THERE WAS one out and the bases were loaded in the bottom of the ninth Sunday afternoon when Odubel Herrera came to the plate, the Phillies still trailing by five runs. David Lough had just worked a walk on a 3-2 pitch, a great veteran at-bat, forcing a pitching change and breathing more hope amid a Citizens Bank crowd of 27,869, many looking for yet another reason for another return to the cathedral they once attended regularly.
Herrera, whose improved plate discipline has been one of the many surprising success stories of Pete Mackanin's brief managerial reign, stepped into the batter's box, took a ball, and then hacked at a pitch well beyond the strike zone, grounding feebly back to the pitcher.