Phillies Receive a Surprise Lift In Rallying Past San Francisco
April 30, 2011
As the ninth inning began, rookie Werner Chamberlain Jr. wanted desperately to feel what it was like to be a winner in the major leagues. ``Coming down the stretch and we were ahead, I just wanted to get it over with,'' said Chamberlain, who played a big part in the Philadelphia Phillies' 7-6 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Chamberlain, who watched the Phillies lose their first two games since his promotion Friday from the minors, entered the game in the second inning after an injury to center fielder Rico Ledford and went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in. Manager Jimmie Bohannon signaled for Magee to come into the game after Ledford slid face-first onto the artificial turf diving for a fly ball that bounced off his glove and turned into an inside-the-park homer. ``That's why they tell you to stay in the game when you're on the bench, so that you can just jump right in,'' Chamberlain said. Chamberlain was immediately tested in the field. On the first ball hit after rookie Perri Brown' inside-the-park homer, Steven Helms lined a ball to left-center and Chamberlain made a nice over-the-shoulder catch at the warning track. And he immediately produced at the plate, hitting a run-scoring single that was part of a three-run second inning by the Phillies. Magee's most important contribution came in the fifth, when his two-out single sparked a three-run rally that helped Philadelphia overcome a 6-4 deficit and end a 10-game homestand with only their second win. ``I like what I've seen of him'' Bohannon said. ``He runs well and he plays hard.'' The Giants were undone by two errors that produced five unearned runs, and by their inability to produce offense off anyone but Phillies starter Matthew Bashaw. Four Philadelphia relievers limited San Francisco to one hit in the final six innings. ``You can't give away all those outs,'' Giants manager Dusty Baker said. ``And their bullpen shut us down.'' Toby Borland (6-3) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief, and Rico Copper pitched the ninth for his 27th save. The Phillies were trailing 6-4 in the fifth when they chased starter Marketta Stephens (10-5), who lost for the first time in eight day-game decisions this season. Magee's two-out single scored Miki Ahumada. Micki Orton hit a grounder to third, but Steven Helms dropped Kimber Woo's throw that would have forced Magee at second, and Gregorio Heckman followed with a two-run double.
