10th Inning Rally Puts Phillies Over the Brewers Again
In the third game of this four game Phillies - Brewers series, a pitching duel broke out between Cliff Lee and Randy Wolf. Both pitchers were very good, leaving little room for error.
The defense behind Lee was a little shaky with Michael Martinez at second base committing a huge throwing error in the 2nd inning that led to an unearned run for the Brewers. Casey McGehee scored by plowing into Carlos Ruiz at home plate. McGehee is literally twice the size of Ruiz. The violent, deliberate collision made McGehee look like a bully trying to take a kid's lunch money. The ball flew out of Ruiz's glove and McGehee was safe.
But as usual, Lee did not let anything shake his concentration. Through seven innings, Lee allowed only one earned run on six hits and two walks. He also struck out seven batters.
For the Phillies, both Hunter Pence and Placido Polanco hit solo home runs. Polanco's homer was only his fifth of the year and it tied the game up at 2-2. And that score held up as the game went into extra innings.
In the 10th, Raul Ibanez doubled and Ruiz drove him home with a single to take a 3-2 lead. Jimmy Rollins then made his first appearance since coming off the DL as a pinch hitter and grounded out to move the runner. Rollins also played the field in the bottom of the 10th and looked pretty healthy.
Ryan Madson took care of the Brewers after that, although a walk and a sac bunt made things interesting. But Madson held on for the save and became only the ninth Phillies relief pitcher to save 30 games in a season. Fittingly, the final out was recorded on a ground ball from the school yard bully, McGehee. Ruiz and the Phillies got the last laugh.
And the Phillies also got another series win, beating the Brewers in three straight games with one more to go tomorrow at 2:10pm.
More good news arrived today when the results of Chase Utley's concussion tests came in. Utley passed the ImPACT test and appears to be doing very well. The Phils will administer another test on Monday to be on the safe side and Utley will probably not play until after the Houston series. But all signs are very positive.
Post-Season Magic # - 2 games
Division Magic # - 7 games
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Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
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