Phillies-Cubs: Werth Staying Up For, Phillies Win 10th Straight
July 22, 2009 by kevin mcguire
Filed under Fan News
You want dramatic? How about a pitchers’ duel between a pair of former teammates who were dealt at the trade deadline last season and a walk-off home run by an All-Star outfielder who had been struggling at the plate in the 13th inning?
That is exactly how last night’s Cubs-Phillies game turned out.
Jayson Werth hit a three-run home run off of Cubs reliever Jeff Samardzija in the bottom of the 13th inning to give the Phillies a walk-off 4-1 victory.
Joe Blanton battled against his former teammate in Oakland, Rich Harden, for seven strong innings and allowed just one run on five hits and struck out five batters.
The Phillies bullpen also got the job done, going six innings without yielding a base hit or issuing a walk. Chan Ho Park pitched three of those innings and picked up five strikeouts. Ryan Madson pitched the eighth inning, and Brad Lidge pitched the ninth inning.
Lidge was involved in the play of the night when with a runner on first, a ball was hit back up the middle. Lidge kicked it up and it fell in the glove of Jimmy Rollins, who was on second base, and he relayed to first for an inning-ending double play. When your team is hot, bounces like that go your way. Clay Condrey picked up the win.
Rollins put the Phillies on the board in the third inning with a solo home run. The Cubs got the run back in the top of the fourth when Kosuke Fukudome doubled to left field to score Ryan Theriot with two outs. That would be all of the scoring until the 13th inning.
With two outs, Ryan Howard drew a walk on four pitches. Raul Ibanez then forced a walk after working a full count on Samardzija. With the winning run on second base, Werth stepped up trying to find a way to drive Howard home. He did just that on a 1-1 count, smacking a home run to left field to send the Phillies fans home happy.
The win is the 10th straight for the Phillies, the first time since 1991 that they have had such a streak. Coupled with the Atlanta Braves’ victory, Philadelphia’s lead in the NL East remains 6½ games.