Results tagged “paulloduca”

It wasn’t a pretty win. Far from it. Tom “Flash” Gordon blew his first save. The Phils managed to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth with Bobby Abreu up to bat. Last year, this was never a good sign – Abreu could never hit in clutch situations. And what he did last night wasn’t really a hit. It was a squeaker, really, but he bolted to first base, and when New York Mets pitcher Aaron Heilman threw the ball away, the Phils pulled out a 5-4 come-from-behind win for their ninth victory in a row.

Friday night, Ryan Howard came to the plate representing the winning run in a 9-7 game in the bottom of the ninth inning against Florida closer Todd Jones, and Howard struck out looking. Todd Jones collected his 200th save, and finished off the Phils on a night when it looked like it would be hard to come back, but Philadelphia fought back from a 8-3 deficit in the sixth inning to make it competitive again for their home crowd by the bottom of the ninth. Can’t blame Ryan Howard for this one; he merely struck out against a rejuvenated closer. He will have other chances. And Phillies fans, take that energy that you were ready to use to cheer Howard’s game tying home run, and remember these tough times when Howard does put one into the seats in the ninth inning. It won’t be long from now.