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Phillies take advantage of miscues to win in 13

Errors on Revere grounder give Philadelphia series victory

SAN DIEGO -- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel often mentions the "want-to" when he talks baseball.

It means a player's eagerness to come to the ballpark ready to play every day because he loves the game, not because it is his job, an obligation because of a contract he has signed.

The Phillies kept playing hard and kept fighting in Wednesday's 7-5 victory over the Padres in 13 innings at Petco Park. It started when Delmon Young hit a game-tying two-run home run to left field with two outs in the eighth inning, continued late into the night because of seven scoreless innings from Phillies relievers J.C. Ramirez, Phillippe Aumont, Jake Diekman and Joe Savery and ended when the Phillies scored two runs in the 13th despite zero hits in the inning.

"That's why you keep playing," Manuel said. "You'd be surprised at what you can do when you really want to play. That's what it's all about. Sometimes it doesn't matter ... if you want to play, that can take you a long way. It might not take you to the Promised Land, but you can have a lot more fun if you're winning games."

The Phillies won the three-game series against the Padres, starting their 10-game road trip on the right foot.

The Phillies had Chase Utley on second and Domonic Brown on first with two outs in the 13th when Ben Revere stepped to the plate to face Padres left-hander Tommy Layne. Revere fouled off four pitches in an eight-pitch at-bat when he hit a ground ball to the left of Padres second baseman Logan Forsythe.

Forsythe kicked the ball to his left then hurried a throw to the plate as he watched Utley race home. The throw got tangled in Utley's feet after he crossed the plate, which allowed Brown enough time to score from first.

"He had a long way to go get it," Revere said of Forsythe. "I was busting my tail to get there. He kind of rushed a little bit, panicked. Luckily we got the right bounce and got those two runs home."

"I rushed myself, I didn't make the play ... I don't know what happened with the throw," said Forsythe, who was charged with two errors on the play.

Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon, who had blown four saves in eight days following Monday's loss, picked up the save.

The victory helped some forget about another rough start for Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, who allowed seven hits, five runs (four earned), two walks and struck out five in six innings. Hamels is 2-11 with a 4.58 ERA.

Petco Park seemed to be the perfect respite for Hamels and his nightmarish season. He grew up in San Diego and attended Rancho Bernardo High School before the Phillies selected him in the first round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft. He had always enjoyed success against his hometown team. He went 8-2 with a 2.15 ERA in 13 career starts against the Padres before Wednesday, including 4-1 with a 1.27 ERA in six career starts at Petco.

But Petco provided no panacea for Hamels' ills. Young got Hamels off the hook for his 12th loss with the homer in the eighth. He would have become the first pitcher in Phillies history to lose 12 games before July 1 and the first pitcher in baseball to lose 12 before July 1 since Barry Zito in 2008. No pitcher has lost more than 12 games before July 1 since Milwaukee's Bill Wegman was 4-13 in 1993.

As it stands, Hamels is the first Phillies pitcher to lose 11 before July 1 since Claude Passeau and Wayne LeMaster in 1937.

"Ugh," Hamels said. "Another poor performance. It's not the situation you want to be in. It's a continuation of not being able to do what I intend to do. But luckily enough, the team picked me up and it doesn't show in the standings. I just have to go out and battle away again.

"I'd have to say you have to give the credit most to the bullpen. They absolutely shut it down. It's fun to see and it's nice to see because you want to see that confidence in our bullpen, especially the young guys in those sort of situations, a couple went a lot more than three outs. That's pleasing to see them build their confidence going into the next series."

It is pleasing for the Phillies just to win a series. A better than .500 road trip would be a boost to the team as the front office tries to figure out its course of action with the July 31 Trade Deadline looming.

Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com.
Read More: Philadelphia Phillies, Cole Hamels