What happened?

Shane Victorino singled in the winning run in the ninth inning to send the Phils to their fifth win on the homestand to go to 44-38.

Who did what?

Rodrigo Lopez gave up two runs in five innings before leaving with a right-shoulder injury. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four.

Shane Victorino went 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI.

Ryan Howard went 1 for 4 with an RBI.

Jayson Werth went 1 for 3 with a homer (19) and an RBI.

Ryan Madson (W, 3-4) pitched two perfect innings to earn the win. He struck out one.

Laynce Nix went 1 for 4 with an RBI.

Ramon Hernandez went 1 for 3 with an RBI.

Homer Bailey pitched six innings of two-run ball in the no decision. He gave up seven hits, no walks and struck out six.

David Weathers (L, 1-2) earned the loss, giving up one run in one inning. He gave up two hits, one walk and struck out one.

What does this mean?

If there is one thing that can remove the bitter aftertaste of a tough loss, it’s a tough win. That’s just what the Phillies did tonight, as they battled the Reds for 26 outs before putting it away in the bottom of the ninth, courtesy of a walk-off single from Shane Victorino.

Rodrigo Lopez was solid once again, and was the recipient of some uncharacteristically shoddy defense from the Phils in the fourth when an easy fly ball dropped in between Victorino and Jayson Werth. That ultimately led to two runs crossing the plate in the inning after Lopez loaded the bases with nobody out. To his credit, he limited the damage and came back out in the fifth to get a very fast 1-2-3 inning.

Unfortunately for Lopez, he left with a right shoulder strain, and would not factor in the decision. The bullpen picked him up, with Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson working four scoreless innings.

All things being equal, Lopez has been impressive in his two starts. Although he did get the better of two teams with sub-par offenses, he made the most of his time and gave the Phils a chance to win. It remains to be seen if he will pitch again for The Fightins, but job well done, Rodrigo.

The offense did just enough tonight, with the big blow coming off the bat of Victorino, whose game winning RBI sent the Phils home happy with the fifth win on this homestand.

What’s next for our heroes?

In the series finale, the Phils send Jamie Moyer (7-6, 5.72) to the mound against Micah Owings (6-8, 4.48).

Bonus baseball!

There are less than 24 hours remaining in the vote for the final roster spot for the All Star Game, and Shane is still neck-and-neck with Pablo Sandoval. With any luck, his game winning rib-eye will give him a push to take the lead in the voting.

Of course, you can still make a difference, loyal readers. So far, there appears to be no limit on how many times you can vote, so get to it, and VOTE FOR SHANE!

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