Two nights ago, Raul Ibanez hit not one, but two home runs coming off the bench for the Yankees, giving New York a 2-1 series lead in their ALDS matchup.

Last night, Jayson Werth did this.

In what will go down as one of the best at-bats in postseason history, Werth battled St. Louis pitcher Lance Lynn for 13 pitches before hammering a 3-2 offering into the left field bullpen to give the Nationals a 2-1, walk-off win against St. Louis.

The homer also saved the Nationals’ season, forcing a Game 5 at Nationals Park on Friday night.

(Oh, by the way, if you haven’t heard Washington’s play-by-play guy Charlie Slowes’ call of Werth’s home run, it’s worth a listen. I’ll put it this way, it’s the anti-Tom McCarthy. And by that, I mean, it’s really, really good.)

It will probably go down as Werth’s signature moment as a Major League player, and continues the trend in this postseason of former Phils coming up huge on the big stage this week.

The Beard came through. Deal with it, Phils fans. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

It’s a shame we didn’t see many of these heroics in 2010 and 2011. But hey, we’re not bitter.

Oh, yes we are.

”It’s what you play all season for, and what you work out all winter for, and what you get to spring training early for,” Werth said. ”We have a chance tomorrow to take that next step. I know my teammates will be ready. And the city will, too.”

A few weeks ago, when the Nats were at Citizens Bank Park, Jayson Werth essentially turned heel, took a metal folding chair and smashed it over the backs of Phils fans when he faked throwing a foul ball into the stands to a group of fans.

Werth played it up in his proceeding at-bat, drawing huge boos from the crowd, before delivering a game-winning single that eventually gave the Nationals a much-needed win.

So I’m sure it was with mixed emotions that Phillies fans watched their former right fielder, the guy who had delivered so many big hits during his career with the team, come through in such a huge way for his new club.

Of course, it’s ridiculous to be mad at Werth for anything. He was offered a ridiculously huge contract by Washington after the 2010 season, one that any Philly fan would accept in a heartbeat, even if it meant leaving your beloved home and/or workplace behind in the dust.

And while Werth will probably never live up to that seven-year, $126 million contract, it’s easy to see why the Nats wanted him so badly.

He has now played in 48 postseason games and hit .267/.381/.582 for an OPS of .963, with 14 HRs in his career.

The number of playoff games coming into the season played by the rest of the Nats’ starting lineup yesterday? Eight, all by Adam LaRoche.

So Werth is the one guy Davey Johnson had to know wouldn’t be fazed by the moment. And he wasn’t.

Of course, this week’s heroics by all these former Phillies players has to be both satisfying and infuriating for Phils fans. And can you imagine if Ibanez had hit another walk-off home run last night?

I’m pretty sure the earth would have collapsed in on itself had that happened.

It’s tough to watch these players who previously wore Phillies pinstripes have postseason success with other teams.

It’s kind of like watching a girl you broke up with get engaged to another guy. You know you made the right decision to initiate the breakup, but you’re still a bit jealous that good things are happening to her, especially if you’re down on your luck.

It’s petty, but it’s human emotion. Stupid emotions.

So now, Werth and the Nationals have a chance to take one more step. If they win Game 5, it’s onto the NLCS against Hunter Pence and the San Francisco Giants, with the Phils’ last two right fielders squaring off against one another in a showdown for the World Series. One leading with his voice, the other leading with his bat (and beard).

The way things are going, this match-up has to happen, right?

And the way things are going, it’s possible both these guys will hit walk-off home runs in the same game, right?

Ugh. I need a drink.

Why can’t Jayson Werth get hit in the shoulder by a pitch like everybody else? Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

You know, I’m starting to think the Phillies might not make the playoffs.

The Phillies “tragic” number dropped to two after last night’s 8-4 loss to the Nationals, which was punctuated by a few depressing moments.

First was Kyle Kendrick’s first lousy start in a while, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits (three of them homers) in just two innings of work, putting the Phils in an early 5-0 hole.

Second was the bullpen giving up three runs in the top of the ninth inning after the Phils had closed the lead to 5-4.

But the final, and most glaringly disappointing moment was the completion of former Phillie Jayson Werth’s heel turn during that three-run ninth inning.

While waiting in the on-deck circle, a foul ball trickled over to Werth near his dugout. As he retrieved the ball, Werth, for reasons only he can explain, faked tossing the ball into the stands and instead threw the ball into his own dugout.

