Arizona Diamondbacks @ Philadelphia Phillies
Gonzalez hits career homer No. 300 in defeat
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The way things have been going for the
Phillies, manager Charlie Manuel had to be pretty confident the
umpires would rule Mike Lieberthal's flyball to left was a home
run.
| Did You Know? |
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This is the latest in a season an entire division of five or more teams has been at .500 or better since June 12, 1994 (AL East). NL East Standings 1. Washington 31-26 -- 2. Atlanta 30-26 ½ 3. Philadelphia 30-27 1 4. NY Mets 29-27 1½ 4. Florida 28-26 1½ -- ESPN Research |
Lieberthal's disputed drive did end up a three-run homer and
Randy Wolf pitched seven solid innings to lead the Philadelphia
Phillies over the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 Sunday, their sixth
straight win.
"Luck counts a lot in this game and we've been getting the
breaks lately," Manuel said.
Arizona's Luis Gonzalez hit his 300th career home run -- a solo
shot in the eighth off reliever Rheal Cormier.
Pat Burrell also homered for the Phillies, who have won nine of
10 and improved to a season-high three games over .500 at 30-27.
The Diamondbacks lost their fifth straight and for the eighth time
in 10 games.
Lieberthal's home run came during a four-run second inning
against Brad Halsey (4-3).
With runners on second and third, Lieberthal hit a flyball that
appeared to hit the top of the left-field fence and bounce back
onto the field. Third base umpire Dale Scott ruled it a double.
Television replays clearly showed the ball hit the top of the
fence.
Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel came out to argue that the
ball had landed in the flower box just beyond the fence and should
have been a homer. The umpires then convened and awarded Lieberthal
the home run.
"If the ball hits the flowers, it's a homer," Manuel said.
Asked if he saw the replays, Manuel responded, "I don't need to
see them."
Lieberthal did see the replay and felt he got a break.
"I saw it on the video board and it wasn't a home run. It was
about two inches short. I'll take it though," he said.
Arizona manager Bob Melvin was ejected by second base umpire Dan
Iassogna for arguing the overturned call.
"The umpire [Scott] was right there and made the call and was
overruled," Melvin said. "Iassogna said he clearly saw it go into
the flowers. It's not going to hit the flowers and bounce back like
it hits the pad.
"They don't have the luxury of the replay, Melvin added."
Philadelphia also benefited from two calls in their series
against San Francisco last week. Two rulings on catches that might
have been trapped went in the Phillies favor in seperate victories.
Lieberthal had been struggling with runners on base, hitting
.129 (4-for-31) before the home run. In his last five at-bats with
runners on base, Lieberthal has three hits.
"Everything goes in cycles and we're all hitting with guys on
base right now," Lieberthal said.
Wolf (6-4) allowed two runs on five hits en route to his fifth
straight win. He has won his last for starts and hasn't lost since
May 4 -- a span of six starts. Wolf struck out four and walked four.
"I had better location in the strike zone," Wolf said. "The
more you go after guys, the deeper in games, you'll go. That's what
we need right now, we have to give the guys in the bullpen a
break."
Arizona cut the lead to 6-5 in the eighth with three runs -- two
unearned -- against Cormier. Billy Wagner earned his 14th save but
had some trouble doing so.
Wagner gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Alex Cintron to
make it 6-5, but got Craig Counsell to pop out with two runners on
base to end the eighth.
He then gave up an RBI single to Tony Clark in the ninth before
getting Shawn Green with runners on first and third to end it.
"As long as I get the save, I really don't care what happens to
that point," Wagner said.
Jason Michaels gave the Phillies a 1-0 in the second with an RBI
double that scored David Bell. Lieberthal then hit his sixth homer
of the season.
The Phillies extended the lead to 6-0 in the third. Bobby Abreu
doubled and later scored on a wild pitch. Bell followed with his
second homer -- a solo shot -- to left field.
Arizona pushed across a pair of runs in the fourth on Clark's
two-run double to make it 6-2. Clark went 3-for-5 with RBI.
Halsey gave up a season-high six runs on nine hits and struck
out two.
Despite the loss, Gonzalez said the milestone homer carried a
special feeling.
"It was very special because I had three of my roommates from
college flown in for the game," he said. "We picked the date
early in the year, but I really didn't know it would happen in this
game."Game notes
Gonzalez finished with three hits for the Diamondbacks. ...
The Phillies are 9-1 in their last 10 meetings with Arizona dating
back to 2003. ... Wolf has won four straight starts for the first
time since August 16-September 5, 2002. ... Jose Cruz Jr. had two
hits, snapping an 0-for-17 skid. ... Gonzalez has a club-record 193
career home runs for Arizona.
PHI wins 3-1
Game Information
- Umpires:
- Home Plate Umpire - Tim Tschida
- First Base Umpire - Ron Kulpa
- Second Base Umpire - Dan Iassogna
- Third Base Umpire - Dale Scott
2026 National League West Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 22 | 13 | .629 | - | W2 |
| San Diego | 20 | 14 | .588 | 1.5 | L1 |
| Arizona | 16 | 17 | .485 | 5 | L4 |
| San Francisco | 14 | 21 | .400 | 8 | W1 |
| Colorado | 14 | 22 | .389 | 8.5 | L5 |
2026 National League East Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 25 | 11 | .694 | - | L1 |
| Miami | 16 | 19 | .457 | 8.5 | L2 |
| Washington | 16 | 19 | .457 | 8.5 | W1 |
| Philadelphia | 15 | 20 | .429 | 9.5 | W2 |
| New York | 13 | 22 | .371 | 11.5 | W2 |

