Wigginton, Nix contribute to Phils' win over Mets

IT TAKES an impressive amount of personal security to stand in front of 45,000 fans and know that you have a two-in-three chance of failing at your job. But that doesn't make baseball players immune from the desire for affirmation. Take Laynce Nix and Ty Wigginton. For seven innings Sunday, both men watched as one of the game's top lefthanded starters mowed down the Mets like a brand-new John Deere. The performance they witnessed was unlike most that they had seen in places like Cincinnati and Washington and others (Nix) and Pittsburgh and Baltimore and others (Wigginton).

Yet it wasn't until the bottom of the seventh inning when they were able to play a pivotal role in what would end as an 8-2 Phillies win. Wigginton's chance came with one out and runners at second and third. Ramon Ramirez had just grounded a first-pitch changeup that allowed Jimmy Rollins to move to third and Hunter Pence to second. Trailing 2-1, the Phillies had the tying run on third, and Hamels had the potential to avoid going home with a brilliantly pitched loss.

First, though, Wigginton. In his first at-bat of the game, he lined out to shortstop in a similar situation, keeping Rollins at third and Pence at second in a first inning that would see the Phillies score just one run, despite sending seven players to the plate. Acquired in an offseason trade with the Rockies, the veteran corner infielder entered the season charged with providing some of the power that the lineup lost when Ryan Howard and Chase Utley hit the disabled list. Through eight games, Wigginton had one homer and little else as Charlie Manuel sorted through his various lineup options. Sunday, Manuel gave the oft-injured Placido Polanco his first day off at third base, putting Wigginton in the lineup behind Pence.

"Any time you take the field, you want to go out and contribute and help your team win the ballgame," said Wigginton, who has suited up for seven teams in 11 seasons in the majors.

The fly ball he lofted to rightfield in the seventh did just that, scoring Rollins and tying the game, 2-2. It also gave Nix an opportunity to make an impact of his own. The lefthanded slugger entered the day hitless in five at-bats. Like Wigginton, he had spent much of the first week of the season watching from the dugout in a reserve role. Sunday, he played first base as Manuel gave John Mayberry Jr. a breather. With two outs and the go-ahead run on third, Nix took a changeup for a strike, then connected on the 0-1 pitch, sending it to leftfield for a double that gave the Phillies their first lead since Thursday.

"I guess it's a good time to get the first hit," said Nix, who signed a 2-year deal with the Phillies after spending 2011 in Washington. "We all want to come through in those situations and be the reason to win the game. It's no different. I'm honored to be here with these guys, and I really want to play well, the way I've seen them play all these years."

Both Nix and Wigginton, who later added a three-run double in a five-run eighth inning, picked an opportune time to produce. The Phillies entered the afternoon facing the prospect of a sweep at the hands of a team most experts pegged to finish last in the NL East. The first two games of the series saw them score just two runs. In fact, until Sunday's eighth-inning outburst, the Phillies had scored more than three runs in only two games. Since scoring a season-high seven runs against the Marlins on April 11, they had been outscored, 11-5.

"They are new on our team, and it definitely takes them a while to feel that they belong," Manuel said. "I know how much they want to impress you. It takes them a while to really get used to our team and feeling good about themselves. Today, Laynce got the big hit and Wigginton hit a couple of balls on the nose. That just goes to show you that we can put some runs on the board when we move the baseball."

At 4-5 with a 10-game Western trip looming, the Phillies will try to build on that success.

Follow him on Twitter @HighCheese.