In the top half of the eighth inning, New York Mets catcher Josh Thole stood his ground as he was barreled over by Philadephia Phillies second baseman Mike Fontenot. Fontenot, who was standing on second after connecting on a ground rule double earlier in the inning, attempted to score on a one-out single to left off the bat of Chase Utley. The throw from Scott Hairston had the second baseman dead to rights at the plate and in a last ditch effort to score, Fontenot tried unsuccessfully to barrel through Thole. What made the play that much more impressive, is the fact that Josh lost time earlier in the season with a concussion after receiving a blow to the head from the Philadelphia Phillies’ Ty Wigginton on a similar play at the plate.
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In case you were wondering, Mike Fontenot is NOT Ty Wigginton. #ThingsJoshTholeKnows
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Thole’s ability to hold on to the ball revived the Citi Field crowd and set the stage for the Mets dramatic walk-off victory. The way the Mets catcher showed his toughness in the top half of the eighth, the Mets showed theirs in the bottom of the ninth.
With the club down by one, 5-4, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel called upon Jonathon Papelbon the close the door on the Mets. Or at least, that’s what he thought. Ike Davis greeted the Phillies closer with an opposite field double to get things started for NY. Davis was replaced by pinch runner Ronnie Cedeno, who advanced to third on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Josh Thole.
After Kirk Nieuwenhuis struck out, the Mets received two incredible impressive at-bats from pinch hitter Jordany Valdespin and shortstop Ruben Tejada. Valdespin, behind 0-1, laid off several pitches as Papelbon continued to work him inside and was eventually hit-by-a-pitch to put runners on the corners. Tejada, who is batting .383 (18-for-47) since coming off the DL, gave the Mets and equally impressive at-bat. The Mets shortstop fouled off two tough 3-2 pitches, before laying off a fastball that just missed catching the outside corner for ball four. With the bases full of Mets, Daniel Murphy stepped to the plate and drilled a 1-2 fastball off the leg of the Phillies closer, reaching safely with an infield single while driving home the game-tying run in the process. Murphy finished the contest 2-for-5 and has now collected a hit in eight straight starts, hitting .457 (16-for-35) over that stretch.
David Wright capped off the NY rally with his third hit of the night (3-for-5, HR, 4 RBI) a bloop single that dropped just in front of Phillies right fielder Hunter Pence. The two-out single plated Valdespin from third as the Mets collected their fourth walk-off victory of the year. Their five two-out runs scored improved their MLB best total to 184 in the category while collecting their 17th come-from-behind victory of the season and the eighth in their last at-bat.
For Wright, the RBI was his fourth of the game — all of which came with two-outs — and 18th over his last nine games. It was also the seventh walk-off hit of his career.
“The fans were awesome,” Wright said after the game. “They really brought the energy and that kinda rubbed off on us on the field.” As M-V-P chants erupted through out the stadium, David concluded by saying how much fun this season has been thus far:
“This team is just a lot of fun to be a part of. I’m glad I can contribute and hopefully we can keep this up. This season has been pretty fun so far. But I think there is a lot more fun to be had.”
David is WRIGHT (sorry I had to). This season has been fun. The clubs never say die mentality is contagious. They are resilient and they are exceeding everyone’s expectations. Including mine. There is something about this club. Whether it’s Thole holding on to the ball during a collision at the plate. Or two remarkable at-bats from youngsters like Valdespin and Tejada. Or clutch hits from Murphy and Wright. There is something special happening and Queens. I can’t help but get giddy when thinking about it. This year has truly been AWESOME thus far! And I can’t help but believe Wright when he says, “there is a lot more fun to be had.”
Original Story:
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July 07, 2012
