The highlights will show that Chase Utley was the Phillies' hero in Thursday night’s 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins (see Instant Replay).
Ultimately, he was.
Utley smacked a two-run home run off Chris Hatcher with no outs in the bottom of the 14th to break a 3-3 tie and give the Phils the win in a four-hour, 41-minute marathon at Citizens Bank Park.
The home run was the 223rd of Utley’s career, tying him with Greg Luzinski for sixth place on the Phillies’ all-time list. It was Utley’s third walk-off homer in his career and first since 2006.
Moments before Utley’s booming home run, third baseman Cody Asche made a game-saving play when he made a leaping grab of Donovan Solano’s line drive to end the top of the 14th inning.
The victory gave the Phillies a series split with the Marlins (each team won two games) and left the Phils five games back in the NL East with another intradivision four-game series ready to start Friday night when Atlanta comes to town.
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While Utley’s bat and Asche’s glove were key in the win, there was another group of contributors -- the Phillies’ bullpen.
This group of relievers has simply been spectacular for about a month and the success continued with seven scoreless innings in this game. Cole Hamels pitched the first seven innings and allowed just three runs, all on solo homers.
“The bullpen was great, seven scoreless innings, three hits,” manager Ryne Sandberg said. “They really kept the game in check and gave us a chance for Chase’s big swing at the end.”
Said Utley: “The bullpen has been great for a while. For them to keep us within striking distance was huge.”
Jake Diekman, Jonathan Papelbon, Antonio Bastardo, Ken Giles and Mario Hollands all pitched a scoreless inning. Justin De Fratus topped it off with two scoreless innings.
De Fratus’ scoreless streak is at 16 innings.
Hollands’ scoreless streak is at 16 2/3 innings.
Diekman struck out Marcell Ozuna on a 99-mph fastball with the bases loaded to end the top of the eighth. Not to be outdone, Giles hit 101 mph on the stadium radar gun in pitching a scoreless 11th.
How good has this bullpen been lately? Well, since June 3, Phillies relievers have an ERA of 1.10. That’s the best in the majors. Over that span, Phils’ relievers have 66 strikeouts and 12 walks. They have held opposing hitters to a .178 batting average.
“They’re on a roll as a group,” Sandberg said. “They’ve found their niche and they’re comfortable with it. I think they’re just feeding off each other down there, a little competition from within.”
Hamels went seven innings for the 10th straight start, the longest stretch of his career.
The lefty entered the game with just four homers allowed and none since in his previous five starts.
“When you make mistakes, they’re going to hit them a long way,” said Hamels, who allowed solo homers to Giancarlo Stanton, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ozuna.
The Phillies trailed, 3-2, after Ozuna’s homer in the seventh, but they tied the game with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. Marlins first baseman Jeff Baker committed an error on a potential inning-ending ground ball by Jimmy Rollins to allow the tying run to score.
It was a big break for the Phillies and the bullpen made it stand up until Utley’s big poke.
Hamels tipped his cap to the bullpen.
“They’re coming in and pitching lights out,” he said. “They’ve been doing that for the last month. It’s a good thing to see. It shows the hard work they’ve put in. It’s a very positive position that we have in knowing that when you give the ball over to the bullpen they’re going to shut it down and either solidify a win or keep you in the game so you can win.”