Stevenson delivers game-winner, then robs a HR to lead Phillies past Mets originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Four nights ago, he called it the biggest at-bat of his life.
This was the biggest game of his life.
Cal Stevenson delivered his second late game-winner of the week, hitting a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning Saturday, then leaping over the wall in center field to rob J.D. Martinez of a game-tying homer 10 minutes later.
Stevenson perfectly tracked and timed Martinez’ deep flyball to begin the top of the eighth, catching it in the palm of his glove to preserve the Phillies‘ lead in a 6-4 win over the Mets.
“It kinda moves in slow motion just because when it’s up there, you know you have time,” he said. “Thank god I squeezed onto it. I think I almost over-jumped to catch it.”
The 28-year-old reserve outfielder was also the hero on Tuesday night, hitting the game-winning two-run double with one out in the eighth against the Rays. Stevenson was recalled last week from Triple A and is making the most of increased playing time with Austin Hays sidelined by a kidney infection.
“That one tops it, that one for sure tops it,” Stevenson said of Saturday compared to Tuesday. “It’s been a good (week). It feels good to contribute this late in the year to this team. We’re fighting for a 1-seed and the best record in baseball. Obviously, I don’t get a whole lot of opportunities, so when I do get in there, you want to make the most of them.”
The big guns like Bryce Harper and Trea Turner have come through for the Phillies this week but they’ve won four of five games largely because their depth pieces have stepped up. On Monday, Buddy Kennedy and Kody Clemens keyed the walk-off. On Tuesday and Saturday, Stevenson provided the late lead. On Wednesday, Weston Wilson had the game-winning infield hit and third-string catcher Aramis Garcia nailed a runner trying to steal second with nobody out in the ninth inning of a one-run game.
“I said to (Cal) today, I said to Buddy the other day, I said if you can take those at-bats in that situation, you can take any at-bat in your career,” Harper relayed. “In that moment, 40,000-plus people, big situation, I think that’s why we rely so heavily on our young guys, on guys like that, because we know that they can come through. I don’t think the moment was too big at all.”
Saturday’s win evened the Phillies’ series with the Mets and improved them to 89-59 with 14 games to play. It looked for a while like a loss…