Philadelphia Phillies beat Cincinnati Reds 5-4 in longest game of the season - MLB Update
The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 in a long and arduous 19 inning game at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia on Wednesday, May 25.
Wilson Valdez earned the first win of his career as he finished off the long night in the nineteenth inning. Roy Halladay started off the game and allowed eleven hits to pass him by within the duration of seven innings. Almost all of the hits that passed
him by were ground ball singles that were sure to prolong the game.
The Phillies’ usually expect to win when pitcher par excellence Halladay starts, but no one could have foreseen winning in such a manner when the game started. The game kicked off with Halladay pitching but finished with infielder Valdez which was a very
unusual occurrence as it is rare to see position players take the mound.
All hopes were on Valdez’s inexperienced pitching shoulders, as he took on the best from the Reds’ line-up, National League Most Valuable Player Joey Votto, multiple All Star Scott Rolen and Jay Bruce with the game tied. When this trio is on the field, any
full time reliever would be worried to face them, let alone a position player who had to come out on the mound because the game would not finish and the teams were running out of pitchers to send out.
Although history has seen position players being sent out to pitch, it is not a frequent occurrence. Nick Swisher and David Wells of the New York Yankees along with Chili Davis of the Texas Rangers were sent out to pitch but none of them got a win for themselves
or their team. Only Valdez managed to do this.
Ben Francisco was quick to start off the match, probably not knowing how long it will last as he belted out a homer that covered a distance of 354 feet and Jimmy Rollins scored in the very first inning. The second inning saw John Mayberry Jr. single as Carlos
Ruiz scored.
The Phillies were silenced for the next couple of innings as the Reds put runs of their own on the scoreboard. Votto singled in the fifth inning as Drew Stubbs scored. The seventh inning saw Jay Bruce level the score with the Phillies as he singled and Miguel
Cairo and Stubbs scored. The Reds were quick to take the lead in the tenth inning as Bruce belted out a home-run that flew for 351 feet.
Not wanting to lose at the hands of the Reds for the second consecutive game, Ryan Howard unleashed a mammoth home-run in the tenth innings which covered quite a distance of 434 feet. With the scores tied, both teams started their pitching duel that lasted
till the nineteenth inning where Raul Ibanez hit a sacrifice fly and Rollin scored to the joy of his team, who were scheduled to play another match in less than a day and the fans who sat to watch the game for over six hours.
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