Phillies Nation Perfect Season: Phillies seal comeback victory thanks to defensive miscue

Every day until Opening Day arrives, Phillies Nation will take a daily look back at a regular-season victory from that particular day in history that you can watch in full in lieu of live Phillies baseball. Think of it is as your daily Phillies watch recommendation.

June 20, 2012 – Phillies 7, Rockies 6

In the ninth inning of a tied game with two outs and the bases loaded, a ground ball to shortstop off the bat of Plácido Polanco seemed poised to send the Phillies and Colorado Rockies to extra innings. But there was just one problem — Rockies first baseman Todd Helton’s foot was off the bag when he received the throw from teammate Marco Scutaro.

This error by Helton allowed all runners to advance safely and let the Phillies walk the ballgame off 7-6 after entering the bottom of the ninth down one run.

The game was tied 5-5 at the start of the final inning, as the Phillies brought in closer Jonathan Papelbon to attempt to keep the score even. A two-out double by Wilin Rosario, who homered off starting pitcher Joe Blanton earlier in the game, and an intentional walk to pinch hitter Jason Giambi brought up Dexter Fowler. Fowler singled to right field to drive in Rosario and give the Rockies the lead.

Ty Wigginton started the rally for the Phillies in the bottom of the ninth with a two-out single off Rockies closer Rafael Betancourt. As Wigginton ran on a 1-1 pitch, Hunter Pence lined a ball off the top of the fence in left field to score the runner from first and bring the score to 6-6.

The Rockies elected to intentionally walk Carlos Ruiz, which brought up Shane Victorino with runners on first and second base. The speedy Victorino, batting from the left side of the plate, beat out an infield single hit to Scutaro. This loaded the bases to set up Polanco’s walk-off, which gave the Phillies their 33rd victory of the season.

Rockies Lineup

1. Tyler Colvin, center field
2. Marco Scutaro, shortstop
3. Carlos González, left field
4. Michael Cuddyer, right field
5. Todd Helton, first base
6. Jordan Pacheco, third base
7. Chris Nelson, second base
8. Wilin Rosario, catcher
9. Alex White, pitcher

Phillies Lineup

1. Jimmy Rollins, shortstop
2. Juan Pierre, left field
3. Hunter Pence, right field
4. Carlos Ruiz, catcher
5. Shane Victorino, center field
6. Plácido Polanco, third base
7. John Mayberry Jr., left field
8. Michael Martínez, second base
9. Joe Blanton, pitcher

You can watch the full game by using this link. You can also watch it on your Smart TV or streaming device with the YouTube app. Just put “COL AT PHI – June 20, 2012” into the search bar and click on the video. 

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