Top Moment #23: Phillies Rally Against Marmol
Posted by Amanda Orr, Fri, January 07, 2011 08:41 AM | Comments: 7
2010 Top Moments, Posts
Welcome to the Phillies Nation Top 25 Moments of 2010, as voted on by the staff of this fine blog.
Top Moments #25 and #24 came on comebacks after Brad Lidge blew a save. Number 23 involves another blown save, only this time it was not Lidge. The Phillies were on the other end.
At Wrigley Field, Cole Hamels and Randy Wells were tossing a pitcher’s duel. Hamels finished the night after seven strong innings, allowing only one earned run. The lone run came on a suicide squeeze, laid down by Ryan Theriot, which scored rookie Starlin Castro.
Hamels was solid, but the offense had difficulties scoring. A lack of run support was very common in 2010. Then again, so were late inning rallies.
With Carlos Marmol closing, Greg Dobbs, Wilson Valdez, and Chad Durbin due up, the game appeared to be over. Dobbs popped up. Brian Schneider pinched hit for Valdez and drew a walk. Ross Gload, who substituted for Durbin, also drew a walk. All of a sudden, the Phillies had two men on base, including a runner in scoring position. Down by one run, there was certainly hope.
Marmol was extremely erratic, but struck out Shane Victorino for the second out. One out away from defeat, the Phillies had to rely on Placido Polanco, who was fresh off the disabled list. Polanco came through like he did so many times in 2010, delivering a game-tying RBI single. Schnieder looked to be a dead duck at the plate, but thankfully Geovanny Soto could not handle the ball.
Marmol’s problems did not end there as he failed to locate the strike zone. A wild pitch enabled Gload to score from third and give the Phillies a lead. Marmol walked Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth before finally being removed for James Russell.
Raul Ibanez finished off the scoring with a RBI single of his own to make it 4-1. Brad Lidge wasn’t going to let this one slip like Marmol, as he converted the save.
The comeback against the Cubs was just one of many late-inning rallies for the Phillies. Their never-say-die attitude showed that there was no reason to give up on them. There were many nail-biters, but there were also shocking comebacks like this one. It may not have been the prettiest win, but it was good enough for #23 on our list.
Posts: 575 Brian Michael
I was at this game, it was unbelievable how bad Marmol was. Cole pitched a great game and this was about when he started his late season groove.
Posted: 10:27 AM on January 7, 2011
Posts: 1053 Manny
Is this showing up?
Posted: 11:04 AM on January 7, 2011
Posts: 1429 Pat Gallen
Welcome, Manny.
Posted: 11:29 AM on January 7, 2011
Posts: 2533 Chuck A.
Manny!! You finally made it, dude.
Posted: 11:12 AM on January 7, 2011
Posts: 38 GoPhils
This game reminds me of the horrible slump the Phils were in in 2010. If Polly had not come through here, this would have been another heartbreaking loss for Hamels, whose only problem was giving up a squeeze bunt. That’s gotta be a win. It reminds me of a game against the Pirates when Jamie Moyer gave up his only run on a infield single. This was the Chevrolet Drive of the Game. I think it was the great Daniel McCutchen of the Pirates, who I think had not won since August of 2009 and had an E.R.A. over five, who shut down the Phillies lineup. This was an extreme low point.
Posted: 11:29 AM on January 7, 2011
Posts: 43 Greg
Would anyone like a video? :
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9988779
Posted: 03:58 PM on January 7, 2011
Posts: 1053 Manny
Thanks guys. I was having trouble logging in, so I created a new account and it works fine now!
GO PHILS!
Posted: 10:35 AM on January 10, 2011