A sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park drawn by Dollar Dog Night and a 2008 National League Championship Series rematch enjoyed not only a Phillies win, but two of baseball's rarer occurrences: Jayson Werth stole home, and Pedro Feliz walked four times. Combined with a second straight quality start from Chan Ho Park, it made for a good night in South Philadelphia as the Phils won for just the second time in six games and stayed a game off the pace in the NL East.
Park allowed a run in a shaky first inning that could have been much worse. Orlando Hudson slipped between first and second on his RBI single and was tagged out, clearing the bases before an Andre Ethier double. The Phils got even in the third inning when Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw walked Feliz and Carlos Ruiz, Park sacrificed them along, and Shane Victorino brought Feliz home on a groundout. Matt Kemp put Los Angeles ahead 2-1 with a fourth-inning RBI single, but the Phils batted around in the bottom of the fourth, drawing even on an RBI single from Jimmy Rollins--batting fifth tonight--and taking a 4-2 lead on a two-run Raul Ibanez double.
Park took it from there, pitching through evident discomfort after seeming to hurt himself on his third-inning sac bunt. He ultimately went six innings, holding his former club to two runs on seven hits. Importantly, he did not issue a walk while striking out three.
Werth made his own run in the seventh, singling with one out and then stealing second and third. LA reliever Will Ohman walked the bases loaded behind him before giving way to Ronald Belisario, who fell behind Feliz. With the count 2-0, Werth took a walking lead from third and broke for home when catcher Russell Martin lazily threw the ball back to the mound. He slid under the return throw to extend the lead to 5-2, becoming the first player to steal second, third, and home in the same inning since Eric Young did it for the Rockies in 1996. Werth's four steals on the night also tied a Phillies club record shared by Sherry Magee, who did it twice in 1906, and Garry Maddox in 1978. The extra tally proved important in the ninth, as the Dodgers scored once and put the tying runs on base against a still-shaky Brad Lidge before Juan Pierre lined out to center to end it.
But let's not lose sight of the real story here: Pedro Feliz walked four times in this game. That would have represented 40 percent of his walk total in 2001 (in 230 plate appearances) and 2003 (245), and about 15 percent of his 2007 total, in 586 trips to the plate. The steal of home is what the fans will remember, but what Feliz did was much less likely.