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Except… the game-winning hit never came, Ed

Oh Paps, no.

From Phillies.com:

“Fundamentals, fundamentals,” said Papelbon, trying to explain the Phillies’ 35-38 record. “This is a game of fundamentals, and we’ve got to do the fundamentals right, and keep grinding. It’s a game of who grinds the most and who plays the best fundamental baseball. That’s pretty much it.”

“To be able to win and to be able to be in the forefront of the playoff race, you’ve got to play good fundamental baseball and do the little things in this game. And the little things are all before that pitch is thrown. Every pitch. There’s 150 pitches thrown by our pitchers, and before every one of them, we’ve got to make sure we’re putting ourselves in a position to be the best we can be before each pitch.”

From CSNPhilly.com:

In particular, he talked about Howard’s positioning on Span’s infield hit and that led to a broader discussion of the topic.

“I was thinking on a 3-1 count our infield would be back and I was expecting to turn around and run to first base and catch a underhand throw,” Papelbon said.

So he was surprised Howard was even with the bag?

“Yeah,” he said.

The Phillies!

Video after the jump.