First they battled the rain, then they battled each other. The Phillies and Braves fight for NL East supremacy lived up to the hype on a wet Friday evening at Citizens Bank Park.
Roy Halladay was his usual fantastic self despite getting thrown off his regimented routine by the awful weather and subsequent rain delay. Michael Stutes, Antonio Bastardo, and Juan Perez (!?!) were spectacular working a scoreless inning of relief apiece.
And Raul Ibanez destroyed a baseball in the bottom of the tenth to give an absolute perfect reward to the fans who toughed out the night in South Philadelphia.
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With the win, the Phillies assured themselves first place in the East heading into the All-Star break by pushing their lead to 3.5 games over the Bravos.
And just how sweet was Raul's walkoff blast? Oh, it was ripped and it was beautiful.
[watch Raul Ibanez's walkoff home run here]
For more on the game:
>>Ibanez blasts walk-off homer to give Phillies win [CSN]
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Photos by US PRESSWIRE
Here's more on the game from Wheels and T-Mac: