Phillies Avoid Marlins Sweep With Final Game Win in Extras
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After losing to Florida in the series opener by a 7-2 score on Friday, the Phillies lost Saturday’s game 2 by a 4-3 score and averted a Marlins sweep by beating them in extra innings by a 7-6 score in Sunday’s regular season finale.
In game 2, Anibal Sanchez continued his mastery over the Phils going seven innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3 getting the win after leaving with the Marlins leading by 4-1. For the Phillies, only 1 hit off of Sanchez mattered — 1st baseman Ryan Howard’s leadoff homer, his 45th and 141st RBI, to open the second inning. The win was Sanchez’s 4th vs 8 losses. Lefthander Cole Hamels lasted 3 innings, in what may have been a strategic move by Manager Manuel to rest the starters for the playoffs once the team fell behind, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out 2. Manuel took the same approach in the final pulling lefthander J.A. Happ after 2 innings once the Marlins opened with 2 runs in the first.
With a man on in the eighth inning for the Phils, the Marlins went to a former Phillies squad cut Brian Sanches. Sanches was greeted by a 2 out, 2 run shot by Jayson Werth, his career-best 36th homer and 98th and 99th RBIs, which made the game close. But closer Leo Nunez wrapped up his 25th save for the Marlins cleaning up the Phils on 11 pitches in the ninth. 5 bullpen pitchers for the Phils did well over the last six innings with only Ryan Madson giving up the 4th Florida run, the eventual winning margin, in the eighth on a walk and an RBI double by 2nd baseman Dan Uggla.
In Sunday’s season final, Manuel made wholesale substitutions in the starting lineup as he rested starters for Wednesday’s division playoff opener. And he didn’t waste time leaving Happ in once Florida broke on top with 2 runs in the first inning.
AP’s Dan Gelston notes the Phillies starters who rested for Yahoo sports:
With Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley all out of the lineup, Paul Hoover hit a game-ending RBI single in the 10th inning…
Manuel went to Kyle Kendrick to open the third inning after Happ threw 39 pitches through two frames. Kendrick breezed through the third and fourth innings by getting 3rd baseman Wes Helms to ground into an inning-ending doubleplay and going clean on Florida in the fourth.
The Phils came on to tie the game against Marlin’s ace Josh Johnson on 2nd baseman Miguel Cairo’s leadoff homer, his 1st as a Phillie, Werth’s single and stolen base and centerfielder Ben Francisco’s 2 out RBI single to leftfield. Francisco reached 3 times on 2 hits and a walk but was caught stealing 3 times in the game.
But Kendrick ran into trouble in the fifth loading the bases on a single and 2 walks with 2 outs in-between. Helms, always a Phillies nemesis since they released him, drove in 2 runs with a single. Uggla followed with an RBI single as the Marlins roughed up Kendrick and went up by 5-2. The Phils quickly tied the game at 5-5 against Johnson with 3 runs in their half of the fifth.
Substitute 1st baseman Andy Tracy opened with a triple and shortstop Eric Bruntlett singled to drive him in. Bruntlett stole 2nd base and scored on centerfielder Shane Victorino’s RBI single. After Cairo grounded out moving the “Flyin’ Hawaiian” to 2nd base, 3rd baseman Greg Dobbs singled in the tying run.
Not to be denied, the Marlins took a 6-5 lead vs Brett Myers and lefthanded reliever Sergio Escalona. Myers issued a lead-off walk and was relieved with Escalona being greeted with a single putting runners at the corners. The Marlins’ lead run scored on a fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop. The run was charged to Myers.
The Marlins held the lead until the eighth inning when Miguel Cairo, already with a homer, tripled center and scored when Uggla erred on the relay throw. Game tied at 6-6.
The Phils threatened in the ninth on singles by Francisco and Bruntlett. But the threat fizzled as Francisco was caught stealing for the 3rd time in the game, this time attempting a swipe of 3rd base.
Chad Durbin came on to pitch the tenth and gave up only a single while retiring the Marlins on 10 pitches.
With lefthanded reliever Dan Meyer on the mound for the Marlins, late-game leftfield replacement John Mayberry Jr. led of the the Phils tenth with a single and advanced on Cairo’s sacrifice bunt. After Dobbs struck out, Werth was intentionaly walked leading the way to catcher Paul Hoover’s clutch walk-off RBI single scoring Mayberry to nail down the Phils’ 93rd win against 69 losses.
Durbin got credit for the win while Meyer was charged with the loss.
For the scores of all of Saturday’s and Sunday’s games, click here and here.
The Phillies now have Monday and Tuesday off before the division playoffs begin on Wednesday with the Phils entertaining a blistering hot wild card team, the Colorado Rockies. The Phillies seem undecided as to their series opening starter although the MLB.com official Phillies site shows lefthander Cole Hamels’ picture on it’s front page as the game 1 starter. Colorado is on record as going with Ubaldo Jimenez in the opener. Jimenez is 0-2 career against the Phils in the regular season, but he threw 6 1/3 innings of 1 run, 3 hit ball in a 2-1 win over the Phils in game 3 of the series in which the Rockies swept the 2007 division playoffs.
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