Bruntlett turns triple play, Phils win

NEW YORK - From shallow center field, Shane Victorino was frantically yelling to teammate Eric Bruntlett, "Touch everybody. Touch everything."

Afterward, Bruntlett said he wasn't certain if he heard anything. He was somewhat occupied at the time. The Phillies utility infielder was indeed touching everybody and everything, making a little history in the process.

In a blink, the second baseman pulled off one of the rarest occurrences in the wacky game of baseball - a game-ending, unassisted triple play in the Phillies' 9-7 win over the New York Mets today at Citi Field.

It was the second time in the cockeyed history of the major leagues that a game ended on an unassisted triple play. The last time was May 31, 1927, when Tigers first baseman Johnny Neun ended a game against Cleveland, but it's not likely Neun got the same sense of satisfaction as Bruntlett.

Bruntlett's triple play not only saved the day for closer Brad Lidge and the winning pitcher, starter Pedro Martinez. It also was redemptive for the seldom-used 31-year-old. After all, he helped create the mess he cleaned up after one swing of the bat by the Mets' Jeff Francoeur.

"It really is true that when you think you've seen it all, you see something like that," Bruntlett said. "That was certainly the case today."

The Phillies led, 9-6, when Angel Pagan reached on a three-base error by Ryan Howard and scored when Bruntlett bobbled a grounder hit by Luis Castillo. Lidge had thrown only three pitches, and was in more trouble after Bruntlett couldn't get to a Daniel Murphy grounder in time to make a play.

"The first one, the ball just came up and hit me in the palm and I just couldn't hang onto it," Bruntlett said. "The other one was one of those strange balls up the middle and you're not real sure whether to go to the bag or go get the ball. It was obviously my ball."

That's when television cameras started focusing on Chase Utley in the dugout. The all-star second baseman had been given the day off by manager Charlie Manuel, so Bruntlett got his first start in more than a month.

With Francoeur at the plate, Castillo and Murphy took off on a double steal. Francoeur ripped a line drive up the middle, but Bruntlett had moved toward second to cover the bag. He speared the ball, stepped on second, then tagged Murphy. Game over.

"It was a crucial situation. It was huge, especially because I was part of the reason we got into such a bad spot there in the ninth," Bruntlett said. "So it feels extra special that it happened there to finish off the game. [The Mets] kept coming at us. Obviously it wasn't looking real good for a minute, so to finish it off in dramatic fashion was great."

Standing a few feet behind Bruntlett, Victorino was just trying to help.

"I was right there," the centerfielder said. "I just said, 'Touch everything and everybody you can.' So many things led up to that play."

True. The Phillies had hit two three-run homers in the first inning off beleaguered Oliver Perez - by Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz. Pagan had started the Mets' first with an inside-the-park homer after Victorino thought it was an automatic ground-rule double because the ball had lodged under the wall in left-center. Pagan also homered his next time up.

The triple play also enabled Bruntlett to settle a score with Francoeur. Bruntlett had three singles to raise his average from .128 to .154, and he thought he had a triple with two out in the top of the ninth for his fourth hit. But after a dispute, the umpires changed the call and ruled Bruntlett out - he'd been robbed of his triple on a diving catch by, who else, Francoeur.

"I mean, I was standing on third base. I thought I'd just hit a triple and they called me out and then all of a sudden the game's over," Bruntlett said. "But there's a lot of stuff that happened after that."

Bruntlett hasn't had many busy days this season. He's a middle infielder who has the misfortune of playing behind Utley and Jimmy Rollins, who rarely get days off. And when he has played, he has struggled. But regardless of whether he ever plays again, Bruntlett made sure he won't be easily forgotten.

His unassisted triple play was only the 14th in the regular season in big-league history, and the first by a Phillie since Mickey Morandini pulled it off on Sept. 20, 1992.

"It was kind of a reaction and after it was over I was just trying to figure out what happened," Bruntlett said. "The opportunities I've had, I haven't done that well with them. So it was certainly nice to have a good day at the plate and end up feeling good about what I'm doing."

Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743 or rparrillo@phillynews.com.