Victorino, Werth provide sparks for Phils
Victorino, Werth provide sparks for Phils
DENVER – Yeah, it takes a village, or a whole lineup, or whatever.
Tonight, with the mayor and the council president and the mercenary marshall contained, it took a couple of standout citizens.
Shane Victorino smoked a solo homer off Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez in the first inning. Jayson Werth ripped another, in the sixth, for a 2-0 lead that gave the Phillies the edge until their eighth-inning collapse. Then, Werth regained the lead with an RBI single in the ninth.
Sure, Victorino and Werth were All-Stars, but they were the asterisk sort. They entered the season as sizable question marks in an otherwise formidable, pedigreed lineup and defense.
Could Victorino hold up for an entire season? Could Werth play every day, and could he hit righthanders?
Yes, and yes, and yes. Last night, double-yes.
Former NL MVPs Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, heroes of Game3, did not play into last night's offense until the last inning, when Rollins' one-out single and Howard's two-out double set things up for Werth. Perennial All-Star Chase Utley (his legal name in Philadelphia) got on base, but that's it. Raul Ibanez, super-signee, was mortal, again.
The Phillies entered with just two homers in the first three games. Werth had one, in Game2. He had gone 0-for-5 with three strikeouts before he clobbered Jimenez' 3-2 changeup into the centerfield pines.
Victorino struggled in Game3, too, but his eight-pitch battle changed that. It culminated when Jimenez surrendered to adrenaline, dealing a 3-2, 99-mph fastball just off Victorino's belt buckle - or, as any pro scout will tell you, the only place Victorino can generate the power to homer. And homer he did.
Like an All-Star.
Asterisk.
Victorino was stuffed into the All-Star Game via ballot box in the annual online popularity scam called the Final Ballot.
Werth made it the old-fashioned way: His manager, Charlie Manuel, was the National League team manager, and Manuel appointed Werth over more deserving players.
Hey, it's the system. Don't like it, change it.
Both Werth and Victorino have justified the system long after their ascensions.
Like the solid citizens they are.
