share
email
font size
options
 
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Shane Victorino unleashes an RBI triple to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead in the 10th. He then threw out Gregor Blanco at the plate to win the game.

It appears Brad Lidge is a Star Wars fan.

That's the only way he could explain last night's improbable 4-3 victory over the Braves at Turner Field.

"If you want things in the season to go good, you need to have some of those 'Force be With You' moments," Lidge said. "The Force was with us tonight."

There was the ball that Kelly Johnson dropped to allow the tying run to score in the top of the ninth. There was Tom Gordon working out of a jam in the bottom of the ninth. There was Chris Snelling's leadoff double, Shane Victorino's triple and Chase Utley's double in the 10th. And then there was Victorino's throw to the plate, which got Gregor Blanco by half a foot to end the game.

“That was awesome, honestly,” Lidge said. “Just a weird night. The fact that we were able to tie it up was mysterious, and then we got some runs. (The last play) was so much fun to watch from my perspective. At first I thought there was no way, and then all of a sudden this absolute pea-rod comes in from Shane, on the money and everything. It just was perfect. Like I said, the Force was with us tonight.”

*

Coste and Victorino on the game-ending play at the plate:

"The throw started out a little bit to the right side of the plate, so I was going to try to catch it and lean into a tag," Coste said. "But the throw actually came back perfect."

"I was hoping that it came back and it did as it got closer to the plate," Victorino said. "It did come back over to give him enough time to catch it and kind of use his momentum to tag out Blanco at home. I just wanted to attack it, knowing he was on second and could run. I said, 'I got to charge the ball hard and get rid of it quick,' and fortunately for us it worked out for the best."

*

In the Phillies Notebook, Charlie Manuel liked the fact that Jimmy Rollins faced the press after being benched Thursday.

*

Tom Gordon couldn't be a prouder parent these days.

*

The Phillies selected former Germantown Academy star Sean Grieve in the 21st round.

Posted by Todd Zolecki @ 10:49 AM  Permalink | 5 comments
5
Comments   
Posted 01:10 PM, 06/07/2008
bski
I think you will usually find that "The Force" is with a good team. Good teams find ways to win. Good teams make a lot of their own breaks. We are definitely a good team. On the previous topic Jimmymack mentioned we could be seeing shades of '93 and I agree. We are accumulating clutch plays and big wins this year just like we did then. If memory serves, early in '93 we were losing a game 8-0 after seven innings. We tied it up and then won it in the 10th. There was another game (against the Padres I think) where Milt Thompson took away a grand slam. On Mother's Day, Mariano Duncan hit a homerun off Lee Smith in the 9th and we beat the Cardinals. Also, can't forget that wacky double header at the end of July that ended at 4:30am. Anyway, I'm seeing a lot of the same things this year and I think we're going to see a lot of good baseball over the next five months.
Posted 01:31 PM, 06/07/2008
Norma
Maybe we should give each player a Star Wars nick-name!
Posted 01:35 PM, 06/07/2008
Norma
Hey, Clinton........How about Snelling?! LOL! I know he'll be going back down when they bring Werth off the DL. Probably today. But how come Wheels said something about this probably being "the last time we see him in a Phillies uniform"? Didn't sound like he meant, temporarily.
Posted 03:37 PM, 06/07/2008
Deb in Dixie
It was fun to read the Braves blog on the AJC.com last night after the game and see all the Bravo fans yelling at Bobby Cox and Kelly Johnson. Nice to see the other side having the angst for a change!
Posted 04:23 PM, 06/07/2008
KarenA
Deb in Dixie: Thanks perspective on the Braves. I'll have to read it for myself. I couldn't believe it when Johnson dropped the ball and the Phils were able to tie it---then to have Victorino hit another TRIPLE and score by Norma's man Chase Utley (LOL) COOL BEANS!
About Andy Martino
Andy Martino is in his first season on the Phillies beat. A former New York City public school teacher and graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he previously wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered baseball and worked with the award-winning investigative sports "I-team."
PHILLIES SCOREBOARD