ANAHEIM -- Bryson Stott stood on first base staring out into right field in disbelief.
He thought he had just hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the ninth. Instead, he watched Angels right fielder Wade Meckler go over the wall to make a potential game-saving robbery.
Stott took a second look as he walked slowly back toward the dugout. He stopped just before descending the stairs and took another look out to make sure Meckler truly caught the ball.
He did.
“I was like, ‘What the hell?’ Then, I was very mad,” Stott said. “And then, super happy.”
That last part is because just two batters later, Edmundo Sosa smashed a pinch-hit grand slam -- one he placed out of the reach of center fielder Mike Trout -- to lead the Phillies to a 5-3 victory at Angel Stadium.
Even after Sosa's slam, the roller coaster wasn't quite over, because the Phillies found out midgame they were without closer Jhoan Duran, who was dealing with a stomach issue. But Jonathan Bowlan locked his second save in the bottom of the ninth.
This was the Phillies’ second stunning ninth-inning comeback in less than a week. They rallied from a 4-0 deficit on Sunday against the Cardinals, a game in which Sosa hit a clutch three-run double with two outs in the ninth to set up Kyle Schwarber’s walk-off homer two batters later.
“He kind of lives for those moments,” Stott said of Sosa.
That win on Sunday was historic. So, too, was this one.
Sosa became the first Phillie to hit a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning since Bryce Harper's walk-off shot against the Cubs on Aug. 15, 2019. Sosa is the first to do so with two outs in the ninth since Shane Victorino on April 24, 2009.
But what Sosa did is even rarer than that.
Sosa is the first Phillie since Ozzie Virgil in 1983 to hit a pinch-hit go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning. But the moment Sosa saw Stott get robbed, he made sure interim manager Don Mattingly knew he was ready.
“Stott gets robbed on that tremendous play -- a big league play -- and the energy went on their side at that moment,” Sosa said via interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “The whole stadium was euphoric. But I think I just stayed calm and focused, and I parked myself next to Don right after that, and just trusted that maybe the opportunity was coming for me.”
It certainly was.
After J.T. Realmuto worked a walk to load the bases, Mattingly called on Sosa to pinch-hit for Brandon Marsh against Angels left-hander Sammy Peralta.
Sosa took a slider for ball one, then took a called strike on a changeup at the knees. When Peralta came back with another changeup, Sosa pounced. He ripped a 108.5 mph shot over the wall that sent him -- and his teammates -- into a frenzy.
Take, for instance, Andrew Painter.
The Phillies’ starter was getting his usual post-start treatment when he watched Stott get robbed on a TV in the clubhouse. His reaction was likely the same as so many Phillies fans on the other side of the country: Staring at the TV in shock with his hands on his head.
A few minutes later, though, Painter sprinted out of the clubhouse and back up the tunnel to join his teammates in the dugout.
“I mean, everybody loves Sosa, right?” Painter said with a smile.
He’s not kidding.
A number of Phillies fans stuck around to chant “So-sa, So-sa, So-sa!” while he did his postgame TV and radio interviews on the field. Even when Sosa eventually retreated down the tunnel to the clubhouse, he had to make another stop before rejoining his teammates who were eagerly awaiting his arrival.
“Thank God, thank God,” a smiling Sosa repeated as he stopped to shake hands with the security guard -- one wearing his Angels team-issued polo and cap -- outside the clubhouse.
That’s the Sosa everyone knows. Always smiling, always upbeat.
“I mean, you guys see it, he'll hit a single in the second inning and he’s on first base going crazy,” Stott said. “And when he gets back to the dugout, it's a party every time.”
This party was a bit different.
The latest comeback win moved the Phillies (75-60) three games ahead of the Padres (72-63) for the second NL Wild Card spot. They're also 3 1/2 games clear of the D-backs (72-64), the first team on the outside looking in. The Phils remained five games back of the Braves (80-55) in the NL East.
In other words, every win right now is magnified.
So when the ball left Sosa’s bat, he paused momentarily to watch it. Then, he did his customary hop and broke into his home run trot. He looked into the dugout with a huge grin on his face as he jogged to first base. He pounded his chest as he approached third.
The “Sosa skip” is nothing new. But pounding the chest … where did that come from?
“Just going crazy,” Sosa said in English with a huge smile. “Big homer.”