Finally, a nice day at the park

An innings-eating start by Jamie Moyer, a clutch comeback by the offense and a shut-down performance by the bullpen. It was quite a win for the once-again first-place Phillies, 7-5 over the Marlins. (And, for the first time this year, we went to a game when it wasn't raining, freezing or both.)

The Phillies hung tough, even after the Marlins took a 5-1 lead in the 3rd. The turning point came in the 6th with the Phillies down 5-3. Geoff Jenkins pinch hit for So Taguchi with Pat Burrell on and two out. Moyer, who had thrown 81 pitches to that point, was on deck. I mused out loud whether Charlie Manuel would let him hit if Jenkins hit a homer. As soon as I said it, Jenkins crushed one to right. (Moyer struck out and then pitched a good 7th, making Cholly look like a genius, according to Christine.) The rest of the game seemed like a formality. It was just a matter of how they would win it.

Burrell answered that with a two-run double to the delight of this guy in our section who must be the biggest Pat the Bat fan out there. He always wears his jersey and starts a pronounced clap every time Don Henley starts playing Burrell's intro music. Although Burrell won the game, it wasn't all good for his fan. A kid about 12 years old dumped some chocolate ice cream on the back of the jersey. (You can see some of it near his left shoulder.) We're not sure if he felt it because he didn't seem to wipe it off.

In-game notes: Ryan Howard made not one but two great plays in the field. A diving catch of a bunt in the 7th. The inning before, he speared a liner and then doubled off the runner at first. ... Marlins CF Cody Ross had a nice catch off Pedro Feliz in the 3rd. We'll be watching Web gems tonight. ... Mike Jacobs' 2nd inning homer hit a billboard that says "great home run." ... Tom Gordon started out shaky in the 8th, walking the first batter and going two balls on the next, Hanley Ramirez. Jimmy Rollins went to the mound. It worked. Ramirez struck out and the next two flew out.

Pre-game festivities: Michael Scott Lieberthal, possibly the greatest Phillie to ever don the tools of ignorance, signed a one-day minor-league contract to retire in the red pinstripes. He threw out the first pitch, then caught a second first-pitch from some corporate sponsor.

Observations from the stands: J-Roll, who had been using the song from the Geico caveman in the airport commercial, has gone back to rap intro music. The Geico music ended just as quickly as it started; it was weird. ... I filled out 19 All-Star ballots. It got tedious, but I didn't want them to go to waste. ... Saw some odd jerseys today. We thought we'd see plenty of Lieberthals, but saw only one on the way out. We did spot a Curt Schilling from his Phillies day and a Daisuke Matsuzaka hat. But the kicker was a couple near us wearing home and away Doug Glanville jerseys.


We thought it was funny because we were at the game when New Jersey native Doug Glanville signed a one-day contract to retire as a Phil. He may have been the last player to do this before today.

Giveaways: Like Mother's Day, Father's Day was celebrated early at Citizens Bank Park. Although not a dad, I'm older than 15 and qualify for the giveaway: a picture of a hat. On a hat. Sometimes the Phillies marketing department is quite clever; sometimes they got nothing. Here's the hat on a hat, next to the pink visor Christine got on Mother's Day. (We forgot to post a picture of it last month.)


Red Sox: Another decent outing for Bartolo Colon and Manny Ramirez's 501st homer led the Sox past the Orioles, 9-4.