Reunions Abound In Win Over Giants

There were many reunions tonight at the Phillies-Giants game.  Pat Burrell and Aaron Rowand came back to Philly again in Giants uniforms.  And Chase Utley returned to the Phillies line-up, making a super-speedy recovery from thumb surgery.  You could feel the love:

And more importantly for the ladies, it was a visual treat.  Pat the Bat and other legendary backsides were welcomed with open arms:

Oh, you were expecting a game recap, right?  Sorry…got sidetracked.  So the game was very nice as well.  Roy Oswalt got off to a rocky start, allowing 2 runs in the first inning. 
One of those runs was Burrell’s first at-bat; clearly, he is right at home in Philly.  The standing ovation he received while stepping to the plate died down quickly once that ball left the yard.

But Oswalt rebounded and allowed only 1 more run, another solo shot, through 7 total innings pitched.  He finally got some offensive support as well. 
Placido Polanco had a 4-hit night; Jimmy Rollins collected 3 RBI; Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz had 2 RBI each.  By the way, Victorino’s wife Melissa is pregnant!  Check out the baby bump.  Congrats to them both!

With a 4-3 lead going into the 8th, the offense exploded in a very odd inning.  With the bases loaded and no outs for Ruiz, he nailed a 2-run double.  Later, the Giants pitcher balked to send another run home and send manager Bruce Bochy to the showers early as he was tossed for arguing the call.  A wild pitch followed by a fielding error scored Rollins and the Utley was picked off going to third to end the inning.  5 more runs scored that inning and the Phils won by a score of 9-3.

By the way, Mike Sweeney has not exactly been lighting up the ballpark at the plate, but this guy shows some serious hustle out there. 
At one point, he went into the crowd trying to catch a foul ball.  I got this shot of it, not too in focus, but take a look at his glove and the ball next to it, surrounded by fans.  That is a brave man.

So the rest of the photos will be up later.  I have to get some sleep, prep for tomorrow’s game and do it all over again!  Check back for more later.

UPDATE: Here is the full Photo Album from the game!