Great to win tonight after the blown save in the 9th from Neris and the lack of hitting from the Phillies after the second inning. They win it in the 12th without a hit (no hits after the 7th inning) thanks to the error that put the first hitter on second. A fine bunt from Crawford moved the runner to third with one out and Kingery hit the 3-1 pitch well to fairly deep right field to allow the winning run to come in from third.
In spite of the blown save from Neris, the bullpen did a pretty good job tonight to allow the Phillies to scratch out the win. Pivetta gave them a solid start, going 7 innings and only giving up 2 runs. I'm impressed with the no walks. He seems to be growing into the #3 starter role for the Phillies.
This win puts the team over .500 for the first time this season and gives them a sweep of the Reds. Next up is the six game road trip to St. Petersburg and Atlanta. I am optimistic and looking forward to a winning road trip.
After being critical of Neris earlier in this thread, I should in fairness note that he had 21 consecutive saves since his last blown save last June 21. He usually gets the job done and even tonight, after the blown save, he pitched very well the rest of the inning to strand two runners and keep the game tied. I don't think he is the closer of the future, but he has done a reasonable job since taking over the role.
