There are several moments from the 2008 Phillies on this list, but without this first one, I doubt that any of the others would have happened.
Moment #24: Chris Coste goes 4-4 off the bench to beat the Mets in 13 innings- August 26, 2008
The Phillies had established their share of history over the New York Mets in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, but as the game on August 26, 2008 started, the Phils were in a bit of a situation. Their four game lead that they had in the National League East had turned into a half game hole, thanks to the resurgent Mets. New York had started the season slowly, but after firing Willie Randolph and promoting Jerry Manuel to manager, they went on a tear right before the All Star break to close to within a half a game of the Phillies. That hot streak continued through July and into the end of August when the two teams met up again. The Phillies were at the tail end of a nine game homestand and had just finished a four game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but needed a win in the first game of the series against the Mets to establish that they weren't going to fade away down the stretch.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned in the first few innings. Jamie Moyer was shelled for six runs in three innings, and the Mets would add one more to give Pedro Martinez a 7-0 lead. Luckily, this was 2008 Pedro, not the guy that pitched for the Phillies down the stretch in 2009. In the fourth inning, the Phillies started to chip away at the lead. A Pedro Feliz sacrifice fly scored Shane Victorino in the fourth inning, and home runs by Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard in the fifth cut the New York lead to just 7-5. With one out and one on in the bottom of the eighth inning, Chris Coste stepped to the plate, and the number 24 moment began. Coste came in to pinch hit for Greg Dobbs, and knocked a single into left. Jimmy Rollins followed with a single that scored Carlos Ruiz, making it a one run game. In the ninth inning, New York's closing problems struck again, as Eric Bruntlett tied the game with a pinch hit double, and this game was headed to extra innings.
Chris Coste would double to lead off the bottom of the tenth inning and then hit an infield single in the bottom of the 11th, but the Phillies couldn't score the game winning run in either of those frames. Then came the bottom of the 13th. Shane Victorino led off the inning with a triple, and the Mets intentionally walked Jayson Werth and Eric Bruntlett. Brett Myers pinch hit for Rudy Seanez, and in a scene that would look familiar in the postseason, ran a full count without swinging at a single pitch. It wouldn't quite end that way, as Scott Schoeneweis managed to find the strike zone and punch Myers out. Brett was instructed beforehand not to swing at a single pitch so that the Phillies would stay out of a double play, but he worked Schoeneweis over, and almost got the game winning walk. Instead, Coste stepped up to the plate for the fourth time since the eighth inning, and he had one more bit of hitting left to do. His long single over a drawn in outfield scored Victorino and gave the Phillies an 8-7, come from behind win. It also pushed the Phillies back into first place by a half a game.
Though the Phils would give first place back to the Mets with a loss the next night, they had sent a message with their 8-7 win the night before. Just as they had in 2007, the Phils would catch the Mets in September and pass them for the division title. The Phillies finished the year 92-70, while the Mets went 89-73 and missed the playoffs by a game for the second straight year. I don't need to tell you how the Phillies' season ended. If you're reading this, you already know. Chris Coste's Phillies career ended midway through the 2009 season, when he was placed on waivers and claimed by the Houston Astros. Though he's not a Phillie anymore, anyone that looks back at the 2008 and wants to know where the September magic started just has to look to this game, where a backup catcher had four hits off the bench.
Here's all four hits, thanks to MLB.com's video service: http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=3374429
That's going to put a stop to the countdown for now, as I'll be enjoying Thanksgiving weekend with the family. I'll be back next week with moment number 23. It features an oft-maligned Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, who called himself "The People's Champion." For this moment, he had to thank his hands.
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