John Mayberry Asks Fans To Remember He Exists, Walk-Off Grand Slam Beats Marlins

I will admit, I’ve been hard on John Mayberry this year.

I mean hey, you can hardly blame me. Mayberry entered Tuesday night’s game against the Marlins hitting .259 with an OPS of .714 in 126 plate appearances with just two home runs. And, after a strikeout in the 7th inning as a pinch hitter, I tweeted the following. I thought it was a pretty smart tweet, actually.

Then, as Mayberry stepped up to the plate to lead off the bottom of the 10th with the Phillies trailing 3-2, I tweeted this. Again, I was feeling really good about my Mayberry bashing. I was having some fun with it.

Which, of course, was quickly followed by this game-tying homer off Marlins reliever Steve Cishek.

Then, in the bottom of the 11th, the guy I think is a really mediocre player did this. Naturally. Here’s Scott Franzke’s call.

So yeah, John Mayberry made me look like a complete moron. It’s not the first time it’s happened. And it won’t be the last.

In what was one of the more entertaining games of the 2013 season, last night’s 7-3 win over Miami had a little bit of everything.

There was decent pitching by starter Jonathan Pettibone, who battled despite not having his best stuff.

There was brutal relief pitching by Antonio Bastardo, whose control issues are starting to get a little old now, with 20 Ks to 13 unintentional BBs in 21 IP this year (hat tip to @Phrontiersman for that note).

There were a couple brutal calls by the aged Bob Davidson who, feeling he wasn’t getting the attention a second base umpire deserves, called Ben Revere for interference after a HEAD-FIRST slide into second base to break up a double play. That call led to Phillies fans engaging in the longest and loudest booing episode in recent memory.

Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

There were questionable managing decisions by Charlie Manuel, who had run out of players in the 10th inning.

And there were late-inning heroics from a player who had been largely incognito for most of the 2013 season. Mayberry’s two home runs, in the 10th and 11th innings, made him the first Phillie since Kim Batiste in 1993 to end a game in a walk-off home run. It also made him the fourth player in Phillies history to hit two home runs in a game as a substitute, joining Ryan Howard (May 14, 2006, at Cincinnati), Steve Jeltz (June 8, 1989, vs. Pittsburgh) and Jack Knight (June 24, 1926, vs. New York Giants), stat courtesy of MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.

Last night’s game against Miami brought some electricity back to Citizens Bank Park for the first time since the 2011 playoffs. Even better, it was spurred on by the collective hate for Davidson, who clearly should gently make the transition from Major League umpire to Walmart store greeter.

With the win, the Phillies moved to 29-30 and will try to reach the .500 mark for the first time since April 14. The Phillies remain 7 1/2 games out of first in the NL East, but moved to within 6 games of the NL Wild Card. As for me, I’m crawling back into my Mayberry-hating hole. I’ll stick my head back out the next time he strikes out with runners on second and third with one out.

Where It All Went Right

Shockingly, when John Mayberry entered the game. While he struck out in the 7th inning, his game-tying homer in the 10th and walk-off grand slam in the 11th saved the Phils from a bad loss to the Major’s worst baseball team.

Hero

Mayberry, who seemed intent on making me look like a horse’s ass last night. Thanks, John.

Villain

Juan Pierre, who almost won the game for the Marlins in the top of the 10th with so many of those annoying Juan Pierre things he used to do in his heyday with the Marlins back in the early 2000s. Chris Wheeler also gets a nod here. His man-crush of Pierre was so overwhelming, I thought he was going to ask him out on the air.

TBOH’s Thoughts