Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Leftover notes from my night at the #Phillies and a memorable come-from-behind win

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER For at least a couple of nights, the Phillies have given their fans some hope and reminded them of the magic of the past five seasons. Stranger things have happened, but they've still got a real long way to go. Certainly, they're still a team worth watching. At least against a brutal Brewers team they showed what their offense can do if they're healthy and patient. They go for a series sweep at 1:05 today as Vance Worley (5-6, 3.82 ERA) opposes Marco Estrada (0-4, 4.10 ERA). Here are some leftovers from this flasback night and stunning 7-6 win over Milwaukee: The Phillies overcame their largest deficit (five runs) of the season to win a game. The six runs in the eighth inning tied their season-high for runs in an inning. They also scored six against Minnesota on June 13. Erik Kratz hit his second career pinch-hit homer and it was second of the season. He also hit one on June 22 against Washington. The Phillies now have five pinch-homers this season. Hunter Pence recorded his ninth outfield assist of the season. Only Arizona's Jason Kubel (11) has more. Ty Wigginton snapped a 0-for-16 streak with his single in the eighth to get things started. Zack Greinke now has three career home runs. He was superb on the mound, getting out the leadoff batter in all seven innings that he worked and he retired the final 14 hitters he faced. Ryan Braun, perhaps proving that he's legit after all and doesn't need the extra help, hit his NL leading 27th home run of the season. Carlos Ruiz has already set a career-high for RBIs with his 53rd, 54th and 55th coming on the three-run double that tied the game in the eighth. Michael Schwimer got his first win of the season, coming on for three outs in the eighth after Cliff Lee was shelled for two home runs, accounting for three runs, to start the inning. The start may have been Greinke's last as a Brewer. He's a free agent at the end of the season and Milwaukee, at 44-52, is definitely a seller and not a buyer in the National League playoff picture. Greinke is 9-3 with a 3.44 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 123 innings.

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