‘Cause that game is three hours

that we can’t get back.

Those oft-quoted words from the inimitable Yogi Berra were never more apt than they were yesterday.

No one could have seen the Phillies improbable ninth inning walk-off victory coming. Not even the staunchest fan could have seen a comeback by this near dead offense held scoreless for 16 innings before finally scratching out one run in the eighth.

But the Phillies entered the ninth still trailing 2-1 and to make matters worse after Delmon Young worked a walk to lead off the inning, Charlie Manuel opted to have Cliff Lee pinch run and he promptly got picked off of first.

Lee, who relishes any opportunity to get in a game when he’s not pitching, was devastated, thinking he had blown the game for his team.

“Unacceptable and basically brutal,” he said.

And for Lee, Eric Kratz’s home run that followed made things even worse.  Yes, the game was tied but had Lee not gotten picked off,  Kratz’s blast would have been a game winner.

“I’ve never been so disappointed when a guy hit a home run to tie the game in my life.  That was bad. I felt horrible.”

But that feeling wouldn’t last long as Freddy Galvis, not known for his power especially from the right side, drove a ball just inside the left field foul pole for a dramatic game-winning home run, the first walk-off of his baseball career at any level.

“Oh my God,” he said. “I got a big smile right there, the biggest one I had so far in my life.”

The only man with a bigger smile was  Cliff Lee.

“That was the best feeling I’ve had in a while when he hit that home run, just to redeem my mistake. “That was huge.”

Huge and improbable.

Improbable because the Phillies were facing Aroldis Chapman, one of the best closers in the game.  In fact in 158 career appearances he has NEVER given up two home runs.

Improbable because the first home run was hit by Eric Kratz who was only in this game because of a Carlos Ruiz injury

Improbable because the second was hit by back-up player Freddy Galvis who hadn’t started a game in a week.

More improbable still because after the game Charlie Manuel said that if Lee hadn’t gotten picked off he would have had John Mayberry Jr. pinch-hit for Galvis.

And all of those improbable things coming together to win a much-needed game for the Phillies?  Now that’s why I love baseball.

So will this improbable victory be  the spark that will turn this Phillies season around?

Will this sleeping offense finally wake up and go on a tear?

Should the Atlanta Braves be watching their backs?

Honestly, I just don’t know.  But I do know one thing.  I won’t be so fast next time to give up before the final out is recorded because, “One more time, Yogi:“

“It ain’t over till it’s over.”

So I won’t.

It was a night when ‘The Big Piece‘ could sport a big smile and a laugh at his own expense:

“Speed kills,” he said. “It’s like a meteor coming through.”

It was a night when Lee needed 47 pitches to get through the first two innings before settling down to complete seven strong leaving with a 3-2 lead.

But it was also a night when it only took reliever Antonio Bastardo one batter to give up the tying run.

It was a night when one of the most important at-bats was a 10-pitch walk worked by Michael Young.

It was a night when, after making headlines earlier in the week saying that he and his team had to play better before “ the guys upstairs decide to blow it up and ship us out,” Jimmy Rollins let his bat do the talking with a 2-run shot in the third to give his team a 2-0 lead.

It was a night when a close play at the plate gave the Phils an insurance run but it was also a night when closer Jonathan Papelbon didn’t need it as he pitched a scoreless ninth to remain perfect in save opportunities.

It was a night when the near sellout crowd was loud and ‘in the game’ reminiscent of many nights and many crowds during the Phillies sell-out streak.

It was a night when for a moment we all had that “we know how this one ends” feeling and it wasn’t pretty but on this night the Phillies played some small ball and got a big win.

It was a perfect night at the ballpark and it had a perfect ending:  after singing a chorus along with Harry the K we all left with “High Hopes.”

 Top 10 Favorite Things at the Ballpark

 10. That first look at the beautiful, oh so green, playing field.

 9.  My first bite of a plump ballpark frank with mustard, of course.

 8.  Seeing Chase Utley this season looking so much like the Chase of seasons past.

 7.  Walking around the stadium with a stop at Harry the K’s to check out the view.

 6.   Introducing the ball park to a newbie.  Attending the game with us tonight is my son’s friend who has NEVER been to a baseball game!

 5.  The first bite of my second delicious ballpark frank.  I might put a little relish on this one.

 4.  Watching Ryan Howard hit a moonshot home run, maybe two???

 3.  Watching Cliff Lee run out to the mound and back to the dugout after a 1-2-3 inning.

 2.  Did I mention having a juicy ballpark hot dog?

And the number one thing I’m looking forward to tonight at the ball park?

 1.    Getting to watch a Phillies win!!  (And joining the crowd in singing “High Hopes” along with the great Harry Kalas.)

