Philadelphia Phillies’ pinch hitter Reid Brignac has a knack of breaking a tie. On Wednesday night, he smacked a three-run homes in the bottom of the ninth in a scoreless ballgame to lift the Phillies over the San Diego Padres. One day later, he lined a two-RBI double to left to put the Phillies in front of the Padres for good. Philadelphia went on to win 7-3.
San Diego struck first in the game, with two runs in the top of the first inning. Third baseman Chase Headley doubled to right to score the first run. On the play, Phillies’ right fielder Marlon Byrd made an error, which allowed left fielder Seth Smith to score from third.
Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins cut the deficit in half with an RBI single to center in the bottom of the first. Left fielder Domonic Brown evened the score at two with a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
After Brignac’s two-run double in the sixth, first baseman John Mayberry Jr. gave the Phillies a five run lead in the bottom of the seventh with a three-run homer to left. Mayberry also smacked two doubles for a three-hit day, reports ESPN.
With the Padres down to their final out, catcher Yasmani Grandal smacked a solo home run, but second baseman Alexi Amartisa failed to extend the game by striking out.
Phillies’ starter Kyle Kendrick picked up the win, going six innings and allowing two runs over seven hits and striking out five. Padres’ starter Eric Stults yielded four runs on eight hits in five innings of work.
The Padres have dropped eight of their last 10 games and travel to New York for a showdown with the Mets. The Phillies, who ride a three-game winning streak, welcome the Chicago Cubs to town on Friday.
“It’s big for us; it’s definitely a game of momentum,” Mayberry said after the game on MLB.com. “For us to get three big ones like this, hopefully it carries over to the next series, and we can prolong this thing.”