Kyle Kendrick gave up 2 home runs and 7 runs in 4 1/3 inning.
Kevin Frandsen hit fifth.
At Coors Field, the place where baseballs go to launch into the Stratosphere, the Phillies hit zero home runs.
The Bullpen came into the game down 7-2 and was asked to pitch 4 2/3 innings.
And somehow, the Phillies won 8-7.
I fell asleep in the 4th inning for a bit, and honestly had to wait till this morning to write this to make sure it wasn't some strange dream.
Nope.
Welcome to Colorado folks.
Things like this are not supposed to happen to this team. We're supposed to turn off our televisions in the 4th inning after Josh Rutledge hits a two run home run to make it 6-2 and go to bed because, well, the Phillies haven't won a game when they gave up 6 runs or more since September of last year. it's our god given right to bitch and moan on twitter and in game threads during these epically comical affairs. When Kyle Kendrick is bad Kyle, when the bullpen is asked to go more than...well, one inning?When your 5-8 batters are Frandsen-Mayberry-Galvis-Quintero?? When Domonic Brown and Ryan Howard go a combined 1-8 with 2 BB and 2 K's?? And HOWARD DRAWS THE TWO WALKS????
We expect to lose.
But not last night. Last night that 5-8 combo punched out 6 hits, 7 RBIs and 6 runs scored, led by a two triple game from Freddy "maybe I'm not just a utility guy" Galvis. The bullpen threw 4 2/3 perfect innings. Specifically Jeremy Horst, Michael Stutes, Jake Diekman and Justin DeFratus combined for ZERO K's, 1 BB and 1 hit over 2 and 2/3 innings. That quartet faced nine batters, and the only Rockie to get a hit off of them was Phillies killer Carlos Gonzalez. Stutes was the only pitcher to allow a fly ball (two to be precise). They both stayed in the park.
Mike Adams pitched the 8th inning on consecutive days for the first time since May 8th and went ground out, ground out, single, fly ball and kept it in the park.
Jonathan Papelbon finished it off in the ninth.
In between all of that, the Phillies sent 16 batters to the plate between the 6th and 7th innings, Galvis tripled twice with two runners on each time....and in both instances one of those runners (Howard in the sixth, Mayberry in the seventh) worked 6 and 8 pitch 2 strike walks. Yeah. Go figure.
Seriously.
Kyle Kendrick. 4 1/3 10 hits, 7 runs, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts.
The Phillies scored 8 runs on 13 hits. Again, ZERO HOME RUNS!!! 4 of those runs came with 2 outs and the bottom of the order at the plate.
That's 29 hits in two days folks.
Before the game, Charlie Manuel had a private meeting with the position players. When asked by the beat writers what he said, the reply was "half Knute Rockne, half Bobby Knight". Maybe it worked. Maybe it didn't. But these are the kinds of wins that build what the common fan refers to as "momentum"
There's no explanation for it other than some nights it just works out. But that was maybe the most improbable come from behind victory I've seen from any Phillies team in three years. It wasn't flashy, it wasn't heroic, it just was.
Kind of fitting for this team. But maybe, just maybe, this is the start of something.
Fangraph of improbability below
<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-06-14&team=Rockies&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width = "450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2013-06-14&team=Rockies&