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NEW YORK – So, chew on this one for a moment:
So Taguchi.
Yeah, So Taguchi. The guy who has been buried so deep on the Phillies' bench that he might as well be the 26th man on a 25-man roster.
Taguchi came up with a clutch double in the top of the ninth inning tonight that helped the Phillies record an improbable 8-6 victory over the New York Mets at Shea Stadium and gave them a one-game lead over their rival in the National League East.
"I just had this feeling," said closer Brad Lidge, who picked up his 22d save. "I knew [Billy] Wagner was down and I had this feeling we were going to do it. Nothing against their guys, but I had a feeling our guys were going to come through and I was going to throw tonight.
"I didn't realize we were going to do it like that, but it shows what we're capable of – coming back like that. It was pretty damn exciting."
Lefthander Johan Santana had pitched eight strong innings when the Mets went to their bullpen in the ninth.
But instead of Wagner, who was unavailable because of spasms in his left shoulder, the Mets called on Duaner Sanchez. He allowed three consecutive singles to Jayson Werth, Greg Dobbs and Shane Victorino to load the bases. Joe Smith replaced Sanchez to face Carlos Ruiz, who has been a double-play machine and rally killer for much of the season. Ruiz bounced the ball toward second base, but fortunately for Ruiz, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes couldn't touch second before Victorino arrived. A run scored and the bases still were loaded with no outs.
"It was one of those tweener hoppers where, if you hustle, you might beat him there," Victorino said. "I think he wanted to flip it, but he wanted to get two himself. I just hauled [butt] the whole way."
Bench coach Jimy Williams, who had replaced Charlie Manuel when he was ejected after the third inning, sent lefthander Geoff Jenkins to the plate to face Smith. Mets manager Jerry Manuel countered with lefthander Pedro Feliciano, and Williams responded with Taguchi, who had been 0 for 16 as a pinch-hitter, instead of Eric Bruntlett.
Taguchi fell behind, 0-2, but got the count back to 2-2 before he fouled off three straight pitches. He ultimately took the eighth pitch of the at-bat and lofted it over rightfielder Endy Chavez's head to score Dobbs and Victorino and tie the game, 5-5.
"I'm very happy to finally get a hit as a pinch-hitter," a beaming Taguchi said. "I didn't know I was 0 for 16. I didn't count. I didn't want to count."
"So had a heck of an at-bat," Manuel said. "He threw his bat at one pitch. The guy just kept throwing him away, away, away. He went with the ball real good."
Rollins followed with a double to score two runs and hand the Phillies the lead.
It led to a big win for a team that has been struggling.
"I am a small part," Taguchi said. "It's not me. It's the team."
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