It took a week of scarcely making an out at the plate in exhibition games and training-camp scrimmages for Phil Gosselin to force his way on to the Phillies' opening-day roster.
After all that, you didn't think he was going to relinquish his spot, did you?
The best underdog story in baseball got even better Tuesday night at Fenway Park. Gosselin came off the bench in the sixth inning and jumpstarted a seven-run, two-out rally that propelled the Phillies to their fourth consecutive victory, a 13-6 shellacking of the beleaguered Boston Red Sox, who lost their ninth game in a row.
It was an offensive tsunami that revealed the full capacity of the Phillies' lineup. It lasted for nearly 40 minutes against three Red Sox relievers, who combined to throw 45 pitches. The Phillies sent 12 batters to the plate, and eight in a row reached base _ all with two out.
There were four singles, two doubles, one walk, and a three-run home run for Bryce Harper, who is putting up numbers that rival the best stretch of his MVP season of 2015 with the Washington Nationals.
But it all started with Gosselin, the well-traveled 31-year-old infielder and pride of Malvern Prep and West Chester.
With the Phillies trailing, 4-2, after only a four-inning start from Zach Eflin and facing Red Sox left-hander Josh Taylor, manager Joe Girardi called on lefty-mashing Gosselin to hit for struggling Scott Kingery, who was starting at second base while Jean Segura rested a balky right hamstring. Gosselin jumped on the first pitch, a 95-mph fastball, and lined an RBI double off the center-field wall.
Here's what followed: A game-tying single by Roman Quinn, who stole second and scored on a single by Andrew McCutchen, who also stole second; a walk of Rhys Hoskins, who snapped a 127-plate-appearance home run drought one inning earlier; Harper's three-run homer; a double by J.T. Realmuto; an RBI single by Didi Gregorius; a single by Alec Bohm.
With that, the Phillies turned a two-run deficit into a five-run lead. For good measure _ and to prove that he can hit right-handers, too _ Gosselin led off the seventh inning with a solo homer against Red Sox reliever Colten Brewer. Jay Bruce tacked on a three-run shot in the eighth, as the Phillies achieved a season high with 16 hits and matched their highest scoring output of the season.
For most of the season's first few weeks, Harper (1.186 OPS) and Realmuto (eight homers) have carried the Phillies' offense. Harper, in particular, has sizzled, reaching base in all 18 games.
In the best 60-game stretch of his MVP season, Harper slashed .371/.488/.780 with 21 home runs, 52 RBIs, and more walks (46) than strikeouts (42). Thus far in this 60-game season, he's slashing .367/.486/.700 with five homers, 15 RBIs, 12 walks, and 11 strikeouts.
But in defeating the Red Sox, Gosselin was, as Reggie Jackson might call him, the straw that stirred the drink. Gosselin's teammates already have a nickname for him: Barrels, because of how often he barrels up the baseball.
After eight seasons of kicking around from the Atlanta Braves to the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Texas Rangers to the Cincinnati Reds and finally to the Phillies last season, Gosselin has earned his best opportunity yet to maximize his playing time.
In 11 games so far this season, Gosselin is 12-for-28 (.429) with three doubles and three home runs. He has muscled his way into the lineup against left-handed pitchers by going 9-for-19 (.474) against them, and a case could be made that he should play regularly against righties, too.
Segura is expected to be ready to return any day now, according to Girardi. Perhaps Gosselin will steal some at-bats from Kingery, who is off to a 6-for-49 (.122) start and has been relegated to a utility role after beginning the season as the everyday second baseman.
Regardless, with Red Sox lefty Kyle Hart scheduled to start Wednesday's series finale, it's a good bet that Girardi will find a spot for Barrels Gosselin, without whom the Phillies' biggest rally of the season might have never gotten off the ground.
