Phillies Sweep Braves With a Walk-Off Win
Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt took a no-hitter into the 6th inning against the Braves tonight before they finally got to him. Ex-Phillie Michael Bourn doubled and then Chipper Jones knocked him in for their first run, and first two hits, of the game.
Brandon Beachy also pitched very well for the Braves; only Raul Ibanez touched him through five innings with a solo homer. That home run was #250 for Ibanez in his career.
The 1-1 tie held until a ball took a bad hop on Chase Utley in the seventh to score a run for the Braves. Utley had an interesting night. The inning before that hop, he was hit square in the back of the head with a pitch. Utley barely flinched and calmly took first base, probably thanking his helmet on his way down the line.
The Phillies had a chance to break the game open in that same inning. There was a controversy on a ball hit by Placido Polanco which the umpire called a catch. On replay, it was clear the ball was trapped by Jason Heyward. The umpires chatted for a bit and finally ruled it a hit.
The Utley noggin' assault happened right after Polly's outfield adventure, which loaded the bases with two outs for Ryan Howard. Sadly, Howard struck out and the Phillies were left in a 2-1 hole.
Another guy having an odd day was John Mayberry Jr. Prior to the game, the New York Post broke a story about Mayberry that was fairly humiliating. Apparently, someone leaked an email where his agency made a plea to another agency to set up a date for Mayberry with an actress he likes. The email even stated, "I hate to even be sending you this e-mail, and I’m quite embarrassed to say the least..." Ouch.
As it turns out, the actress Antoinette Nikprelaj is married and has a kid. Worse than that, Mayberry's own teammate got on him about the debacle. On his Twitter page, HunterPence3, Pence posted, "So does anybody want a date with Mayberry?....He's Stanford educated...." Double ouch.
But Mayberry put the incident behind him when he was called upon to pinch hit in the 8th. Mayberry led off the inning with a single to right and later, Polanco knocked him to tie the game up at 2-2. But again, instead of taking the lead, Howard struck out with two men still on base to end the inning.
No worries, Ryan. The 9th inning was still to come. Ibanez made another contribution by walking and then Carlos Ruiz singled. All the Phillies needed was a little magic off the bat of Ross Gload, who has struggled lately with a hip issue. But tonight, Gload came through with an RBI-single to give the Phillies a 3-2 walk-off win.
That hit sent the Braves home crying as the Phillies completed the sweep of this 3-game series. It should be a fun plane ride to Milwaukee. Game time Thursday night against the Brewers is 8:10pm.
Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
