Phillies hold on for 5th straight win, beat Indians 4-3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Relegated to ninth in the batting order, Peter Bourjos proved his value instead with his glove.
With one game-saving catch, Bourjos showed the No. 9 next to his name is clearly for his play in right field.
Freddy Galvis homered and had the go-ahead single to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to their fifth straight win, 4-3 over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night.
The Phillies (14-10) have won eight of nine and are four games over .500 for the first time since they finished the 2011 season 102-60.
So much for an 0-4 start.
Jeanmar Gomez had Phillies fans on edge in the ninth before he earned his eighth save. With runners on second and third and two outs, Jason Kipnis lined one to right that forced Bourjos to leap and snag the ball for the final out.
"I don't think too many players would have made that catch," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
Bourjos had the potential winner in his sight all the way.
"A couple of steps into it, I realized I had a pretty good bead on it," he said. "As long as I had enough room to catch it, I would."
He had space - and the ball.
The Indians blew a chance to take the lead in the eighth. Phillies reliever Colton Murray retired Juan Uribe on a deep fly to center to end the inning that left runners stranded on second and third.
"Uribe hit it as well as he could. Kipnis hit it hard," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "They were two really good at-bats. The kid just made a nice place play in right."
Galvis' bloop two-out single to right off Tommy Hunter (0-1) scored pinch-hitter David Lough for a 4-3 lead in the seventh.
Andrew Bailey (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win.
Riding a hot streak not seen in Philly since Charlie Manuel was the manager, the Phillies needed only three pitches to take a 2-0 lead. Odubel Herrera extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single and Galvis hit a two-run shot to right off starter Trevor Bauer for his third of the season.
Mackanin's decision to bat the pitcher eighth for the ninth straight game again paid off. Phillies righty Jerad Eickhoff ripped an RBI single up the middle for a 3-0 lead in the second.
Mackanin made the quirky call because Bourjos is batting below .200 and he stuck with the decision because of winning streak superstition.
"When you make a catch to save the game, it makes you feel a little bit better," Bourjos said.
Eickhoff couldn't let the lead stick.
He allowed a run in the third and two more in the fifth to make it 3-3. Tyler Naquin knocked one off the scoreboard in left-center that caused Herrera to slam into the wall and walk away holding his back. Naquin ended with a triple and scored.
Eickhoff allowed six hits and struck out four with no walks in six innings.
The Phillies ran themselves out of a rally in the fifth that started with runners on first and third and no outs.
Bourjos bumbled on third base, getting caught in a rundown before he was tagged out trying to escape back to the bag. With Ryan Howard hitting in a 3-3 game and two outs, Herrera was tagged out at home on a wild pitch that barely scuttled beyond the plate. The call stood after a challenge and baserunning continued to haunt the Phillies this season.
But a night after Howard won the game with a solo shot in the 11th, the Phillies again were saved with late-inning runs.
"We're on a roll right now and we hope we continue with it," Mackanin said.
CLOSE CALLS
The Indians have played five straight one-run games and 10 overall this season. They are 4-6 in those games, a big reason why they close April at 10-11.
"You'd rather have a big lead, but you play the game," Francona said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Phillies: RHP Dalier Hinojosa went on the 15-day DL with a bruised right hand. RHP Colton Murray was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Hinojosa's hand was struck by a batted ball in Thursday's game at Washington. He was 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA.
UP NEXT
The Indians send RHP Danny Salazar (2-1, 2.35 ERA) to the mound against RHP Vince Velasquez (3-1, 1.78). Velasquez has struggled since he struck out 16 in a three-hit shutout against San Diego on April 14. He lasted only 4 1/3 innings in his next start and struck out four in six innings in his last outing. The Phillies last five-game winning streak was July 22-28.