Phillies Notes: Papelbon makes amends as Phillies rally past Braves

The boos began as he trotted out from center field to take the mound in the ninth inning. Phillies righthander Jonathan Papelbon was making his first appearance at Citizens Bank Park since the crotch-grabbing incident on Sept. 14 and the fans showed their displeasure.

He received a seven-game suspension and fine and since then, Papelbon had rejoined the Phillies, earned one save, but that was on the road.

Now he was back home and he turned the boos to cheers by earning the save with a scoreless ninth inning during Friday's 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves.

As for the original boos?

"I couldn't hear it," Papelbon said. "I didn't hear nothing. I don't hear nothing out there when I'm pitching."

Even though he says he blocks the fans out, Papelbon was anxious to take the mound, regardless of the circumstance.

"I told Ryno [manager Ryne Sandberg] I wanted to get out there in today's game no what the situation was," Papelbon said. "Just to get back on this field and compete, show everyone I come out to this field every day to compete. Everything else is kind of hindsight."

After getting the first batter Chris Johnson on a called third strike, there were cheers. The boos returned when B.J. Upton, now batting .207, hit an opposite-field double to right field.

More cheers came when pinch-hitter Evan Gattis grounded to third for the second out.

And then the game ended when Papelbon got Joey Terdoslavich to ground out to second on a nine-pitch at-bat.

He pumped his fist, received congratulations and exited in a much different manner than when he allowed four ninth-inning runs in that 5-4 loss to the Miami Marlins on Sept. 14.

Papelbon didn't hesitate when asked if the incident should take away from what has been a highly successful season.

"I don't feel like it should," Papelbon said. "The fans pay their money and have a right to think what they want to think and perceive what they want to perceive, but stats are stats, no matter what."

Papelbon now has 39 saves in 43 chances and a 2.04 ERA.

The righthander says he doesn't want to go over his feelings on the incident because he said he talked about it earlier, but he's in the minority who believe his action wasn't directed toward the fans.

"I've said over and over I am sorry for how it was perceived and what people may have thought," Papelbon said. "Intent wasn't there. It doesn't really matter what I think. Fans have the right to say and boo and cheer, they pay their ticket price, and I understand that."

Sandberg pulled no punches when asked before the game if Papelbon's actions have tarnished his season.

"It was an unfortunate situation and was also a situation that we can't have in baseball and can't have definitely from the players here," Sandberg said. "That is the bottom line."

Sandberg said that Papelbon has put together a good year and then added one more comment about the incident.

"It's something he will have to learn from and really everybody will have to learn from it that it can't be tolerated in the game especially from the Phillies players," Sandberg said.