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Another Night, Another Phillies Hero
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
They say once is luck. Twice? Well, that’s pretty impressive.
The Phillies had one of the best innings in franchise history on Tuesday night, scoring 8 runs with 2 outs in the top of the 9th at Nationals Park to complete a 14-9 comeback win. It was sparked by a Brandon Marsh game-tying home run, followed by a 3-run laser from Bryson Stott to the second deck to put the Phillies on top.
They have that feel right now. It’s not always pretty. In fact, it really wasn’t pretty for the first eight innings of Wednesday night’s game. But they’re in a mode that feels like they can win on any given night. It’s an attitude that’s been on and off over the last five years.
Dave Dombrowski acquired Derek Hill two weeks ago in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. After Adolis Garcia went down injured for the season, the Phillies needed options. They called up Gabriel Rincones Jr, and acquired Hill in a rare mid-season trade.
Hill, who plays with a toothpick in his mouth, was the hero on Wednesday night.
“Deja Vu in D.C” – Scott Franzke
The Phillies are the first team in the modern era to be down to their last strike with nobody on base in the 9th inning, two games in a row, and win both. They trail just the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the league since April 28th, which was Don Mattingly’s first game as interim manager.
“All wins are important as you build momentum. Especially when you’re able to come from down, it lets your team know that this game is never over. Right? So I think that’s important for our club to know that we can score a lot,” Mattingly said. “We can score a little. We can score in different ways. So I think these wins are very important, actually.”
At 44-36, a season that once felt lost is right back into the swing of things. The Phillies trail the Atlanta Braves, who have lost 10 of 13 games, by just 4.5-games in the NL East. The Phillies, once they conclude this series with Washington, will not play a team over .500 until after the All-Star break.
When you look at the Phillies’ numbers this year against left-handed pitching, you’ll take anything you can get. Hill was the hero on Wednesday night, just 13 days after arriving in Philadelphia. Hill has always been a guy that hits lefties. He has a .780 OPS against southpaws this season. That’s third out of all Phillies hitters, higher than Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, and more. He has a .750 OPS against lefties since joining the Phillies. They’ll take it. They have to.
Baseball is a long season. It’s why you can’t get too high and too low, even when you’re 9-19 and struggling to tread water. There’s always a hot streak. Luckily, the hot streak has been two months long for the Phillies. They’ve gotten themselves back into a division race, and right now, they’re continuing to tread up.
Unselfish baseball always prevails. It doesn’t matter who gets the big hit. Someone is doing it night after night for the Phillies, and that’s the reason the city is riding the high of the summer Phils.
Luke Arcaini covers the Phillies for Crossing Broad. The wave is the worst thing is sports. Follow him on Twitter @ArcainiLuke