BOX SCORE
Raul Ibanez has Hunter Pence to thank, at least in part, for his four-RBI day in the Phillies 6-5 extra innings win over the Pirates on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park.
Down 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, with Ryan Howard on second base after a double, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle took left handed reliever Joe Beimel out of the game and inserted righty Jose Veras to face the also right handed Pence. After Pence hit into a fielders choice, Hurdle left the right hander in the game to face Ibanez.
And Ibanez took advantage of the righty with a game-tying, two-run home run into the leftfield stands. The homer was Ibanezs second of the day. He hit a solo shot in the second inning.
Ibanezs day wasnt over yet, though, as he clocked a walk-off double to rightfield in the 10th inning to score Pence, who was on second after a one-out double, to give the Phillies the three-game sweep of the Buccos.
Hes hot, hes been swinging the heck out of the bat, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said of Ibanez. Hes having a good streak and Ive seen him put on a good streak and you guys have too. He keeps it for quite awhilehes swinging good.
Sunday was Ibanezs first multi-home run game in 2011 and the 14th of his career. It was also the third game-winning hit for Ibanez this season, accounting for half of the Phillies six walk-off wins.
MLB
Ibanezs 25 July RBIs is second in the National League behind the Marlins Logan Morrison and his seven home runs in the month are tied for third in all of Major League Baseball.
Howard reaped the benefits of having a right handed power bat (Pence) in the lineup with his 4-for-4, three RBI performance Saturday night. Ibanez was the beneficiary with his four RBIs and two homers on Sunday. And though hes 2 for 9 in two games with the Phillies, Pence has already brought more to the Phillies lineup than the stat sheet reveals.
I hope that its a dynamic that helps, Pence said of acting as protection for Howard and a way to put Ibanez into more favorable matchups. You know, Rauls still got to hit the homer, absolutely unbelievable day by him. And you can look around and any one of a number of these guys can carry you for a day, thats the beauty of it.
Aside from the .307 batting average and 11 home runs, protection for Howard and splitting up the left handed bats, Ibanez said Pence also energized the Phillies dugout and gave the team, if they even needed it with their 68-39 record, a shot in the arm.
Pences a great player, and he brings a lot of energy, Ibanez said. Its always a nice piece at the deadline when you bring in an impact player like that. Its definitely a morale boost for the team and not only that, but hes a great player and a great guy.
Meanwhile, starter Vance Worley (7-1, 2.33) had his worst start as a member of the Phillies. He allowed four runs on six hits in six innings of work. Those four runs were the most he has given up since he surrendered five against the Mets on May 29.
But after Brad Lidge (0-0, 3.38) entered in the seventh inning and gave up a two-out run, the combination of Juan Perez (1-0, 3.60), David Herndon (0-2, 4.46), Ryan Madson (3-1, 1.91) and Antonio Bastardo (4-0, 1.34), who earned the win, managed to keep the Pirates scoreless in the eighth, ninth and tenth innings, respectively, to let Worley off the hook.
The Phillies sweep of the Pirates was their first sweep since they won four straight against the Marlins from June 14-16.
After Sunday, the Phillies kick off a 10-game road trip in Denver on Monday night when Cole Hamels (12-6, 2.61) looks to rebound from a loss to the Giants at the Bank last Wednesday.
Hamels will be matched up against Rockies righty Jhoulys Chacin (8-8, 3.50).
The Phillies send Kyle Kendrick (5-5, 3.52) and Roy Halladay (13-4, 2.44) to the mound for Games 2 and 3 of the series against the Rockies. And though Halladay will get a chance to pitch in front of his hometown crowd at Coors Field for just the second time in his career, the Phillies ace will not face the defending champion Giants in the four games in San Francisco next week.