Wild seventh inning gives Phils 7-4 win

FROM THE MORNING CALL

PHILADELPHIA — Glove up. Eyes zoned in. Body poised and ready.

Reds outfielder Jay Bruce did everything right on the ball Jimmy Rollins hit in the seventh inning — except catch it.

"I lost it in the lights," he said. "It was the most helpless feelings I ever had on a ballfield."


And one of the most exhilarating feelings for the Phillies and their fans.

The Phillies, known for their drama and resiliency in close games, were given life on Bruce's error and came from behind to score three unearned runs in the seventh inning to beat the Reds 7-4 in Game 2 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night.

The Phillies, who have won 43 games in comeback fashion this season, lead the best-of-five series 2-0.

Game 3 is Sunday in Cincinnati and is tentatively scheduled for 7:07 p.m. If the Yankees beat the Twins on Saturday night, then the Phillies will play at 8:07 p.m.

During the regular season, the Reds were tied for the best fielding percentage (.988) in the National League, and along with San Diego, made the fewest errors (72) in the league.

But they looked like a different team on Friday.

The Reds made four errors, which led to five of the Phillies' seven runs being unearned.

"I always thought we had a good team," Baker said. "You just didn't know your team was going to play with the youthful inexperience in the playoffs, because it's the same game, but it's a whole different animal."

Few teams know that better than the Phillies, who were swept in the NLDS by Colorado in 2007.

They've since figured out how to handle the pressure, and more importantly, how it put pressure on their opponents in the postseason.

"Other teams say, 'Gosh, you can't breathe [with your offense]. One through eight, you guys are great hitters all the way through the lineup, and then you also have a solid bench,'" said Phillie Mike Sweeney, who got the first postseason hit of his 16-year career with a pinch-hit single in the seventh. "I'd like to think that just through the presence of that solid lineup, that that puts some pressure on them. But we capitalized. [The Reds] made a couple errors, walked some guys and we smelled a win."

Oswalt didn't have his best stuff.

The Reds did everything in their power to make sure that didn't matter.

In the sixth and seventh innings, the Phillies plated four runs on just two hits, but neither of those hits drove in a run. Reds pitchers hit three batters, walked two others and their fielders committed two huge errors.

"That was a very unfortunate inning for us; it went terrible," said Reds manager Dusty Baker.

Fireballer Aroldis Chapman started off the seventh by facing Chase Utley. He got ahead of the three-hole hitter 0-2, but on his next offering, a 102 mph fastball, Utley took off for first, saying it hit him. Home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman agreed.

But replays had reporters asking Utley if it did indeed hit him.

"It was pretty close," he said. "At first I thought it was going to hit me in the head. Fortunately, it didn't. He throws so hard. I felt like I thought it hit me, so I put my head down and I ran to first."

One out later, Jayson Werth hit a grounder to third. Former Phillie Scott Rolen opted to try to get the lead runner, but Utley beat the throw to second.


Enter the man who loves the big stage— Rollins.

He hit a fly ball that Bruce lost in the lights, and Utley scored from second. That tied the game at 4.

Center fielder Drew Stubbs tracked the ball down and fired to second baseman Brandon Phillips. But he bobbled the cutoff, enabling Werth to score from first, which gave the Phillies their first lead of the game.

Carlos Ruiz, hit by a pitch in the knee in the sixth, made it 6-4 on his fielder's choice groundout.

"In the playoffs, the team that wins is not always the team that has more base hits; it's the team that can minimize mistakes," said J.C. Romero, who pitched two-thirds of a scoreless inning.

With all the late-inning drama, few will remember that Oswalt was shaky.

In five innings, he allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits, two of which were solo home runs. When he was pulled, the Reds were up 4-0.

Then the Phillies did what drives opponents crazy. They mounted a comeback.

"We showed a lot of heart," Sweeney said. "We never gave up, even against a guy throwing 100, 101 miles per hour."

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