Phillies Beat Rockies on Howard’s 10th Inning Walk-off Double
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Phillies hot-hitting leftfielder Pat Burrell pounded a two out 3 run homer to leftfield in the 7th inning off of reliever Jorge Julio to erase a 5-2 Colorado lead. 1st baseman Ryan Howard resolved the issue with a one out walk-off double to left off of Taylor Buchholz in the 10th inning as the Phils defeated the Rockies by a 6-5 score in the opener of their four game series.
With the win, the Phillies remained 6 games behind the Mets who edged the Atlanta Braves by a 3-2 score.
The Phils now trail the San Diego Padres in the NL wild card race by 1 1/2 games and are in 2nd place, one game ahead of the L.A. Dodgers. Both the Padres and Dodgers were off on Monday.
The Phillies scored first taking a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning on 2nd baseman Chase Utley’s RBI single off of rookie starter Ubaldo Jimenez.
The Rockies scored in the 4th on catcher Yorvit Torrealba 2 run ground rule double to right off of Kyle Lohse to go up by 2-1. Torrealba’s 2 out double could have caused much worse damage though. AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston recounts the situation for Yahoo sports;
Torrealba’s shot left too much doubt about clearing the fence in the fourth.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Torrealba hit a shot the opposite way to right. A fan reached for the ball and it fell back onto the field, though replays were inconclusive whether it went over the fence. Torrealba had a ground-rule double on fan interference, giving the Rockies a 2-1 lead.
Colorado manager Clint Hurdle argued for several minutes on the infield grass with first base umpire Mike DiMuro. All four umps briefly conferred, but the call stood. It turned out to cost the Rockies two runs once pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez was retired to end the inning.
“I don’t think they got the call right,” Hurdle said. “It’s a hard call. It took away two runs.”
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he saw a fan reach over the fence to catch the ball.
The Rockies upped their lead to 3-1 in the 5th on shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s one out solo shot to left center. Ryan Howard narrowed the lead in 6th inning with a solo blast to centerfield for his 38 homer of the season. 3-2 Rockies.
Kyle Lohse, who tossed 102 pitches in 6 innings while giving up 3 runs on 7 hits while walking 2 and striking out 5, was replaced to start the 7th inning by Jose Mesa.
Mesa promptly walked the leadoff hitter before serving a gopher to hot-hitting leftfielder Matt Holliday who went ballpark to leftfield to up Colorado’s lead to 5-2. Mesa’s mess ended a scoreless string of 9 2/3 innings by the Phillies bullpen. They had given up but one run in their last 14 1/3 innings. Lefthander J.C. Romero replaced Mesa and got the side out in the 7th with no further damage and striking out 2..
But, in the bottom of the 7th, the Phillies tied the game and cleared the way for Howard’s 10th inning heroics. AP’s Dan Gelston set the scene;
Jimenez — who gave up four hits, two runs, struck out three — had his fastball humming in the triple digits and shut down Philadelphia’s potent lineup through six innings. But the Rockies’ bullpen totally collapsed in the seventh and earned him a tough no-decision.
Jimmy Rollins hit a two-out single off LaTroy Hawkins and stole second and third. The left-handed Jeremy Affeldt walked [Chase] Utley and Hurdle brought in right-hander Jorge Julio to face the streaking Burrell, who has raised his average from .201 in July to .266 after he went 2-for-5.
Once the most booed athlete in Philadelphia in any sport this year, Burrell has turned his season and the fan reaction around. He hit a 2-0 fastball from Julio deep into the left-field seats for his 28th homer, tying the game at 5 and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
“I knew if I just stayed with it and kept going, things had to turn around,” Burrell said. “Now, it’s just maintaining what I’m doing and keep going.”
Added a chuckling Manuel: “I remember when you guys were hollering for me to bench him. He’s got 90 RBIs and come a long way.”
Kyle Lohse nearly matched Jimenez with six solid innings. He gave up three runs and struck out five — two when the Rockies threatened with two on and one out in the fifth.
Tom Gordon pitched a scoreless 8th allowing only a single to keep the game tied and closer Brett Myers tossed 2 scoreless innings allowing 2 hits and walking one to garner his 4th win vs 6 losses on the season.
In the bottom of the 10th inning. Utley opened with a single. After Burrell struck out, Howard nailed Buchholz a leftfield double scoring Utley with the game-winning run.
Pat Burrell has been on a tear since July 1 when he was hitting .201 with 8 homers and 23 RBIs. From July 1 through today, he has 20 homers, 67 RBIs, has upped his average to .266 and seems a sure bet to go way over 30 homers and 100 RBIs. Further, he’s only a -2, having struck out only 2 more times than he’s walked this season.
The Phillies got some good news from the injury count. Outfielder Michael Bourn comes off of the disabled list to provide the Phillies additional speed and outfield depth.
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on this and on all of Monday’s games, click here.
In Tuesday’s game 2, Adam Eaton is scheduled to oppose rookie lefthander Franklin Morales. On Wednesday, Kyle Kendrick is scheduled to oppose listed Rockies starter Elmer Dessens. In the series finale on Thursday, J.D. Durbin goes against 15 game winner lefthander Jeff Francis.
The Mets follow Colorado to town on Friday for what shapes up to be the most important series of the season. John Ennis faces veteran lefthander Tom Glavine in the opener.
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on all of Tuesday’s games, click here.
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