Phillies erupt for nine runs in seventh inning in wild win over Rockies

DENVER - Shortly after the credits rolled, leaving the audience staring in stunned contemplation at the 4-hour epic they had just witnessed, Ben Francisco dressed quietly at his locker in preparation for the late-night flight back to Philadelphia. On a night when the stars took center stage, where the Chase Utleys and Ryan Howards and Jayson Werths of cheap nfl jerseys
the world stole the show with their prodigious seventh-inning home runs, it was easy to forget the little pinch-hit at-bat that occurred with runners at the corners and one out in a tie ballgame. It was a nuanced performance in a supporting role, destined for both critical acclaim and mass-market anonymity.
"Just trying to keep it going," Francisco said as he finished tucking his dress shirt into his slacks.
The Phillies beat the Rockies last night, 12-11, finishing a 6-1 road trip that cut their deficit behind the Braves in the NL East to two games. They did so after notching a nine-run seventh inning that wiped out a four-run deficit, then withstanding a four-run Rockies rally that ended with the tying run being forced out at third base for the final out of the ninth.
The stars were numerous. Utley hit an RBI single and a grand slam in the seventh to set a new career-high with five RBI in an inning. Werth tied the game at 7 with a solo shot. Howard provided the first big blast in the comeback with a two-run home run.
Still, it was Francisco who Charlie Manuel singled out after the game. The Phillies already had scored four runs in the seventh when the reserve outfielder stepped to the plate, and with one out and the ninth spot in the line-up at the plate, they would have been content if the rally ended there. They already had negated the two hanging changeups from Joe Blanton that led to four Rockies runs in the second, three on a homer by Chris Iannetta and another on a blast from Dexter Fowler. They already had endured several untimely bounces, including a sixth-inning run that Colorado manufactured by way of two bunts, an infield single, and an apparent pickoff at second base that was scuttled when Brian Schneider's perfect throw popped out of Jimmy Rollins' glove on the tag.
But Francisco wasn't content. He looked for a fastball, got it on the first pitch, and slapped a single to rightfield that gave the Phillies an 8-7 lead and turned the line-up over. Three batters later, Utley hit his first grand slam since April 2006 (also at Coors Field), and the Phillies capped off their biggest inning since May 2 against the Mets, when they Bears jersey
scored nine runs in the fourth inning against Johan Santana.
"It was huge," said Howard, who hit his 25th home run of the season and his second in three games. "To come back in that situation and to tie the game, and then have 'Benny Fresh' come up and get that hit and put us up. The momentum was right there on our side."
The Phillies (76-58), who start a three-game series against the Brewers at Citizens Bank Park tonight, return to Philadelphia following last night's 1-day swing through Colorado for the make-up of a May 11 rainout. Sixteen of their next 22 games are at home, where they are 40-25 this season. The Braves start a three-game series at Florida tonight after losing to the Mets, 4-2, last night.
Until the final out, though, the Phillies had little chance to breathe easily. The Rockies answered in the bottom of the seventh with three runs off righthander Chad Durbin to cut the lead to 12-10. In the eighth, Jose Contreras loaded the bases before getting Eric Young Jr. to ground into an inning-ending forceout. In the ninth, Brad Lidge retired the last two batters he faced with the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first after the Rockies pushed a run home on a ground out by Troy Tulowitzki.
"That was an incredible game," said Lidge, who recorded his 19th save after a fielding error on Howard and a single by Carlos Gonzalez put the tying run on first with no outs. "It was a lot of fun to watch our team come back and continue to hit against a team that also decided to continue to hit. And, in the end, we were the last ones standing, and it shows the character of our guys."
Phillers
Mike Sweeney and Placido Polanco both appeared to emerge unscathed from painful hit-by-pitches. Polanco was hit on his chronically sore elbow in the first inning but stayed in the game and later hit a single and a double. Sweeney was hit on the right knuckles in the sixth, forcing a run home, but labeled himself fine after the game . . . Joe Blanton allowed six runs in 4 1/3innings. David Herndon induced a big doubleplay after replacing him with two men on base in the fifth . . . Lefthanded-hitting Brian Schneider, who hit a three-run homer vs. the Dodgers on Tuesday, started against Rockies righty Jhoulys Chacin, the second time in 3 days that Carlos Ruiz has been out of the lineup. Charlie Manuel said he simply wanted to get Ruiz another day off . . . Prior to the game, Manuel was presented with a U.S. flag that was flown in Iraq in his honor. According to a Phillies spokesman, the presentation was made by Levittown native and current Colorado Springs resident Marc Gahagan, a member of the U.S. Special Forces who recently returned from Iraq. Ruiz and Brad Lidge Bills jersey
also met with Gahagan prior to the game.