By the Numbers

 3   John Mayberrey had 3 hits and 3 RBI’s in the game

22   The age of starting pitcher Jonathan Pettibone who now has 3 wins

2   The Phils are now only two games under .500

20   The number of runs the Indians scored against the Phillies 2 weeks ago

7   Number of home runs for Domonic Brown which ties him for the club lead with Chase Utley 

16   The Phillies have hit 16 straight solo homeruns (hr with no one on base)

3.5   Number of games out of first place which is pretty good considering the way this team has played this year.

12   Number of wins in starts by Pettibone, Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan

37   The number of starts Chase Utley, who got a day off last night, has had this season out of 39 games.

41   Number of hits for Utley so far this season.  He leads the Phils in hits, home runs (7), RBIs (24), runs (21), triples (2), and total bases (73).

.467   The batting average of Kevin Frandsen, who played for Utley last night.  Frandsen hit a home run, solo of course, in the first inning

4   The Phils will try to win four in a row today for the first time this season.

Don’t forget today’s game is at 1:05.  Let’s hope the Phils can put up some ‘numbers’ for Cole Hamels!

And somehow I was at peace with that decision.  I would still watch every game, of course, but I would no longer look at standings and calculate what it would take for the Phillies to make the play-offs.  I would just watch…for fun!  That way I wouldn’t get so mad every time they made a boneheaded play on the bases and I wouldn’t have to leave the room every time Jeremy Horst or Antonio Bastardo came in from the bullpen.

But just when I had convinced myself that it would be a lot more relaxing watching baseball with this new and improved attitude, this team, perhaps sensing it’s fan base was hanging on by a thread, woke up.  After putting goose eggs on the board for eight innings, trailing 2-0 as they entered the ninth, the Phillies scored two runs in the ninth to tie and two more runs in the tenth to win.

This win secured them a winning road trip, 4-3, which seems nothing short of miraculous, given how poorly they played in several of those games and they return home only 4 games out of first place in a division where no on seems ready to run away with it.

And who got the winning hit?

Mired in an 0-18 slump, with nine of those outs coming on strikeouts, Ryan Howard seemed unlikely to play hero on this Mother’s Day but that he did coming through big-time.  Howard came to the plate in the 10th inning with one out, runners on second and third.  And he did what he hasn’t been able to do for this entire series, drive in runs, two to be exact, with a hard hit single.

Howard humbly attributed his heroics to Mother’s Day, specifically the pink attire he wore for the occasion:

“I just wanted to go out in support for Mother’s Day. I had the pink wristbands, the pink arm sleeves. I wasn’t sure it was going to work, but when I saw the shoes with the two colors in it I said, ‘OK, we’re good.’  It’s all about going out and supporting the cause. It got me a hit today. I might wear them again on Tuesday. You never know.”

And just like that, I was back.

Back supporting my team with all my heart.

Back rooting with every pitch and agonizing over every loss.

Back yelling at my tv at a bad call or a base running blunder.

Back checking the Braves and Nats scores even though it’s only May.

And you know what?  I guess in the end, that’s the way I like it.

Thanks, Ryan.  You keep rockin’ that pink.

is for Mornings that we can wake up to a Phillies win.

O

is for Outscoring the competition…finally.

T

is for the Three sacrifice bunts by Cliff Lee, two of which led to runs.

H

is for the Hope that the Phillies behind KK can make it two in a row today.

E

is for Everything Roy Halladay has done for the Phillies and the fans.  (No apologies necessary, Doc!)

R

is for Rollins (Jimmy) finally getting it done with runners in scoring position last night with a single and a sacrifice fly and two RBI’s.

Put that all together and you get MOTHER.

Happy mother’s day to all the Moms especially mine who took me to my first Phillies game and has always been my biggest fan.

Thanks, Mom.

xo

Just can’t get on a roll

He lost another game last night

It’s such a damn shame

Cole is really not to blame

Cause the Phillies have lost their Phight

Just one run

Really won’t get it done

What is wrong with this Phillies team?

Hitting’s not their thing

So it’s hard to win a ring

Watching them makes me want to scream!

Another win for Kyle Kendrick who is now 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in seven starts.   Am I still dreaming???

Another game where Ryan Howard and Chase Utley both homered. It was the 50th time they have both homered in the same game.  Counting Utley/Howard home runs sure beats counting sheep!

Today’s game will be played in the daylight even on the East Coast as the teams play an afternoon game, start time 3:45 EST.  My advice is that we all plan a nice long afternoon nap on this rainy Wednesday.  This team seems to play a lot better when we’re not watching.

Thoughts and prayers go out to former Phillie J.A. Happ, now with the Toronto Blue Jays, hit in the head by a line drive last night at Tropicana Field.  He was taken off the field on a stretcher and is reportedly in stable condition at an area hospital.

Sure puts everything in perspective.  Yes, there are more important things than wins and losses.

Like this personal note. It was 31 years ago today that my long-time battery mate and I danced to a waltz version of  “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” 

Happy Anniversary to the guy I still love to sit next to at the ballpark.