Phillies-Nationals: Two Grand Slams Power Philly

Leading into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Fightin’ Phils were down by four and fans everywhere collectively wondered if their team had any fight left in them.

With Garrett Mock pitching for the Nationals, the fans looked on as the Phillies slowly got men on base looking to turn to tide.

With Jimmy Rollins sitting on second after a double and Pedro Feliz waiting on third, none other than the Flyin’ Hawaiian stepped up to the plate. Victorino would end up hitting a sacrifice fly that would send Feliz home and shorten the gap to 11-8.

As Rollins moved into position at third, Chase Utley stepped up and singled to right field, allowing Rollins to score and get the stadium on its feet.

In an effort to stifle the momentum, the Nationals took Mock out and put Joel Hanrahan on the mound. Making mistakes early on, Hanrahan would allow Utley to make it to second on a wild pitch and ended up walking both Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth.

At this point, each of the 41,620 fans in attendance were waiting for another miracle. We were already lucky enough to see Ryan Howard nail a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth, now, if Raul Ibanez could pull off the same feat, we would not only close the gap, but also be winning by two.

Sure enough, Raul sent one sailing as the stadium erupted all around him and the four Phillies made their way home.

Ibanez, picked up in the offseason by the Phils, showcased his true value when he proved to every last fan in attendance that he could make it happen if the team needs him too.

As the inning drew to a close on a Matt Stairs strikeout, an unforeseen victory was now only three outs away.

Ryan Madsen stepped up to the mound and, sure enough, closed out the game. In the end, the Fightin’ Phils proved that they truly are a force to be reckoned with and that you cannot count them out of a game. Ever.