader at the plate, batting .328 with one home run and five RBIs in 16 games. Ryan Howard (.165, with two home runs) and Tony Gwynn, Jr. (.111 before his July 31 release) struggled at the plate that month. Phillies pitchers ranked 13th in the NL in ERA (4.62) and 11th in WHIP (1.33) and BAA (.266). Their season ERA of 4.05 was 13th in the league. The team's best starting pitchers in July were Cole Hamels (4–1, with a 1.94 ERA in six starts) and Roberto Hernandez (2–1, with a 3.76 ERA in four starts). Ken Giles led the team in July ERA (0.66), Justin De Fratus in appearances (14), Hamels in innings pitched (41) and Jonathan Papelbon in BAA (.159) and WHIP (0.69). Mario Hollands struggled on the mound that month, with a 15.26 ERA in eight appearances, and Kyle Kendrick was 2–3 with a 6.94 ERA in six starts. At of the end of June the Phillies, with a 36–46 record, were at the bottom of the NL East and most observers agreed that they should be "sellers" rather than "buyers" (trade better players for future prospects, rather than trading future prospects for established players) by the July 31 trade deadline.