The Official Site of Chase Utley

Fri, Sep 3rd 2010, 10:38

Chase is on: Utley, Phillies gain on Braves

With both the Phillies and Rockies coming from the West Coast for a single makeup game, the visiting team made the hosts feel quite unwelcome.

The Phillies victimized the Rockies with a nine-run rally in the seventh to take the lead in a big game that was packed with all the drama of a three-game set. The game featured 35 hits, 23 runs, six homers, three hit batsmen, two key errors, an ejection, and a grand slam before Philadelphia claimed a 12-11 victory.

“It felt like it had extreme, urgent importance because of how the game was played,” said Brad Lidge, who earned his 19th save with a nail-biter of a ninth. “It was a lot of fun to watch our guys come back and to continue to hit against a team that also decided to continue to hit. In the end, we were the last ones standing. It shows the character of our guys.”

Determined to get more than frequent-flier miles out of the one-day trip, the Phillies staged the kind of comeback the Rockies became famous for at Coors Field. Down by four in the top of the seventh, Placido Polanco laced a leadoff double to left to ignite a nine-run rally on nine hits, respectively matching and setting Phillies season highs and seizing a five-run lead.

The frame featured back-to-back homers from Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth and was capped by a Chase Utley grand slam — who matched his career high with six RBIs and set a personal best with five in a single inning.

“I imagine there are a lot of guys that have driven in a lot of runs here,” Utley said. “There’s a lot of room for hits. The ball carries extremely well here. You put those two together, you’re going to have some success.”

Continue reading….