Grady Sizemore's hot bat continues in Phillies' win

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If Grady Sizemore is hearing footsteps, he's responding the way a player on the roster bubble should.

It's seemed since Cody Asche went to Triple A to learn to play left field that once he's ready to return to the majors, Sizemore — another left-handed hitting corner outfielder — would be the odd man out.

But the way Sizemore is swinging right now, it's difficult to even take him out of the three-hole.

“I can’t really worry about what you can’t control. There is no need for motivation for any player," Sizemore said Saturday night after his first four-hit game since 2008.

Batting third for the second straight night, Sizemore went 4 for 5, keying the Phillies to their most impressive offensive output of the season.

The Phils tied a season-best with seven runs and also set new season highs with six extra-base hits and 19 baserunners in a 7-5 win over the Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park (see Instant Replay).

The Phillies used a pair of three-run innings and solid bullpen work, specifically from beleaguered lefty Jake Diekman, to win their fourth straight game and take the first two games of a series for the first time since opening week.

And to do it, they overcame a 77-minute rain delay and a pitcher who entered with the sport's lowest opponents' batting average.

"Team effort after an hour rain delay," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "I like what I'm seeing. It's coming from different guys. It's more consistent up and down the lineup. Warmer weather, having some at-bats under the belt, whatever it might be, the timing seems to be good right now with certain guys getting hot and others joining in. I think it's kind of snowballed."

Sizemore went 4 for 5 and is 15 for his last 37.

Ryan Howard had a pair of hits, including an RBI double, his 12th extra-base hit in his last 82 at-bats.

Carlos Ruiz and Andres Blanco also provided RBI doubles. Jeff Francoeur hit a solo home run. Freddy Galvis had no hits, but he did walk twice and struck out later after fouling off nine consecutive pitches.

(Aside from Odubel Herrera — the Phillies' only hitless starter — the quietest night belonged to recently promoted third baseman Maikel Franco, who went 1 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout.)

A true team effort, one that even included a multi-hit game from Chase Utley, just his second of the season. Utley went 2 for 3 with a double, two RBIs and a walk.

Through two games, Utley has taken well to the six-hole.

"Just a change in who's hitting behind you, who's hitting in front of you," Sandberg said. "A little clearing of the mind as far as responsibility and maybe a little relaxation. But also stinging the ball and hitting it away from the defense. So getting credit for hits when he's hitting the ball good, I think that's what was missing leading up to these games."

The seven-run outburst allowed Jerome Williams to improve to 3-3 on the season despite his failing to record an out in the sixth inning for the fourth straight start. It wasn't all Williams' fault — his outing was interrupted by a one-hour, 17-minute rain delay in the middle of the Phillies' best rally of the night. They loaded the bases with nobody out in the third, chasing Diamondbacks rookie right-hander Archie Bradley just as the tarp came on the field.

Williams' short outing made Diekman's even more important. Diekman came on in the seventh and pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the season in appearance No. 16. He retired the top of Arizona's order — Ender Inciarte, Mark Trumbo, Paul Goldschmidt — before getting cleanup man David Peralta to fly out to begin the eighth.

Must be a relief for a reliever who had previously allowed 2.42 baserunners per inning.

"I think that was the best we've seen Diek," Sandberg said. "It was a good situation for him, it was late, it was a chance for him to have an opportunity to have an outing to really build on, with a need right there and also the hitters he was facing. He made some real good pitches."

Diekman gave way to Ken Giles, who allowed the second home run of his major-league career to Yasmany Tomas. Giles was taken deep by the first batter he faced in 2014, Yasmani Grandal — must be the name — before going 237 straight batters without surrendering another longball.

But he and Jonathan Papelbon were able to record the final five outs to preserve the two-run win. Papelbon, by the way, is now 9 for 9 in save chances this season and 115 for 130 as a Phillie. That 88.5 percent success rate is higher than it was with the Red Sox (88.3).

The combination of contagious hitting and just enough pitching enabled the Phillies to win their first series since April 24-26 against the Braves. Bench coach Larry Bowa joked earlier in the week that he would not shave until the team won another series.

"Bowa's gotta shave now?" Phillies legend and weekend commentator Mike Schmidt asked Sandberg as the clubhouse opened. "He can't now, not after four straight wins."

The Phillies' 10-game homestand ends Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. Those four straight wins guarantee it won't be a losing stretch.

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