The crowd went nuts. After the game, Werth explained.

“Earlier in the game I flipped a ball into the seats to a fan and it flipped off her hand and landed on someone else’s lap. Then a guy reached over — a Phillies fan — and grabbed the ball off her lap and threw it back onto the field. In the ninth I was going to flip the ball to a group of kids, and behind them was all these unruly, middle-aged men who to me appeared to be snarling. It’s the ninth, so who knows? I got the sense that maybe they were intoxicated. I was going to flip it to the kids and then thought maybe not because of the group behind the little innocent children there, remembering what happened earlier in right field.”

Awww, you see? Werth’s not a bad guy! He was trying to protect the “innocent little children!”

I’m surprised he wasn’t wearing a Mr. Rogers sweater when he did it.

Listen, whether Werth is telling the truth or is making up a story to seem like less of a schmuck, only he knows for sure. What’s obvious, though, is the reaction the fans had to Werth’s fake-out.

They… were… enraged.

What Jayson did next, though, shows how valuable he is to the Nationals and how much the Phils have missed his bat, his glove, and the intangibles he brought to the ballpark every day.

After getting brushed back by a high-and-inside fastball from Justin De Fratus, Werth singled up the middle to score two runs with two outs, giving the Nats some very important insurance runs and a three-run lead.

Obviously, the Phils were right not to give Werth a $126 million contract. No matter how many incitements to riot Werth causes over the next five years and how many two-run singles he hits, that contract is never going to pay for itself.

Still, in just 74 games this season, Werth is hitting .304/.393/.442 as the Nats’ leadoff hitter. And while his power has disappeared (only five home runs this season), there’s no doubt his patience at the plate and his glove would still hold a lot of value in a lineup sandwiched between Utley and Howard.

Werth… heel turn… complete. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

But that’s water under the bridge. Werth is a Nat, and despite finishing off a heel turn the likes of which we haven’t seen since Shawn Michaels threw his tag team partner Marty Janetty through a plate glass window (long live The Rockers), his value cannot be understated.

“I’ve played a lot of games here and I’m fairly aware of how the fans can be and the way they do things around here,” Werth said after the game. “I’m not the first guy to get booed nor will I be the last. It’s just part of the game that makes for exciting baseball. These people are passionate. I’ve heard a lot here. Someone said today that when Roy [Halladay] got chased the other day that he got booed off the field. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but it’s not surprising. That’s just the way it is — it is what it is. It’s really just part of playing in Philadelphia and it’s a part of what makes it great.

“I’ve had a lot of fun here and I had a lot of good times. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

Lost in the hullabaloo was the boost Werth’s hit gave to a Nats team that has been stumbling of late.

The red-hot Braves won again, and another Nationals loss would have closed the gap in the NL East to just three games. However, by winning, Washington’s lead in the division remains four games, with their magic number was lowered to four.

As for the Phils, the night got off to a bad start quickly. Kendrick’s early propensity for the long ball certainly got the Phils out of the gate slowly, but to their credit, they fought back. Reliever B.J. Rosenberg pitched three innings in relief of Kendrick and held the line. He even contributed the Phils’ first two runs of the ballgame, on a sacrifice fielder’s choice RBI and an RBI single.

Jimmy Rollins hit his team-leading 23rd home run of the season, and Dom Brown added a sacrifice fly in the eighth that was almost a three-run home run.

But De Fratus and Antonio Bastardo couldn’t stop the evil Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper in the ninth, helping to pile another shovelful of dirt on the Phils’ already-dead 2012 season.

Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

Like kids in the schoolyard, barking at each other, hurling insults and 93 mph fastballs into each other’s spines, we danced about, accusing each other of things at different levels of seriousness.  And then Jayson stepped in–silent, media blackout, “You’ll-never-know-me,” is-his-beard-a-shield-from-emotions, Jayson Werth.  And he dropped this bomb.

“After walking off the field feeling nauseous knowing my wrist was broke and hearing Philly fans yelling ‘You deserve it,’ and, ‘That’s what you get,’ I am motivated to get back quickly and see to it personally those people never walk down Broad Street in celebration again.”

–Jayson Werth

Which is akin to the weird quiet kid in class who grew facial hair before everybody else wandering into the group argument and screaming “I’M GONNA BURN DOWN ALL YOUR HOUSES!!”

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