Rollins Walks It Off in 10, Phillies Win 5-4

The Marlins out-hit the Phillies 13-9 but the Phillies outscored the Fish 5-4 to win their second straight on a 10th inning, walk-off homer from J-Rol.

Pettibone Returns

Jonathan Pettibone returned to the Phillies after a short stay in Lehigh Valley. Pettibone struck out 5 in 5 IP, allowing 8 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned. A scary moment happened late in Pettibone’s outing when he was hit in the leg with a comebacker. Pettibone stayed in the game and his only mistake, really, was serving up a bomb to Giancarlo Stanton.

Top of the Line-Up Shines

The top three of the Phillies line-up, Tony Gwynn Jr., Jimmy Rollins, and Chase Utley, went a combined 7-14, 5 runs, and 4 RBIs, all sporting at least two hits. Rollins started the party in the first with an RBI single, scoring Gwynn. Rollins came home on an RBI double by Utley. Utley would drive home Gwynn in the fourth with another double. Utley would be driven home on a Ryan Howard single. Rollins walked it off in the the 10th, hitting a Dan Jenning’s pitch over the left field fence to win it.

Stanton Shows Off Power

Giancarlo Stanton left Citizens Bank Park twice tonight with one of the longest and one of the fastest-leaving homers in the history of the ballpark. Stanton’s first shot, a solo homer, went 476 feet while his second homer, a two-run shot, reached the seats in a flash. Stanton now has 119 homers in 501 games, or one in every 4.21 games. Over 162 games, that’s 39 dingers a year. Not bad for a guy who just turned 24.

Defense… Ugh.

The Phillies can’t seem to go a game without making an error this year, can they? Howard missed a throw from Rollins in the fourth, the Phillies’ 11th in 12 games. Heading into the game, the Phils had a better fielding percentage than only the Marlins. If my scratch math is correct, and barring any errors from the teams close to the Phils (the Dodgers, Cardinals), the Fightins may end the night with the lowest fielding percentage in the NL.

Hollands – A Hidden Gem?

With the game tied 4-4 in the seventh and the tide headed the Marlins’ way, rookie Mario Hollands was tasked with slowing their momentum. Hollands came in, allowed just one hit, and pitched another clean inning. Hollands has lowered his ERA to 1.69 in 5.1 IP. Obviously a very small sample, but since being thrown straight into the fire in the second game of the season, Hollands has responded with five straight scoreless innings.

The rest of the bullpen was a mixed bag – Bastardo pitched a scoreless eighth, surrendering only a walk while Justin De Fratus allowed two earned off the bat of Stanton. Jonathan Papelbon teetered in the ninth, issuing a base hit and a walk but ultimately pitched a scoreless inning. B.J. Rosenberg extended the game with an excellent tenth, sawing off Adeiny Hechavarria after a sequence of a 95 MPH fastball, a 78 MPH slider, and a 93 MPH fastball and ending the inning by striking out Christian Yelich, earning the win.

The Phils will look for the sweep tomorrow as Kyle Kendrick takes the hill against Henderson Alvarez.