Alright, this game is over. Two outs, top of the ninth with Chase Utley on first and Ryan Howard facing a left handed pitcher, this game is all but over. But Ryan Howard proved both Mets and Phillies fans wrong with one swing of the bat against Mets pitcher Josh Edgin.
The Phillies were tied at one a piece until a solo homerun by Mets third baseman David Wright broke up the tie in the sixth inning, giving the Mets the 2-1 lead.
Once the ninth inning rolled around, the Phillies quickly found themselves with two outs and still down by one run to rival New York. Chase Utley reached base via a base on balls and Howard walked up to the plate.
It is no secret that historically, Howard has struggled with left handed pitching. It is also no secret that Howard has struggled this September, posting a .180 batting average for the month. Although this was Howard's first homerun of the month, he sure made it count, putting the Phillies up a run heading into the bottom half of the ninth. Closer Jonathan Papelbon shut the door on the Mets offense in the bottom of the ninth, securing the win for the Phillies.
With the win, the Phillies have find themselves ahead of Pittsburgh by 1/2 of a game, and behind the Cardinals by 3.5 games at the moment. Although it does not seem likely at this point, the Phillies are still statistically very much in the hunt for that second wild card spot behind the Atlanta Braves.
Either way, the Phillies will need to rely on more than timely hitting by Ryan Howard in a slow month. Three hits against the Mets will not usually win a team many games, but for the Fightin' Phillies, they will take whatever they can get right now to earn a win and make things interesting in the tight National League wild card race.
Back to the Philadelphia Phillies Newsfeed