Wherein the Marlins almost played the JM J. Bullock wacky sidekick, killing our Cosmic Cow swagg.
What began with another offensive outburst on the part of the Philadelphia Phillies' magnificent offense, and another brilliant start from ace starter Roy Halladay, turned into an absolute nail-biter in the ninth inning, with one of the hottest hitters in baseball at the plate.
Thankfully, things worked out well for our heroes, and the Phillies just barely hung on to record an 8-6 win on a soggy Friday night in Philadelphia.
Halladay, again, was masterful, and despite seeing his ERA skyrocket to 1.12, he controlled the game, going eight strong. He did allow his first home run of the season -- a solo shot to Dan Uggla with two outs in the fourth. However, a rain delay in the eighth inning prevented Halladay from taking the hill in the ninth -- a twist of fate that nearly undid the team.
Despite taking an 8-2 lead into the top of the ninth inning, thanks in part to Chase Utley's league leading sixth home run in the seventh inning, reliever David Herndon nearly got undone by a string of infield hits and bloops, surrendering a total of five hits and four runs while registering just a single out. As bad as the bleeding was the fact that ad-hoc closer Ryan Madson had to come in to stem the bleeding. And the bleeding stopped -- although Madson allowed another run, making the score 8-6, and a hit to Hanley Ramirez, he was able to induce a ground ball fielder's choice from the scorching hot Jorge Cantu to end the game.
Scary, buts wins is wins. Although giving Madson a night off would have been nice.
See you guys tomorrow... oy.