Life Without Jonathan Papelbon: Ken Giles saves Phillies' win

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TORONTO — There are several qualities you want to see in your closer.

A little pop on the fastball is nice. At least one good secondary pitch is a must. Toughness, grit — whatever you want to call it — and a short memory for those nights when things go bad are necessities.

Ken Giles has all of these attributes.

There’s something else a successful closer needs, as well:

Confidence.

Giles has that, too.

Check out this quote:

“I think I’m going to be a great closer,” the 24-year-old right-hander said late Tuesday night.

Earlier in the evening, Giles learned that All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon had finally gotten his wish — a parole from Philadelphia. Papelbon was traded to the Washington Nationals (see story), leaving Giles to step in as closer.

Giles’ first night on the job was a success. He notched his first save of the season and second of his career in the Phillies’ 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Center (see Instant Replay).

“I knew Pap wanted to be traded and I knew it was only a matter of time,” Giles said. “Being a closer feels great. It’s a once in a lifetime dream for me to be a closer. Now it’s my opportunity to show what I’ve got.

“I want to thank Pap for everything he’s done for me and the team. I can’t thank him enough for guiding me through the way of the closer. I think I’m going to be a great closer.”

The victory over the Blue Jays improved the Phillies to 9-1 since the All-Star break, their best post-break start since they also went 9-1 in 1970.

Rookie Adam Morgan survived a first-inning home run and Toronto’s high-powered offense, and his mates scratched back from a 2-0 deficit to get him the win. The Phils scored all their runs in the fifth inning on four straight hits by Ryan Howard, Darin Ruf, Cody Asche and Andres Blanco. The last three hits were all doubles. Asche drove in two of the runs and Blanco one.

Mackanin wanted to get Morgan out of the game with a lead so he went to his bullpen in the seventh. Jeanmar Gomez and Luis Garcia set it up for Giles with a scoreless inning each.

These last few days have had a storybook feel, starting with Cole Hamels’ no-hitter Saturday. There was no way Giles was not getting in this game as the closer on the day Papelbon finally made his jailbreak.

“The ball always seems to find you,” Mackanin said. “It always finds you, and sure enough …

“I was talking to [pitching coach Bob] McClure and he said, ‘The ball is going to find Giles tonight; the baseball gods work that way.’"

Giles has been the closer in waiting since he arrived in the majors last June with his high-90s fastball and wipeout slider. He will get a two-month look to see if he can be the guy going forward.

“We have other choices, but he’s the appropriate guy to give an opportunity to,” Mackanin said. “Let him run with it and I think he’s capable of doing it. The only thing I see different in him from last year is that his slider is not as consistent. If he gets that, he’s going to be tough.”

Mackanin said Giles probably began thinking about getting a save as soon as the Phillies took a one-run lead in the fifth. He was right.

“Once we scored those three runs, I was like, ‘That’s all that we’re getting. I need to mentally prepare for myself to be ready to go,’" Giles said.

Giles had one save last season when Papelbon was serving a suspension. But this was different.

“I was way more nervous in this one because I was 'the' guy,” Giles said. “Pitching in the eighth inning is way different. All I have to do is preserve that lead or come out with the tie. As closer, you just want to shut them down. Let’s go home.”

And that’s just what Giles did in his first day in his new job.

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