Clemens walks it off for Phils despite must-see HR robbery gone wrong
Todd Zolecki
@ToddZoleckiPHILADELPHIA -- Buddy Kennedy grew up in Millville, N.J., which means he grew up cheering for his favorite Phillies players in 2008.
Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, Pat Burrell, Jimmy Rollins, Brad Lidge.
Kennedy finally felt what they all felt in Monday night¡¯s 2-1 walk-off victory over the Rays at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies had runners on first and second and two outs in the ninth inning when Kennedy stepped into the batter¡¯s box. Kennedy had played 46 games in the big leagues the past three seasons before the Phillies acquired him from Detroit for cash considerations on June 7. He put up big numbers with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He got called up late last month, but he did not play before being optioned back to the IronPigs. Kennedy rejoined the Phillies this weekend, when they placed Alec Bohm on the 10-day injured list.
Kennedy had an opportunity Monday to win a game for his hometown team. He took a first-pitch fastball against Rays left-hander Garrett Cleavinger for a ball.
Then, the announced crowd of 39,511 started chanting his name.
¡°Buddy! Buddy! Buddy!¡±
¡°That was definitely different,¡± Kennedy said. ¡°Obviously, growing up a Phillies fan [and] obviously, being on the fan side of it and chanting all my life. And then, being in the box. I was calm and collected when I got in there.
"When I heard the ¡®Buddy¡¯ chants I was like, ¡®OK, dude, you¡¯ve got to relax. Be in the moment and do your job.' It was something very special, and I¡¯ll always remember that for the rest of my life.¡±
Kennedy worked a six-pitch walk to load the bases. Kody Clemens followed. Fans continued with ¡°Kody! Kody! Kody!¡± chants. Clemens ripped a 1-0 fastball off left-hander Cleavinger through the right side of the infield for a base hit to score Bryce Harper from third base to win the game.
The victory gave the Phillies a seven-game lead over the Mets in the NL East with 18 games to play.
¡°It was awesome,¡± Clemens said. ¡°Being on deck, hearing Buddy¡¯s name was pretty surreal. I was getting chills for him. It was awesome. And for them to just roll it over to me was just super cool as well.¡±
How it got to that point was something in itself. The Phillies had no hits until Kyle Schwarber hit a solo homer to right-center field with one out in the sixth to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Schwarber on Monday was named NL Player of the Week, following a fantastic performance during the Phillies¡¯ six-game road trip through Toronto and Miami.
Schwarber has six homers, nine extra-base hits and 13 hits in his past seven games. The only other Phillies players to have at least six homers, nine extra-base hits and 13 hits in a seven-game span are Trea Turner (2023), Utley (2008), Howard (2006) and Bobby Abreu (2005).
The Phillies carried a 1-0 lead into the ninth after six scoreless innings from Cristopher S¨¢nchez and scoreless innings from Orion Kerkering and Jeff Hoffman. In the ninth, Johan Rojas nearly robbed Brandon Lowe of a leadoff homer, but his glove hit the angled wall in center field before his wrist hit the top of the fence.
It jarred the ball loose and it fell over the fence to tie the game.
¡°Thought he caught it,¡± Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
¡°I lost the ball when my wrist hit the fence, and a little bit with the wall,¡± Rojas said via an interpreter.
Harper hit a one-out single off the wall in right field in the bottom of the ninth. He did not run hard out of the box, perhaps thinking he had hit his first home run since Aug. 9.
Harper should have been on second base.
¡°Yeah,¡± Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. ¡°Before I could get to him, he came up to me and apologized.¡±
Bryson Stott¡¯s infield single put runners on first and second for Kennedy.
Kennedy not only grew up a Phillies fan, his grandfather Don Money played for the Phils for five seasons (1968-72). Money hit the first homer in Veterans Stadium history in 1971.
¡°It¡¯s insane,¡± Kennedy said about the walk-off celebration. ¡°It¡¯s like a party. It¡¯s like a little party on the field. Obviously, from a fan standpoint, you¡¯re cheering, you¡¯re excited they won. Down here on the field, everybody is excited. Harper came to me afterward. All the guys said, ¡®Just a great at-bat. You did your job.¡¯ I passed the bat to Kody and he came through. I was just so excited. It was just a moment you can¡¯t ever take back.¡±