PHILADELPHIA _ Aaron Altherr stood five feet from the on-deck circle on Wednesday night and watched as Brandon Morrow fired his warm-up pitches. The crowd at Citizens Bank Park buzzed as an eventual 7-5 Phillies win over the Dodgers began to brew. The bases were loaded. And it was Altherr who the Dodgers elected to face.
He had homered earlier in his third straight game. But the Dodgers intentionally walked Rhys Hoskins _ it's hard to blame them _ to face Altherr with one out in the eighth. He made them pay. Altherr ripped a double that tipped off the outstretched glove of right fielder Yasiel Puig and the Phillies had their third straight win over baseball's best team.
The Dodgers will be spraying champagne sometime this week when they clinch the National League West. They may toast again in October. But these young Phillies with nothing to play for seemed to have found themselves against the Dodgers. They can complete a four-game sweep on Thursday afternoon.
Cesar Hernandez started the eighth with a walk and then looked to be out when Freddy Galvis' sacrifice-bunt attempt was tapped back to the pitcher, who fired to second. But the throw zipped into center field. Hernandez ran to third, Galvis rolled into second, and a rally was born.
Odubel Herrera ended the ninth with a leaping catch against the wall. The Phillies' bench players were kept off the field as umpires reviewed the play, but the call stood. The Phillies had the win. They could celebrate.
Tommy Joseph doubled in a run in the second and hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh. Wednesday was just Joseph's third start over the last 12 games. But he showed little rust. His blast _ which came two batters after Altherr hit a tying two-run homer _ put the Phillies ahead, 5-4. It seemed like another moment in a month that seems to be full of them. But the lead would not last.
Luis Garcia walked Austin Barnes to start the eighth. He then threw a wild pitch and a passed ball to move Barnes to third. Garcia struck out Yasmani Grandal but then Chase Utley laced a grounder to first base. Joseph fielded it and fired home to Andrew Knapp, who blocked the plate but was unable to place a tag on Barnes. The game was tied and the lead was blown.
Utley, left out of Wednesday's lineup, stroked a pinch-hit triple to start the seventh inning. The crowd _ which has cheered him on each of his at-bats this week _ roared as he slid into third. They later booed when he scored on a double by Enrique Hernandez. Utley provided a moment of nostalgia only to crush them moments later.
The Phillies hung around Wednesday behind their non-usual suspects. Jake Thompson survived five innings. Joseph drove in two runs. Kevin Siegrist pitched a scoreless inning of relief. And then Altherr _ who has blossomed this season as real piece of the future _ delivered. The stadium rocked. A sweep of baseball's best team is near and the Phillies are ending the season with their most exciting stretch of the year. Baseball seems to be returning to South Philly.
"It has been fun," manager Pete Mackanin said. "You have to admit it."
