Categories: 2009 RecapsPosts

Utley, Stairs Power Phillies In Comeback Win

On October 13, 2008, pinch hitter Matt Stairs pummeled a ball into the Los Angeles night to give the Phillies a 7-5 lead and the eventual win of that score.

Almost exactly six months later, Stairs repeated that moment, leading the Phils to a 7-5 win over the Rockies.

Stairs’ homer came in the ninth, after Chase Utley nailed a clutch two-run bomb to tie the score in the eighth. It was the culmination of a comeback that came after starter Chan Ho Park debuted with a sour line: 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 2 K. They chipped away early with an RBI hit by Raul Ibanez and two RBI by Jayson Werth, who had a fine series in Colorado.

Not to be outdone, the Phils bullpen was superb. Chad Durbin mopped up Park’s mess with a strong two inning outing. Scott Eyre followed with a clutch hold in the sixth, then Clay Condrey pitched a scoreless seventh. With a tie, Ryan Madson secured the score with a stunning eighth, and Brad Lidge gutted out his second save of the season.

The Phillies are now sitting at .500.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.