Top Moment #11: Pit Stop in Denver, 9-run 7th inning, No Big Deal

And that just happened.

It was getting late in the season at this point. The Phillies had been dealing with injuries all summer long. This was a time they needed their rest and cherished every day off they had. The Phightins had been on a West Coast road trip on the tail end of playing 16 straight games. They needed this day off. Instead of flying right back home, Mother Nature: The May Edition had them stopping in Denver for a make-up game cancelled earlier in the season due to rain.

Through the seventh inning the Phillies looked sluggish and couldn’t keep up with the Colorado Rockies who were desperately looking for a win. The Rockies, who were getting back from their own California road trip, were 6 1/2 games behind Philly in the Wild Card and 7 1/2 behind the West leading Padres.

Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin held it down for 5 1/3 innings allowing only one (earned) run on five hits. He handed the ball off to the bullpen and the Phillies could not have been happier. In the seventh inning the Phils collected nine hits and nine runs off three Colorado relievers. Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth both went deep in the inning and Chase Utley launched a grand slam, attached to it was the Rockies playoff hopes.

Nine runs made it 12-7 Phillies. Enter Chad Durbin. He offered up three of those runs back before sneaking out of the seventh. J.C. Romero and Jose Contreras managed the eighth before Brad Lidge, once again, made it interesting in the ninth allowing one run. Lidge was able to hold and walk away with his 19th save in 24 chances.

This was really a game of numbers. The two teams combined for 35 hits and 23 runs. Add in three errors, six home runs and Carlos Gonzalez who extended his extra base hit streak to 10 games and it was stat sheet chaos.

The top four hitters (Eric Young Jr., Dexter Fowler, Gonzo, Troy Tulowitzki) of the Rockies line up went 11 for 22 in the game. This was a game the Phillies seemed destined to lose for the first six innings and then again even after they rallied. But the force was strong with this team. On that night, it was very strong.

Oh and real quick; the Phillies would go on to play seven games in six days after beating the Rockies totaling 37 games in 38 days. Now I know this is baseball and its a grueling and demanding schedule but even that is hard. Go Phillies! Seven days….