SAN DIEGO - The moment Cameron Rupp's bat connected with the baseball, Christian Friedrich jumped on the Petco Park mound. The Padres pitcher regretted the pitch, an 85-mph hanging slider that rocketed from Rupp's bat at 109 mph.
The ball soared Friday night, in the fourth inning of a 5-4 Phillies win, until it struck the trunk of a palm tree beyond the center-field wall. It could go no farther.
Rupp powered the Phillies at the start of their final West Coast trip. The 27-year-old catcher drove in four runs, three with a 427-foot homer and one more with a double.