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Phillies manager Charlie Manuel thought about hitting for Carlos Ruiz in the 11th inning, and ended up sending the catcher to the plate.
Good decision.
Ruiz hit a two-out RBI double and Philadelphia overcame another blown save by Brad Lidge to beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Sunday.
Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez each drove in a run for Philadelphia, and Ruiz neatly blocked the plate to stop Johnny Damon from scoring early.
The Phillies went 8-2 on their three-city, 10-day trip and improved to a major league-best 16-6 on the road.
"We ended the trip well and needed that," Manuel said. "We wish we could've taken yesterday's game too, but they beat us. I like the way that we are playing. We're starting to play better, more consistent baseball."
Clay Condrey (4-0), the Phillies' sixth pitcher, worked two scoreless innings.
Chase Utley got the winning rally started with a two-out walk against Brett Tomko (0-1). Utley stole second before Ruiz lined the ninth pitch of the at-bat down the third-base line.
A strong contingent of Phillies fans in the crowd of 46,986, the biggest at Yankee Stadium since Opening Day, cheered wildly as Utley scored.
Melky Cabrera hit a tying single off Lidge in the ninth as the Yankees nearly rallied for their fifth walkoff win of a wildly successful 10-game homestand. New York went 8-2 in its best stretch to date at its new ballpark, and has won 10 of 12 overall.
"Today we didn't get it done but that doesn't take away from what we did on the homestand," manager Joe Girardi said. "We can't expect these guys to do it every time."
Robinson Cano led off the ninth with an infield single against Lidge, who blew two save opportunities in the series. Pinch-runner Ramiro Pena then stole second before Cabrera hit a bouncer up the middle, just under the glove of diving shortstop Rollins.
Pena raced around to score the tying run without a play as Yankees fans prepared to celebrate another dramatic victory. Cabrera stole second with one out and advanced to third on pinch-hitter Nick Swisher's grounder. But Lidge got Brett Gardner to bounce to first, sending the game to extra innings.
"I got a good pitch to hit," Gardner said. "I just didn't get around on it."
Lidge's ERA actually dropped to 9.15 after his fourth blown save in 12 chances this season. He gave up Alex Rodriguez's tying homer and Cabrera's winning single in the ninth inning of Philadelphia's 5-4 loss Saturday.
"Today was totally different from yesterday," said Lidge, who converted each of his 48 save opportunities in 2008, including the postseason. "They got two groundballs that weren't necessarily hit that well and a stolen base and that was a recipe for a run."
New York put its first two batters on in the 10th but Condrey got Mark Teixeira to ground into a double play. After Rodriguez was intentionally walked, Pena flied out.
Teixeira added to the stadium's growing reputation as a launching pad with a broken-bat, solo shot off Cole Hamels in the sixth. Hamels slowly shook his head in disbelief as the drive carried over the wall in left despite Teixeira's bat shattering, leaving him holding barely more than the handle.
"Most of the time when you hear a broken bat you think it's a popup," Hamels said.
It was Teixeira's 13th of the season and No. 87 at New York's $1.5 billion field, setting the record for most homers in the first 23 games at a ballpark. Houston's home, formerly known as Enron Field, set the previous mark in 2000, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Hamels allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings, outpitching CC Sabathia in a matchup of ace left-handers. Hamels is 2-0 with a 2.88 ERA in four starts this month.
Ruiz collected three hits for the second straight day and is batting .438 (14 for 32) in his last nine games. He also contributed on defense, tagging Damon out to end the third and cutting down two runners trying to steal second.
"I try to get my hands relaxed," he said of his improved hitting. "I try to wait on the ball and trust my hands."
Sabathia made his first start against Philadelphia since he was tagged for five runs over 3 2/3 innings in the Milwaukee Brewers' 5-2 loss in Game 2 of the NL division series.
The big lefty gave up three runs and nine hits over eight innings. He has gone at least seven innings in each of his last four starts and is 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA in that stretch.
Good decision.
Ruiz hit a two-out RBI double and Philadelphia overcame another blown save by Brad Lidge to beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Sunday.
Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez each drove in a run for Philadelphia, and Ruiz neatly blocked the plate to stop Johnny Damon from scoring early.
The Phillies went 8-2 on their three-city, 10-day trip and improved to a major league-best 16-6 on the road.
"We ended the trip well and needed that," Manuel said. "We wish we could've taken yesterday's game too, but they beat us. I like the way that we are playing. We're starting to play better, more consistent baseball."
Clay Condrey (4-0), the Phillies' sixth pitcher, worked two scoreless innings.
Chase Utley got the winning rally started with a two-out walk against Brett Tomko (0-1). Utley stole second before Ruiz lined the ninth pitch of the at-bat down the third-base line.
A strong contingent of Phillies fans in the crowd of 46,986, the biggest at Yankee Stadium since Opening Day, cheered wildly as Utley scored.
Melky Cabrera hit a tying single off Lidge in the ninth as the Yankees nearly rallied for their fifth walkoff win of a wildly successful 10-game homestand. New York went 8-2 in its best stretch to date at its new ballpark, and has won 10 of 12 overall.
"Today we didn't get it done but that doesn't take away from what we did on the homestand," manager Joe Girardi said. "We can't expect these guys to do it every time."
Robinson Cano led off the ninth with an infield single against Lidge, who blew two save opportunities in the series. Pinch-runner Ramiro Pena then stole second before Cabrera hit a bouncer up the middle, just under the glove of diving shortstop Rollins.
Pena raced around to score the tying run without a play as Yankees fans prepared to celebrate another dramatic victory. Cabrera stole second with one out and advanced to third on pinch-hitter Nick Swisher's grounder. But Lidge got Brett Gardner to bounce to first, sending the game to extra innings.
"I got a good pitch to hit," Gardner said. "I just didn't get around on it."
Lidge's ERA actually dropped to 9.15 after his fourth blown save in 12 chances this season. He gave up Alex Rodriguez's tying homer and Cabrera's winning single in the ninth inning of Philadelphia's 5-4 loss Saturday.
"Today was totally different from yesterday," said Lidge, who converted each of his 48 save opportunities in 2008, including the postseason. "They got two groundballs that weren't necessarily hit that well and a stolen base and that was a recipe for a run."
New York put its first two batters on in the 10th but Condrey got Mark Teixeira to ground into a double play. After Rodriguez was intentionally walked, Pena flied out.
Teixeira added to the stadium's growing reputation as a launching pad with a broken-bat, solo shot off Cole Hamels in the sixth. Hamels slowly shook his head in disbelief as the drive carried over the wall in left despite Teixeira's bat shattering, leaving him holding barely more than the handle.
"Most of the time when you hear a broken bat you think it's a popup," Hamels said.
It was Teixeira's 13th of the season and No. 87 at New York's $1.5 billion field, setting the record for most homers in the first 23 games at a ballpark. Houston's home, formerly known as Enron Field, set the previous mark in 2000, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Hamels allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings, outpitching CC Sabathia in a matchup of ace left-handers. Hamels is 2-0 with a 2.88 ERA in four starts this month.
Ruiz collected three hits for the second straight day and is batting .438 (14 for 32) in his last nine games. He also contributed on defense, tagging Damon out to end the third and cutting down two runners trying to steal second.
"I try to get my hands relaxed," he said of his improved hitting. "I try to wait on the ball and trust my hands."
Sabathia made his first start against Philadelphia since he was tagged for five runs over 3 2/3 innings in the Milwaukee Brewers' 5-2 loss in Game 2 of the NL division series.
The big lefty gave up three runs and nine hits over eight innings. He has gone at least seven innings in each of his last four starts and is 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA in that stretch.
