Phillies rally late for split with Cardinals
PHILADELPHIA -- After failing in a clutch situation against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night, Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Ben Revere said he retreated to his "happy place" through meditation.
Later in the game, he put the Phils in the same sort of locale. Revere, hitting just .213 in his first year with Philadelphia, singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. Erik Kratz followed with a three-run homer, and the Phillies earned a 7-3 victory to split the four-game series with the Cardinals.
Revere said he was thinking about redemption when a lined a 1-1 pitch from reliever Mitchell Boggs (0-2) into center field in the eighth. He had grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the sixth, and later he retreated to the clubhouse to meditate.
"I gave myself a timeout and went to my happy place," he said with a laugh. "That kind of helped out a lot."
So, too, did the fact that manager Charlie Manuel elected not to pinch-hit for him in Revere's next at-bat. Manuel said his thinking was the same as it had been in the sixth: Revere is too swift to double up.
"I figured if I let him hit in the same spot in the sixth, I might as well let him hit there," Manuel said. "If he hit into another double play, I would have been upset, of course."
St. Louis manager Mike Matheny, meanwhile, was concerned about Boggs, whose ERA ballooned to 12.46.
"I don't see mechanics (as the problem) as much as you have to have confidence," Matheny said. "He's a very confident guy, but he's had some tough outings here. It's a tough hurdle to get over, but we need him to get over it real soon."
Mike Adams (1-1) worked a perfect eighth inning to pick up the victory. Jonathan Papelbon threw a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation.
With the score tied at 3-3 and one out in the eighth, Michael Young dribbled a single off Boggs' glove to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. Domonic Brown singled Young to third. That set the stage for Revere, who turned on a 94 mph fastball from Boggs.
Kratz homered to left field on the next pitch, another fastball.
"I was able to put the barrel on," Kratz said. "That's the name of the game."
The Phils had tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, when pinch hitter Laynce Nix concluded a 10-pitch at-bat against reliever Fernando Salas by doubling home Kratz, who opened the inning with a single. Nix is now 5-for-10 as a pinch hitter this season, with two homers and five RBIs.
The Cards, trailing 2-1 after five innings, knotted it on David Freese's RBI groundout in the top of the sixth, then took the lead on Allen Craig's run-scoring single one inning later.
Both starters worked six innings, though neither figured in the decision. The Phillies' Kyle Kendrick allowed eight hits and two runs while striking out six and walking one. St. Louis' Jake Westbrook surrendered seven hits and three runs. He struck out four and walked four.
Matt Carpenter homered with one out in the top of the first off Kendrick, but the Phillies scored twice in the bottom of the inning. Jimmy Rollins led off with a triple, and after a walk to John Mayberry Jr., Chase Utley singled Rollins home. Mayberry, who took third on Utley's hit, scored on Ryan Howard's sacrifice fly.
NOTES: Phillies RHP Jonathan Pettibone will make his major league debut Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pettibone, 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA in two outings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, is replacing LHP John Lannan, who went on the disabled list Thursday due to a strained quadriceps tendon near his left knee. ... After the game, the Phils optioned LHP Joe Savery to Lehigh Valley, opening up a roster spot for Pettibone. ... The victory by St. Louis right-hander Lance Lynn over the Phillies on Saturday was his eighth straight winning decision. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that equals the run of Colorado's Rex Brothers for the majors' longest active winning streak. ... Phillies OF Delmon Young, recovering from microfracture surgery on his right ankle, began a rehab assignment Sunday with the high Class A Clearwater, going 1-for-4 at Lakeland, Fla. Manager Charlie Manuel said Young is 10 to 14 days away from rejoining the big-league club. ... Phillies C Carlos Ruiz is scheduled to undergo a second X-ray on his left wrist Monday after being hit by a pitch Friday during an extended spring training game. Ruiz, listed as day-to-day, is serving a 25-game suspension for using a banned stimulant. Barring a rainout, he can rejoin the Phillies on April 28 in New York for a game against the Mets.
