Categories: 2009 RecapsPosts

Rauuuul! Fifth Homer Completes Comeback

In the third inning, a ball struck by Edgar Gonzalez to Raul Ibanez faded quickly to the grass. Ibanez dove to make a great play — instead, the ball got through and rolled to the wall, scoring a runner and allowing a triple. That run would score, costing Ibanez two runs.He got them back.

The new left fielder struck a game-winning two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. The Phils won on a great comeback, 5-4. Ibanez leads the team with five home runs in 11 games.

The Phils comeback started with a two-run Chase Utley home run. It continued with a pinch-hit homer from Jimmy Rollins, who was sitting because of his paltry offensive output to start the season. Somehow it came together, and finally. Moreover, pitching was much better, as Chan Ho Park gave up four runs in five innings (he battled, but he wasn’t as bad as his line indicated), and the collection of JA Happ (3 IP, 3 H) and Clay Condrey (IP, H, W) kept things close.

Close enough for Ibanez to completely redeem himself.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.