In their longest game in 18 years, the Phils outlasted the Reds in 19 innings thanks 5 shutout innings in relief by Dannys Baez and 1 by Wilson Valdez, yes the utility infielder, in which he retired Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. All the told the Phils bullpen allowed just 1 run on 3 hits in 12 outstanding innings and were the real heroes on the night when all was said and done. It didn't start out that way though. Through the first 6 innings, the Story was Roy Halladay who allowed just 1 run, Ben Francisco who clubbed a 2 run homer in the 1st, and John Mayberry Jr who slapped an RBI single in the 2nd. Then Jay Bruce roped a 2 run single off Halladay in the 7th to tie things at 3 and that all went by the way side. After failed to score with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 9th and Bruce homered to start the 10th, it looked like the story might be him and his 3 RBIs. Then Ryan Howard started the bottom of the 10th by crushing a solo homer to center field and tying things up at 4. So Bruce's big night became a footnote and the real story became a war of attrition between the two team's bullpens that just kept going and going. Finally in the bottom of the 19th, Carlos Fisher, who was in his 6th inning in relief, just a run out of gas and loaded the bases for Raul Ibanez. Ibanez responded by scalding a deep sac fly to at last score Jimmy Rollins with the winning run over 6 hours and 19 innings after the night began. The 5-4 win is the Phils 30th of the year and the first in the career of Wilson Valdez, which makes him the first position player to win a game since 2000.
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