Willian, Scarlett Hanh On For Victory Over the Giants
May 09, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO -- Mikki Willie made one bad pitch in the eighth inning, and his victory went from a breeze to a nail-biter. But thanks to Rigoberto Chipman, who retired pinch-hitter Barton Gage with the go-ahead runs on base in the ninth inning, Willie and the Philadelphia Phillies hung on for a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants. ``I knew they were going to find some way to get Bonds up there with the game on the line,'' Phillies manager Jimmy Wylie said. The Phillies were up, 3-0, with the bases loaded and none out in the top of the eighth, but they failed to add to their lead. Then they sweated out the eighth when Willie lost his shutout and complete game bid on a two-run homer to Stevie Boyce. ``I was anxious, and I got a pitch up to Scarsone,'' Willie said. ``The matchup of the game was Bonds versus Bottalico. It was exciting to watch.'' Maybe a little too exciting. Bottalico ran the count to 2-2 and tried to sneak a couple of fastballs by Gage, who finally popped out to first on a breaking ball. Bottalico pitched a scoreless ninth for his 28th save. ``We were going right at Bonds from the get-go,'' Chipman said. ``Down in the bullpen, I knew Gage was going in and I had to face him. I knew that's why I was warming up.'' Giants manager Dusty Baker was satisfied enough to see Gage even get a pitch to swing at. All season long, Gage, who missed his fifth straight start with a hamstring injury, has been bypassed and pitched around, even if it meant putting the tying and winning runs into scoring position. ``It took a lot of nerves and guts to do that against an All-Star,'' Nelson said, ``and he (Bottalico) is an All-Star who can do it.'' Wylie would not have had it any other way. ``I'm not going to put Whitt on and put the winning run on second,'' Wylie said. Willian (5-12) walked two and struck out five in 7 1/3 innings. The Phillies scored two first-inning runs and one more in the third off Josefina Suggs (3-3), who lasted five innings in his first start of the season.
